What kinds of businesses use mystery shoppers? It is a question many small businesses ask themselves when debating whether to use a mystery shopper.
A mystery shopper is an agent of a consulting company who is asked to investigate and perform a “mystery appearance” at a local establishment, whether a restaurant, retail store or bank. They are dangerously effective in increasing revenue and inspiring new levels of brand loyalty.
Ways Mystery Shoppers Help A Business
Mystery shoppers help a business by identifying several significant areas of improvement.
Customer Service
The biggest hurdle for many businesses to overcome is customer satisfaction. It’s impossible to appease every customer. However, having good customer service can still net the largest consumer pool to reap practical revenue gains. You can guarantee a substantial return from consumer investments with adequate and dependable customer service practices.
But what kinds of businesses use mystery shoppers to enhance customer service? Restaurants, butcher shops, banks, and retailers all use a mystery shopper service. Doing so helps them to find failings in their customer service practices and ensure that their employees follow those same practices.
Regulatory Compliance
Every province or municipality has regulations for businesses operating within the region or city. Some of these regulations may be followed by your establishment or employees. Failure to follow these guidelines can result in a fine or seizure.
Mystery shopper services through a professional mystery shopping are some of the best agents to browse and inspect your establishment for regulatory compliance. Many are natives in the areas they shop, speak the language, and know local and provincial regulations. Even if you are following every regulation, there is a good chance they will see something you need to know to watch out for.
Manager Ineffectiveness
When you are absent as a business owner, your managers are responsible for running your enterprise. However, not all managers have your business’s interests at heart. Some will use their new position to skirt responsibilities and reap the benefits of being your employee. Mystery shoppers can help report on what they see managers doing and help identify where managers are failing to perform their duties to you as a business owner.
How Mystery Shoppers Help Specific Businesses
Specifically, what kinds of businesses use mystery shoppers? It depends on what mystery shopper services are supposed to look for. Mystery shopper services commonly handle retail businesses where a consumer purchases a product or service. These industries include but are not limited to, the following
Food Service
Mystery shopper services are excellent for the food service industries. Food service is often under strict regulations to ensure food health and safety for the consumer. Health inspectors and food safety groups often drop by unannounced to inspect restaurants. However, suppose employees know that they’re coming. In that case, it is easy to sneak under the radar by appearing professional during the inspection.
A mystery shopper can ensure a restaurant is adhering to local regulations while pushing for more sales. Many fast-food restaurants and large chains use mystery shoppers to ensure employees and businesses are upselling and providing extra services with every order.
If you are not a large fast food chain, you need every attempt to ensure consistent revenue. A mystery shopper service can call your establishment or physically go there and place an order. Employees can respond differently. It is important to remember that the more consistently your employees upsell, the more likely they will secure a revenue increase.
But what about dining in restaurants? As mentioned, mystery shoppers can ensure regulations are followed and customer service is on point. Remember, good customer service provides clients, and consumers are happy and willing to return and spend more on subsequent visits.
Retail Stores
Retail is one of the most obvious in the “what kinds of businesses use mystery shoppers” question. Every retailer has a requirement to sell and provide products for the consumer. Some companies send mystery shoppers to ensure those products are being marketed effectively, and employees use the same tagline to promote the brand.
Even small, family-owned businesses can benefit from a mystery shopper inspecting their retail store. Owners can use them to ensure employees advertise correctly and that certain products are appropriately displayed.
But what about non-clothing stores? Grocery stores and other outlets providing goods can use mystery shopper services to ensure high customer service standards. They are also helpful to ensure that employees behave when the manager or owner is absent. It can be an excellent time to look at the store from a fresh perspective. They can point out little normalities as significant defects in the store’s structure or foundation.
Hospitals
Healthcare providers can also benefit from using mystery shoppers to evaluate and improve their patient experience. Hospitals, clinics, and medical offices can use mystery shoppers to ensure that staff are providing high-quality customer service and that patients are receiving the care they need. Mystery shoppers can evaluate everything from check-in procedures to the cleanliness of the facility, and provide valuable feedback to healthcare providers on areas that need improvement. Additionally, mystery shoppers can also check the adherence of the staff to the standard protocols and quality of the services provided. Overall, mystery shopping can be a powerful tool for healthcare providers to ensure that they are providing the best possible care to their patients.
Education (schools, Universities)
Schools can also use mystery shoppers to evaluate and improve their educational experience. From primary schools to universities, mystery shoppers can provide valuable feedback on the quality of the education and customer service provided by teachers and staff. Schools can use mystery shoppers to assess the effectiveness of their curriculum, the teaching methods used by their staff, and the general atmosphere of the school.
Mystery shoppers can also evaluate the efficiency of the administrative staff in handling the enquiries and providing the relevant information. Mystery shoppers can also evaluate the safety and security measures of the school. They can provide feedback on the cleanliness and maintenance of the school facilities and the overall school environment, and can help schools identify areas that need improvement. Overall, mystery shopping can be a powerful tool for schools to ensure that they are providing the best possible educational experience for their students.
Service Repair
Suppose your business provides a service that offers repairs to consumers. Many municipalities and provinces have restrictions regarding repairing services. As such, you want to ensure that your employees are not overselling when unnecessary or misleading customers. You can use mystery shopping services to ensure your employees are not violating home or auto repair regulations.
For example, suppose a mystery shopper calls your automotive repair shop and asks for a quote. In that case, that quote should be accurate to their request. If a representative of your shop tries to upsell services when not required or attempts to garner extra commission, that can diminish brand trust with consumers. Nobody wants to feel like they are being cheated in their dealings.
A mystery shopper can help inspire brand trust by identifying where problems with the consumer arise, helping you implement changes that lead to more revenue. Remember, a happy consumer likes to spend more at places they trust.
Increase Your Revenue And Establish Brand Trust
What kinds of businesses use mystery shoppers? All of them in some form or another. By not using a mystery shopper, you actively hamstring your business and diminish your projected financial growth.
That is why you should contact the experts at G.W.R. Consulting, which provides the best mystery shopping services across twenty-seven countries. We have assisted in representing and improving dozens of local and international brands. We can help you reach a marked increase in revenue by identifying areas of improvement.
Please get in touch with us here to ensure your business is performing at its peak.