Back in July another MSC convinced me to shop a three apartment route in my home town after weeks of e-mails and incremental bonus raises. I had done the shops for them twice before so this would be my third go-round at these same three apartments. Now, they ask for your ID when you go. They also ask for your name and phone number. You’re supposed to give them legitimate information to see if they follow-up via text, mail, or electronic message. All three apartments are for the same customer so I am in their system.

So in July 2023... I go into the first apartment. Excellent. New leasing agent. I blow through it. I go to the second one and see the same guy I saw last time. SIDEBAR:::: This guy was actually my apartment manager at my actual residence years earlier and had my car towed because my inspection sticker had expired. No kidding. So we had a history to start with the previous time when I saw him. The third apartment..same thing except this woman--lets call her Jane--was incredibly pleasant. She actually remembered me from the previous visit and I gave her some bull crud story about “This was an exceptional property and I wanted to give it a second look”--the property with no washer and dryer connections and 80’s architecture. I’m so embarrassed. Whatever that gene is that some mystery shoppers have to where they have the audacity to turn and burn no matter the situation...I don’t have it.

Flash forward to late last month. I see a very nicely bonused apartment shop in Uvalde--about 195 miles away for a different management company. I get enough “packing peanuts” to finance the trip so the $100+ payment for the shop will be all profit. I roll in there and guess who I see. Jane! Thankfully she didn’t remember me in this setting.