When it comes to mystery shopping, I’m generally an advocate of non-purchase secret shops. The reason is simple, if a purchase is made, and reimbursed, there’s the handling of the receipt. If the purchase is kept by the shopper, it can decrease the value to the secret shopper, without increasing the value of the shopping observation.
Recently, I’ve been rethinking this concept. I’m now advocating that all our mystery shopping observations include making a small (think less than $5.00) purchase. Why? With greater frequency, customers are using debit and credit cards to make purchases. This is a gold mine for retailers across the world!
You get the money faster, and there’s no bounced checks! Even better, you always have the opportunity to see the customer’s name!
We are recommending that once the purchase is included in the mystery shopping assignment, that the employee being shopped receive a $10 bonus, preferably on the spot, if they use the customer / shopper’s name in the transaction. This simple step, practiced by almost nobody these days, could make a huge impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty it’s amazing.
Because there’s not a lot of competition in the “customer name market” you will stand out as a giant among giants. We’ve advocated this strategy for years, but it seems that managers just don’t get it.
Dale Carnegie said it over 70 years ago in his book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, “The sweetest sound to any person is the sound of their own name.” It’s true. We, as a society, love ourselves. Heck, we can’t even pass a mirror without looking and smiling. That’s not vanity, that’s human nature!
So, if you want to win more customers let them hear the sweetest sound they know — their name! Let your customers know you really know them!
Want additional tips to insure your secret shopping program is on target to increase sales and build customer loyalty? Visit our main web sites for The Service Quality Department and ServiceQuality.US
