As always, seek the customer’s point of view

In this article about mystery shopping, a customer pinpoints the whole challenge companies have with providing quality customer service; too often their efforts at doing so are focused on the company’s needs, not the customer’s.  Here, a cell phone provider customer suggested a way for the company to avoid irritating future customers by alerting them when service on the line might affect calls.  The company ignored the suggestion, yet shortly thereafter sent the customer a survey asking about her experiences with the company.  On the one hand, the company seemed to want to know what the customer was thinking, but only when the company was ready to hear it.

Employing the services of a customer experience evaluation firm, or mystery shopping provider, such as Customer Perspectives, can provide the customer’s point of view on any aspect of the shopping experience.  A mystery shopper will evaluate the service based on what the company really needs to know, yet will provide the data entirely from the point of view of an actual customer.  This article suggests a company look for answers to these three questions:

• What might the customer want to know?
• What might the customer need to know?
• What information does the company have that could make the customer’s experience a better one?

In the end, communicating with your customers BEFORE there is a problem will result in a better overall experience for everyone.