Should Employers Use Mystery Shoppers to Spy on Staff?
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John Lewis has been accused on spying on their staff by deploying mystery shoppers with hidden body cameras to ‘help improve customer service ‘
is this right? Should they be doing this? If the staff are not doing anything wrong, then there’s no issue, right? After all, the stores are all fitted with cameras already
No, they shouldn't. You cannot do this in any other walks of life so why on staff in a store. You are meant to tell people when you are recorded on a phone etc although I am sure many do so without permission.
Just a word of warning: If you are ever in a vehicle with a dash cam it is very easy to forget, because it is facing the front to the road, that it is still recording your voice so be careful what you say.
Customers should feedback them. I never had a problem in John Lewis, always had excellent customer service.
I think most of the time the problem is not with the individual, but with the company. Because they give several different tasks to do for their employees and than customer service suffers....
If the staff trained on customer service and they have nothing else to do, they will do amazing on the task.
I was told years ago that some retailers set up spy cameras for staff on tills, but they do not disclose this as they want to catch any employees in the act opposed to deterring them, which is what most warnings about cameras are doing (the main purpose that cameras instore serve)
i think it depend's on the shop were they should do this ,i have come across some really nasty staff in shop's and i dont think it is okay for some staff to be so rude to customer's, there is people who suffer with mental health and it really can have a inpact on them
I think that’s one reason why I like having my smartphone, as you can always capture such moments on the phone, either by video or voice recording. That way, people don’t get away with it. If they can’t be civil and courteous as people, they shouldn’t be on the shop floor
I’m surprised JL need to do this as I’ve always found their staff to be very helpful, of course someone could be having an off day. Other stores definitely need to improve their service. I find it annoying when paying for something the staff continue their conversation right up to taking the card.
Lol I tend to find that happens on tills in supermarkets more than anywhere else. Sometimes they’re more engrossed in their conversations than getting the job done
Boots does this - it’s part of checking the pharmacy and healthcare area of the shop are complying with laws and legislations around selling medications - I’ve served mystery shoppers and I don’t see anything wrong with it, they are just checking you are working properly 
I didn’t know this, but I guess it makes sense. As long as staff are not doing anything wrong, there is nothing to worry about
There's a good article about this, here:
I don't think that this is right. It is clearly violating privacy. This is taking it one step ahead. Spying is never ok.
It's the old argument of "if you've nothing to hide you've nothing to fear" but, we all have off days at work and I am sure there is a minority of harder to please customers that would test all of our patience
I think they should as some shops don't have cameras and some staff are believed to be perfect by management as they are up managements back end and management need to see exactly what their staff are like when they aren't around
I don't see an issue with mystery shoppers but I don't agree with the cameras, someone should have the right to know they are being filmed.
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