A challenging photo audit

I had an "open audit" not long ago. I was asked to visit one of those mall playgrounds with rides and check each ride. Each ride was tested (with a helpful rider I brought along), photographed, described and the overall platform was checked for safety issues. The mystery shopping company provided me with an authorization letter in case I was questioned.

While performing my audit, I noticed an older gentleman watching me very closely. When I got out my camera to photograph a safety issue, he got on his cell phone. Within moments, my daughter and I were being escorted to the mall cop office for questioning. I showed them my letter, which did not impress them. I explained the assignment, which did not impress them. I provided the phone number of the assigning company and my business card, which they pushed aside on their desk. I asked their concern and they said, "You can't be too careful nowadays. What if you're a terrorist taking pictures so you'll know the best place to set a bomb?"

National paranoia is running a tad high, which I can certainly understand. The older gentleman acted very wisely, in my opinion. He was alert to suspicious activity and reported it to the proper authorities. The mall cops even handled it well, and called the assigning company to verify my credentials...eventually. Everyone remained calm and non-threatening.

But those of us who work in stealth mode need to know that we are being observed, and those observations might raise suspicion. And we need to be prepared. Think through the scenario at least once every couple months in your career. What do you do if you are questioned by a store employee? A manager? A mall cop? A police officer? Each answer should be slightly different. I had an advantage in that this was an open audit and I felt free to discuss my assignment. Had I been "undercover," the situation might have been a bit pricklier.

It deserves a moment of your time to consider the scenario, however.

A Scary Halloween Post (Fast Food Shops)

The more often you eat at a fast food outlet, the greater your odds of running into something truly disgusting. Mystery shopping a fast food place is only different in that you are required to taste the food before making a face and throwing it out. Most companies do not allow you to return incorrect orders or food that clearly has something wrong with it. It comes with the territory.

In observance of Halloween, I offer you these True Tales from the Gross Side of Fast Food Mystery Shopping, each experienced by yours truly:

"Recycled" food wrappers You know, the kind that clearly were used before, and not for the same thing you are eating. The tip-off is how badly wrinkled they are and the greasy fingerprints on the outside. There's usually another hint like melted cheese stuck to the inside of wrapper when what you have ordered is a cold wrap.

Unidentified Fried Objects Yes, I've had a deep-fried UFO stuffed amongst my french fries. I suspect it was just a piece of lemon that fell into the deep fryer, but...ew.

Undercooked Meat Probably my scariest mystery shop of all was the one on which I encountered a lukewarm beef patty. It was seared crisp on the outside and deep, cold red on the inside.

I won't even bore you with the stray hair stories, those are too dull and boring and you've probably encountered them yourself during a quick trip to the drive-thru.

If you go the fast food route, you might want to bring along a digital camera to discreetly document evidence. When I run into something I feel could be a safety issue and not just a nauseator, I'll drop a line to my scheduler and offer my time-and-date-stamped evidence. I've been taken up on my offer more than once, although I'm not privy to the results of my efforts.

My point is that if you are squeamish, perhaps consuming food for a living probably isn't your best option.

If only they could all be like this

I had a peach of an assignment this week. Walk into a store, look for a certain display. If it's there, mark off on the form where I found it and leave. If it's not there, ask the manager for it, put it up and leave.

Store #1: No display. Got display from manager, put it together in one step, stocked with product, applied price sticker, put on register counter, write down manager's name. Time: 10 minutes

Store #2: Found display. It's stocked, labelled and on the register counter already. Time: 2 minutes

I only traveled 15 miles round trip for both stores and no purchase was required. I figure including gas, the travel time, paper and ink to print the forms, and the amount of time I spent online and offline for this job comes to $5 and about 1 hour.

I was paid a most generous $16 ($8 per store) for this assignment. Now that's the kind of compensation that makes mystery shopping worth doing. $11 an hour isn't CEO pay by any means, but the requirements were so easy and the shop was so quick that it was a real joy to perform.

When the Manager gets shopped

I performed a "reveal and reward" mystery shop this week at a local restaurant. It was an easy shop and a restaurant I enjoy but rarely go to. It was a "reveal" shop, which means at the end of the shop I tell the manager that I have mystery shopped his location and give him the results. This particular shop included a reward if all the requirements for a successful shop were met, and it was a nice little reward: American Express Gift Cards for everyone on shift during my shop! Nice.

It was an easy requirement, too. There was just one "catch phrase" that had to be said when I placed my order. And to be honest, if he had used the "catch phrase," my lunch would have been more enjoyable for me, because it was something I wanted anyway! The person who took my order was the manager himself.

Sadly, the requirement wasn't met. When I gave the manager the forms to sign showing that he had an unsuccessful shop, he was embarrassed. He wanted to rush me through the process of completing the paperwork and get me out of the store as quickly as possible. He knew that because of his mistake his team wouldn't get a bonus and realized they might get upset if they knew he had been the one who "blew it." I was discreet, and didn't let on what was going on, and made a hasty exit as soon as his part of the paperwork was done.

I felt bad for the team. In these days of economic turmoil, every little bit helps. But I felt worse for the manager.

Looking good, seeing well

Earlier this month I performed a shop at one of those super-upscale sunglasses stores at the mall. They had models ranging from $50 (on clearance sale) to $500 (included bluetooth to attach to your phone, ipod or PDA). It was a fairly easy shop, evaluating the store's atmosphere, cleanliness of the displays, salesmanship, etc.

It has been a while since I've seen the latest tech in glasses, I guess, because I felt like a real dinosaur. I saw one model that didn't have screws at the temple for adjusting the fit and asked about it. I nearly jumped a foot in the air when the salesman snapped the arms right off the glasses! Handy for sports she said, or babies-in-arms, I thought. That memory metal is very cool, and who knew titanium was so light?

I settled on a pair that cost about $150. That's way more than I'd normally pay for something like sunglasses, but after my shop fee, the cost went back down into my budgeted range. Of course, even a "deal" isn't a deal unless it's something I'd buy anyway. But I really needed a pair of shades. A summer's worth of squinting has deepened my crow's feet and not done my retinas any good.

Who knew mystery shopping could be so educational?

Let that be a lesson to me.

Sometimes I have days when I am convinced I am not cut out to be a mystery shopper. It happens. Best thing I can do is just fix what I can and move on.

Earlier this week, for instance, I had a shop to be done any time during the day. The requirements were so VERY simple. Just buy items to total a certain dollar amount before tax, pay for it with cash and listen for the cashier to say a single phrase. Simple.

Not.

I added up my purchases very, very carefully so when I got to the checkstand I'd have exactly two dollars and seventy five cents over the required amount. I have performed this shop before and I know there is mental pressure at the checkstand. The interaction must be timed. I must get the cashier's name and full description and be able to quote exactly what is said. All while looking like just another shopper.

I didn't count on an unadvertised special.

The total was over the dollar amount by three dollars and something, so I checked it off in my brain as being okay and moved on. But when I got to my car and looked at the receipt, it was thirteen cents short of the pre-tax total required by the shop. There were two happy little marks on the receipt indicating that I paid less than the shelf ticket for those two items. Oh boy! An unadvertised special! What a treat!

Thirteen cents invalidated my whole shop.

Fortunately, I was able to go back later that day and make a single purchase over the required sub-total. I saved the receipt, filed my report and returned the item at a later date. Of course, if I was paying proper attention to the subtotal, a package of Tic Tacs would have spared me the headache. But, with all the other things vying for my notice, I slipped. Not sleeping the night before, having a child sick at home, hubby being away on a business trip, two prior shops and two following shops that day, these things all played a part in my lack of attentiveness. But it was my job and I blew it.

And no, I didn't even ask if the mystery shopping company would accept thirteen cents less. I signed up for a certain dollar amount and if I can't fulfill that requirement, I shouldn't agree to perform the shop. Was it my fault the items were marked down? No, but being 100% would have kept me from the reshop.

Note to self: Get to 100% before starting a shop.

Fast Food Shop: the shop

Ride along with me on a fast food shop!

Before leaving the house, I review my paperwork (instructions and the company-provided note taking form) to refresh my memory as to what I'll need to notice. I jot down my starting mileage (starting 7/1/08, the government will give me a tax credit of 58.5 cents per mile for business miles, well worth keeping track of) and I'm off!

I keep a digital voice recorder close when doing my shops. I very rarely use it for recording the actual shop because I don't want to become complacent and lazy. Trusting in machinery is dubious: should the machine fail and I haven't exercised my memory and observation skills enough to complete a job survey, I risk losing the payment for that job. But I find it helpful to take verbal "notes" before and after a shop. Before purchasing the recorder, I also checked the laws of my state very carefully to make sure if I use the machine on a shop I was recording legally.

So, I turn on the recorder and take note of: time, date, temperature, cloud cover, time of day (not time so much as light: twilight, sunrise, pitch dark, etc.) and traffic near the shop. I pull into the parking lot and quote into the machine exactly what is written on the illuminated sign out front. I drive around the parking lot once, reading off the posters in the windows, counting the cars in the lot, making note of potholes and if the painted lines are wearing. I also make note of trash in the driveway and on the sidewalk: how many napkins, discarded cups, straw papers, and where are they? Are there bread racks or a delivery truck in the parking lot? What about the dumpsters? Are they overflowing? Tidy? Rusty?

I pull into the drive-in and start my cell phone's stopwatch when I ring for service. I push "snapshot" when the speaker attendant asks to take my order. I jot down initials I've memorized for what he says, and notes for what I don't have initials for. So, for example, if he says, "Hi, thanks for choosing Mega Food, may I take your order, please?" I write, "Hi, TFChMF, MITYO, P?" I place my order, very carefully following the instructions the shopping company has provided me (no special orders, one entree, one side, one drink only, and only those items on the approved list.) I continue jotting notes inconspicuously as the attendant repeats my order and tells me the cost. As he rings off, I hit the stop button on the cellphone stopwatch and simultaneously hit "start" on a regular stopwatch. I make notes about the length of time the order-placing transaction took. And now I have a second watch going to time the food delivery part of the shop. I pay for the order using my business credit card and wait for the food to arrive.

While waiting, I jot down some written notes about the condition of the menu board next to my car, the advertising in the car area, what the waitresses are wearing, if the building is clean and well-lit, etc. There's a flurry of activity while my food is delivered, because in just under 10 seconds I have to notice, remember, then make notes of: exactly what the waitress says, what she is wearing, her name, her physical description, if she smiles, makes eye contact, repeats my order, tells me the cost and thanks me. Whew.

I turn the recorder back on and dictate the condition of the drink cup and lid. I walk step by step through opening the bag (rolled, folded or open?), taking each item out, examining it visually, then tasting each item: hot? fresh? crispy? messy? and setting it aside. I continue doing that with each item in the bag, then make notes about the "other" stuff in the bag: salt? ketchup? napkins? how many of each? If anything is really out of line I'll jot a written note, but if all is as expected, just a voice memo is enough to jog my memory.

Now I can eat at my leisure. I didn't tonight, but I usually bring a child along and this is the time they know they can start talking to Mom again. They are well trained. Be quiet and invisible during "quiet times" while I'm working and you'll get a meal out! They will gladly consume all those nasty calories for me while I sip on some iced tea I've brought from home. I take my time and watch the employees for anything out of the ordinary. Tonight's a strange one. We have a man making deliveries that isn't in the uniform of the shop! He's in another uniform, though: he's a uniformed security guard the shop pays to keep the peace. I guess he is bored or maybe wants to help out, but this is absolutely beyond the scope of "normal" and gets reported.

I've agreed, by accepting the assignment, to stay in the parking lot for a certain period of time after my meal is delivered. When the time is up, I turn on the recorder, note the time and any observations that jump out at me as I leave. Then, I drive home and note the mileage as I pull into the driveway at home.

Now the report. I kick my teenager off my computer and go to the shopping company's website where I am taken question by question through the note-taking form I used on the shop. There are six sections on this particular survey. Each section contains 8-10 questions and one narrative. I fill out the questions, clicking in the radio box for each answer. But I don't fill out the narrative just yet. I save the form online and switch over into my word processing program. I find it much easier to transcribe my notes from the voice recorder and my written notes in a word processor first, get everything in full sentences, check for the "flow" of information, do a spell and grammar check, re-read again, then save it all and cut and paste it into the survey form on the shopping company's website.

I go to my Excel document in which I keep all my shopping information and plug in the amount I spent on the shop and mileage. This generates a form I print out to which I attach the receipt, scan the form and receipt and send them electronically to the shopping company. They will use this information to validate my shop and get my paycheck in the works! Yay, paycheck!

Almost done! Now I put my notes, the receipt, all the information I've collected from this shop back in the file folder holding this and only this job, and file it in the filing cabinet in the section marked, "Completed Shops." This part of the cabinet is sectioned by company first, with the oldest shops in the front of each section. I will check my business email carefully for the next three or four days. Sometimes if I don't make some bit of information clear, I will get a note back from an editor asking to clarify. Editors like immediate responses to these clarifications, and I like to make editors happy.

If there are no clarifications needed, I won't see this paperwork again until payday. Payday, our next installment!

The Basics of Mystery Shopping: The best of shops, the worst of shops

What are my shops like? I'll take you with me on a shop in a future entry, but here's a snapshot of my favorite and least favorite assignments.

My favorite shop is a fast food shop. I may only choose from a limited menu of items, and only the least expensive options will be covered 100% by the reimbursement. Ah, but I get to eat in my car! The survey is five pages printed out, and has three "narratives." Narratives are written stories of what happened. So, for example, on the survey you check off no, the employee wasn't in uniform and in the narrative you tell exactly what the employee was wearing—or wasn't wearing—that constitutes being out of uniform. Industry-wide expectations for narratives include complete sentences, correct grammar and perfect spelling. Back to the shop. There are only two "timings," but because I'm in my car the stopwatch is easy to conceal. The shop fee is relatively low at $5-7, but there are a lot of these shops available. I accept three or four of these 30 minute assignments a week. They might require a 7AM breakfast or a 10PM dinner, but I have turned them into "kid dates." Once I examine and taste the food, my date for the shop gets to eat it (saving me the calories, thank you.) It's a one-on-one time with Mom that is hard to come by in my large family.

My least favorite shop takes place in an electronics retailer. I must provide four timings, visit two departments, ask three specific questions and quote the exact responses, plus provide exact quotes and names of three other employees I encounter and evaluate the restroom. I can't take kids with me, and although the pay is slightly higher at $10, it can take an hour to perform the shop. The survey form is a grueling six pages, with at least two 200-word narratives on each page. I can't take the form with me into the shop because the shop uses electronic surveillance (cameras on the ceiling) and I might be spotted as the shopper.

Some would say a photographic and audiographic memory is a plus in mystery shopping. I'd say it's a requirement.

Next week, things that might surprise you about mystery shopping.