We all think we might get outed as a shopper, but really there is no reason to worry.

At a popular fast casual restaurant shop often discussed here, I place my order, and a customer behind me places his. He's finished placing his about 60 seconds after me. I go to fill up my drink, while he stands at the counter and is in a position as if he is watching them like a hawk. I take a position a bit behind him, but in a good spot, where I too, can watch everything. Wait time starts approaching eight minutes. Gotta be my order coming.... no wait.... its his order? (His order also included what would be required items on a shop). Based on where we were on my stopwatch, and that his "clock" started about a minute after me, lets say, he is good under eight minutes. Order presenter cheerfully gives it to him. Of course, I still wait. After another two minutes, and now a total time of over 10 minutes. Now mine is ready. I get mine with virtually no response.

Other guy also sits and eats. In this time, a crew member walked over to him and asked him how everything was. I never got that. Pretty funny, his report would have been so much different then mine. Makes you wonder how much the good service is based on them thinking they know who you are. That guy left without going to the bathroom, though. So they weren't double shopped!

You will drive yourself batty trying to figure out if others are mystery shoppers just because they got their food faster or a team member went over to speak with them. Many people stand and watch or stare at food being made just to occupy the time waiting especially if they are not someone tied to their phone every spare second and then some. What else can you do if you are alone? And a team member might have visited his table for all sorts of reasons. When I am watching for table visits on a restaurant job I often see the person circulating go to two or three other tables but skip mine or versa versa. Sometimes they come just to mine. I really do not think that indicates to me they think they are the shopper. I think if the workers are trying to guess who it is they probably guess wrong more often than not unless there is one of those unusual questions we are forced to ask.
Now, when I went to Costco one day to shoot specific photos of a display of items most people purchase one at a time and then saw that same person take 6 of them....the job required buying 3 or 6...I was suspicious of her. I did not want to give her any hints but I did ask if she had tried them since she was buying so many or perhaps buying them for a company and she said no, her mother in law asked her to buy 6. I still think that she was a fellow shopper. They were booking 20 or so jobs at my local Costco during a short period of time so we had to overlap.

I read an article about how to get better service in fast food places. It was from Britain, but probably applies just as easily here in the USA. The trick- Ask for a receipt.
Apparently that is the big tip off that you are a mystery shopper!
At least according to the article.

Sandyf, you could have uttered the secret code phrase, "The chicken sleeps alone." I tried that once but the dude just smiled in a way that told me he thought, "Bless her heart. She has lost her mind."

@sestrahelena wrote:

Sandyf, you could have uttered the secret code phrase, "The chicken sleeps alone." I tried that once but the dude just smiled in a way that told me he thought, "Bless her heart. She has lost her mind."

Ha ha , I have a hard enough time remembering all my passwords. Not another thing will fit in my brain unless I need it frequently. Or maybe that should be my new password for all my msc....throw in a number or two and it is perfect.

That's a funny story. This job can be amusing.

We were at the same place. The manager was incredibly nice, but the garbage cans were full, and the floor had spills in multiple locations. Neither issue was fixed. If they thought we were shoppers, I would think they would be on that.

At another location, the manager emptied three garbage cans and wiped all of the tables while we were there. Either he was doing what he should be doing, or he thought we were shoppers.

I had a shop that when I arrived there was a woman in the parking lot offering her food to customers going inside. She came up to me in my car and told me she was a secret shopper and she had two more shops to do at different locations of the same restaurant to do. I of course declined as I was shopping there also. (I did not tell her that I was also performing a shop there) She went to the next car that parked and offered the food (loudly) to that person. The person accepted it and drove away.

I did a merchandise counting shop and the manager figured out I might be the shopper (who else counts off 50 items and then goes back through them looking for those wrongly placed?) and finally asked me, "Are you the shopper?" I looked surprised and asked what he meant. He told me he thought I was the mystery shopper. There had been a lot of press about one of those fake shops so I said, "Oh, no, that's a myth! Those people are scams. Didn't you read about it in the paper?" He chatted with me a bit to assure me that there were legitimate shoppers and I told him I'd never heard of it except as a scam. I told him I was just shopping for gifts for my family. He went on and left me alone and I finished the count! I've done them twice since them and he doesn't bother me. If they think you're the shopper, they try to go in front of you and take out the misplaced items.

I once did a shop with a large negotiated price at a grocery store in an area the have a lot of trouble getting shopped (small, rural town 100 round trip drive for me.) You have to go to 4 departments and ask your choice of tree different questions. They wanted m to call in the report as it was the end of the month and they were a little desperate. While I was in the store I heard a shopper ask one of the questions in the list at the produce dept, then ask another at the meat dept. Once could have been a coincidence but not twice. I asked the scheduler about it when I called in my report. He said they often send two people to do the same shop, if the deadline is close because even the best shopper can get a flat tire . He said they had already gotten her report, so I could go ahead and do mine online. He said he wondered how often shoppers run into each other. I told him it was a first for me.

That's just so weird and icky. I could see driving somewhere and offering it to panhandlers, but offering it to the establishment's customers is just so odd. And not bright or discreet, obviously.

@avids1418 wrote:

I had a shop that when I arrived there was a woman in the parking lot offering her food to customers going inside. She came up to me in my car and told me she was a secret shopper and she had two more shops to do at different locations of the same restaurant to do. I of course declined as I was shopping there also. (I did not tell her that I was also performing a shop there) She went to the next car that parked and offered the food (loudly) to that person. The person accepted it and drove away.

Now that's what I call career suicide!

@avids1418 wrote:

I had a shop that when I arrived there was a woman in the parking lot offering her food to customers going inside. She came up to me in my car and told me she was a secret shopper and she had two more shops to do at different locations of the same restaurant to do. I of course declined as I was shopping there also. (I did not tell her that I was also performing a shop there) She went to the next car that parked and offered the food (loudly) to that person. The person accepted it and drove away.

Something odd happened: I was standing at the checkout for a grocery mystery shop. I heard a young cashier and a young bagger talking in the next check lane. The cashier was no more than a few feet away from me. The cashier said he wondered if "that" was the shopper? The bagger said he "thinks it's the mystery shopper" They both keep talking and are looking my way! Not to be spooked, I kept waiting for my groceries to be rung up and acting like I did not hear them..If they though "I" was the mystery shopper, I highly doubt they would say it so LOUD and so close to me standing there. I wondered if they were looking "over me" in my direction at another check stand?

I agree. I've given extra food to homeless people but even then never mentioned it's from a mystery shop, I say somethng like "my friend couldn't make it" or "I ordered more than I could eat".

The MSC having two shoppers on the same day asking questions from 4 different departments in a rural grocery store (which coincidentally occurred at the same time!) seems like a good way to out the shopper.

I've been criss-crossing the country the last month or so. Recently I took a [less expensive than flying] quick turnaround long-distance train (because I had a huge amount of writing to do and the MSC was giving me flat-rate distance pay). I overheard more than one conversation that the staff was "absolutely positive" that one lady was the mystery shopper. She took the train one way and then quickly back. Not sure if it was her, but I think I agree with them. So, if you had a sleeper, are short with short hair, wore a pink dress one way and a green dress the other, let me offer a little advice -- don't be on your computer so much when staff is walking by (and certainly don't leave it open), don't ask for stupid things that you could easily get yourself, and go ahead and order the most expensive meal the first night since every other person is doing so.

Wishing I had been able to snag that shop and get paid by both MSCs ;-)