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An Air of Mystery
- Mystery shopping programs can help operators improve customer
service
By David Lipton.
Whether it's a hot cup of coffee, a room with a view, or new tires
for the car, today's consumers expect the best price, top notch
products and superior customer service. But while price and product
may sometimes be out of an operator's control, customer service
is one area where management can make a big difference. Offering
high quality customer service can be the best way to build a lasting
relationship with every customer.
But how can you improve the level of customer service? One way
is through mystery shopping programs. A mystery shopper is a third
party evaluator who visits a business to analyze customer service,
product quality and store presentation. Inspectors follow specific
instructions during a visit and complete written reports after leaving
the store. This provides managers and employers with an unbiased
evaluation of their operation's quality, service, cleanliness and
value, with the goal of improving productivity, efficiency and profitability.
By seeing exactly how employees interact with customers, management
can identify and correct any problem areas. We've all seen the employee
who tucks in his shirt and straightens his tie when he hears the
boss is making the rounds. But with mystery shopping, companies
can objectively evaluate employee performance without being threatening
or giving the impression of spying on staff.
Foodservice companies utilize mystery shopping services for various
reasons. For instance, according to Grey Sisson, president of Burlington,
Ontario based restaurant company SIR Corp, "Mystery shopping
is used as one of a number of tools to see how we are doing. We
use the information to listen to our guests and to see if all their
needs are being met." Some managers also use mystery shopping
as a way to resolve situations before a problem reaches higher level
executives, and corporate monitoring programs organized by head
office are often established to observe the overall operation in
order to ensure consistency.
Because each company is unique, there are organizations that can
customize a mystery shopping "package" (or plan) for each
specific operation. These packages may include any combination of
site visits, telephone calls, or website and e-mail evaluations.
Once the package is approved, unannounced visits and calls on the
business are performed. Each interaction with staff, management,
and customers occurs without announcing or drawing attention to
the inspector as being anyone other than a client. Effective mystery-shopping
programs involve the evaluation of many different areas, starting
with the initial customer contact. Key areas that need work often
include "profit-building" issues (such as up-selling and
suggestive selling), employee knowledge, salesmanship and product
presentation.
The reporting of results can also be customized to meet the needs
of the operation. Some operations just request the checklist or
narrative results because they want managers to simply focus on
specific issues rather than the numbers. Some larger companies,
however, will require a variety of statistics, charts and graphs
in order to compare individual units or regions.
While many companies spend significant funds on employee training,
very few businesses reinforce the training with a monitoring program.
Since research has demonstrated that the majority of information
obtained during training seminars is quickly forgotten, and it takes
at least 30 days to develop a certain behaviour, it's important
for companies to continue reinforcing key points and standards.
Today's successful businesses must commit to ongoing employee development,
and mystery shopping is one good way to keep employees on their
toes.
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