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A Brief Introduction to Mystery Shopping
Mystery shopping or “secret” shopping as it is also known, uses trained and qualified shoppers to anonymously evaluate customer service, operations, employee integrity, merchandising and product quality. Mystery shopping is an excellent tool for owners, operators and managers to get an unbiased and accurate measurement of their business from a customer’s perspective.
Aloha Solutions utilizes many types of shops to evaluate your business based on your specific needs.
On Site Shops
This is the most common type of shop. In an on site shop, an evaluator personally visits your location. The evaluator observes the details requested by you and anonymously interacts with employees to assess customer service performance and other facility and product issues. These details are reported in an easy to read and understand evaluation.
Telephone Shops
An evaluator phones your location. With the same attention to detail, the evaluator monitors employee responses to various questions or inquiries to assess customer service performance. These details are reported in an easy to read and understand evaluation. Many times a telephone shop may accompany an onsite shop as part of a detailed report. Telephone shops are also common as stand alone shops for call centers or customer service phone lines when customer interaction may be limited to telephone contact only.
Quality Assurance / Compliance Shops
An evaluator visits your location and assesses compliance in regard to product merchandising and/or pricing. Some of the items typically checked are: stock quantities, price accuracy, and point of purchase presentation.
Competitor Shops
Ever wonder how your business stacks up against the competition? With competitor shops, an evaluator visits your competitor’s location and observes details while interacting with employees to assess customer service performance and other issues. These evaluations provide a tool to assess your position within your market share.
Internet Shops
In today’s e-commerce market, it is essential that your online customers receive the same high level of service that you would demand from your “brick and mortar” stores. In an online shop, an evaluator initiates contact using your web site. With the same attention to detail, the evaluator monitors responses to various questions or inquiries to assess customer service performance and timeliness. The details are reported in an easy to read and understand evaluation. Internet shops may also be used to evaluate speed and ease of transactions, navigation of your web site and shipping efficiency.
Reporting methods
There are also different types of reports that are used in evaluations. Some reports contain simple yes/no questions, while other reports may be detailed and descriptive narratives. You can select a standard shopping evaluation and report or you may choose to have Aloha Solutions custom design a report tailor made to suit your business. We will work closely with you to help you decide what type of report is best for your needs.
Whatever type of shop you require, whatever type of reporting we use, you will be pleased with the Aloha Solutions approach to your mystery shopping program. We guarantee it!
Here are just a few of the ways that a mystery shopping program from Aloha Solutions will benefit your business:
- Monitors and measures customer service
- Improves customer retention
- Raises employee awareness of the importance of customer service
- Ensures product and service quality
- Reinforces positive employee behaviors
- Monitors facility issues
- Helps you manage your assets more effectively
- Supports promotional programs
- Audits pricing & merchandising compliance
- Enforces employee integrity
- Allows for competitive analyses
- Compliments market research data
- Identifies areas of needed training and opportunities to increase sales
- Provides education for ongoing training and development
- Ensures positive customer relations
There is no question that a mystery shopping program will benefit your business. The question is “can your business afford not to have a mystery shopping program from Aloha Solutions?”
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