The secret to choosing a great mystery shopping company lies not only in the questions you ask but in the responses you receive. It’s important to listen carefully to the answers you get because you just may need to ask more questions.
At Market Viewpoint, LLC we happen to think that our shoppers are gold. The people who are evaluating your people and operations and providing you with feedback are critical to the quality of information you receive. You want these people to be the best. Some of the questions you might want to consider asking a prospective mystery shopping company are contained in the following list:
- Who are your shoppers?
- Where do they come from?
- Can you segment your shopper database?
- Do you train your shoppers?
- Will the shoppers be coached on my project and the things that are important to me?
Now here are some other questions to ask that you may not have thought of and that the prospective mystery shopping company may not have heard before:
- What is the longest someone has shopped for you?
- Do you grade or rate your shoppers?
- What is your policy when there is a conflict of interest for a shopper?
- Will you provide me with some shopper references?
- What’s the worst thing you ever had happen with a mystery shopper and what did you do to resolve it?
The relationship a company has with its mystery shoppers is usually indicative of the relationship they have with their clients so it really pays to explore this area of a mystery company’s operations.
Let us know if you have any other questions you think are important to the selection process. We’d love to hear from you!
Thanks for reading and remember – the customer is always watching!