Fictional Short Stories

[JXM]

Posted by: Anthony M-Fusion
Date: 5/24/2001 9:50:58 AM (ET)
Post # of 3165

JUST A STORY....

I would like to tell a story.


"The Mystery Shopper"
(As told to a recent acquaintance)



One day, the decision makers of a little growing company had different views on certain corporate policies. They gathered in conference to see how this might be addressed. They had several viewpoints that seemed to be valid, but they were not sure exactly the effects of the policies and the enforcement thereof. After debating the different views, the parties all agreed that they should address the issue head on, and review the results before any final policy decisions were made.
The outcome of this very important meeting was a very simple one. Let’s send out a Mystery Shopper, and evaluate how our company is doing. The members of that meeting unanimously agreed that a Mystery Shopper was going to be sent out to the place of business of the corporation, and evaluate by simulating different experiences. This would see if the staff and the “Rules and Regulations” were well structured and capable to handle the public’s response.
As the Mystery Shopper arrived to the place of business, this new consumer was being very difficult and annoying, attempting to judge the reaction of the staff of this enterprise. Many situations were simulated. As it became evident that this Mystery Shopper may be annoying too many individuals, the decision makers reunited for a discussion of the Mystery Shopper’s actions. Policies and opinions were once again discussed. None of the staff’s responsibilities were changed. They agreed to let things play out and continue the marketing experience, to investigate the outcomes. They felt that this would help in the policy-making decisions.
As events on the Mystery Shopper unfolded, and staff was now aware on this individual, and seemed to be getting to disruptive for the on going business of the company, once again there was a meeting of the minds. They all agreed that the Mystery Shopper’s duties will be terminated, and assess the problems with the current policies that were in place and develop new ones to handle this.


To be continued...

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I would like to ask people what they think of this story. I am aware that many corporations have similar methods to evaluate their employees, and I feel it’s the true way to see if what they claim to the public, can be done. An example of this, is McDonalds, they may send individuals to different restaurants they own to evaluate their system and level of service and implement changes to their practices.

Are they misleading individuals? Or are they just testing and evaluating themselves?

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Please do not misinterpret or extrapolate anything other than a story to discuss, if these practice are appropriate.

I am just curious to find out!


A. MarketFusion


http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=112770