Secret shopping has become a popular topic of conversation on TikTok—and that’s largely due to a single woman: Kayla Sansom (@kaylalaughsoutloud).
Over the years, she’s attracted a substantial following on the platform by sharing what she says are “secret shopping” trips. Typically, these videos involve going into a store, recording her interaction with the employees, then determining whether the store would pass or fail her secret shopper criteria.
However, a recent video that she posted has the internet talking. In it, she fails a Chicken Salad Chick location on an apparent secret shopping run. Here’s why commenters are questioning the creator.
What Went Wrong With This ‘Secret Shopping’ Run?
In a now-deleted video, Sansom visits a Chicken Salad Chick location. After a relatively normal visit, Kayla declares that the restaurant “failed.”
“They failed for a couple of reasons,” she explains. “It started off absolutely horrible and got a little bit better.”
Among the issues claimed by Sansom are that she was not greeted upon entry, that she had to wait for “almost four minutes” before being greeted or helped, and that the manager was “very aggressive when she was taking my order.”
While most of Sansom’s videos are met with warmth and understanding in the comments section, the comments under this one took a markedly different tone. Some users questioned Sansom’s judgment and others agreed with her.
Seeing this, Sansom decided to make a follow-up video in which she alleges that the manager misgendered her and called her “sir.”
She doubles down
Commenters pushed back on this, insisting that the manager was simply saying “today” (perhaps with an intrusive “R”). However, Sansom countered that her assessment was correct regardless.
“Let’s say on the sly chance she did not call me sir, and she said something else, maybe, just maybe I would have heard her more clearly if she actually looked at me and made eye contact and tried to give me, like, I don’t know, the smallest ounce of customer service instead of jabbing at the keys, not making eye contact with me and making me stand there for over 4 minutes before even acknowledging that I was in her restaurant,” she said.
Furthermore, she stated that the person in the video “is no longer a general manager of this location.”
This did little to quell the fury of commenters, who continued to insist that Sansom was wrong in her assessment.
The Restaurant Responds
Around the time Sansom posted her video and her follow-up, Chicken Salad Chick decided to post a slideshow on their TikTok page, seemingly in direct response to Sansom.
In their slideshow, the company denies both that they had hired a secret shopper and that anyone lost their job as a result of a “recent viral video.”
“There is no official ‘mystery shopper’ program affiliated with our brand,” wrote the store in the text overlaying the video. “And no, no one lost their job because of a recent viral video.”
Sansom left a comment under this video claiming that she was hired by the store’s franchise owners, writing, “Your franchise owners hire us.” The chain responded simply, “The franchise owner did not hire mystery shoppers.” Sansom answered, “I have proof.” The Mary Sue was not able to find such proof at the time of writing.
Does Sansom Work for Secret Shopping Organizations?
The Mary Sue reached out to multiple secret shopping networks to see if they could confirm that Sansom was, or ever had been, a member of their organizations. Most did not respond. However, the two organizations that did respond said that they never had, or no longer, worked with Sansom.
In an email to the Mary Sue, Rich Bradley, a spokesperson for MSPA Americas, “the trade association representing the customer experience and merchandising industries throughout the Americas,” confirmed that the organization had “no records” of Sansom being a part of their database.
“MSPA Americas offers free memberships for mystery shoppers to understand how to be successful in the industry, avoid scams, and learn more through webinars and official certification courses (and we offer paid memberships for additional benefits),” Bradley wrote.
“But mystery shoppers can learn the basics of the industry and how to get projects from reputable company members through this association at no cost,” he continued. “We don’t recognize outside certifications (since we have no control over the content being relayed) and, honestly, don’t understand why anyone would seek information from any source other than the official trade association for the industry.”
Mystery shopping as a job
Another organization, Marketforce, did not provide an official comment, though they noted that Sansom has been banned from their platform for over a year.
Still, some who have signed up for her course say that she is, in fact, a mystery shopper.
Mystery shopping is a job that generally earns fairly little, “around $10-$20 for basic jobs,” per Bestmark. This led many to question how Sansom can make the $50,000 part-time she claims to make on her Facebook. Others shared their thoughts on Kayla’s experience and drama in their own TikTok videos. One example is from user Blk Desk Society (@blkdesksociety).
@blkdesksociety Well, I bet Kayla is not laughing at the moment. Let's get into it. #kaylalaughsoutloud #chickensaladchick #mysteryshopping #fruad #scammer ♬ original sound – Blk Desk Society
Sansom Responds
After all of this controversy, Sansom posted a follow-up video. In it, she says that she will be blurring the faces of workers during her mystery shops. Furthermore, she says she will begin marking whether a mystery shop is “paid” or “unpaid.” It is unclear what an “unpaid” mystery shop is.
The Mary Sue emailed Sansom asking whether she could provide evidence that the CSC franchise hired her. We also asked whether she was presently or had been a member of any secret shopping organization. Additionally, we sought clarification regarding her new policy of “paid” versus “unpaid” secret shopping runs.
In response, Sansom stated that she would “appreciate” if The Mary Sue’s article wasn’t posted. She says she made this request “because we have lots of cease and desist letters going out very soon.” She expressed a desire to “clean up this mess the legal way.”
When prompted again, Sansom responded, “All I’m allowed to say at this time is that I was indeed paid to do that mystery shop. I truly wish I could give you more but more will come out very soon.” No further information appears to have been released since Sansom sent this email.
Commenters Aren’t Happy
Sansom has limited the comments on her own videos. But comments in the videos about the drama—and posts on Reddit—have people sharing how they feel about her.
First, many pointed out that Sansom has previously been arrested on multiple counts, including fraud.
Second, others noted how Sansom has alleged to have shopped the same Chicken Salad Chick location several times before. This means that the CSC franchise had repeatedly hired her without corporate knowing. Or that Sansom was simply doing an “unpaid” mystery shop without being hired by the franchise or corporation. However, Sansom has not defined what exactly this means.
Above all, commenters simply want clarity—about what happened, about how it happened, and about how exactly Sansom’s business works.
“I thought the whole point of being a secret shopper was the anonymity,” wrote a commenter under one of the videos on the topic.
“I’m a mystery shopper. I am an Executive Administrator at a Mystery Shopping Organization. We have been in business for 10 years. You can not break your ICA and name the client name, you have to be objective, absolutely cannot post any of your shop on social media (no MSC will approve this). Everything is confidential. That is why it is called SECRET Shopping,” declared another.
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