Back in the 1980’s, one of our early mystery shopping clients was a McDonald’s franchisee. When our CEO, Elaine Buxton, met with him to discuss our quality review process, she explained that all reports would reflect the utmost professional language. She gave the example stating the review team would change a phrase like “She took her sweet time” to something more professional sounding, such as “She was slow in approaching the drive up window.” That wise client taught us an early and valuable lesson: don’t change the tone of what the shopper communicates in verbatim comments. As he so aptly put it, “I can picture exactly what happened when I read “she took her sweet time”, so keep those types of comments in, please. We learned a lot from that client, including how to guide a quality review team to strike a balance between flavor and tone, content and quality.
That said, over the decades, we’ve read shopper comments that reveal critical improvement areas for managers. We’ve also read some comments which were, to say the least, surprising! We know our clients take mystery shopping reports seriously, as we do, but some comic relief is always welcome. We decided to share 25 of our All Time Favorite Funny Mystery Shopper Comments with you. We think these are funny, but they also tell a story. Enjoy!
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“Remains from a previous customer were still on table. I cleaned it up myself.”
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“Jennifer called over Annie, another employee, to stand next to her to swat the flies away.”
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“I declined the chips and opted for cookies instead to make a healthier meal.”
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“Although there were cleaning products visible, it didn't appear they had been used in this restroom."
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"I also saw a bag of produce leaving with one of the employees."
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"At the order counter, I was given an empty cup with no instructions on what to do with it."
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"When I questioned her as to why I needed to provide the information, she said it was because the computer asked for it."
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"I think I saw the manager; he had a tie and a bald head."
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"He said my financial plan would require a lot of planning."
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"I was impressed with the consummate professionalism she showed in combination with her down to earth actions, despite being branch manager."
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"The teller took my transaction and then completed my transaction after applying some lipstick.”
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"She explained to me that the bank ranks high in customer service. She also mentioned that there are times when mystery shoppers would come and audit the bank, so that the customer service was continually excellent."
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“He thanked me and wished me a Merry Christmas.” (Shop was completed in July.)
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“I was taken aback when Mark asked the other employee about the combination to the safe and then rattled off the number two different times.”
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"Throughout my conversation with Joyce, she did not maintain direct eye contact and spent time clipping her nails and chewed gum as she spoke."
- "The gentlemen told me about my car and said that my air filter looked like it has not been changed in a while and after a while they are not good for the economy if not changed."
Spell-Check Did Not Catch These Unintended Mistakes: Our Quality Review Team Did
17. "I went up to the door and asked for a manger."
18. "She said the interest rate was good for three moths."
19. "I pay with my debt card."
20. "The hottest then gave the children menus and went to get them crayons."
21. "All the cashiers were busy severing customers."
22. "Martha wrang me up and announced my total."
23. "The food was delicious and the waiter was supper."
24. "The cashiers were moving at a good paste."
25. "When I got to the check out the bagger opened a lane. And he helped me with my
odor."