I guess fundamentally I see it the way I see anyone who is willing to pay me money to perform a service. I may not agree with what they do with their organization, or the information I give them for that matter, but that’s not my role. If they believe that secret shopping helps them to isolate problems and are willing to pay someone to do it, even if they’re complete boneheads and basically misuse that information so that it ultimately does more harm than good, I don’t know this, nor do I need to know this. It doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize or even empathize with an employee of some merchant who has to work for bureaucratic pinheads who just don’t get it, I’ve had to do that myself more often than I like to remember. Bottom line is, if you own a business, you can run it however you want, even if that’s into the ground. People who work for that business can complain about it, they can shut up and take it, or they can quit and find something else. I am no fan of the entire system we use in America where it’s all about finding warm bodies for the cheapest price possible, not giving people enough money to live on even though they work very hard for what little they get. I point out the inequities of our capitalist society wherever I can and support political candidates with my money, time and votes if I think they might make things better for the average worker. But I’m not about to turn down easy money if some company is willing to pay me to shop somewhere and I can really use the money. And yeah, I’ll be honest in my assessment…but I’ll also be fair. I’m not looking to cause anyone any grief, but hey, if I get lousy service from a surly, unhelpful employee, then maybe that employee needs to go through all this training. Usually though, I’m happy if I get a decent level of customer service, and understanding if things go a little wrong.