‘Special agents’ measure the CX quality level, as regular shoppers.

What we do?

 

Mystery shopping or mystery calls are used to measure the quality level of retail and service, work performance, compliance with regulations or the placement of products and promotional materials at the POS. The entire shopping experience is in focus and the individual elements at the POS that influence it are closely observed and documented by our testers (e.g. by video, photo, checklists). 

 

What are typical questions?

 

• How are my products placed in the store?

• How is the shopping experience (both, online and offline)?

• What is the customer experience like during a contact with customer support?

• Is the entire assortment available at the POS and how does the POS look like?

• How visible are promotional materials?

• How is the tonality of the customer-facing staff?

 

How does it help?

 

• Assessment shopping and support experience

• Optimization options for service quality and product presentation

• Serves as a basis for strategy optimization in sales. 

 

What are the limitations?

 

• As no real customers are involved, this method rather focuses on defined service levels. For an open-focus exploration, an additional customer involvement is a good idea.

Key Infos

When to use?

When customer-facing touchpoints (call centers, POS’s, fulfilment processes etc.) are in place and running. 

Combine with

A customer survey.

Variants and options

Use a sample of instructed real customers instead of expert observers. 

FAQ

What can be tested?

The range of products, the professionalism of the staff, the shopping experience at the POS.

How long does the preparation take?

Mystery shopping requires very good preparation. Typically, it takes about 3 weeks from the time of commissioning.

During this time, we work out the survey guidelines for the mystery shoppers in close consultation with you.

The mystery shoppers are trained. For each assignment, the mystery shoppers receive a detailed briefing that excludes any scope for evaluation.

When should be tested?

• When customer complaints pile up

• When too few customers go to the POS

• When competitors are stronger and attract more customers

• When your own sales stagnate or go down

How many POS should be surveyed?

Depending on the size of the population. Usually at least 25 stores. On average, however, there are more stores.

Who are the mystery shoppers?

Specially trained interviewers who are interested and experienced in working as mystery shoppers.

They have a high level of observation and the ability to evaluate objectively according to specified standards. They have technical understanding and know-how in the field of the object of investigation.

Our mystery shoppers are guaranteed a friendly demeanor and reliable, accurate and timely documentation of observations.

The tester's primary goal is to remain undetected.

Testers are intensively trained by us and prepared for the testings.

Michael Wörmann

Managing Partner

+49 89 2050 5560 

m.woermann (AT) house-of-communication.com