Popeyes seems to be getting a bad rep for its customer service. A mystery shopper reveals why.
Mystery shop gone wrong
“This was a terrible experience. They did nothing right. There is so much to unpack right now, I don’t even know where to start,” the mystery shopper says, frustrated, in a viral clip.
Kayla (@kaylalaughsoutloud) is a mystery shopper who posts about her experience on TikTok. In a recent video with more than 42,000 views, she shares the bad experience she had at her local Popeyes.
From the beginning, the Popeyes workers lacked customer service skills, she says. Kayla explains that they greeted and got the first customer’s food to him right away, but it took three minutes for someone to acknowledge her, and even then, they were letting her know that they’d be “with her in a minute.”
When she places her order, she asks for fries, and the worker says she’ll need to double-check that they had them since they ran out the day before. That’s weird, Kayla thinks, since that’s a staple item and they just opened recently.
Another two minutes go by before the worker returns to confirm that they did get a shipment in.
Fifteen minutes later, Kayla’s order still isn’t ready, despite five people having gone through the drive-thru and been speedily handed their orders.
“I am still sitting here, and I am the only one in the dining room,” Kayla says in the clip. “This is an interesting mystery shop.”
She turns the camera around, and we see that Kayla is not exaggerating. There’s enough seating for about 40 people, and Kayla is the lone customer. There isn’t even anyone placing a to-go order with the cashier.
While she waits for her order, Kayla notices a few things out of place:
- The soda machine had a water leak spilling all over the counter
- No syrup in one of the soda dispensers and no sign indicating it was empty
- Tables are dirty, indicating they weren’t wiped down by an employee in between customers
- The wall next to the table has sauce in the brick crevices
- The bathroom had no toilet paper, soap, or paper towels
When her order was finally ready, the Popeyes employees yelled for her to go pick it up. The order wasn’t even properly assembled, with the fries in their own separate bag and the sauce missing. Kayla says the meal appeared “unappetizing.”
Kayla asks the worker for Mardi Gras sauce, and the worker tries to give her hot sauce before Kayla points out that that’s not what she asked for. The woman gave her two of the correct sauces before walking away to chat with her co-workers.
“In my opinion, everyone’s just playing. No one’s actually working,” Kayla says, though she did notice that they were on it with the drive-thru, and no more than two cars ever seemed to be waiting at a time.
“But god forbid you go on the inside,” Kayla says.
On top of all that, she says, her tenders were cold, and the biscuit was hard.
“Sorry, Popeyes, you failed,” Kayla concludes in the clip.
@kaylalaughsoutloud Mystery Shop: What Part of This Experience Would Have Made You Walk Out of Any Restaurant? Yikes Popeyes‼️😬 @Popeyes #fyp #mysteryshopping ♬ original sound – 😂 Kayla Laughs Out Loud 🤣
What is a mystery shopper?
A mystery shopper is a person hired to essentially go undercover as a customer to evaluate a place’s customer service, cleanliness, and food quality.
Since staff aren’t aware of the shopper, they’re able to get an honest look into the experience a standard customer would have. Once done with the experience, the mystery shopper reports back to the company and summarizes their experience alongside areas of improvement.
Commenters react
“Our Popeyes will not answer you in the drive up so you end up going in & all the employees are just standing around laughing & talking. They’re always out of something no matter what time of day it is!” a top comment read.
“I’m addicted to these videos, the Popeye’s by me would fail every time lol,” a person said.
“My Popeyes is the slowest and very unfriendly. I only go a couple times a year with my daughter bc she loves it,” another added.
The Daily Dot reached out to Kayla via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
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