Customers who receive bad service or have a bad experience, especially during the holiday season, may land your business on the Naughty List!
Successful companies know the value of the mystery shopping process. A well designed evaluation program can benefit a company in so many ways, and those organizations that regularly review levels of customer satisfaction will tell you that they are more profitable; better equipped to handle customer issues; and know more about their competition as a result of the research they are doing.
But there are other benefits to mystery shopping, too:
- Managers can’t be everywhere, especially if they are covering an extensive geographic region. Using mystery shoppers gives these managers an extra set of eyes and ears to know what’s going on in their locations when they physically can’t be there. And let’s be honest: employees tend to behave differently when the boss is around anyway.
- The fact that you mystery shop keeps employees on their toes. They never know when the shopper will be present, so making sure that every transaction is well handled becomes a priority.
- Managers need unbiased tools for rewarding their star performers and coaching those employees who need a little extra help getting to the next level. Mystery shopping reports give managers the tools they need to do this.
As you continue your budgeting process, consider increasing the number of shops you are currently doing for the coming year or increasing the frequency that you shop. If you shop quarterly, consider a monthly program, for example. It’s important to shake things up a bit from time to time. Maybe this is the year to do that.
And if you have never mystery shopped before, consider getting started with a program this year. It will take you to new levels of profitability, and keep your business front and center where it should be – on the Nice List!
What types of programs are you putting in place to monitor the customer experience this year?