Using Mystery Shops to Coach

You’ve made the decision to start mystery shopping your company, and now your first reports have arrived. Perhaps they’re a mixed bag: some did great, others so-so, and a few poorly. How should you, or those employees’ manager, use this data to instruct them? Reinforce When discussing what went well…
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The Make-or-Break Ratio

We’ve often discussed the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences every time. The Customer Experience (or CX) encompasses thoughtful customer service, a detailed sales process, and great products and services. Your business must deliver on all three consistently, whether we’re talking about at the restaurant table or the hot-tub showroom.…
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Never Force a Customer to Call Twice

While it’s true that people’s attention spans are growing shorter every year with our on-demand, always-connected lifestyles, what’s also diminished is our patience. There’s hardly ever any need to wait for anything now. Think about it: Want a product? Your favorite online retailer can probably deliver it in under two…
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Is Mystery Shopping an MLM?

A question we sometimes get from potential mystery shoppers is whether the kind of work we do is actually multi-level marketing. Given that there have been scams associated with both industries, the question is fair. And the answer is straightforward: no, it’s not. But read on for a detailed explanation…
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Learning from the Competition and Beyond

Customer-service expert Shep Hyken has another great take on what it takes to deliver a superior customer experience, this time taking a look at the importance of studying the competition. But, as he explains, it’s not as simple as copying what they do: “if all you are is a copy…
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Customer Experience Consistency

Famed customer-service expert Shep Hyken posted an article titled, Avoid Customer Confusion, wherein he details a confusing experience purchasing a ping-pong table from a nearby store. He had researched the price online at their website but was shocked to discover that the brick-and-mortar location had a much higher price—and worse…
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The High Cost of Cheap

Consider the age-old saying, “you get what you pay for,” and compare that to another that says, “a fool and his money are soon parted.” These are two extremes on the axis of value, where each of us has to judge whether something is worth the cost. But as we…
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Watching the Tape

When most business owners think about mystery shopping, they picture an average consumer entering a store to evaluate the customer experience. This includes everything from the impressions they form when approaching the store’s exterior to how the employees treat them once they’re inside. Additionally, they’ll usually have feedback regarding store…
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A Year Later

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since the President declared COVID–19 a National Emergency. Almost none of us back then had any guess as to the kind of year we were in store for, as we all faced lockdowns, shutdowns, shelter-in-place orders, social distancing mandates, reduced occupancy edicts,…
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