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How To Use Your Mystery Shopping Program

  • I recently attended a webinar hosted by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA). The topics focused on how to effectively provide mystery shopping and also how to effectively use mystery shopping. The presentation began by busting a few myths about mystery shopping. A common myth PhoneSmart battles is that the shops or calls should be 100% ideally perfect. Often the client, or user, may feel that it’s unfair to use any hesitation or concern when our shoppers call the store. However, this is an unrealistic expectation because customers in real life do have concerns or may hesitate to hand over their credit card. This is not to say that phone shops shouldn’t contain some types of rules and guidelines; they definitely must meet a quality standard. The best way to avoid misunderstandings between the provider and user is to clearly communicate what each role expects are obtainable goals and write them down.

    We have also seen the cost of perhaps the most deadly mystery shopping myth: mystery shopping is the magic pill that will fix all your troubles. While secret shopping can certainly increase your ROI, the program must be implemented by a supervisor or training manager within the business. A mystery shopping program can not run itself. The key to building a strong mystery shopping program is to create buy-in with the staff. There will always be those who can become upset or take secret shopping personal, and that’s where the program manager should step in to reinforce a positive experience.

    PhoneSmart would like to build a strong relationship with each of our mystery shopping clients. We understand that each of you have different needs and expectations. The beauty of our program is that it’s completely customizable to fit your standards. If you have unmet expectations or if you just want to freshen up your program a bit don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’ll be contacting each of you soon to discuss how your program can be tailored to meet your needs.

    Mystery Shopping tip: Some employees can translate the words Secret Shopping Program into Gotcha Program. Rename the program as you’d like. Try something like: Snapshot, 360 View, or Inside Peek – be creative and make it fun.

    Written by: Sarah Little, TQA Account Executive

    Thanks for reading our mystery shopping blog. We offer sales training and secret shopping with the goal of increasing your bottom line.

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    Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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