Many people, both shoppers and clients alike, tend to make assumptions about the mystery shopping industry. We are not sure how some of these myths began, but we hope to clarify some of them. In this issue, we expose the following three myths:
Myth #1: The best mystery shoppers are “professional” shoppers who specialize in your industry.
With the right firm and the right quality control mechanisms in place, professional mystery shoppers are not necessary. If you’re seeking to gain objective information from a typical customer, look into a mystery shopping firm that deploys mystery shoppers with various backgrounds. A good mystery shopping firm selects shoppers with a demographic profile that matches that of your typical customer in terms of gender, age, language and other factors. Mystery shoppers with the right demographics and various backgrounds provide a more objective view of what the customer experience is really like at your stores. Those mystery shoppers who specialize in a certain industry can become just that – specialized – making them mediocre choices as shoppers who pose as average customers. If you seek critical feedback from an expert, send an auditor.
Myth #2: To exceed the competition, you need to compare your own results to your competitor’s results.
When you set up a mystery shop program, you need to consider your own unique employee standards. A mystery shopping company that works with you to create a customized survey will prove to be your biggest asset. Competitive information is critical; however a comparison of your results to a competitor’s results can sell your company short.
Why? Company standards vary, so chances are, no two surveys will be exactly alike in terms of questions asked and weighting of each question. You would not be making an exact comparison if survey questions or weightings vary in the slightest. And consider the possibility that your competitor may have standards lower than yours. If your firm exceeds the competitor’s results, it would be meaningless if you did not consider their standards high enough in the first place.
A more effective way to rise above the competition is to use customer satisfaction surveys to gauge the type of service that customers want, then adjust standards and measure them through use of a mystery shop program.
Myth #3: Customer surveys gather more responses than monthly mystery shops, so they are more effective at measuring the customer experience.
Surveys and mystery shops measure two different areas. Both are valuable. Surveys measure actual, after-the-fact customer opinions about your services and people, while mystery shops provide during-the-fact observational data on how well employees meet company standards.
With customer satisfaction surveys, you receive feedback that is not necessarily attached to a specific employee. Often, there is no way to follow up with the employee to discuss improvement or to reward the employee who provides great customer service. With mystery shopping , you can maintain accountability for specific actions since mystery shoppers are advised on what to look or listen for in advance, including employee names or descriptions. Combining the two measures—customer satisfaction and actual customer service performance—provides your company the full-picture information needed to achieve marked improvement in customer service efforts.