As you consider implementing mystery shopping to develop your business’s customer service and experience, you may wonder how your employees will feel about it. You may worry that some will feel like they’re being spied on, that you don’t trust them, that what they do is never good enough. Some companies have built cultures on that kind of fear, but most have found that a negative work environment benefits no one.
A company that mystery shops says it cares about the customer experience, and—just as importantly—it cares about developing its employees and putting them in the best position to succeed. There’s no deception here: of course, the company has self-interested reasons for wanting their employees to be great because a superior staff will ultimately earn far better than an inferior one. But this is definitely “a rising tide lifts all boats” situation because employees who are well trained are thus well empowered, consistently successful, and satisfied. Shouldn’t employees have that kind of self-interest, too?
So how do you convey to your employees that a mystery shopping program is not just good for the company, but good for them too? Consider this: for many salespeople (whether they’re in retail, dining, or anything else), their success is often measured by sales goals and quotas. While the final score matters, how hard the players play says a lot too, and there’s no good way to measure that without using a tool that dives deeper than the balance sheet. Total sales tell you what, but mystery shopping tells you why. It breaks down the entire customer experience so you can measure how well your employees execute. Do they greet everyone right away? Are they friendly and welcoming? Do they listen and comprehend well? Can they explain products and services easily? Are they asking for the sale? And do they make sure to express their appreciation for your customers’ business?
Maybe your business has great sales and a solid reputation already. In that case, mystery shopping will then identify why you’re getting those results so you can keep focusing on what matters. And the inverse is also true, naturally. If there’s a problem, mystery shopping will uncover it so you can be proactive about fixing it. In the end, mystery shopping isn’t about trapping employees when they make mistakes or finding nits to pick in the jobs they do. It’s about embracing the idea that we should all strive to be better than we were yesterday because self-improvement not only is a reward in itself, but it also translates into that success, and satisfaction mentioned earlier.
In other words, mystery shopping isn’t just great for employers—it’s fantastic for employees, too! Given its mutual benefit, it’s a no-brainer.
So, how do you convince your employees that this is all true? First, consider turning mystery shopping into a kind of employee rewards program, where you spotlight and compensate your staff members for getting high scores. Second, if a mystery shop report reveals a problem in an employee’s performance, it should be used to train and not to reprimand. Rather than confront someone for making a mistake, use it as a learning experience to do a better job the next time around.
Want to discuss this in greater detail? Give us a call at 406–586–3036, or contact us now. Working with you, we can develop a mystery shopping program that focuses on the most important aspects of your customer experience, and in doing so, helps you train your staff into the best employees than can be to create a happier, stronger work culture that raises the tide for everyone.
