The American Bankers Association recently posted a blog about the importance of mystery shopping called, “Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Mystery Shopper?”. In it, author Kate Young discusses the value of mystery shopping in the financial world, making sure to address employee anxiety and what to do about it. Let’s take a look at some of her observations:
In their years of using mystery shopping, what they’ve learned is that mystery shops shouldn’t be used as a disciplinary tool but rather a training one. “The ideal program will ‘convert the research findings to behavior, so that it’s coachable, measurable, and manageable,’” Young says, quoting Tom Hershberger, the president and CEO of Cross Financial. But in order to make it useful as a training tool, each business has to make sure it considers its own brand identity in order to establish a baseline for what the customer experience should be. After all, “everyone has a different idea of what makes for great customer service.” In order to avoid any subjectivity, each business should lay out an objective way to measure it, which can then be evaluated by a mystery shopper. Where there are discrepancies, you’ll then have the opportunity to train. But in order to accomplish this, “Hershberger recommends using mystery shopping as an ongoing management tool rather than a one-time spot check,” adding, “‘Consistency over time is where the value is.’”
But Young also reminds us how important it is to engage your employees with your shopping program. Quoting the ABA’s senior vice president for retail banking, lending, and payments, Shelly Loftin, Young writes, “The risk of alienating employees by making them feel tricked and vulnerable to punishment may undermine the program’s ultimate goals. They need to know that this about learning what the customer is experiencing—and how you can build on strengths and enhance training.”
Mystery shopping should be used as a way to engage your employees. It demonstrates your business’s commitment to excellence, and that you really care about each customer’s experience. To avoid alienating your staff, managers should be open and honest about what they’re measuring with mystery shops and, most importantly, why. This context is critical to helping employees buy in. Otherwise, some might not ever understand why greeting customers within thirty-seconds is so important, or why failing to invite them to return can be such a negative.
And there truly are no secrets when it comes to the customer experience. Only ignorance. As Young says, your business is likely being mystery shopped by someone—even if it’s not by you: “it’s common practice for them to shop competitor banks to set a benchmark or perform a gap analysis… What overall experience does your bank offer that your competitors do not?” On this thought, she astutely concludes, “There’s not much you can do about other banks shopping your institution—just try to avoid being the last to know what your customers are experiencing.” Employees should care just as much about this fact as business owners and managers.
So, don’t fear the mystery shoppers. Fear ignorance.
If you want to avoid being left in the dark, consider reaching out to us at The Brandt Group. No matter what your industry, if you have customers, that means you need good customer service to ensure long-term success. Let us help you with that by calling us at 406–586–3036 or filling out this contact page today!
