Mystery shopping

These are the following researches:  

• mystery shopping;

• mystery calling;

• Customer Satisfaction Index, CSI;

• Net Promoter Score, NPS;

• benchmarking of service process.

MTP is also engaged in development of service standards, customer loyalty program and staff motivation, performs consulting services in customer service quality management matters.

Mystery shopping is an effective method for service quality control and improvement of customer experience

Mystery shopping is a technique which allows estimate service quality from the eye of a customer. Mystery shopper comes as a real client and according to the scenario gets an advice or makes a purchase at the inspected location. After the visit he fills out a questionnaire where indicates compliance with service standards while work with clients, describe his subjective impressions.

When to use the research “Mystery shopper”?

This method is used if it is necessary to:

• check service quality in your company: assess professional competence of a particular employee, to check compliance with standards of customer service as at selling space as at the cash desk, to check the following of promotions and loyalty program;

• assess competitor work, to figure out strengths and weaknesses of their service.       

What aspects of staff activity may be assessed by mystery shopper?

• performing of customer service standards by contact staff;

• performing of sales technique by the sellers;

• how the transfer of customers from one employee to another is executed;

• whether the employees communicate correctly in the presence of a customer;

• how the employees behave while conflict situations;

• whether the employees are fair in relation to managerial authority and a customer: they tell about all conditions of promotion, do not sell the goods unscanned etc;

• how good the employees know their goods/services:

• whether they offer any related goods or services;

• whether an employee is aimed at the sale;

• how a company is perceived in a whole from the viewpoint of a customer.

In order to check the employees of online shops, technical support service, call centers, reception, sales managers the method “Mystery calling” is used.

Can you conduct a research by yourself or it’s better to entrust it to the experts?

Advantages of work with Mystery shopping service provider:

1. Experience of such research. The company providing this service is an expert of inspection techniques performed by mystery shopper. It knows all hidden pitfalls and is ready to difficulties which may arise during the process of research.

2. You save your time. All the stages of an inspection will be supervised by provider’s manager, and you can just control the process.

3. Software. Special online system allows automate many stages of the research, so time expenditures are reducing. You have an access to all research results at your profile.  

4. Base of mystery shoppers. A company providing “Mystery shopping” service always has its base of qualified performers, which is constantly updating. This is valid argument for work with provider because selection of mystery shoppers of required profile and monitoring of their rotation can be difficult to do on your own.

“Mystery shopping” will be useful for?

• Managerial authority and business owners. The inspections will show real picture of customer service quality in your network. This is also a method of staff control and its additional motivation.

• Franchisers. Mystery research is a procedure of control of the partners.

• Manufacturers. The manufacturers will find out how well the brand is represented by retailers, what is pricing policy for product group being produced. It is also excellent method for competitive intelligence.

• Distributors. Mystery shopping is a method to find out how the product is represented at retail network; whether the staff working with customers is competent; how the goods are recommended to the customers.

How much does it cost to check the employees by mystery shopper?

Cost of checking depends on:

• type of inspection (checking of any or particular employee, with test purchase or without etc.);  

• type of locality and its farness from country town;

• number of locations which need to be checked;

• mystery shopper profile (education, car availability, social status);

• number of analytic reports and their complexity.

Mir Taynykh Polupateley conducts researches in Ukraine and Commonwealth of Independent States. Mystery shoppers of MTP successfully perform the inspections in Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Kharkov, Zaporozhzhye, Lvov and other cities and townships.