MYSTERY SHOPPING
There is a lot of competition, both from brick-and-mortar businesses and online, for the consumer’s hard-earned money. When the public has many choices about where they can buy similar products or services, what helps them decide which companies to deal with and which ones to avoid?
It comes down to providing great customer service.
Unfortunately, most people who are not happy with their experience dealing with a business are not likely to let the company know, either by speaking to a manager directly or by letting the head office know. So, how will a responsible company find out how well staff members are meeting their customers’ needs? They send in secret shoppers – that’s how!
Mystery shopping is the use of trained observers who act as "normal" customers in order to test services according to a pre-determined list of criteria. Mystery shoppers are also referred to as test customers, service-testers, or test buyers.
Mystery shoppers say what they think about services they have been tasked to test. Of course, when you hire Sharina Bynes, she gives her opinion objectively and in a well-informed and factual manner.
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Sharina Bynes is one of over two million people all over the world who shares her opinions and views about the businesses she is tasked to evaluate.
Companies and organisations can use her opinions to understand their business better and to help make it a better. Sharina Bynes is paid to act like a regular customer, evaluate and report the quality of services provided at various businesses.
During a typical task as a Mystery Shopper, she reviews the requirements of the task, goes shopping, checks the cleanliness of the location, interacts with the employees, asks specific questions concerning a product, possibly makes a purchase and fills out the survey evaluating and relating to the experience.
Mystery Shopping is a great way to test your organiztion's service delivery and iron out some kinks that have slipped through the cracks in your service delivery journey.
SERVICES
The services that Sharina Bynes provides include Mystery Calls, Mystery Chats and Mystery Emails and/or complete Mystery Visits to explore local stores.
Here's how she can help you with your service delivery:
Mystery Shopping
Check out customer service as a test customer and help companies to improve their services.
Product Tests
Test new and existing products and help improve them.
Focus Groups
Discuss important issues to help with any kind of decision making.
Opinion Polls
Take part in polls on products and services you provide.
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Mystery shopping is used in all sectors where companies come in contact with their customers, such as in retail outlets, catering facilities and hotels, call centres, hospitals and workshops.
These customer interfaces are where decisions are made as to whether a product or a service will be bought, whether customer needs are satisfied and, lastly, whether your customer will use the company's services again or recommend them.
The following examples will give you a better idea of what mystery shopping assignments might look like:
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At a telecommunications provider, she checks to see whether the customer advisor offers her the right product for her personal situation.
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She obtains advice from a flower retailer's hotline to see whether the company's customer advice concept works on the telephone.
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At a tyre dealer's, she seeks advice on tyres for her car. Then she approaches a competitor with the same questions. She then compares the advice she got from both dealers.