The Ease of Mystery Shopping

In addition to my duties in the call center, I help out in the secret shopping department as well.  I now do this as a second nature.  It is not as hard as I thought that it would be.  At first I had many questions about mystery shopping.  First I needed to know how to secret shop.  The answer to this is to forget everything that I knew about self storage.  It is not an easy task as there are key phrases and “insider” jargon that would tip the manager off to the fact that I am not as unaware about self storage as a first time renter.   I have to be careful.

It is very hard to secret shop someone you talk to on a constant basis.  Not only do I have to portray that I am not knowledgeable about storage but I may need to disguise my voice.  To make the call seem more realistic, I may say something in the background to my “imaginary husband” or my “invisible child” so that the person on the phone may think that I am a real customer.

As I continue to make calls, I find that the secret shopping business is not only used as a “report” to the regional manger of the local employees but it can be used as a learning tool as well.  With the calls being recorded with a printed point system sheet attached, it helps managers and other employees see what could be done or how to improve their sales techniques.  Instead of viewing mystery shopping as a “report” see it as a guideline leading to sales increases.   The call center uses this technique as a part of our one on one training.  In my opinion everyone should become a part of the secret shop industry and let us help; it can lead to sales increases for your store.

By Angela Perry, PhoneSmart trainer and reservations expert.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart call center blog and insider diary of the self storage and secret shop industries.

Self Storage in Missouri
4000 S. Providence Rd. 
Columbia, MO 65203 
Manager: Jason Laswell 
Ph: (573) 442-0811 
Fax:(573) 442-4741

Call Jason for a $50 coupon towards your storage unit!

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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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