It's everywhere you want to be
With this issue’s spotlight on mystery shopping, we contacted the Mystery Shopping Providers Association to get input from member companies on some of the issues and topics currently affecting the industry.
In general, mystery shopping focuses on gathering real-time insights about competition, pricing and positioning and consumer path-to-purchase that will enable clients to quickly modify processes and enact change. Over the years, it has taken many forms and undergone numerous transformations. Most of the transitions have been centered on advances in technology. For example, more and more mystery shopping companies now rely on mobile devices for in-the-moment reporting. “We’ve incorporated mobile technology into our Web-based reporting system, as have many providers, allowing shoppers to complete their shops while they are still in the field. As technology continues to advance, we speculate this will become a standard operating system for all shopper companies and a standard expectation from our clients in the future,” says Charles Stiles, president of Mystery Shopper Services, Arroyo Grande, Calif.
“In the old days – 15 years ago – we relied on the mail to send out shop forms and fax machines and telephone calls to receive reports from the shoppers to retype and compile reports to send to the clients. If clients could receive a shop back within seven to 10 days of the interaction, they were happy. With today’s technology, we can deliver much faster results - in many cases, the same day,” he says.
In addition to speed of reporting, technology now also allows the capture of multiple forms of information, beyond the data contained in the individual shopper’s report. “Mystery shopping is not only about shopping and evaluating process and protocol but also about evaluating how a store is maintaining brand integrity and about how the individual brands within a store are being positioned,” says Kimberly Nasief, president of Measure Consumer Perspectives, Louisville, Ky.
“Audio-recorded mystery calls; video capture and digital images and photo snapshots of product displays and associate interactions are not uncommon. All customer-facing roles can now be monitored, measured and coached to ensure every company develops brand loyalists,” says Marci Bikshorn, president of Service Excellence Group, St. Louis, Mo.
Customer experience measurement providers can now present views from all touchpoints in every imaginable industry, including government agencies and assistance programs, religious congregations, as well as entertainment venues such as casinos, theaters, baseball parks and more, says Bikshorn.
In addition, mystery shops are evident in the health care industry, from pre-patient through medical treatment to home, as well as auto and life insurance compliance audits.
Sophisticated scams
As its use grows, the industry continues to be plagued by increasingly sophisticated scams targeting unsuspecting consumers looking for flexible income opportunities working as mystery shoppers. “Scam artists use the names of many reputable companies in an attempt to trick consumers into disclosing their personal information in exchange for high-paying ‘mystery shops,’” says Stiles.
These scammers post multiple advertisements on online job boards affiliated with reputable news stations and on Craigslist and steal the identity of many reputable firms’ Web sites, says Bikshorn.
The Mystery Shopping Providers Association, as well as member companies, are working with the FBI, the Better Business Bureau and Western Union to inform the public about these scams and to catch individuals running them but they are typically internationally-developed, making it difficult to protect the public.
The smartphone class
One of the main ways the Digital Age has impacted mystery shopping is by creating the so-called smartphone class, says Bikshorn. “These individuals are always on, consuming content and information straight from their mobile device, so utilizing a smartphone on a mystery shop assignment certainly is not a blatant give-away, as it might be if a mystery shopper entered a location with a clipboard and printed form.”
With Internet access from anywhere, the smartphone class continues to frequent the Web, both in store and out, allowing integrity of data capture and accuracy; credibility and proof-of-visit through geo-verifying tools; and visual and audio recordings and image capture. “Smartphones always know where they are and when they are,” says Andy Walker, president of iSecretShop, Mercer Island, Wash. “You can’t easily falsify that data. We now have the ability to verify if the shopper was at the right location, at the right time, on the right day, in a way we never have before. The ability to deliver this level of accuracy significantly increases shop quality and greatly reduces the risk of fraud.”
A shift in industries
Beyond the usual retail and service-based users of mystery shopping services, more research firms, insurance companies, law offices and manufacturers are utilizing mystery shopping as a way to validate claims, document patent infringements and conduct competitive market and product audits. “We are starting to see a shift in industries utilizing mystery shopping as a means of data collection because of the speed that data can be delivered,” says Stiles.
While new industries are turning to mystery shopping and employing new tools to do so, its status as a tool for monitoring employee performance endures. Mystery shopping is great for auditing specific behaviors and service cultures, as well as determining if employees are providing the type of service a company expects. “Unlike general surveys, where customers are reporting or providing information about their personal perspective of the experience, mystery shopping allows the client to outline and measure the exact performance criteria they are expecting out of their employees,” says Stiles.
The most effective use of mystery shopping is dependent on the purpose of the shops and how the information is delivered, the MSPA members agree. “In regard to the most common use, which is driving employee behavior and company compliance with expected service offerings and the service culture within the organization, the most effective and critical component is in how the information is delivered. In order for the information to make a difference, it has to be shared with the associates who are interacting with the customers,” says Stiles.
There must be both accountability and recognition for the service experience that was reported, Stiles says. If it was a bad experience, the results must be shared with the associate and coaching and training must be incorporated to correct the deficiencies. If it was a positive experience, then recognition for a great job should be communicated so they understand they are appreciated. This makes them feel part of the team and encourages them to continue to deliver on the experience rather than just receiving bad news when something is not right.
Question the credibility
Another persistent issue is the managing of feedback from field-level associates who question the credibility of mystery-shop results by saying things like “We knew it was a shopper” or “I never say that.”
“One of the most difficult coaching moments is to throw the ball back at the field and take the stance, ‘If you knew it was a shopper, why weren’t you compliant to your trained best practices? Why did you fall short of your company’s standards? Let’s listen to this recording or watch this video so that you can understand the mystery shopper’s perception of your delivery,’” says Bikshorn.
Individual analysis of mystery shop results and a clear outline of performance assist in identifying a team’s competencies and disparities. With this information literally at a team’s fingertips, they can quickly target development plans. Automating these painstaking processes – which had been done manually for decades – that are tied to customer experience evaluation and training, streamlines the entire accountability piece of an organization’s training regimen, which in turn, benefits each level within the organizational structure.
“When effectively put into action, employees, middle managers and the executive team benefit from this type of customer experience management solution,” Bikshorn says. “Creative, automated processes such as this help performance management and action planning by letting associates assess their own behaviors by clarifying expectations of each associate while providing an ongoing review process of performance and by building a strong foundation for career growth and future job placement.”