A Deactivated Mystery Shopper (Ask The Coach)

Question:

"Is there any recourse if one of the companies that you do mystery shopping for claims that you skipped a shop that you did not skip. I had this happen today. I applied for the shop, but it was not assigned to me. They have deactivated my shopper account saying that I skipped a shop. What can I do, if anything?"

Answer From Coach Melanie:

"How awful. I would ask them to show you proof that you had the shop assigned to you in the first place so you could refute it. I would then ask to speak to a supervisor (or the owner if a small company) and explain the situation and document all the companies you have top ratings with (as I am sure you do).

If all else fails and you really want to stay with this company, offer to do a make-up shop for free to get back in their good graces. Good luck, I hope it works out for you."

Have a great day and happy shopping!

Taking the mystery out of professional mystery shopping--Melanie Jordan
http://www.mysteryshoppercoach.com

Copyright 2005 Melanie R. Jordan E-Publishing

Mystery Shopping References (Ask The Coach)

Question:

I was asked to submit three professional references in order to be considered for Mystery Shopping Nursing Homes, Assisted Living and Retirement Communities. I have shopped many Apartment/Retirement Communities, but I self-assigned, therefore I don't know any schedulers. What is your suggestion regarding this situation?

Answer From Coach Melanie:

I rarely hear of this from mystery shoppers, and personally have never been asked for references to do mystery shops. This sure seems like overkill to me. Maybe they want to make sure you won't attack the seniors?

If you don't have any schedulers to use, have you ever dealt with anyone at the company that you did the self-assigned shops for--maybe someone who e-mailed you with feedback that you can list? How about using any "real world" work experiences or volunteer work experiences to show that you are reliable and professional even if those references are not in mystery shopping?

Have a great St. Patrick's Day and happy shopping!

“Taking the mystery out of professional mystery shopping”—Melanie Jordan

http://www.mysteryshoppercoach.com

Copyright 2005 Melanie R. Jordan E-Publishing

Turning The Tables On The Mystery Shopping Scammers (A Mystery Shopping Anecdote)

Turning The Tables On The Mystery Shopping Scammers

As those of you who have either read previous posts on this blog, or have been subscribers to my free monthly e-zine "Perfect Work-At-Home Job Update" (subscribe at mscoach@aweber.com) might recall, I did an article called "Shopper Round-up: Your Feedback On The Mystery Shopping Scam Issue + How To Tell Who's Likely Legit And Who's Not" (you can check that out on this blog or on my web site http://www.mysteryshoppercoach.com under the articles section).

Well, recently a job-hunting friend who had been going through our local Sunday paper employment ads, e-mailed me about an ad that appeared under the "part-time" section. It read similarly to the various scam ads we had previously discussed, so I decided to call the toll-free number and have some fun with them.

After two rings I heard "Hello, this is John" along with lots of background noise of other phone conversations. I said "hi John, I'm calling in response to your ad in my newspaper that said you were looking for people to be mystery shoppers. Does your company hire mystery shoppers?"

John: "we have connections to many companies, and what we do is provide a list that will get you started."

Melanie: "how much is that?"

John: $29

Melanie: But I thought this was an employment ad, aren't you supposed to be an employer to advertise here in the "employment" section.

John: nervous shuffling through papers, then "would you like to order our information?"

Melanie: "why would I want your list? I am already a mystery shopper. I thought you were hiring mystery shoppers".

John: "what kind of mystery shopping experience do you have?"

Melanie: "well John, I am a veteran mystery shopper who has handled every type of shop possible for several years in Orange County, CA and I even wrote two books on the subject".

John: more nervous shuffling, and now he switches gears "well if you have all that experience, this information would be free to you. Just send us a copy of one of your pay stubs and some of your shop reports to prove that you are experienced, and I will send this disk to you for free once I receive it."

Melanie: "John, why would you need my pay stub if you are not a legitimate employer checking references?"

John: "you can just send some shop reports and a copy of your social security card instead."

Melanie: "John, I don't think you need my social security number and I would be willing to bet that the disk you would send me would be blank, is that true?"

John: panicking, says "have a nice day", and the receiver goes CLICK!

After this exchange, I called the newspaper and told them about the experience and that this was a scam going around that they are helping to facilitate. They thanked me and promised to investigate it. I have not seen the ad there since, although it is likely only a matter of time before they change phone numbers and company names and try again. The real way to put these jokers out of business is to hit them where it hurts--don't give them your personal info and don't buy their BS--literally!"

Have a great day and happy shopping!

“Taking the mystery out of professional mystery shopping”—Melanie Jordan
http://www.mysteryshoppercoach.com

Copyright 2005 Melanie R. Jordan E-Publishing

Technology Is Great...When It Works (Mystery Shopping Anecdote)

Technology Is Great...When It Works

Another of the many hats I wear in my self-employed world, is a "licensed real estate salesperson" hat. Awhile back I had the opportunity to do some temporary work for a local new home builder which gave me the opportunity to hear about an interesting mystery shopping story.

One of my duties was to meet and greet prospects touring the new home models (no the agents don't usually do it themselves, they are too busy). Yet when I came in Friday afternoon, the lead agent kept stepping in and cutting me off when I started to do my usual welcoming bit. Finally after he did this a couple of times, he apologized and said "I'm sorry, but I just found out I might be shopped today, so I have to meet and greet everyone who comes through the door".

How interesting and ironic! Here I am, a professional mystery shopper on hand this time not as a mystery shopper, but as a witness to a shop from the target's perspective. In-between customers, I couldn't resist telling him about my mystery shopping work, writing and coaching. He was quite surprised and responded with "so you teach people how to do this--you're the enemy". Quite a perspective.

I was curious why he was being tipped off that he would be shopped and if such a procedure was normal. It wasn't. Here is what happened. Earlier in the week, Mr. Lead Agent had been shopped which was fine with him, because he said he pegged the shoppers and "nailed" the shop (as he put it). However, he had been notified that he would be re-shopped because he failed his evaluation. Why did he fail? Because his was a video shop and the full shop had not been captured on the tape due to shopper error. Only the early portion of the shop where Mr. Lead Agent admitted being nervous because he realized he was being shopped had taped, and the rest where he calmed himself down and "did a great job" was not. He was very upset about this because now the pressure was really on.

Mr. Lead Agent spent the whole day obsessing about this, and I was secretly enjoying guessing which couple or couples were the shoppers. I told him that I would give him my opinion about which ones I suspected. One trio that came in I was sure were shoppers, although Mr. Lead Agent was not so sure. Finally he tired of the game and let me go back to meeting and greeting while he ran out to bite with explicit instructions on what to do if his shoppers showed up (pardon the expression, but his exact words were "give them the finger").

Now don't you hope Mr. Lead Agent failed again?

For now, all you video shoppers, be very careful when doing your work for as you can see, a bad tape can really cause problems. Sure it may not be your fault because equipment does malfunction, but remember your target is counting on you to provide a fair assessment of his/her work.

Have a great day and happy shopping!

“Taking the mystery out of professional mystery shopping”—Melanie Jordan
http://www.mysteryshoppercoach.com

Copyright 2005 Melanie R. Jordan E-Publishing