when mystery shopping goes bad: best practices to avoid common pitfalls

Kinesis CEM, LLC

When Mystery Shopping Goes Bad: Best Practices to Avoid Common  

http://www.kinesis-cem.com/Insights_MS_Goes_Bad.shtml

Eric Larse is co-founder of Seattle-based Kinesis, which helps companies plan and execute their customer experience strategies. Mr. Larse can be reached at elarse@kinesis-cem.com.

http://www.kinesis-cem.com

kinesis-cem.com 206.285.2900 info@kinesis-cem.com

When Mystery Shopping Goes Bad:

Best Practices to Avoid Common Pitfalls

that many businesses spend

thousands of dollars annually on

such mystery shopping…

Despite the fact…

….an astonishing number of programs fail outright or limp

along, under-performing against

expectations.

When Mystery ShoppingGoes Bad

Disputed findings by

employees and managers

Companies recite a litany

of complaints:

Questioning of mystery shoppers’ skills and credibility

Companies recite a litany of

complaints:

More internal administration than planned

Companies recite a litany of

complaints:

Flat trend lines and

undifferentiated scores

Companies recite a litany of

complaints:

Little or no correlation

between mystery shopping results

and customer satisfaction ratings

Companies recite a litany of

complaints:

Lack of timeliness and responsiveness from mystery

shopping vendors

Companies recite a litany of

complaints:

Difficulty demonstrating return on investment

Companies recite a litany of

complaints:

It provides tremendous value when

designed and executed well.

Mystery shopping as a methodology

is not to blame

Define Clear ObjectivesBest Practices to

Avoid Common Pitfalls:

Keep it Simple

Best Practices toAvoid Common

Pitfalls:

Obtain Buy-in

From the Front-line

Best Practices toAvoid Common

Pitfalls:

Plan for Change

Best Practices toAvoid Common

Pitfalls: