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It is a bit hard to get started secret shopping.  Often someone just beginning to secret shop asks, “What do I say”? This is a typical question although it seems that it should be self explanatory.  The key thing to secret shopping is that you do not want to appear to the recipient answering the phone that you have any knowledge at all about the self storage industry.  When I conduct secret shopping I always try to let the person on the phone lead me.  I begin with a generic statement or question.  By using this technique the person on the other end has to take control of the call.  If you call and give too much information then the person that answered the phone has about 20% of their job to do as you have done the 80%.  The fair percentage in conducting a successful secret shop call is to let the manager do about 90% of the call and you as the mystery shopper do 5%.  Although 5% seems to be a small percentage it is the number that is about right as this is only answering the probing questions that are asked by the managers.
We all have difficulty in beginning a phone call when doing a mystery shop so here are some suggestions to use:
 
**How much does it cost to store there?
**How much is a…..? (Fill in with a specific size or odd size)
**I’m calling to get your prices
**I need a storage spot
 
Although these are just a few, there are many more.  The key is the more generic the opening question or statement, the better opportunity for the manager to take control of the call.

Written by Angela Perry PhoneSmart call center trainer, self storage reservations specialist and secret shopper.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart call center blog.  We offer an insider view of the secret shop and mystery shop industries.

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PhoneSmart has been in the secret shopping business for about 4 years now and has been in the self storage business for 6 years. During that time, we’ve hear the truly odd calls, the scary calls, the hilarious calls, but mostly we’ve gotten an expert idea of the normal rental inquires and what they range from. A normal call may be anyone from a mother looking to store her college-aged son’s belongings for summer storage to a business man wanting to put some inventory into self storage. These callers also have many different moods; some are happy, some are put off by the inconvenience of having to move their stuff, some are hesitant, some are willing, some are down right rude. No matter the tone or circumstance, PhoneSmart is ready and equipped to rent storage to any of these callers, and we do it all with a smile on our voice.

Our secret shopping clients sometimes ask that our shoppers make calls with certain scripts or rules. We are happy to make adjustments in order to please our clients; however sometimes their requests lessen the reality of our shops. Once you put too many regulations of how a shopper should act, or what they should say, all the calls become the same. PhoneSmart certainly never wants to portray the rude caller, but we do want to fall somewhere in between the willing, happy caller and the hesitant, unsure caller. This way we give the managers we shop a variety of calls and they are more unlikely to detect that we’re shopping them. Having a variety of scenarios and moods also represents the reality of how true shoppers act.

Written by Sarah Little, Total Quality Assurance Executive.

Thanks for reading the PhoneSmart mystery shopping blog; an inside peek into the secret shopping and self storage world.

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Have you ever seen one of those TV shows where a host comes into your house and finds valuable things that you wouldn’t have thought to be so valuable? Or people who have odd objects and take them to an appraiser who surprises them with a huge dollar figure? The thing in common with both of these shows is that the person had the item right under their nose all the while and didn’t even know it.
Business can sometimes be like that. When a new project comes up or you experience growth the answer isn’t always to go buy a new tool, it could be to start using an old one or to expand the resources you already have. 
Secret shopping has experienced a large growth this year and we find ourselves looking for new secret shoppers each month. We like to keep a fresh batch of voices so that we don’t become noticeable on the phone. 
I’ve recently suggested that we tap into our self storage call center to get some new secret shoppers. With about 25 employees we’d be able to have a wide variety of dialects and personalities. Rather than hiring new employees to do a little bit of work each month, we can offer the opportunity to change the pace a bit while making a few extra bucks to our existing self storage sales representative employees. 
When you find yourself with new tasks or jobs ask the employees you already have if they’d like to do it. Who knows, you may find more value in what you already have once you give them a chance to shine.
 
Written by: Sarah Little, PhoneSmart call center Total Quality Assurance Executive
 
Thanks for reading the secret shopping blog, PhoneSmart’s inside peek into the self storage and secret shopping industry.

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One day while checking voicemail messages, we were happy to hear a compliment come across the answering machine regarding one of our fellow co-workers/employee.  Most of you know her as “Liz Taylor”. She’s been with PhoneSmart since October 2001 – 5 years now!!!!
Liz handles numerous tasks in the PhoneSmart World, including and not limited to; handling client accounts monthly, secret shopping, sales marketing, special projects like prize patrol, not to mention… yes, handling incoming self storage rental inquiries in the call center.  She wears many hats and puts forth her best effort and doesn’t’ take her job lightly.  She works hard at each task and is a team player. 

We love to hear and confirm what we already know, and this message did that for us:
“Yes, Tron, this is Paul ….  I went on line last night and did a little search and found your website.  I ended up making a request and was contacted back unbelievably promptly this morning by Liz. She says her alias is Liz Taylor.
Anyway I said I’ve got to call somebody and tell what an amazing job she did in taking care of me. She just… excellent attitude, excellent information, I mean… bent over backwards. 
I don’t know about you but when my employees do something great, I sure would love to hear about it because you only hear about the ones who fowl up and blow it. I’ll tell you what… Liz is doing a phenomenal job.
I usually don’t do this, but I thought I’ve got to call and brag on her to someone.  Excellent, excellent employee, excellent phone skills, very cordial, very helpful…. Anyway, I Just wanted to call and let you know that she is doing a super job. Thanks.”

Way to go Liz!!!!  When you’ve got it like that, you’ve got it like that!

Send in your PhoneSmart Employee Compliments – what are you waiting for?

rturner@phone-smart.net email me!

Submitted by Robin Turner call center manager and business blog writer.
Thank you for visiting the Phone Smart secret shopping blog, an inside peek at the mystery shopping industry and secret shopping trends.

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Secret shopping is an excellent way to keep track of employee performance in the interest of customer service.  Anyone who has worked in a call center may have received a call where they were being evaluated as part of a mystery shop.  Having worked for a call center that is specific to the self storage industry, I have also learned to tell when a caller is competitive shopping (for rates) for another company.

When someone calls about a storage room we usually try to qualify their size need first.  A good sign of having a competitive shopper is when the caller asks if you can give them all of the rates and sizes. In the interest of time, most inbound call centers try to limit rate quotes to just a couple of sizes. After all, we want to encourage the amenities of the property and make sure it is conveniently located. 

Here is a good way to deter competitive shoppers from calling back:  Tell them if they’re not sure about the size, then you would be happy to schedule them for a site visit. This would be the best way for the “unsure size” caller to see first hand what is available and what excellent features the facility has to offer.

If the caller gets irate, you do not have to let it upset you.  Simply let them know you are trying your best to help and there are too many different sizes to quote over the phone.  Offer to take their name and number to see if the site manager would be able to fax or E-mail a price list. If they do not wish to give you this information, then they are probably a competitive shopper. In which case, you have done all you can to help them.

Blog submitted by Laurie Cox, PhoneSmart Off Site Sales Force.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart call center blog.  We offer an insider diary of the secret shop industry.

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We all mystery shop everywhere we go even though we may not recognize it as “mystery shopping”.  I recently went to a well known grocery store across town here in Columbia, Missouri and I purchased some honey turkey from the deli department.  Granted it was expensive, but it tasted absolutely delicious. It was mouth watering; we couldn’t stay out of it!
Unfortunately I only ordered a half pound because of the price.  Since we ran out so quickly, I decided to purchase the same type of honey turkey deli meat from my near by grocer which was less expensive, but had nothing like the flavor as the other grocery stores meat. I wouldn’t hesitate one minute to travel across town again to purchase the higher priced deli meat, because it was more to our liking.  It was more satisfying and I felt like I was getting my moneys worth.   
Self storage is no different.  If a customer has to pay a higher price for the storage unit and travel a bit further as long as the security or the customer service was better than your competitors, then you could be snagging your competitors business because of it.  
So, secret shopping your competitor isn’t a bad idea at all – if your customers are, then you should too. 

Written by Robin Turner, PhoneSmart call center manager and business blog writer.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart secret shopping blog, an inside peek at mystery shopping trends in the secret shopping industry.

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As I said before, anyone working in the self storage industry knows that there will be some busy times and slow times. In fact, this is the case with most retail businesses. Having a positive attitude really does affect the kind of day you are going to have. I have learned this fact through the telemarketing job that I used to have.

When I was in telemarketing, a positive attitude was essential to performing well. My job was to raise money for political and charitable organizations. Customers were already not receptive to my message because I was calling them at their homes and sometimes early in the morning. Keeping a positive attitude was key because statistics show that 8/10 calls will end with the customers saying no. That means that I know that I should get pledges out of at least two of those calls. It works the same in self storage. We have to know that there are going to be callers who have rented before, not going to rent, and those who aren’t for sure. That means that you will have some caller/customers who won’t rent with you no matter what. They are just looking for the price. There are going to those where you won’t have to do a great deal of selling. Finally, there will be those who you will have to work a little bit to convince them to rent a storage unit. Keep a positive attitude and treat each call as a new call and you will do fine.

Written by: Ronald Smith PhoneSmart, call center reservations specialist.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart call center business blog, an insider diary of the self storage and secret shopping industry.

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I have been in customer service since 1964.  I started as an operator in a small, rural telephone company and was “promoted” to the customer service office 2 years later.  Before they let me speak with a customer I was taken through an extensive training program learning all about how telephone service works, what services and extras were offered, and all of the Tariff rules set forth by the Public Service Commission.  I was instructed in how to greet a customer, how to discover what they needed from me as a service representative and how to handle complaints even from customers who were upset, angry, and aggressive. This started my life in customer service, call center work, mystery shopping and writing a business blog.

Today, I visited a local sandwich shop on my way to work.  Sometimes when I am out in public I notice that I keep an eye open for secret shopping and mystery shopping opportunities. They have a Tuesday special that is a good price on more than enough food for lunch and dinner.  As I entered the order line the young lady behind the counter was having a conversation with her boyfriend.  I stood patiently by while she concluded and when he left stood patiently by as she regaled her co workers and another customer with the details of why she loved and what a great guy he was.

Next, she got a box of the gloves that food service workers are required to wear when handling cold food and chatted with another worker about the condition the gloves were in.  I had been patient for about as long as I could and asked, “Will I be placing an order anytime soon?”  Her response was a slightly smart mouthed and snippy “Just waiting for you!”  I did not bother to try to point out that she had completely ignored me for several minutes, as I did not think that it would sink in.  She will be unpleasantly surprised to find out that the owner of the shop is a client of mine in a business venture and that her conduct will be discussed with him at length tomorrow.  It would have been so easy for her to glance in my direction and greet me and assure me that she would be with me right away. This attitude would not fly at my customer service job here at PhoneSmart’s call center for self storage. 
In the PhoneSmart call center there is real emphasis placed on how we greet callers.  WE are trained to smile before we answer and to answer promptly.  There are monthly incentives based on our “speed to answer”.  In our “internal shops” for Total Quality Assurance (secret shopping) we are judged on several greeting parts.  Did we answer in a friendly voice giving the name of the store and asking how we could help?  There are many parts to a successful reservation call and not one of them is more important than those first few seconds when the customer decides whether or not we are interested in really helping them with self storage.

I hope my friend will realize that he will not lose a long standing customer over this but I hope that he will encourage his employee to lose her unpleasant attitude and focus on the customers coming in the door more than her personal conversations.  I don’t think she would make it here at PhoneSmart and I hope I do not have to work with her unless she learns some customer service skills.

Written by Kay Johnson PhoneSmart reservations specialist and editor and writer or our business blog.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart secret shopping blog, a peek inside the mystery shopping industry.

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At the call center we have other responsibilities other than answering the telephone for our self storage, secret shopping, and training clients.  We also act as a training center for the current and new employees of our clients.  This service is known as the Role Play Helpline.  It gives the employees an opportunity to role play with us here at the call center.  One role play may be with a manager, an assistant manager or even a sales associate. They can be the caller and then the personnel at the call center can be the phone rep.  Roles can also be reversed so that each party has an opportunity to see how the role play works from either side of the call.  This training mechanism is very helpful and offers excellent resources for them and for our secret shopping and self storage business.  

In the beginning I was not too fond of the role play helpline until I viewed it differently.  I thought that it was a waste of time and saw no need for the option.  When I began taking calls I realized that this is the very same thing that we do at our self storage call center with our newbie to familiarize them with our script. I am now more open and accepting of the RPH.  This line not only helps the newbie but the veterans as well.  We at the call center also learn from the RPH especially when the personnel form the store is very experienced.  Different sales techniques and ways to overcome objections are learned throughout the role play.  It is good for them and good for us
 
Written by Angela Perry PhoneSmart call center trainer and reservations specialist.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart secret shopping blog, an inside peek at the the mystery shopping industry and the secret shopping business.

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Try It, You’ll Like It.

As a branch of business that originally stemmed from our self storage call center, many of the veteran employees in the call center are a bit skeptical about just what it is we do in the secret shopping industry. We recently asked for some of the call center employees to start making more shops each month, as our business has grown a lot. A few of them grumbled about some of the old methods we used in the past. I assured them that things have changed a lot in the past few years and that secret shopping was fun again.

Our call center manager, Dana, is one of our newest shoppers. She decided to set the example for all the reps and show them that secret shopping is easy and a fun way to make a few extra bucks. She told me she was surprised at how easy it was now and that all the horrible myths she’d heard buzzing around the call center over the years were untrue. It’s kind of like a new food; you can’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

So give new ideas a chance before you shoot them down and put your best effort into it. You can decide whether or it pays off after you’ve given it your best shot.

Written by: Sarah Little, Total Quality Assurance Executive.

Thanks for reading PhoneSmart’s mystery shopping blog, the inside scoop into the self storage and secret shopping trends.

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