Mystery shoppers are often used by companies to assess the level of service that their customers are receiving. A mystery shopper can visit a company, whether it is a retail store, a hotel or a restaurant, and pretend to be just an ordinary customer. They will be observing carefully and making notes about their experience. Afterward, they will put together a detailed report about the good and bad aspects that they experienced during their visit.
When most people think about mystery shoppers they imagine these incognito customers evaluating the customer service they received. In reality, this is a big part of it. Mystery shoppers make detailed notes on the interactions they have with members of staff, noting whether or not they were greeted with a friendly smile, whether their questions were answered in a helpful way and whether complaints were dealt with well. Mystery shoppers can be a great way to evaluate your customer service, but this is not the only aspect of your company’s performance they can report on.
A mystery shopper can also make notes about many other aspects of your business, giving you a comprehensive and detailed idea of how you can improve. In fact, if there are specific things that you would like your mystery shopper to focus on when they are visiting your business you can brief them beforehand so that they know what they are looking for. This can be one of the best tactical solutions you can use to improve your business and impress customers even more. Here are some of the other things that mystery shoppers can report on:
The Appearance of Your Business
A mystery shopper can also make observations on the appearance of your store, restaurant, hotel or other business. Is the premises clean and tidy? Are the correct advertising displays set out? Do the staff look well dressed and presentable? Are the products organized and displayed neatly on the shelf? Is the décor stylish and inviting or does it need to be upgraded? Does the design have the right colours to attract attention and encourage sales?
A mystery shopper will be able to provide you with an honest opinion on how your business looks and what impression it gives customers when they first walk in.
Whether Promotions Are Being Advertised
If you have a retail chain you might have a specific promotion that must be advertised in a certain way within your store. A mystery shopper will be able to tell you whether or not that promotion is being advertised correctly. If a promotion that should be on display is missing, you will know so that you can notify staff to correct the issue.
Checking Up On Your Competition
Here is something that mystery shoppers can do that most people don’t think about – they can be used to check up on your competition. You can send a mystery shopper to your rival business and they can gather information about what the service is like there. They will be able to give you a detailed report of your rival’s strengths and weaknesses so that you can figure out how to get the advantage over them.
How Busy it Is
Sending a mystery shopper into your business at various times throughout the day is a great way to find out how busy it is and whether or not your staff are coping well with peak customer volumes. If the mystery shopper visits your retail premises during a peak shopping time and has to wait in a queue for 15 minutes, you might decide that you need to hire more cashiers during those hours to cope with the high level of customers. On the contrast, if you have excess staff working during quiet hours and the mystery shopper observes that there are more staff members than necessary, you might be able to cut down on costs by adjusting the schedule.
These are just a few of the aspects of your business that a mystery shopper can report on when they are visiting your place of business. Mystery shoppers are helpful in a huge range of ways and they can be excellent sources of information for improving your business. Contact a mystery shopping agency such as Tactical Solutions for more information about this.
