Have you ever stood desperately looking around a department store for an assistant, rolled your eyes and muttered about the lousy service in a restaurant? If so there may be the perfect job for you. Why not be a mystery shopper?
Like most good ideas the shopaholics dream job started in America. The chairman of a car manufacturing company was losing customers to rivals and couldn’t figure out why. It couldn’t be car quality as his own company‘s cars were better. There had to be a reason and the problem gnawed away until there was a flash of inspiration: Could it be poor service? He quickly pulled together a team of what are now known as mystery shoppers. The only skills required of them were to act normal, pretend to be genuine shoppers, and report back on the service received.
SALESMEN AND STARVING KIDS
His intuition proved right. The mystery shoppers calling at the company’s car showrooms they were often met by a ‘sales force’ totally lacking in people skills let alone selling skills. No wonder customers were going elsewhere.
Putting it to the test I visited four main dealer car showrooms. If I was expecting the hard sell I was soon proved wrong. The first was good. He listened to my needs; took his time pointing out features that fitted my requirements. No extra training required for him.
No.2 and No.3 couldn’t have sold sweets to a starving child. When their so-called salesman condescended to approach me to ask if he could be of assistance, without showing much enthusiasm, I had already decided not to buy. It seemed the feeling was mutual. He clearly didn’t want to sell. Another told me they didn’t have the model I required in stock and turned his back. Hey! We’re talking about an £18,000 top of the range car here and he wasn’t fit to be on a supermarket check out.
SALESMAN OF THE YEAR
At last I found the world’s best salesman. I did the talking, he did the listening; I knew what I wanted, so it seemed did he. He had the model to show me; my preferred colour no problem. He introduced me to a client who had already bought the same model.
I was introduced to ‘parts’, shown the service bays and introduced to the team manager. He would be responsible for maintaining my car. In the meantime a cup of tea was offered, on a saucer and with biscuits too. I just didn’t want to leave this place. A hotel could have learnt from it.
By the time we went for our test drive I knew the service inside out. What followed was the most delightful drive through the surrounding countryside as we talked about the car’s qualities. When we returned I was delighted with the car not to mention the superb service. In a lifetime of sales I had never before been so impressed by a guy who was undoubtedly a contender for ‘Salesman of the Year.’
SNEAKY SNOOPERS
The mystery shopper will later complete the paperwork. It may involves as many as 100 - 150 questions but surprisingly none too arduous. Each question is followed by several tick boxes as to response.
How long was it before you were approached: 1. immediately. 2. quickly. 3. several minutes. 4. Not at all. Was the greeting courteous: 1. very. 2. yes. 3. not particularly. 4. no. How would you describe the food: 1. excellent. 2. good. 3. poor.
The completed paperwork is forwarded to the agency; evaluated and a report submitted to the agency’s clients. They have identified problems through the customers’ eyes and now there is opportunity to put matters right; to stop the loss of clients to rivals.
Most department stores, main dealerships now use mystery shopper agencies to carry out spot checks. Some will cringe at the thought of being spied upon during their day’s work. I put it to a couple of teenage staff of a large electrical goods retailer. ‘Doesn’t this chain use mystery shoppers to check you guys out? It must be a real pain.’
I half expected them to pull a face and make a few off the cuff choice remarks about sneaky snoopers. I was in for a surprise. Both loved the idea and said that when quiet they passed much of the day guessing which of the genuine customers might be a mystery shopper. They could actually see the benefits of the service.
Ask yourself this. How many retailers or other service providers do you avoid because of a bad experience? I can name a dozen which I no longer visit because I have felt let down by them.
While rude Robert is turning customers off at the front his boss is in the backroom writing out advertising cheques to replace lost customers. Robert is costing him a lot more than his wages. In my experience businesses I no longer use left much to be desired. I waited too long to be served, a staff member had an attitude problem; the food was cold; car park attendant over officious, prices too high. A company unaware of client disappointment means a haemorrhage of customers heading straight for competitors. It costs nine times as much to replace an unhappy customer as it does to retain a satisfied one. The cost of replacing a disapproving one costs far more than the fee paid to the mystery shopper. ©