# Is This Cheating? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 7, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736 "2012-01-07T15:31:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/21 "2012-01-07T19:02:51Z")
Be assured that the entire company will be using these checklists at the register soon, and your GM will get the credit. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/22 "2012-01-07T19:37:55Z")
> [@Al\_Bundy](#): > > No, it is not cheating. I suspect the boss made this comment in jest or off the cuff because he was intrigued by your creativeness. He jumped to “cheating” because he had not thought of it so it must have been cheating. This protects his ego, but deep down he realizes that you found a better way then he did. > > Bottom line\> I read it as a compliment. That’s my reading–it really sounds like he was joking. He may be one of those people incapable of giving a straight-up compliment, so he did it this way instead. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/23 "2012-01-07T19:59:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Fifteen things? Wow. If I go in to make a purchase and am hit with fifteen questions, I would add the store to my list of places to avoid. This. I don’t even like answering 2-3 questions when I’m buying something. Do your customers really stand there while you go through the entire list? What kind of store is this, and do you ever get repeat customers? Good thing you’re only there temporarily. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/24 "2012-01-07T20:01:44Z")
Manager here. Not cheating. Do you live in So Cal? I can use smart employees. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/25 "2012-01-07T22:34:27Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > If your job is to memorize the 15 questions, it’s cheating. > > If your job is to ask the 15 questions, it’s smart. I recall reading somewhere that one of the ancient Greek philosophers disapproved of mass literacy because he thought that it would impair people’s ability to memorize, which was a big thing back then. E.g. “Teach the common person to read? No way, if we do that, they’ll just write stuff down instead of really learning it.” ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/26 "2012-01-07T22:48:16Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Fifteen questions is over the top annoying. I’d be wanting to choke you at question seven. You’re a lot more patient than I am. By the third one I’d have cut them off and walked out the door with my purchases (assuming they were already paid for: if not I would urge them to finish the transaction, then walk out). What the fuck hell kind of retail store asks you _15 questions_ when you buy something? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/27 "2012-01-07T22:50:10Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > Be assured that the entire company will be using these checklists at the register soon, and your GM will get the credit. This. The GM is upset because they couldn’t find anything negative in your approach to justify a negative rating. As long as an employee doesn’t score 100 percent, they can use that when they want to fire someone, or even rank the ones to be laid off. That way the GM can’t play subjective games and claim you missed one or more on the list. Is this a national chain? Regional? ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/28 "2012-01-07T23:00:51Z")
Not cheating. Haters gonna hate. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/29 "2012-01-08T01:58:42Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > This. > > The GM is upset because they couldn’t find anything negative in your approach to justify a negative rating. As long as an employee doesn’t score 100 percent, they can use that when they want to fire someone, or even rank the ones to be laid off. That way the GM can’t play subjective games and claim you missed one or more on the list. > > Is this a national chain? Regional? They could always downrate him for taking too long with each transaction. Which wouldn’t surprise me in the least. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/30 "2012-01-08T03:01:12Z")
Uh oh, looks like you stepped on someone’s ego! No, it’s not cheating, it’s simply a way of reminding yourself of what you’re supposed to do. (And I hear you about having to do stupid bullshit that annoys customers. I’ve been there) ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/31 "2012-01-08T03:18:27Z")
Please tell us the name of the store so that we will never go there. In reality, the problem probably was that you were not wearing enough “flair”. ---
**Author:** ![Jamodu\_Green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Jamodu\_Green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamodu_Green)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/32 "2012-01-08T03:43:39Z")
You’re cheating in the same way an engineer cheats by looking at blueprints. Seriously, why can’t they just build a bridge by memory? Do you get a bonus for achieving 100%? Is your boss trying to screw you out of some money? ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/33 "2012-01-08T06:21:48Z")
I am 99% sure what the GM means by this. We have a retail division and the checkout clerks are shopped and scored. They receive a bonus if they get 100% on their shop. For people who don’t know, retailers use professional shoppers. They come in and have a list of things the store wants you to say and how to act. Then you get graded. Our retail division shops all the check out clerks at least once per month. Supervisors also watch and make sure you’re asking the customers the required question In our stores, if you get a 100% on a shop you get $25.00 cash. I would be willing to bet this is what the fuss is about. The OP probably doesn’t qualify for any bonus or such as he’s only seasonal for the holidays, so his shops don’t really matter. It counts for the company in terms of quality control but not for money. The GM is probably worried the use of a list will spread and that will give more paid outs. This is what he means by cheating and no one gets 100%. In our company it’s not common to pay it out. And I don’t know why everyone doesn’t get 100% with shoppers as, I’ve done it and been shopped and it’s so obvious to the check out person when you’re being shopped, because they act differently and if you’re not following the procedure you should realize and switch over ASAP. As for the list of questions, the OP seems to have a very detailed list for himself. It seems he has 15 steps, not 15 questions, but I could be wrong. I noticed the computer stores and places like Best Buy seem to ask a lot of questions. Especially with warranties and such. And no it’s not cheating, but if someone is getting 100% and there is money involved, that could be a worry if everyone starts doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/34 "2012-01-08T07:16:20Z")
If that is cheating, then I and many others cheat every work day. I make rounds in two buildings every morning. I check all the equipment to be sure that everything is operating properly. I have made up log sheets to besure I look at everything and to make a record of the conditions that I find. NO YOU WERE NOT CHEATING you proved yourself extreamly smart. But 15 things it would better if you did forget a few things. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/35 "2012-01-11T16:43:51Z")
Thanks I appreciate the replies. I never thought about getting a bonus for a perfect score. I was going to ask, but if it was true, it’d just make me made. Since I’m gone at the end of this week, it doesn’t matter, but you know how it is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/36 "2012-01-11T16:57:21Z")
If we PM you will you tell us the name of the store then? Because I seriously do NOT want to go there if at all possible. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/37 "2012-01-11T17:04:27Z")
The good news: It is not cheating and you have a bright future ahead of you in retail management. The bad news: You do not want a future in retail management. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/38 "2012-01-11T17:18:12Z")
There was a sign in the bathroom of a restaurant I went to that said “Employees must wash hands”. I figured the GM hadn’t yet discovered this blatant cheating (seriously, it was right out in the open!), so I removed it for him. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/39 "2012-01-11T17:33:18Z")
Your GM is too stupid to breathe, let alone operate a retail outlet. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736/40 "2012-01-11T17:37:49Z")
I would love to see the full list. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-cheating/608736.md?page=3)