My two cents on HGEM MysteryDining's poor service

mariogt

After over 3 years of dining with HGEM, I could not be reached for clarification on one of my visits since I was out of the country and lost my phone. As a result, a number of visits were removed from my profile as some sort of 'punishment' for this one issue. When I contacted HGEM to for clarification, a team member sent me a series of terms and conditions to the effect of- I must be contactable after a visit. This team member never once asked why I wasn't contactable, and made it clear that she didn't care even when I started to explain my situation. The only thing that mattered were the terms and conditions that I violated for not being contactable. As a result I asked for my account to be closed. About a month later, I contacted HGEM to check whether I had received all of my payments. After being asked a series of patronizing questions about why I couldn't remember the date of my last visit, a team member gave me a date she "thought" was my last visit date, and asked me to check if I received that payment.

HGEM eventually contacted me to clarify the payment after I made a post on this page. HGEM also asked whether it was okay to delete my posts in order to protect my "sensitive personal information".

I have reposted this "summary" of my experience sans sensitive personal information, because I am still unhappy with the experience. While I understand that HGEM needs to have clear diner rules to achieve their clients' objectives, I was frankly disappointed to learn that was at the expense of empathy, and regard for diners' personal circumstances.

hollydays

Sorry, but it's a job. If you promise to do it, it's a commitment.
I don't think they were being unduly harsh.

marliepanda

hollydays wrote: »

Sorry, but it's a job. If you promise to do it, it's a commitment.
I don't think they were being unduly harsh.

Seconded.

You were hired to do a job and because you broke a term you could not provide what they needed. It doesnt matter than you lost your phone and went abroad or that the dog ate your homework.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

mariogt wrote: »

After over 3 years of dining with HGEM, I could not be reached for clarification on one of my visits since I was out of the country and lost my phone. As a result, a number of visits were removed from my profile as some sort of 'punishment' for this one issue. When I contacted HGEM to for clarification, a team member sent me a series of terms and conditions to the effect of- I must be contactable after a visit. This team member never once asked why I wasn't contactable, and made it clear that she didn't care even when I started to explain my situation. The only thing that mattered were the terms and conditions that I violated for not being contactable. As a result I asked for my account to be closed. About a month later, I contacted HGEM to check whether I had received all of my payments. After being asked a series of patronizing questions about why I couldn't remember the date of my last visit, a team member gave me a date she "thought" was my last visit date, and asked me to check if I received that payment.

HGEM eventually contacted me to clarify the payment after I made a post on this page. HGEM also asked whether it was okay to delete my posts in order to protect my "sensitive personal information".

I have reposted this "summary" of my experience sans sensitive personal information, because I am still unhappy with the experience. While I understand that HGEM needs to have clear diner rules to achieve their clients' objectives, I was frankly disappointed to learn that was at the expense of empathy, and regard for diners' personal circumstances.

It could be school dinners?

cnorman7

This firm pays nothing usually, unless they're desperate and close to the deadline, they just reimburse according to their stated maximum expenditure. As adults, we know when we accept an assignment what the conditions are. However, I have become disgusted at their changing of my shopper reports to the point where they do not reflect my shopper experience. Reports for their client Greene King seem to be especially prone to this.

I recently visited a pub local to me and held dear in the hearts of many in the pub's community. I have known the pub for 25 years, but partner has known it for 45 years. On this recent visit the beer and food were poor, the pub empty. My report reflected this. But after my report was approved I saw they had changed my overall score from 4 out of 10 to 6, and removed many of my critical comments. I complained to them and was told that they had 100s of reports each day and amended them to better reflect the shoppers' content. After complaining again I was told I needed to add more description to my critical comments. I was furious and reminded them of the level of description I had included in my report, some of which was now deleted.

I then realised that I had noticed an anomaly with another Greene King pub I'd visited in January. Again they had put my score up, yet the food was very poor and overpriced. At the time I thought I must had made an error.

I have now cancelled all future shops with this firm. I stupidly thought I was having some input into improving quality and customer service. The pub I have mentioned here has Greene King Beer Pub status which means it can have many real ales that are not Greene King's. It has also recently changed hands from a manager that did keep the beer well. We have never before seen this pub empty. Instead of my report raising issues to be addressed by Greene King area managers and the pub manager, we face the likelihood of the pub being closed if it continues this way.

I'm pretty disgusted and feel a fool to think I considered I was helping to improve standards. HGEM are clearly in the pockets of their clients and the shoppers are being deluded. Just to add, that after this visit and eating low quality, ill-prepared food I had a severe stomach upset for 24 hours that was one stop short of gastroenteritis, which I experienced 40 years ago. With the doctoring of my report this pub could cause more people to be ill, nevermind waste their money.

Doc_N

Sorry to hear that - it does crop up on the internal HGEM forums from time to time that reports have been marked up by the person checking and agreeing the report put in by the diner.

I've had the same thing happen to me too - basically they seem to prefer to send glowing reports through to their clients, which defeats the whole point of the exercise, which is to provide accurate feedback, warts and all.

I suppose it's the 'don't shoot the messenger' syndrome. Maybe they're afraid that bad reports will cost them clients. And let's face it, HGEM exists for one purpose, and one purpose only - to make money for its shareholders.

If clients start suspecting, though, that objective reports are being 'manipulated' to make them look better than they really should be, those clients are probably going to think twice about using HGEM.