As a mystery shopper, Mercedes Eckert has seen it all. But even she was taken aback after a subpar experience at LongHorn Steakhouse.
In the viral video, which has garnered 309,900 views, Eckert (@mercedeseckert on TikTok) shared certain facets of her LongHorn Steakhouse visit with viewers. She began by holding up the butter pot to the camera, which had sauce smeared around the rim.
She then directed viewers’ attention towards the plate, which had a bit of encrusted food on the outer edge.
The cherry on top was the glass of drink, which appeared somewhat grainy.
Via on-screen text, Eckert wrote: “Imagine mystery shopping restaurants and getting free food.”
She also added, with a pained emoji, that this is “exactly why you should become a mystery shopper.”
The mystery shopper spoke about the issue further in the video description.
“Went to Longhorn and had the worst experience,” she wrote. “We left immediately. As a long-time mystery shopper, I wish this had been a shop cause I would have been all over that report!”
BroBible reached out to Eckert via Instagram and to Darden, LongHorn Steakhouse’s parent company, via email.
What Did Commenters Say?
Some commenters couldn’t get over the lack of care. “As a server, I would have never brought out plates [like] that, they would have been sent back to the dishwasher,” one wrote.
“I work at a LongHorn and I am make sure every container and plate and glass if clean before sending it out,” a second said. “Why people are this careless is beyond me.”
Others gave insight into the mystery shopping process.
“Your server will get fired if they don’t get a good enough score,” a third remarked.
And a fourth revealed, “I do it a couple times a month. It’s actually quite fun.”
While several commenters thought that Eckert was complaining about the condensation on the glass, a fifth one highlighted that there were larger issues. “Are y’all deliberately ignoring the sauce in the butter cup and the old crusted food on the plate!?” they asked.
On the other side, a sixth commenter urged people to look at the bigger picture. “One thing I have to say is I hope that you’ve all been servers before and then became shoppers you’ll understand the struggle,” they said.
Do You Get ‘Special Treatment’ As A Mystery Shopper?
While being a secret shopper is considered by some to be among the worst side hustles out there, it also has its benefits. Some mystery shoppers arguably get given “special treatment” by the establishments they’re assessing.
In a viral TikTok that later turned out to be a joke, Ellie (@3llie.mess) claims that she got free drinks after giving the appearance of being a secret shopper. As she kept her open phone on the table, on-screen text read, “Pretending to be a secret shopper and “subtly” leaving the notes open on my phone to see if we get better service.”
The TikToker then revealed that she got two free drinks. “The waiter said it’s because we were really kind about how busy it was, but I reckon it was my secret shopping!” she said in the video description. However, she later clarified that she “did not pretend to be a secret shopper.”
“[W]e got the free drinks because they were busy and the waiter said they made us wait the longest and we were the kindest. He said we made his day by being so kind and understanding,” she claimed.
Regardless of whether this account was true, it shows that being a secret shopper in a restaurant leads to, at the very least, an expectation of special treatment. But while Eckert wasn’t assessing Longhorn, her experience couldn’t be further from that.
@mercedeseckert Went to Longhorn and had the worst experience. We left immediately. As a long-time mystery shopper, I wish this had been a shop cause I would have been all over that report! Free mystery shopping training in my bio.