First of all I would suggest that you watch this short video by Jack Vale “Exposing Bad Customer Service” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Vnp9AUuIs.
In it he exposes shockingly bad customer service in well-known retail outlets in America. The video uncovers how complacency can set in and have a negative impact on the bond between the customer and the business. Once this trust is broken it is extremely hard to win back. There are no excuses in modern day retail due to customer expectation levels being at an all-time high. Customers nowadays want accuracy regarding your product/service using the video as an example, knowing what’s in stock. This is why mystery shopping is such a valued tool in the retail industry. Your business can avoid this type of embarrassment by monitoring your internal customers (staff) using a call centre who provides this kind of service.
The Benefits of Mystery Shopping
If you want to appraise your internal customers then mystery shopping them is a fantastic option to choose. It gives you a great perspective in which you can effectively evaluate your customers buying experience. A call centre team of mystery shoppers carry out surveys by telephone, on-site physical shoppers and on-line purchasers. All the reports carried out by your mystery shopping team will include a generic section which will allow you to measure the site performance and then there will be specific questions that cater for the individual staff member. This will allow your company to make sure that your customers are being treated in a professional and amiable manner. It is a useful tool for measuring front-line staff performance across multiple sites.
Perspective
What Jack Vale does in this video is give the retail companies in question a perspective into what it is like to be in their customer’s shoes. This viewpoint is too often neglected by companies, after all your customers are your company’s lifeblood. This kind of poor customer service could be happening right now in your business but you don’t know it. Mystery shopping brings it to your attention so the issue can be fixed fast. This is effectively what Jack has done here, yes in a rather crude fashion but these well-known retailers will have taken a massive hit to their reputation with the exposure this video is getting (as of today 1,379,727 views).
Conclusion
Do not wait until problems like these surfaces to act, be proactive and lay down some KPI’s with your internal customers. If your staff are overrun during peak periods and they cannot provide quality customer service then outsource. Mystery shopping your own establishment to really understand how your staff is treating valued customers. Outsourcing these duties to a third party allows for unbiased and detailed research. A call centre can carry out these duties in a professional and efficient style. The question is how many customers are you secretly losing every week?
For more information please contact us, Call us now at +44289 57 57 275 (UK) / +35321 482 4300 (Ireland) or email info@aremaconnect.com to discuss your requirements with us.
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