Former Secret Shopper Quits The Trade After Realizing How Unfair The System Is To The Workers

"I cannot believe some of the interactions I am supposed to have with these employees."

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• September 9, 2022

Finding the right job that will pay you well and at the same time give you a sense of fulfillment can be a lifelong struggle. We do not always have the luxury of hopping from one job to another until we find the job we really want.

It's more common to settle for a job that pays well and grit your teeth through the terrible work environment. It keeps the lights on, eh?

OP knows this fact of life as much as the rest of us. OP is a Ph.D. student who recently accepted a job as a mystery shopper for some extra cash.

There was no honeymoon period in the job as OP quickly found out how much was required of the employees. One of OP's first tasks was for Best Buy.

For this job, OP pretended to be a buyer searching for the perfect streaming box. OP explained what he needed but since they weren't tech savvy, they had to ask a Best Buy employee for help.

The staff was incredibly patient while explaining to OP. He told OP that buying the most expensive streaming box was unnecessary and that he had an economical brand in mind that served its purpose and was user-friendly.

He made sure OP had everything they needed to connect the streaming box to their TV at home

It was excellent customer service all in all but there was one problem. The staff at Best Buy were supposed to promote one specific brand and explain all the specifications that make the item great.

The staff was also being graded on several other criteria. For example, he was supposed to convince OP to hire someone from the store to install the streaming device for them.

On top of that, they had to maintain eye contact, be friendly, and ensure they introduced themselves by their first name. OP gave the employee perfect scores on all of those criteria and planned to quit that job.

You can read OP's full story below:

OP liked the seller

They are not going to be a mystery shopper anymore.

It's not a bug, it's a feature... and it has been there for years

Instead of helping the customers get what they truly need, they prey on them for maximum profit

Tech retail is not the only industry that uses this playbook

How is this system making the customer experience better? Employees do not need the name of the guinea pig to recommend a wheel.

If that makes or breaks your restaurant's reputation, you have more pressing problems to worry about

Hint: it's a little creepy to be honest

First of all, I highly doubt the customer would have appreciated them eavesdropping in on the conversation

Second, if you answered the customers needs efficiently and they appreciated the service, what was the issue?

This is how you help fellow workers!

An amazing suggestion!

One rule does not apply to all

You have to know your market to provide the best service for them

That certainly woke them up to reality

The only appropriate response for unearned punishment

Someone disagreed with OP's decision to leave the mystery shopping career path and suggested they could bring the empire down from the inside

The sleazy dystopia continues

Reddit is wild, folks

Are you ready to CAPTCHA your way to a successful future?

OP is an amazing employee and an even better human for how they handled the job. They could have easily given him a low score for not sticking to the script and merrily continued to the next branch.

But OP rose above that. It gets difficult to see the bigger picture from time to time when you are inside the maze but we have to remember that our enemy is not each other.

Chelsi