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TOPIC - Mystery shopping program improves Customer Service for Banking Industry

Employees At This Savings Bank Are Aiming For A "Perfect 10" On Their Mystery Shop

Employees Who Receive A Perfect Score Earn A $25 Gift Certificate

Employees who receive a low mystery shopping score must write a memo to the EVP

As explained at left, Guaranty Federal Savings Bank (Springfield, Missouri) offers a special reward to employees who receive a perfect score on their mystery shop.

To ensure the best possible service, the savings bank has added a feature to the mystery shopping program for those who do not score well, says Tammy Grice, Marketing Coordinator.

Anyone averaging less than 6 on a shop must write a memo to the EVP detailing what caused the score to be low and what can be done to improve.

The employee's manager and VP/Deposit Operations also sees the memo.

"Nobody wants to have to write that memo, so we've found it to be a pretty strong incentive so far," she notes.

One of the best ways to ensure superior service at your financial institution is to develop a mystery shopping program.

Such a program will keep your employees on their toes and can improve the service provided at your bank, says Tammy Grice, Marketing Coordinator at Guaranty Federal Savings Bank ($342 million, Springfield, Missouri).

Employees who are shopped include new accounts reps, tellers, customer service personnel and loan officers.

Each of the savings bank's five branches began the program two years ago and the level of service has improved steadily since, says Grice.

Here's how the mystery shopper program works:

The savings bank hired an outside company, which provides several "shoppers," or customers to shop. The shoppers are all customers of the savings bank, or act as if they are interested in opening an account. Each branch is shopped at least five or six times per month.
The shoppers rate the savings bank in five main categories: customer interaction, quality, service, product presentation and last impression.

In each of the main categories there are two sub-topics. For instance, one of the main categories judged is customer interaction. Within that category are the sub-topics of the employee's greeting and also the extra conversation initiated or engaged in by the employee.
After the shopper leaves the savings bank, he or she records notes and a score in each of the areas to be judged. They score the employee on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. The shopper turns the score card in to the savings bank's managers. The manager reviews the score card with the employee who was shopped in the days that follow.

"Our employees do not know when they are going to be shopped, so there isn't any way to prepare other than to just be in the habit of giving excellent service," says Grice.

Employee rewarded for a "perfect 10"
The savings bank has tied incentives to the shopper program. Anyone who scores a perfect 10 in each category on a shop receives a $25 gift certificate to their favorite restaurant, as well as a balloon bouquet for their desk.

The savings bank also displays the photo of the employee with a caption recognizing their accomplishment on the bulletin board in the bank's entry.

Employees receive their reward in front of their peers during business hours by the savings bank's VP/Deposits, the EVP and his or her direct manager. "It's nice because customers and other employees get to see it, and we are sure to highlight why the employee is being recognized," says Grice.

Those with perfect scores are also entered into a quarterly drawing
Any employee who scores a 10 is also entered into a quarterly bank-wide drawing. "We give away a bigger prize in this drawing," says Grice. "Usually it's about a $100 value, and the prize varies from quarter to quarter. Last quarter, we gave away a $100 gift certificate to a shopping center."

Grice says there are usually about 10 to 12 perfect 10 scores who get entered into the drawing each quarter.

When the program was first implemented, employees were averaging around 5.5 in most areas, Grice says.

"Our shoppers are very tough judges, and we want them to be that critical. Any area we can improve, we want to know about." Now, the employees average about 7, she says. Successful Mystery Shopping Programs

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