The purpose of mystery shopping for most clients is to have a “fly on the wall” view of what happens during a customer’s visit to their establishment. Mystery shopping reports provide a different set of eyes and perception than they can gain on their own.
Our clients want to know what you experienced.
What they expect to learn is insight into how you were treated and how their employees followed training guidelines. Clients want to ‘see’ the parking lot, the entrance way, the food you ate or the clothing hanging on the rack. There are also a variety of other factors depending on a client’s specific needs.
When you write your mystery shopping reports, it is important for you to create that visual experience through your words.
Help our Clients “See” What You Saw
Most report forms have a yes/no or rating section, which is important for quantitative purposes, but the client usually learns the most from your comments.
- Some shops require only your objective observations of what happened. Put yourself in the position of “reporter” and tell us all that happened. From the time you entered, or even pulled into the parking lot, until you got back into your car. Your report is of huge value when a client can “see” your interaction at their place of business.
- Other shops want the objective view, and then do ask for the subjective as well. When writing your opinions, be honest, but respectful. Realize that the person or persons you interacted with may read your report. Refrain from derogatory references to a person’s looks and actions. There is always a nice way to say something and get your point across.
- In the yes/no or rating area of your mystery shopping report, if you marked a no, or gave a low rating, explain why you did this, and what they person may have done instead.
For instance, if the associate did not greet you, what did they do to acknowledge you? Did they look up at you, stop what they were doing, give you a nod or a smile? The more information a client has, the better they can use the information for training purposes.
- In all comment areas write at least 3 to 4 sentences, if not more. Comments such as, “She was nice”, “It was clean”, do not tell the story. If there is not enough space for you to write all you need to, then follow up with an email with additional comments. Our editing and quality department will then include that information in your report or send it as an addendum.
Mystery Shopping Reports Bring Value
A good mystery shopping report is of great value to the client. When you write an excellent report that includes your customer perspective our clients are appreciative. They are better able to reward good workers, train those who are in need, and improve their establishments to better serve us all.
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