Mystery Shoppers Log In

St. Louis' City Museum not just for kids

Intertwining tree branches, dark damp caves and a metal jungle of scrap parts, including a school bus and two airplanes, take shape at St. Louis’ City Museum to create a playground that can be intimidating to an adult visitor, especially with hundreds of youngsters scurrying through tiny passageways and climbing like chimps high above the city streets.

The City Museum, a vision of the internationally acclaimed sculptor Bob Cassilly, was built in 1997. Cassilly and his crew create the attractions in the museum from reclaimed building materials no further than the city’s municipal borders and donated souvenirs. The City Museum now is opening the minds of approximately 2,200 visitors daily.

“Kids seem to get it right away. It’s the adults that hang back, ask for a tour guide or want to have the experience explained to them. … It’s neat to see the kids lead the adults and sort of show them how it’s done, but it’s even cooler to see the adults remember how to play,” said Tracey LaRiccia, events coordinator at the museum.

So take her advice and check out these more adult-friendly attractions during your next visit:

Located on the first floor in a historic log cabin, the Cabin Inn is a great place to sit and watch kids war in the ball pits while you savor a bar drink or shake made from the inn’s hand-dipped ice cream. On Friday and Saturday nights, the inn stays open till 1 a.m. DJs spin for those who want to dance while the first floor and mezzanine stay open with the lights down so adventurers can explore by flashlight. With more than 10,000 creatures, the World Aquarium offers some fun for aquatic savants. Colorful parrots squawk overhead while sea turtles, sharks, and stingrays swim close to their tanks windows. Rock walkways and hidden nooks lead you to more exotic animals, including coiled snakes, strange insects and even a baby anteater. The aquarium also offers daily feedings, interactive activities and classes for visitors of all ages. Are you a shopaholic? Love finding bargains? Then The Baleout vintage clothing store inside the museum is the place for you. The clothes, which come in 1-ton bales, are being kept out of landfills. Shoppers can find apparel including jeans, sweaters, dresses and ties from the 1930s to 1980s, often at prices as low as $1. The Baleout also has a coffee bar that serves java as well as cocktails.

Mystery Shoppers May be Used To Check Up on TN Doctors ...

By:  Getahn Ward of The Tennessean 6/12/2011

Retailers and bankers are already familiar with the concept. And soon doctors inTennesseecould learn what it means to get a call from the mystery shopper.

Tennesseeis among nine states where some physicians’ offices could receive cold telephone calls from researchers posing as patients in a bid to gauge whether primary-care doctors are willing to see patients on Medicaid or private insurance.

“We’re working to expand access to primary care nationally while also tracking the success of those efforts at the community level,” said Richard Kronick, a deputy assistant secretary with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Under the proposal, which is up for public comment for much of this month, the mystery shopper program would try to gauge how quickly patients are able to get an appointment — especially to see a doctor for the first time.

The mystery shopping idea is bubbling up as a possible strategy as federal health officials make Americans’ access to medical care one of the top national health-care goals.

Doctors here aren’t sure mystery shopping is a wise use of federal resources, though.

“Mystery shoppers are fine for retail and for customer service, but to learn more about the difficulties patients face acquiring appointments, they should talk to patients,” said Russ Miller, a spokesman with the Tennessee Medical Association trade group.

But some patients like the idea and say it could pay dividends.

Nashvilleresident Phyllis Shelton got health insurance coverage under TennCare and Medicare after a court fight recently, but is still searching for a primary-care physician.Sheltonrecalls calling a doctor after seeing a sign at a local hospital that said new patients were being accepted only to be told that it didn’t include people on Medicare or Medicaid.

Under the health-care reform law passed last year by Congress, more than 30 million more Americans are expected to get coverage (including from expansion of Medicaid to cover more poor and low-income adults) at a time when primary- care physicians are in short supply.

Still, Miller says that money for a federal mystery shopping program could be better spent elsewhere.

He doesn’t see Uncle Sam learning a lot more about the well-known difficulty that patients can face in getting new appointments with doctors’ offices, especially if the patient is in a government insurance program.

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