Category: Client –

Last year, we wrote a well-received article about 25 business types for mystery shopping programs, drawing from our years of experience with a variety of clients in many industries. From convenience stores to upscale retailers to restaurants and medical practices, mystery shopping reports go a long way toward revealing how well employees interact with customers on a daily basis.

So, how do our clients use mystery shopping? Mostly, mystery shopping is used to find out about those things customers won’t tell you in surveys or social media comments, or issues you can't discover by asking customers. If our client has a customer service delivery process or set of procedures in place for fulfilling a brand promise in front of a consumer customer, chances are the process can by mystery shopped.

We’ve compiled our top ten list of mystery shopping uses here.

The shift in the way that retail associates and customers interact in today’s store environment is dramatic.  Before, customers simply entered the store, interacted with a salesperson, found the right item, and paid for it at list price.

Now, because consumers capture competitive product details swiftly with the tap of a mobile device, they challenge store employees to provide popular products at the lowest price. Customers call the shots, while retail managers do their best to guide employees toward effective interaction with this sophisticated segment.

Elaine Buxton, President of Confero, recently spoke with Software Advice about this topic, in the  article “Empowering Associates to Assist the Educated Consumer.” She comments on the major challenges of arming employees

In 2009, our own Rob Barry, Confero Account Executive, spoke with the Wall Street Journal’s “The Numbers Guy” blogger Carl Bialik forhis Waiting Game article. Rob provided insight from his experience managing mystery shopping programs for grocery store clients. Technology is moving at a much faster pace than 2009, and customer waiting time is a topic worth revisiting. 

Whether you manage a bank, restaurant, service or store, you know that it’s not realistic to reduce wait times for customers in every circumstance. If your company is one that prides itself on impressive and personalized service for every customer, wait times are inevitable. There are ways, however, to create more enjoyable waits for customers, and generate additional sales at the same time.

Developing customized mystery shopping programs across many industries has allowed us to see a variety of wait time strategies.  Through measurement of these strategies and our own observations, here are ways that some organizations convert tiresome wait times into positive customer experiences:

• Automotive or food service companies arrange retail space so that customers view the employees working, whether it an associate who cooks a food order, or an employee who repairs or washes your vehicle.  This is a great way to show customers the quality behind your service while at the same time eliminating boring waits.
• At some Chick Fil-a locations, employees stand near the drive thru entry point and key in orders with

Whether through streamlined mystery shop data, customer survey information, or newsletter tips, our goal is to make it easy for you to view your own customer experience information, as well as the latest trends in the industry.  By now, you may have heard about infographics, a completely visual way for companies to share information.  As companies strive to provide busy customers with relevant information quickly, infographics offer the perfect solution. Customers view these informative images in a condensed format, and the charts can be creative and fun.

As an example, take a look at these customer loyalty infographics, we have collected on our Pinterest. Topics include social customer service, good customer

CARY, N.C. – Confero, Inc. (https://www.conferoinc.com), a national customer experience measurement firm, has announced that president and CEO Elaine Buxton has been elected to serve as vice chairman of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) global board of directors. In her position, Buxton will be responsible for working to update and refine the group’s strategic plan. Prior to being elected vice chairman, Buxton served as immediate past president of the MSPA-North America in 2011.

The mission of the MSPA is to improve and stimulate the acceptance, performance, reputation and use of mystery shopping services. For more information about the MSPA, visit http://www.mysteryshop.org

“As a dedicated member of the mystery shopping industry, I am committed to providing a high level of service to the MSPA and all its members,” said Buxton. “Being elected again to the global board of directors is quite an honor, and I look forward to working with other board members to promote mystery shopping around the world.”