In the new year, when you get a bad mystery shopping report, try not to be defensive.  If you've taken the time to create a great secret shopper evaluation and program, there's really no need to be. It's our natural instinct to try to defend our employees.  It's their natural instinct too!  They want to keep their jobs, and they should take the shopper's reports very seriously.  Don't fall into the excuses trap.  There's an excuse for anything in this world -- but if it happened, then that is the reality. "I was in a bad mood" or "I was receiving a shipment" are not valid reasons for missing points on the evaluation. While you're free to consider the issues raised by an employee -- in the two examples I noted previously, could point to an employee who needs to be monitored and have their "attitude adjusted" as well as an opportunity to negotiate appropriate receiving policies with vendors. We've seen it time and time again, where a manager doesn't want to really manage, and falls into the trap of being a "good guy" for his or her employees. These are usually junior employees who want the money, but don't want the responsibilities that come with the job.If you hear managers defending the employee and trying to find any reason to fault the shopper, you may need to do some significant coaching with that manager. That being said, people are imperfect.  Mystery shoppers are people.  If you think that a shopper may have had a bad day, or that they may have been biased, ask for a re-shop.  It's always been the policy of both The Service Quality Department and ServiceQuality.US to perform re-shops without charge for our clients.  No fights, no "proof" required.  It's part of our commitment to our clients.  Other companies may charge a fee for this -- we never have.  It really boils down to the addage that we're not satisfied until you are!