Secret Shops Revealed
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Customer service finds its way into almost every aspect of our daily lives, and sometimes we do not even realize it. In our work environments, customer service is reflected in the way that we communicate with our customers and clients. Ticket takers at the movie theater offer customer service with a smile and pleasant words, if they are truly doing their job well. Hotel clerks, bank tellers and pizza delivery drivers all offer their own level of customer service and satisfaction each day that they clock in.
In our personal lives, we are the recipients of customer service when we are checking out at the grocery store and the cashier thanks us for coming in, or when we pay the landscaping company for taking care of our yard and they hand us a coupon for ten dollars off of next months bill. Even though we are surrounded by it, we sometimes overlook customer service. Perhaps we simply take it for granted. The only time we tend to really become aware of it is when we have either been treated poorly, or when we have been treated exceptionally well. Otherwise, we go about our lives and do not really gauge the level of customer service that we are receiving or that we are giving to others.
One way to measure the quality of the customer service that your customers and clients are receiving is by having secret shops routinely conducted within your companies ranks. Randomly scheduled and largely unnoticed, secret shops are effective measuring sticks by which you can rate the overall performance of one or all employees, as well as the level of service that your customers are receiving and the quality of goods that are being provided.
Bear in mind that secret shops can cover a wide range of territory, from the cleanliness of the establishment to the amount of time that they had to wait for service. The professionals who carry out these secret shops have been trained to be keen observers. The reports that they provide after their visit are thorough and well written, and over the course of time this information can be used in order to create new facets of employee training. You may also choose to use the information contained within the reports to set up a bonus or incentive program for staff members whose secret shops consistently reveal high marks or praise.
What makes these visits so effective is that no one actually knows when they are happening or which employees or departments will be targeted. The observers look and act just like every other customer, and they slip in undetected to conduct their review. Whether they are standing in a check out line at a convenience store, eating lunch at a Thai restaurant or questioning a customer service representative of a national electronics chain about their computer software programs, these watchful reporters will give honest and specific feedback on what kind of treatment they experienced. This feedback translates to higher quality service, improved employee training programs, happier customers and a better overall workplace for its employees. With a tool such as this in your business building toolbox, you can build your business strong and sturdy from the inside out. Confident, well trained employees who value your customers as much as you do will reflect your high standards and make your business a better place to work.
Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.
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