Mystery Shopper cover blown!

Decluttering

My family got asked informally to MS for a local cinema once...we had a worksheet to fill in and one of the questions was about the service recieved when someone hurt themselves. We were about to go at this point but I'm sure this gave us away!

My dad - Excuse me, is there a first aider here?

*Colleague runs off to get someone*

First aider - Did you ask for a first aider?

My dad - Yes.

First aider - ...So what's the problem?

My dad - Nothing


Haha, that really baffled the staff!

SexyBack

Bookies 99% know whos a mystery shopper - except they wont normally let on!

Renya

I'm not a mystery shopper myself but my mum does some work, she does those mobile library visits and one of the workers asked where she lived and she gave a false location nearby. She did 5 visits in different places and 3 of those times that worker was there! If he didn't twig who she was he must've thought she was a complete weirdo!

bluenoseam

When i worked and was mystery shopped generally you'd know purely because often times we'd get hit with questions which are so rediculously simple that if you were genuinely interested, you'd know about it already! One classic example of this was last year

MS: "man i'm so looking forward to the new Modern Warfare - when's it out?"
me: (points at big !!! sign saying Call of Duty - Released 11/11/09) "11th November, c'mon man everyone who owns a console knows the release date of that game! Three versions available *prices them all* would you like to pre-order a copy today, i'd strongly advise it since it's the biggest gaming event since PS3 was released!"
MS: (very sheepish at having been rumbled) "oh aye that's right, i knew that"

we got points taken off for music being too loud...

And the truth is despite what you may or may not think, it wouldn't exactly take a genius to sign up for say RE if you work for one of their clients & when you see potential dates & the assignment notes, well, it's pretty simple from there.

Becles

It's how you present the questions that matter. I did that scenario and I've got two teenage boys. I've gone in as the clueless mother and said "my boys were talking about a game called Modern Warefare, but I can't see it on the shelf?" Then the conversation goes, "oh that'll be the new one that's not released...." blah blah blah.

It's all very natural and I've never been sussed

davidjwest

SexyBack wrote: »

Bookies 99% know whos a mystery shopper - except they wont normally let on!

Yep, I have done a few of these and you have to ask what the odds are when placing a bet - usually the odds are displayed on a screen right above the cashier so you look pretty obvious.

I always find it amusing that the staff suddenly swarm around the shop floor picking up litter when I arrive.

:rotfl:

mimi1234

Some of the mystery shopping briefs are plain stupid. For example, they send you into a huge electrical store, make an enquiry aboout a big appliance, and then pull out at the last minute and buy some earphones. I mean like that's not going to stand out like a sore thumb! Or even worse, send you to buy some stamps and then ask the person at the stamp counter where their specific hot beverages are. I mean, get a grip! Regardless of how discrete you are, it's bloody obvious.

proshopper

mimi1234 wrote: »

Some of the mystery shopping briefs are plain stupid. For example, they send you into a huge electrical store, make an enquiry aboout a big appliance, and then pull out at the last minute and buy some earphones. I mean like that's not going to stand out like a sore thumb! Or even worse, send you to buy some stamps and then ask the person at the stamp counter where their specific hot beverages are. I mean, get a grip! Regardless of how discrete you are, it's bloody obvious.

Ah, but ...... the older I get, the easier I'm finding it to do daft things convincingly. I defy you to call me bloody obvious! One of my usual ploys is to peer under my glasses, then over my glasses, whilst rifling through my handbag and pretending that I can't hear anything that's said to me, then make definite eye contact and ask the question/s specified in the job brief. I never do this in phone shops though - it tends to result in the offer of a handset with simple menus and big buttons!!

And when I'm asked if I want a receipt, I either ignore the question or say, "noooooo, I'm not inclined to think so," (a stange voice is a useful addition here) and then ask for a receipt after all the other stuff's done. If questioned, I just say something like, "I thought you asked me if it is raining out."

adam_ward

I used to work for a national shop and they said to us quite a few times "Be careful because there is someone coming with regards to underage selling of products" so yes shops are probably made aware there is a possibility that you are coming.. As to how they know its you i'm not sure

briggsbear

The bookie window bet jobs are so obvious but I don't mind and neither do the folk behind the counter. I think we both just go through the motions lol