4 Warning Signs That Your Mystery Shopping Program May Not Be Credible

| Sunday, October 9, 2011
By Xavier Rault


Integrity and credibility are the most important things to look for in any mystery shopping program and this applies to the company itself, their staff and the data that they furnish you with. The success of any mystery shopper service is entirely dependent on whether associates can buy into it - if no one thinks that the data they are getting is accurate, the program essentially has zero perceived value.


More than 2% of shops request score changes

Simply put, if store managers don't believe the data, they won't buy into it. Score change requests can run the gamut from "That never happened" to "Susie isn't employed here anymore" in an attempt to skew the data in a positive direction and make the numbers look better than they are.


Improved scores bear no relation to the opinions of your customers

If there is a wide disparity between what your mystery shopping and customer service data is saying, it's time again to take a closer look at both""as well as at how each data set is being calibrated against the other. For example, if your mystery shopping data shows great improvement, but your customers don't seem to be noticing, it would be smart to reassess the qualifications of the mystery shoppers and/or review the ways in which the criterion are being assessed by the shoppers. As you would expect, on average, both sets of data should largely reflect and support the findings of the other.


Managers are talking among themselves about problems with the program

For a mystery shopping program to be effective, it requires buy in from store managers and staff. If store managers are gossiping amongst themselves about how the program is not working, you've got a problem. Frontline staff will quickly catch on, and the detrimental 'trickle down' affect will soon be obvious.


Everyone is using the credibility word

Credibility is an important thing when it comes to a mystery shopper service, but when you hear the word used constantly by the service, it might be time to take a closer look at the company and find out:

a) if everyone involved knows what it really means
b) everyone cares to the same degree
c) everyone agrees that to be any less than credible would be tantamount to being false.


A mystery shopping program which is credible provides you with raw data which is gathered using objective criteria. Numbers do not lie and that is all they should give you - the data. Skewing the data, complaints about the program and doubt about the numbers you are provided are all signs that you might need to re-evaluate your shopping service.




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