Mystery Shopping: Using Mystery Shopping to Coach Your Staff

Mystery Shopping reports are a gold mine of information. It never ceases to amaze me how much our clients get out of each and every single report.  I was making some client contact calls today, and had the good fortune to actually talk to some of our clients in person rather than leave a voicemail. One of our relatively new clients confessed that, at first, the mystery shopping process was very intimidating to the staff. Most feared this was a tool that would be used to fire people and in a down economy, I am not surprised that employees felt this way. As the conversation contiuned, my client told me the employees were at a point where they actually look forward to getting the results of the evaluations. At first, I thought this was a bit unusual but the more I thought about it, the more I could see how this could happen and it all has to do with the way a program is introduced and managed. Here are some of the ways this company put a positive spin on their program:

• The mystery shopping process was launched as a way for management to assess operational procedures not individual employees. Big difference here.
• Employees were encouraged to think of mystery shopping as a way for everyone to improve and be more competitive.
• Supervisors and subordinates use the mystery shops each month as a way to open up discussions. The employees see management as coaches, there to help them be the best they can possibly be.
• Good performance is rewarded. What gets rewarded gets repeated.

So as you think about the impact that a mystery shopping program might have on your employees, consider the fact taht it just might be the best thing you could possibly do to coach your staff to higher levels of achievement.

Become a Mystery Shopper: 5 Ways to Become a Great Mystery Shopper

Becoming a mystery shopper is a great way to earn extra money and in this economy, who wouldn’t want to do that? But becoming a great mystery shopper takes patience, skill, and the willingness to learn a new craft. Discover the ways you can become the “go-to” shopper for all the mystery shopping comapnies you work for. It’s easy but you need to be willing to spend some time sharpening your skills. Over the course of the next few weeks consider working on the following activities:

1. Practice observing not judging. One of the mistakes mystery shoppers make is they allow judgment to creep into their reports. Most of the time, companies are simply looking for you to report the facts and only the facts, except in those cases where you opinion is asked for. So practice observing. Keep a small notebook with you and even when you arc not on “duty” jot down things you observe as you are out and about enjoying shopping at your local mall.
2. Keep fairness in mind. Many times the work we do as mystery shoppers forces us to report the negative aspects of a customer experience. When you find yourself in this situation of having to report on negative encounters, report on all the things that may have been happening at the time of your shop to give the management a broadest possible perspective of your visit.
3. Sharpen your writing skills. One of the things that adds to the cost of delivering quality mystery shops to client companies is the need to edit and in some cases, completely rewrite a shopper’s report because they typed all in capital letters. Pay close attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and content. Good writers are rare in today’s world and if you fall into this category, you will be a top consideration when it comes to assigning shops.
4. Ask questions if you are unsure of your assignment. Good mystery shoppers know the importance of having all the facts before they set out to shop. Great mystery shoppers will verify and clarify aspects of the assignment that may be unclear.
5. Practice your communication skills. These include listening, speaking, writing, body language, and the formulation of organized clear, concise thoughts and ideas. Signing up for a communications skills class at your local community college or workshop provider may be a good way to strengthen these skills.

If you practice these very important skills as you build your mystery shopping business, we know that you will be considered for the choice assignment. Being in demand is a very nice position to be in!

To become a part of our mystery shopping database, we encourage you to visit www.marketviewpoint.com. Read all about the world of service evaluation and how to stand out as a top performing shopper!

Customer Experience: How Mystery Shopping Can Help You Increase Profits

Mystery shopping is the secret weapon used by the world’s most successful and profitable companies. But it really doesn’t matter what size you are. What matters is how well you treat your customers. Research indicates that 4% of unhappy customers complain; 96% simply go away, never to be seen or heard from again. When you consider the life-time value of a customer in your business, suddenly customer satisfaction and retention take on a whole new meaning.

Depending on the industry you’re in, it can cost you, on average, nine times more to attract new customers into your business than to retain the customers you have. Much of these costs are due to the expenses of advertising and maintaining a sales force. Advertising costs continue to rise despite the medium you use. If you are lucky enough to have a sales force, attracting top sales talent usually comes with a hefty price tag when you consider salaries and benefits. So the more customers you keep, the less you have to advertise and market, resulting in more profits. It’s a fairly easy equation.

But how do you manage to hang on to your customers? Easy. Find out what they value today and then deliver it. Keep in mind that consumers are a fairly fickle group. What they value today may not be what they value tomorrow. The best way to keep track of what they value is to engage in mystery shopping. The on-going process of evaluating your operations, policies and procedures, staff behavior, products and services, and physical environment if you have one is critical to retention and profitability. Mystery shopping is an intelligent way to discover the weak links in your operations then fix these to match your customer’s expectations. Consider the following points.

• Mystery shopping lets you stay in touch with customer trends. The process will tell you how well you are meeting, and in some cases exceeding, customer expectations and it will point you toward the things you need to consider to meet future customer demands.
• Mystery shopping sets the stage for better communications with your customers. You can’t fix something if you don’t know it’s broken and this process will clearly identify those areas of your operations that need work.
• Mystery shopping lets you track customer satisfaction levels. Over time you can monitor how well you are adjusting your operations to meet customer demands.

For more information on how to implement a mystery shopping program in your organization, contact me at www.marketviewpoint.com. I look forward to helping you create the ultimate customer experience through mystery shopping in your organization.