| OCR Text |
Show TheSalt Lake Tribune Shoppers Rate Customer Service Touiteed aa a irty. The most common problem? “No oneis around,”he said. “In somestores,it is very, verydif- ficult to find anyone to help you. Notall mystery shopping is done in person. Some mystery shoppers pose as customers andcall technical help lines to ask for assistance and customerservice lines to place an order. And not all mystery shopping is done at retailers and restaurants. Banks such as Zions First National: Bank has used mystery shoppers for years to ensure customers and prospective customers have positive experiences with their company. “It’s a marvelous gauge of customerservice,” said George H an executive. vice president for retail banking at Zions. Mystery shoppers for SG Marketing Group of Arnold, Calif., visit all 148 Zions Bank branches in Utah and Idaho four times a year. They conduct transactions with tellers, in- quire about new accounts and loans and examinethe physical condition of branches. ES or are homemakers and use expenses such as meals or hotel Shopping Providers mystery shopping as a way to rooms. tion in Dallas, which has quiries, Hofmann said. Employees who are’ rated company talks to those em- Christensen said his company has encountered it all. * In addition, mystery shop Hofmann, said. Instead, the purchases. Andthestore is dis- Sunday, November2:9, 2001 pers call Zions’ customer service phonelines and makeinpoorly arenot fired or demoted, @ Continued from E-1 BUSINESS ployees and has thempartici pate in additional customer service training. At Zions and most other companies that hire mysteryshopping companies, employees mayhave no idea who the mysteryshopperis but theyare told one can arrive or call at any time, said Chris Causey, sales managerfor TrendSource. in SanDiego,Calif., a mysteryshopping firm that hasclients in Utah. “The idea is to make the. supplementtheir income. They typically are paid from $10 to more than $50 for each “shop,” someof which taKeaslittle as a half hour including the timeit takes to fill out the paperwork. Most companies require no pecial training or education aaasay mystery shoppers have backgrounds in everything from private investigation to accounting. Few mystery shoppers are employees who earn salaries and benefits. They instead serve as independent contractors whoare paida fee for each shop.‘Theyalsooften are reimbursed. for out-of-pocket employees aware of the program so that they improve their behavior to more mirror the expectations of the company on a regular basis be- Someretail clients want an item purchased during a mystery shop returned a few days afterit is purchased while oth- ers will reimburse the mystery shopper for their purchase and allow them to keep what they havepure! Even th gh few people can makea decent living by just mystery shopping, the job is wildly popular. TrendSource, mystery shopper is going to In somecases, the mystery shopperwill simply makea report and leave the store. In other cases they have been instructed to reward an employee or employees on the spot with everything from lapel pins to $100 bills, Causeysaid, TrendSource, whoseclients include Taco Bell, KFC and Blockbuster Video, has about 3,200 people in the United States and Canada with whom they regularly contract. Another 52,000 people live in smaller cities and perform occasionaljobs for the company. Manypeople workpart time Stocktrading.com Joni Mantell of Kaysville, who recently finished a mystery shopping assignment in a hotel in the Ogden area, sasaid she enjoys her occasional as- signments from Rocky pays well and is fun, has rated the customerservice in a res taurant as well as home improvement and electronics stores. “I hate to shop but I like mystery shopping becauseit's not monotonous work. Each time you encounter something different,” she said. “I have a bl: Mountain. lesley@sltrib.com| cations a day. “There_ are a lot of people who really enjoy evaluating ecutive director of the My:stery JAMES W. BROWN, individually ’ similarly situated, ’ and on behalf of all other persons Ptaintifts, , ah) //Larriott School THE LQUITABL ELIE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a conpration MBA 130 nation wide. “Somepeoplejustlikethe idea of shopping and getting paidforit.” ae ry You ng Wa Executive Mantell, who said the work Associa companies for example, receives 100 appli- cause they never know whothe be,” he said. member: Salt Lake City & Provo Classes Salt Lake City class begins August 2002 Provo class begins August 2003 © Offers a unique education opportunity without career interruption * Capitalizes onthe experienceof other professionals 24-month evening program for working * Taught by the MBA faculty on the professionals. Nationally ranked and leading edge oftheir lds fully aceredited bythe:AACSB, * Requires bachelor’ degree, GMAT, and three yes significant experience Defendant. ) } ) Cave Nos 1-CV-2616-RWS ) CLASS ACTION ) ) ) ’ NOTICE OF PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENTAND CONSENT DECREE TO: ALL AFRICAN-AMERICANAPPLICANTS AND ANY DISCOURAGED WOULD-BE APPLICANTS FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS WITH THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES (“EQUITABLE”) FROM MAY 16, 1987 TO OCTOBER 23, 2001. Equitable h “d to settle an employrient discriminationclays action involving clams of enthiting of African-Americansfor financial professional positions! Hiring goals have been established during thefive-year termof the proposed Consent Decree for thoseten Equitable Branch Offices® where Af Americans are currently ‘underrepresentedas comparedto therelevantciv 7 force t Financial incentives haye been establishedfor thereferral, recruitment Demand for good businessleaders alwaysexceeds supply. ihn now for the future. and successful retentionof q African: Americans into both entry level and moresenior financial professional positions. Training, mentoring and recruitment programs havebe forced. An internal complaint procedure has been estab lished for Settlement Class members. Reporting and monitoring provisions have ‘agreed upon. Hf you wish more information ncluding a copy of the’ proposedConsent ec, the ful at form, you may obtain leclass.comor by con tactingSettlement Class counsel at: 1-866-897-4121 (toll free) A fairness hearing will be held in US, District Court in Atlanta, Georgia on Janiary 10, 2002 10:00 a.m, in Courtroom2105, ‘Phe address of the Court is RichardB. Russell Federal Building, U.S, Courthouse, 75 Spring Street, 8.W., i {o this proposedSettlement of to opt-out of the Settlement Class, you must do so by timely. filingcither your objection of opt-out form (as applicable), These documents must be receivedby the Clerk of the Court (Room2211 at the above address) by 5:00 p.m, on December 10, 2001, «Monthly Chapter Meeting - Workshop /For people who enjoy studying the Stock Market Tuesday Dec. 4, 2001 - 7:00 PM Opento the Public - Free of Charge Completeinstruction available from Settlement Class Counsel at the websiteand thetoll-free number listed above Bright Trading LLC - (801) 816-1773 ‘The “1 800 CONTACTS”Building) *Out ofa total of 74 66 E. Wadsworth Pk. #202 - Draper Utah. 84020 UNLIMITED WEEKENDS AND MOBILE-TO-MOBILE MINUTES on additionallines You're free to choose. So choose everything. *10=- The best value in wireless. With the-FamilyFime plan, 2 lines share + Unlimited weekend minutes + Unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes ~ 800 WHENEVER minutes™ + Just $69.99 a month. Current customers, to take advantageof this offer dial 611 from your VoiceStream phone. Call 1-888-STREAMS (787-3267) for details. Business customers,call 866-VSTR-B2Bfor details. ‘VOICESTREAM STORES NEW STORE Fort Union, 6941 Park Cantor Drive 756-079 “Sane taster T9001 Downeown, 613 East 400 South 93 Cromtowne Center 781-9085 399-2065 853 Sou Redwood Road (Crossroads MalFood Court ‘SugerHoune, 2120 South 700 East Festhal, $62 East 1300 South (Oreen) (Open,4035 RiverdaleRoad CorporaSales Office 483-2200, 765-1861 7m 01.284 1000 ‘Logpe, 14833 North Main, Suite 110 425-755-0575, voicestream.com (oDoeen oo FredMeyer oo Cy Fri through midnaght Sun All minutes include tree 0 and Soares wt ito areneCre nero ond enpre sericn rererepel wh$00 fsb ery on Seri 0 agreement contains mandatory arbieration {Sconerepens provision Weekends are defined midnight sr oe feo Pore 7.9 at maa for ala whichrepr a cre card cing card or onary ssn im the United States, F such only the calling t0 PCS. Additional ines of sare on 3 FundyTine rit plan P $50 {or exch bon of service Maus are sured between al phones cn art come,tat served bas. At Wnt Ne nena tans te sates recouad vain Ga canoer’ Dome Waren: otV8 may modity oF are $10/month each Fie fines max. An activation fee wil be Such calls wil be counted during the bing cle reported, which wl rede the tts mines mabe for use duringthe bing eye reported. terminate the account wthot noice, Cla madecadeof tha digital neework may not be reported 60V5 until a subsequent na aaRenan Seon, 1s terination of the call Allocated aire minutes ‘must be used in the month provided and do not carry Incoming and outgoing are rounded and in minute increments trom atne et eanwor bags to precast cl esicions rayop Ths 8 heen fer and sj vo change wehoun nica. Pease sae Teeemeereres roaring charges tnd tls are nd@iioral Our dial PCS networ & not compatible wth Aralog TTY. which may delay of Prevenemergency Adina ‘of Dewtsche Teteborn Corporavon a regntered trademark your y 7 T ; 1 ormpea ) |
