Chat GPT in Mystery Shopping: Hiccups with Serious Consequences

Be Responsible with Artificial Intelligence

AI tools are popping up everywhere, promising to whip up reports faster than you can say "secret shopper." It's like having a robot sidekick for your narratives—but watch out, because when AI goes off-script and fabricates details, things get weird (and not in a good way).

Here's one where AI ran wild on a food description: "The pizza was an ethereal masterpiece, with cheese that cascaded like molten lava from Mount Vesuvius, toppings exploding in a symphony of umami fireworks that could awaken the dead." Whoa, calm down—it was just greasy takeout, not a gourmet apocalypse! 🍕🌋

One shopper asked AI for help describing the ambiance at a casual sports bar. But the AI went full fancy-pants: 👠 "As I entered the elegant establishment, the soft glow of flickering candles illuminated the crisp white tablecloths, casting romantic shadows on the exquisite oil paintings adorning the walls. The sommelier approached with a leather-bound menu, whispering suggestions of vintage wines to pair with the artisanal charcuterie board, while a string quartet played subtly in the background."

😂 Come on... this was a sports bar! Think neon beer signs, sticky floors, and screens blasting football games—no intimate dining vibes or string quartets in sight. Total hallucination that turned a dive bar report into a five-star fantasy! 🏈🍺😩

These mix-ups might crack you up, but they can seriously undermine credibility. Here's how to use AI wisely without the chaos:

✅ Double-Check Facts: AI loves to invent details—always verify against your actual notes

✅ Clients Can Spot AI: We can recognize AI-generated text, and so can our clients. If we or they spot it, they'll wonder if the entire narrative was invented by a bot with an overactive imagination.

✅ Keep It Simple: Use clear, specific prompts and edit heavily; don't let the bot run wild.

✅ Human Touch Wins: Use AI to polish your own writing, but never let it write the narrative for you.

Sample Prompt for Polishing Your Reports

To help you get started with AI in a responsible way, here's a ready-to-use prompt you can copy and paste directly into your AI tool (like ChatGPT). It combines best practices to keep things factual, objective, and true to your notes—without letting the AI add inventions.

Copy and paste the entire prompt below into your AI tool, and save it as a prompt for future use: ⬇️

Here is my draft narrative based on my actual mystery shopping notes: [Paste your own draft narrative here]. Please polish the grammar, improve sentence flow, and suggest better wording, but do not add any new details, facts, or descriptions that aren't already in my draft. Keep it factual and concise.

Keep the tone objective and avoid strong opinions. Remove feelings. Use facts only. When improving the narrative, don't tell them what they should be doing or offer advice. Just improve the facts in the narrative. Don't eliminate any important details or change the context.

When describing team members, use non-offensive language, just stating the facts. Avoid terms like old, elderly, fat, ugly, skinny, gross, stupid, etc.

Break longer paragraphs into multiple shorter paragraphs with double spacing between them so it's easier to read.

Describe employees or associates as "team members."

Avoid strong negative words.

Always write in 1st person.

Avoid words that make it sound like ChatGPT, such as: furthermore, subsequently, notably, aim, kindly. No fluffy words.