Category: Mystery Shopping

 

It’s no surprise that businesses need several methods for interacting with customers, especially when it comes to addressing customer service needs and issues. Social media is the newest channel for customer service, alongside the more traditional contact points including phone, email, and live chat.

 

Is text becoming the next “big” channel for customer service issues? According to a recent study by Heywire, it might be. The study revealed that 52% of respondents stated that they would prefer to text with customer service reps to resolve issues and get assistance, while 75% of respondents said they would prefer text over social media when it comes to talking with customer service reps.

 

It’s no surprise that online channels have taken over preference compared to telephone conversations; however, texting seems to be something that may not be the best route for addressing customer service needs.

 

Personally, in thinking about preferences when I need to contact a company, it depends on who I’m calling and what the purpose is. If it’s a quick inquiry, and I can wait, email will do. If it’s more urgent, my first line of conversation (if available) would be live chat. Phone calls are not as desired, but it has to do more with the fact that 1) the hold times can be excessive at times, and 2) with companies trying to upsell at every turn, I don’t want the hassle of resolving my issues and then being upsold. There is nothing more frustrating than having an issue and a representative is trying to sell me on a newer product or service when I am already having issues with the current one.

 

In general, though, I think customer service issues can be easily resolved through quicker channels, such as chat or email. Texting can be another avenue, though in thinking about it, it seems like it would be “clunky” or difficult to manage, integrate into CRM, or keep track as the issues come into representatives.

 

The study is interesting in that it sheds light on the importance of offering a variety of channels for customers to communicate. Will text be the next big thing? Right now I’d say likely not, though the respondents in this study may change that line of thinking as text becomes a more integrated option for consumers.

 

 

Could this be true? Your company’s customer service is bad on purpose? The majority of responses would likely be, “Of course not!” But, before answering the question, consider things from another perspective…

 

What is your company’s goal for the customer experience? To give customers a quick, efficient buying process? A warm, family feel to their interactions with your business? Fully meeting your customers’ needs in the fastest way possible, with any issues addressed quickly so as to maintain satisfaction?

 

If any (or all) of these apply, what steps are you taking to ensure this happens? The decisions you may ultimately affect the customer and their perception of doing business with you. Making sure you have all of the decisions that affect customers solid, with a consistent, regular plan of maintenance, can ensure you’re not providing “bad” service on purpose. Consider the following:

 

1. Do you hire the right people and provide the right training? Hiring a person who meets all of the criteria that fall in line with your vision and customer service expectations falls outside of simply meeting the requirements for the position. If you want a warm, friendly environment, are you hiring managers keeping this in mind when interviewing? Once hired, is the training program one that leads to a successful employee? Is continual training offered? What measurements do you have in place to monitor performance past the training period?

 

2. Are all of your sales channels as complete as possible? If online shopping is a customer touch point, does the site load quickly and offer enough information for customers to make purchasing decisions easily? Is the checkout process streamlined and efficient? Do you review website performance to gauge the number of cart abandonment and look for reasons that this may be happening?

 

3. Do you monitor and evaluate the customer resolution process? When issue arise, do you have staff in place to respond and assist in a timely manner? Are employees trained with the ability to make decisions to expedite the resolution process, or is there a lot of follow up and permission asking that can slow this down? Do you monitor the resolution process, either through a double loop process or monitoring with satisfaction surveys or even a mystery shopping program?

 

If you can respond with a resounding “yes” to the above, then you are likely not providing bad service, or at least not bad service on purpose. If you are not creating the right foundation to work from, you may be providing bad customer service without even realizing it.

 

 

Retailers utilizing a mystery shopping program have come to understand that evaluating the purchase transaction is a very important part of the program – not only can companies ensure that cashier staff are asking for email addresses, offering enrollment in loyalty and/or credit card programs, and ending the transaction in a positive manner, but they can ensure that this last leg of the customer journey ends on a positive note – one that will leave the customer with a positive experience and may be more likely to return.

 

On a peripheral note, including the purchase, along with a maximum reimbursement spend, can do more than that. We’ve studied the purchasing behavior of mystery shoppers to determine how they spend at certain retailers, and what might make them spend more. Traditionally, when a client sets a maximum reimbursement limit for mystery shops, the mystery shoppers understand that they will be reimbursed up to that amount, and any overage is at their expense.

 

It’s an interesting aspect to look at….do shoppers tend to spend the maximum, less than that, or go overboard?

 

It all depends on the type of shop, what the maximum reimbursement is, and the state of mind of the shopper.

 

Our informal research has shown that, in the example of a retailer who sells clothing and accessories, a higher reimbursement typically results in a higher spend. From the mindset of the shopper, they may see that a reimbursement is maybe $10, and that may sway their decision to focus on smaller items during the evaluation, perhaps accessories or less expensive clothing items. On the other hand, a larger reimbursement may set their mind on the bigger ticket items, realizing that if the reimbursement is $30 and they see an outfit they love for $50, they may be more inclined to purchase it.

 

We have found that shoppers tend to spend approximately 10-15% more with a lower reimbursement, and up to 25% more with a larger reimbursement. This results in additional sales for the company, making the program a bit more profitable. This is one way to think of the reimbursement as a cost effective measure of your mystery shopping program.

 

The shopper’s state of mind is also important – are they a current customer of the retailer, or is this their first visit? First time shoppers who have a positive experience may be inclined to be regular customers after that initial shop, which again results in a new customer and additional sales. Comments from reports suggest that mystery shoppers, especially those who have a strong customer service experience, tend to be very likely to return as a true customer. Report comments indicate that they may have not visited the store in the past because they weren’t familiar with the brand or their perception was different with regards to what the store had to offer in terms of products, or it was a retailer they had not previously heard of.

 

It’s important to consider reimbursement for mystery shopping programs for these reasons, but it’s also a good way to think of the reimbursement in terms of cost efficiency. Typically, the per shop costs are reduced, even if slightly, when reimbursements are included for purchases, and a wider view of the entire experience is captured. Of course, depending on the retailer, a reimbursement cannot be offered all the time – you wouldn’t want to set a reimbursement for a high end furniture store, for example – but for many retailers, adding the purchase transaction to the evaluation can be effective and a valuable part of your program.