Secret Shop – Client Satisfaction

A lot of agents are being appointed by firms from different businesses to secret shop at their retail outlets to assess the performance of their sales crew and the level of end user satisfaction delivered by them. The firm should always bear in mind that the visitors and the end users of their products are usually a sensitive and fastidious lot. Pleasing them requires great experience and dexterity. As the buyer response is a major factor in making or breaking the reputation of a firm it is very important that the firms send their agents on a regular basis to assess the situation at their retail stores.

Small things like a delayed response at the counter or through telephonic communication can put off a buyer. The person sent to secret shop should assess how long the sales staff and public relationships executives of a given firm are taking to respond to personal and telephonic calls. Another major factor that irritates clients is when the firm does not stand up to their expectations or does not deliver whatever it promises. Hence these are major areas where a firm might lose its clients, however good its products may be. Factors like these are easy to observe and measure by the agents.

Though every organization tries to project itself, its products and whatever other things that it offers to its buyers as excellent, it is always better for the firm to not raise the expectations of its clients very high. If due to any reason the firm is not able to deliver what it promises its reputation will be at stake. This is not good for the health and progress of the firm. The agent appointed by the firm to secret shop should verify if the firm and its staff are delivering whatever they have promised to their clients.

When the opinion of a client is taken regarding the satisfaction that he is getting from an organization, he should not be given feedback forms with predefined gradations. In such a case he will not have the freedom to express whatever he wants to accurately. For example, suppose he wants to rate a salesperson as above average, but the options available on the feedback form are good and average then he will be forced to grade a salesperson inaccurately. Being verbally interviewed by the representative appointed to secret shop is a much better option as the client will be able to exactly express his impression about an organization or its sales personnel.

These days almost all the firms in a given business are offering products of the same quality and with the same features. The prices are also very similar. Hence if a firm wants to gain a competitive edge over others it has to bank on its client satisfaction levels and measures. However these days even this is becoming quite similar across firms. Rather the firms in the same business compete ferociously with each other to attract and retain clients. The agent appointed to secret shop should verify if all the criteria set by the management of the firm to behave with its clients is being followed by its staff. He should also be able to assess the degree of deviation that is present. Though the sales and public relationship staff are blamed for any client dissatisfaction, it is to be borne in mind that it is not always the fault of the firm if any of its clients leaves dissatisfied.

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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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