MYSTERY SHOPPING THREAD 19 - please don't mention client names or fees on here!!

kman

StacFace wrote: »

Yeah you would where I work, as we've never had anyone asking for a receipt who hasn't been either a mystery shopper or constantly on the phone during the visit in the last 12 months at least. If we got one or two doing it I don't think it'd change but if we got loads of customers asking for receipts then we obviously wouldn't be able to cook all of their meals first and keep an eye on all of them to clear the plates as soon as they've finished etc.

We know it's not entirely acurate but the important thing is to make sure the MSer gets the preferential treatment, even if some other people get it too, and we also know the MSer has to have a receipt to get paid, and has to allow us opportunity to interact (e.g. not be on phone constantly).

Like you said - a complete waste of time & money by the company you work for... :eek:

StacFace

By preferential treatment I mean their meals would be cooked first, meaning they'd be out in 3-5 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes, which is still within the maxium brand standard of 20 minutes. Also we normally walk around and look for tables that need clearing, and to give customers the chance to call us over if they need something, and if we suspected someone of being an MSer we would walk past their table a little more often and would all glance over to it specifically whenever in the area to see how close to finishing they are.

We don't ignore 'normal' customers or give them bad service, but our company does give out rewards for the best MS reports, so we do have to make sure we do all we can to make sure they in particular get the best service possible, we can't cook everyone's meals in 3-5 minutes but we do still give the best service possible to 'normal' customers bearing in mind there's a lot of them (e.g. still do check-backs, still serve within 20 minutes etc).

DebtHater

StacFace wrote: »

By preferential treatment I mean their meals would be cooked first, meaning they'd be out in 3-5 minutes instead of 10-15 minutes, which is still within the maxium brand standard of 20 minutes. Also we normally walk around and look for tables that need clearing, and to give customers the chance to call us over if they need something, and if we suspected someone of being an MSer we would walk past their table a little more often and would all glance over to it specifically whenever in the area to see how close to finishing they are.

We don't ignore 'normal' customers or give them bad service, but our company does give out rewards for the best MS reports, so we do have to make sure we do all we can to make sure they in particular get the best service possible, we can't cook everyone's meals in 3-5 minutes but we do still give the best service possible to 'normal' customers bearing in mind there's a lot of them (e.g. still do check-backs, still serve within 20 minutes etc).

I say again, I still dont see the need for all this hype.

If you gave service to everyone as if they were the MS, you wouldnt have any problems.

I think waiting anything up to 20 minutes for a meal is acceptable - I definitely wouldnt expect my meal to be cooked first on account of the staff suspecting that I am MS'ing them.

And, you may be causing more problems for yourselves. If I was in a restaurant and people around me were getting their food first, even though I ordered before they did, I would pipe up to ask where my order was. I can see this only causing more complaints in the long run.

And you say "normal" as if they dont matter - what is wrong with every customer being "special"?

Tudorc1

DebtHater wrote: »

And, you may be causing more problems for yourselves. If I was in a restaurant and people around me were getting their food first, even though I ordered before they did, I would pipe up to ask where my order was. I can see this only causing more complaints in the long run.

Also, if the company are monitoring the service reports, and see that everyone (all MSs) are being served in 3 -5 minutes they should be bringing the target times down for the site - all customers served in 10 rather than 20 minutes. Another rod for your own back.

I assume that this is RE that is MSing this site. Most reputable companies give the opportunity to assess service generally, not just that which you received, so if you are receiving unusual treatment this can be reported.

As Debthater said earlier:-

If you give your best service to every single customer, you will not have anything to worry about when the MS report comes to your manager

StacFace

We know 20 minutes is acceptable but there is a bit on the report that asks how long it took and there is a bonus for it being under 5 minutes, you have to get all of them on all questions they're available on 3 times in a row to get a staff Christmas party, from then on everytime you do it you get an extra £50 spent on it. If you just do everything right in terms of what's deemed acceptable (e.g. good service but without preferential specifically to them) you don't get that, you just don't get an early morning staff meeting the following Sunday to be told off and made to go through the training booklet again. That's why we do their meals first, clear their plates first etc.

And yes, it is RE.

boyoboy1986

There is always the option of going back to the bar before leaving and asking for the receipt stating that you have forgot to ask! I have done this a few times when I am visiting somewhere I have been before and felt I had been rumbled on the previous visits. I used to do it a lot on gaP burgers - their faces were a picture!

mimi1234

Woah nelly! Just back from a triple coffee shop visit. I'm stuffed. TNS lost a little coffee shop chain to RE which has now gone to RM. It's complex ain't it!

All these phone shops people keep alerting on GFK, where the funk are they? I ain't seen any of them for ages!

Finally, has anyone heard any more about the REACT coffee shops? I went to one over the weekend and they were talking about being mystery shopped recently. One of the girls was saying the most recent shopper thought she was 22 when she is actually 35. Was gonna ask if they knew which company were shopping them but bottled it. Does that mean REACT have definitely lost them?

nearlyheadlessian

DebtHater wrote: »

If you gave service to everyone as if they were the MS, you wouldnt have any problems.

A noble sentiment. I work for a retail company who are ms-ed monthly - if we gave service to everyone as if they were the mystery shopper we'd need to employ three times as many people. Of course, you can get some stuff right consistently - good service at the till is always a must - but it's only natural (given the store is targeted annually on its results and we are incentive-ized personally) that when someone asks a hot topic question (we are given a 4 topics a month from which the ms-er asks 2) you give them the very best service whereas when some grumpy sod at 9.15am on a Sunday asks a rudimentary "where is...?" question that you just show them and leave them to it.

TractorGirl327

StacFace wrote: »

It's to excuse a report that marks us down for not offering desserts and coffees.

If someone is talking on their phone then obviously we're not going to interupt them to have a conversation. We're supposed to ask them if everything was OK, then offer desserts and coffees pointing them out on the menu, and make a recommendation of a specific dessert and specific coffee. Of course we do actually do that normally but if someone is on the phone talking, we ask if everything was alright for them, and they say "Yes" then continue talking on their phone then we leave them to it. We can hardly stand there with them chatting away to someone on a phone saying "How about some chocolate fudge cake, it's lovely with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream or you can have it with custard if you like..."

If they're not going to do their job properly and let us provide our service for them to assess then they shouldn't be getting paid. I get docked wages if I'm caught on my phone instead of working so why shouldn't they?

Just out of curiousity how would you deal with the above situation if you were me?

I'd wait until they'd finished their phone conversation and then go back and ask them then ................ hardly rocket science is it

Miss_Qwerty

mimi1234 wrote: »

Woah nelly! Just back from a triple coffee shop visit. I'm stuffed. TNS lost a little coffee shop chain to RE which has now gone to RM. It's complex ain't it!

They're with RM now? That's excellent news, I love their coffee and was beginning think they'd dropped MS'ing completely and tbh I think I'd prefer RM to RE or TNS' questionnaires any day of the week