The Many Uses of Mystery Shopping
by Karen Gomes Moore
(former Account Representative for Customer Perspectives)
Mystery shopping - getting a customer's eye view of your business
- is widely recognized as a valuable marketing and customer service
tool. What is often not recognized is the many ways a mystery
shopping program can be utilized. Here are some ideas to consider.
PREPARING FOR NEW COMPETITION
If you get advance notice of impending competition, you are wise
if you do all you can to be ready for it. This includes knowing
the current state of your employees' customer service skills.
A long-time client of our firm is a mid-sized department store
with seven locations in two states. When it was learned that two
national chains were locating in or near the same mall as its
flagship store, the client ordered an intensive two-month mystery
shopping program designed to do two things. The first was to take
a "snapshot" of how employees were treating customers on a day-to-day
basis. Our client wanted to know if customers were routinely being
greeted, helped and thanked by every employee who had any customer
contact. We, therefore, targeted the employees on the sales floor
and at the cashier lines.
In addition, our client was interested in learning if the stress
level of the December holiday season was being communicated by
employees to the customers - something he did NOT want to happen!
This obviously called for some subjective judgment on the part
of the mystery shoppers, but we directed the shoppers to support
their opinion in the narrative section of their report. This "snapshot"
evaluation was designed to identify strengths and weaknesses which
could be addressed either by management or further training.
MONITORING COMPETITORS
Keeping an eye on the current competition is another valuable
use of mystery shopping. Many of our clients evaluate not only
their own locations but those of their closest competitors. Using
the same evaluation form and the same shopper at each establishment,
the client learns how the competition is doing, judged by the
client's own criteria. This method has been used quite successfully
by several of our banking clients, as well as supermarkets and
clothing retailers.
EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION/INCENTIVE PROGRAMS
Recognition programs are an excellent use of mystery shopping
programs. "Catching the employee doing something right" is a positive
reinforcement of your company training program and builds employee
loyalty and morale.
To institute an effective employee recognition program, you must
first decide what it is you want to recognize. Is it the basic
service amenities (such as a warm greeting or a thank you to every
customer) or are you trying to promote a new product/service and
want to make sure it is being mentioned to customers? Perhaps
you just want to keep employees "on their toes" with the thought
that ANY shopper MIGHT be a mystery shopper. If the employee who
gets the best report from the mystery shopper is recognized in
some way, those goals will be met. Recognition can take the form
of cash, gift certificates, a plaque or trophy, mention in the
company newsletter, a preferred parking space, or anything else
that seems appropriate.
Closely tied to recognition programs are incentive programs.
Customer service evaluations are often a part of the formula that
determines an employee's bonus. Sometimes they are part of contests
in which individual stores or regions compete to determine who
can achieve the best scores for customer service.
We are often asked how big a role mystery shopping reports should
play in individual performance reviews. It is our feeling that
while they can certainly be taken into account and are sometimes
helpful in documenting a pattern of behavior, they should never
be used as the sole basis of a performance review.
MEASURING TRAINING
The most common use of mystery shopping is to measure
training. Such measurement can be done to evaluate the existing
level of customer service prior to implementing a training program,
to develop a training program, to evaluate recently completed
training, or all three.
By evaluating the existing level of customer service prior to
beginning a training program, a benchmark is established. The
trainer can then more accurately assess what areas need to be
addressed, as well as what is currently succeeding and should
be reinforced.
Training programs can be implemented either company-wide or as
a test in a targeted location or region. In either case, the most
successful training programs are those that have clearly defined
goals and seek measurable results. They should take into account
company standards, previous training, and the employees who will
be participating.
Evaluating customer service after training is also very valuable.
By doing so, the effectiveness of the training program can be
measured, using a custom designed evaluation form developed to
highlight the areas in which training took place. Mystery shopping
scheduled for shortly after the conclusion of a formal training
program will highlight areas of success and continuing weakness.
Trainers can determine what techniques and teaching methods worked
well in getting the message across to employees, and which didn't.
Follow-up training can then be designed. Over a period of several
months, or longer, continued improvement in specific areas can
be documented, as can areas of persistent weakness.
A well thought out, properly managed mystery shopping program
provides valuable feedback about the effectiveness of a company's
employee selection and training. The knowledge that the next customer
might be a mystery shopper can heighten service awareness and
thereby upgrade performance. In addition, establishing and monitoring
standards is almost always well received by employees if it is
presented in a positive manner. This is because such directives
tend to eliminate confusion on the part of employees and increase
motivation.
Ongoing training and assessment is vital to achieving the type
of high-level customer service that commands customer loyalty
- and repeat business. Mystery shopping is one of the best ways
to determine the customer service your employees are giving -
and what they're capable of once the proper training is provided.
