Hi!
I would really like some feedback from you guys... I completed a shop over the weekend for ACL and the shop was accepted but I received the below feedback. I am trying to figure out if I should respond to it or just let it go. I have been shopping with them for about 2 years with almost zero issues. I’ve just had a few shops that needed clarification etc but none rejected or anything. This is where I’m confused and want to send a reply but not sure I should.... I have always noted if things weren’t great on my visit and have been extremely descriptive and usually take more photos than needed. I have never said everything is perfect but I have had almost perfect visits from the past couple shops but absolutely nothing has gone wrong so obviously I wouldn’t say things went wrong when they didn’t. I am always looking around and am observant during my shops going alone whenever I’m allowed but the below message makes me feel like they think I am not paying attention to everything. I definitely don’t put that everything is good just to put that I report exactly what I see and experience. Would you say anything back or just really try to find fault next time on a shop or what? I have never received feedback that my evaluations are giving too good of feedback of establishments from any MSC and I’ve been shopping for 2 years. I’m open to constructive criticism, I’m just trying to see if I’m reading into this too much...Thanks!!

“Thank you for your hard work on this shop. Your report was good. It was well written. The completed report has been forwarded to our client. We appreciate your time and effort.

We have noticed that your shops consistently score the establishments with a high score. Of your last five shops, three of the establishments have scored a 97% or higher. It is very unusual to have such a consistent history of high scores. We want to be sure that you are being observant during your shops and ensuring that you are carefully looking at each area that the client is requesting in the guidelines. The client is interested in constructive criticism, so don't be afraid to note areas that may need improvement. Thanks for your help with this! “

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2018 09:41PM by Lissymaree.

I wouldn't reply back, but if you feel compelled.......just say, "Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.".

Sounds like a no win situation to me....be critical and they ask why....and then you aren't critical and they ask why.

@4muppets wrote:

Sounds like a no win situation to me....be critical and they ask why....and then you aren't critical and they ask why.

I think this was my confusion... I’ve had some of my best shopping experiences ever in the last few weeks so I was being 100% honest but kinda feel like it’s a no win situation...

Don't take it personally at all. I used to be an editor for ACL and for Ardent. Both of them like shoppers to be very critical. After I quit editing for them (but still completed mystery shops for them), I would get feedback on shops where the establishments did exceptionally well and I scored them very high. I often responded with an explanation. Don't be afraid to do the same. You could politely respond and say, "Thank you for the feedback. I normally do not score shops so highly, but the last few times I have shopped for your company the locations I visited did exceptionally well. Please don't worry, I pride myself on being very observant and will continue to provide constructive criticism to the best of my ability. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day!"

Also take into consideration that you could provide comments about how exceptional the food/service/cleanliness was in your comments in the narrative box on the shop report itself.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Don't take it personally at all. I used to be an editor for ACL and for Ardent. Both of them like shoppers to be very critical. After I quit editing for them (but still completed mystery shops for them), I would get feedback on shops where the establishments did exceptionally well and I scored them very high. I often responded with an explanation. Don't be afraid to do the same. You could politely respond and say, "Thank you for the feedback. I normally do not score shops so highly, but the last few times I have shopped for your company the locations I visited did exceptionally well. Please don't worry, I pride myself on being very observant and will continue to provide constructive criticism to the best of my ability. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day!"

Also take into consideration that you could provide comments about how exceptional the food/service/cleanliness was in your comments in the narrative box on the shop report itself.

Thanks so much Jas!! I was thinking there were some past ACL editors on here so I really, really appreciate the feedback! The response you wrote is almost exactly what I was thinking about writing back but wasn’t sure if maybe I was just reading into too much or perhaps they wouldn’t want me to respond. Thanks again for taking the time to read my post and respond!

If you are polite always and never defensive, no one is going to be able to fault you for that. In fact, the editor will most likely appreciate your reassurances.

I agree with Jas. I have often done near perfect shops but perhaps not five in a row. But especially if you are going to the same place and they have a fantastic manager then things will be great over and over. I would not worry but good idea to comment back in a positive way.

Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate it!

It sounds to me like they are simply asking you if you need to be more critical - for your own reflection, not as a negative. It's not uncommon for shoppers to not to feel like they can make a store down for something and this MSC is making clear that they are very comfortable with it.

I do find that it is rare for a visit to earn a "perfect" score for any MSC. For that reason, I'll often add a two or three sentence narrative, even when not required, when a visit is scored really well, simply re-affirming the impressive service I received.

What JASFLALMT said. I would respond politely and simply assure them that as an experienced shopper, you're careful to be observant and would indeed mark down for anything that would warrant it. But that these visits were above average and you reported accurately and honestly.

Isn't it awful to feel like you have to look for something nit-picky to mark down on so you're not suspected of not doing your job right? It seems to me your experiences show that the mystery-shopping program is working!

@BirdyC wrote:

What JASFLALMT said. I would respond politely and simply assure them that as an experienced shopper, you're careful to be observant and would indeed mark down for anything that would warrant it. But that these visits were above average and you reported accurately and honestly.

Isn't it awful to feel like you have to look for something nit-picky to mark down on so you're not suspected of not doing your job right? It seems to me your experiences show that the mystery-shopping program is working!

Yes, I did question myself for a second thinking I should maybe tried to find something to knock them down for...that was my first thought for sure! I have been shopping for 2 years so not a newbie but definitely not extremely experienced either as I have a full time job M-F and shop part time due to that. I’m always trying to learn, grow and become better! I feel there’s always room for improvement so I’m open to everyone’s suggestions... thanks so much for responding!

I just signed up today to see if anyone else had received similar feedback. I got an identical email earlier today. Maybe it's because I tend to pick assignments of restaurants that I know provide good food and service. I hate the idea of deliberately marking something down in order to have some low scores mixed in.

I would never knock down a shop just because the MSC hinted at it. It's not fair to the business owners.

I don't think anyone is suggesting deliberately marking anything down or unfairly grading a facility or service person. I think the point the MSC is making is that usually it's very rare for everything to be perfect on a visit. Sometimes it happens. It's even more rare for every visit that a mystery shopper makes to every client to be perfect or even completely favorable. I think the MSC is simply cautioning the OP that they want her to be sure she is looking at the situations critically because the client truly wants criticism in order fix problems, however small the problems might be. I probably wouldn't respond, but it would make me think a little harder when doing my next mystery shop for the company.

This is not the only company that pays attention to a lot of positives or a lot of negatives on shopper reports. This is one of the Market Force dreaded algorithims. Market Force tracks this for its shoppers and uses it for deactivations. A shopper who too frequently has negative reports or always has positive reports may be deactivated. There used to be complaints and posts on our forum about Market Force deactivations due to these algorithims. When deactivating a shopper, MF sometimes told them that their algorithims were off. I haven't heard that in a long time. I wonder if MF still does that. Maybe they still do it but simply no longer tell the shoppers. Now they just say "we are deactivating you and can't tell you why." That would explain why so many people complain about being deactivated by MF and have no idea why.

It is just a tip to help you on future reports. As it says, you have a history of high scores, which is unusual but of course not impossible. They want to make sure you are being observant on future reports. It has already been submitted to the client, so there is really no reason to contact the editor at this point. Again it is just a helpful tip for the future.

In my situation, I tend to have ACL shops not go so well. It just means more writing or evidence (such as pictures). I wish these locations would do a better job, but they just don't in my experience.

I wouldn't reply to the comment as such. The only other aspect is if you think it is possible that the location shop has determine you are a shopper. If you think this is true, it might be better to take a break from their locations. If you continue, and they determine this, it would jeopardize your shopper status.