Many companies that are considering the implementation of a telephone mystery shopping program ask us for sample mystery shopper survey questions.

Of course, firms need to customize questions to match their own specific customer service guidelines. Taking a look at some basic telephone survey questions can be a good starting point for the company to move toward a program that fulfills its unique requirements without having to reinvent the wheel.

Here are some sample telephone mystery shop questions to use as a starting point:

Mystery shopper questions about basic telephone etiquette:

• Did the employee answer the phone within 2-3 rings?
• Did the employee thank you for calling?
• Did the employee answer in a friendly voice?
• Did the employee supply his/her name and name of the location?
• If you were placed on hold, were you asked to hold?
• When the person you were transferred to answered your call, were you thanked for holding?
• Did the employee confirm your request?

• Were you provided with information relevant to the product or service you asked about?

When developing your telephone mystery shopping program , consider the following tips to maximize the return on investment of your program :

Sales Component. Remember the sales component that is present in all customer interactions. Consider how suggestive selling should be handled and encouraged and include that component in the mystery shop program. Mystery shopper questions about the sales process might include:

• Did the employee ask questions to determine your needs?
• Did the employee respond with information relevant to your needs?
• Did the employee invite you to come in to discuss the product in more detail?

• Did the employee ask for your business?

Systematic Inquiry. Consider requiring all mystery shoppers to make the same inquiry. Like inquiries allow specific performance comparisons across employees and over time.

Return on Investment Determine which inquiries to mystery shop first by prioritizing your company’s typical customer inquiries by frequency and profit margin of the underlying product. Telephone shop the highest frequency/highest margin products or services first. This will ensure that the resulting sales improvements will show quickly on your bottom line.