Mystery shopping questionnaire example. Methodology "Mystery shopper"

The “Mystery Shopping” technique, or “Mystery Shopping”, is quite effective among all modern methods of checking the quality of customer service, and, consequently, identifying reserves for company development.

At the same time, you should not “get hung up” only on checking the work of the sales staff. After all, for a company carrying out this type marketing research, there is no fundamental difference from which functionality to “remove” information. There is only a difference in terms and price.

After all, no less important for various companies is the implementation, and therefore the quality control of such functional responsibilities personnel as:

Speed of passage of commercial information within the company.
Reliability of the transmission of received information.
Compliance with internal service standards.
Competence of the employee responsible for his area of work.
And much more…

As an example, we will describe how this is done to check sales personnel, due to the fact that this type of service is the most in demand on the market.

"Mystery shopping" market monitoring technology

Under the guise of ordinary customers, several people, specially trained and prepared “mystery shoppers,” approach the company or its sales area. Each “mystery shopper” (another name is “ Mystery shopper", "control buyer", "Mystery Shopping") corresponds to the characteristics of the average buyer and behaves in the usual way for this buyer, enters into a dialogue with one or more employees of the sales floor, makes a purchase or leaves, allegedly without yet making a final decision about the purchase.

The “Mystery Shopper”, according to a scheme individually developed for this Customer, fills out a visit report. The report is also created in the form of a text description of the visit, with ratings in the form of points assigned according to a certain system. The sheet that the “Mystery Shopper” fills out as a sample is attached at the end of the section of this article.

Next, the project curator analyzes the results of all visits of the “mystery shoppers” and creates a generalized report on the results of checking the quality of customer service. The report contains scores for the work of the customer company's employees, graphs for comparing the quality of service at different retail outlets or sales offices of the company, and the dynamics of service quality (if this is long-term monitoring). The report may also contain specific recommendations for improving the quality of customer service, if such a task was set at the conclusion of the contract.

What benefits does the Customer receive from analysis and monitoring using the “mystery shopper” method?

First of all, an audit of the performance of functional duties is carried out.

As a result, the company’s customer service is improved, and therefore the company’s competitiveness.

Increasing the effectiveness of training conducted in the company or setting a corresponding task for companies involved in personnel training.

The possibility of introducing and/or adjusting a bonus motivation system for staff, based on the assessments of unbiased “mystery shoppers”, whose work is also controlled by the curator of the “Mystery Shopper” project. This bonus system can apply both to personnel directly working with clients, as well as to their managers and trainers.

Assessing various aspects of staff performance, including their honesty and loyalty.

What aspects of staff performance are typically subject to mystery shopping (mystery shopping) assessments?

How are the Clients greeted?
How do salespeople, secretaries, and other employees in contact with Clients work?
Do employees meet customer service standards?
Do salespeople use sales techniques?
How is a Client transferred from one employee to another?
How do employees communicate with each other in the presence of the Client?
How do employees get out of stressful, critical, dangerous situations?
Are the company's employees honest towards Clients and the company administration?
Do they know their product?
Are they making a real effort to get the deal done?
How is the premises and the company as a whole perceived from the Client’s point of view?

Setting the task for monitoring.

The customer can independently determine the main purpose of monitoring or take advantage of the offer of the company that will carry out this work.
For example:

Assessing the quality of customer service.
Compliance with corporate standards.
Honesty and loyalty of staff compared with competitors.
And so on.

Market monitoring formats used using the “mystery shopper” method.

Personal visits of “mystery shoppers” to retail outlets, sales offices or any other places where your employees usually meet with clients. (For example, in the sales area of a car dealership, or at construction sites, where the apartments are shown.)

“Test purchase” are visits of “mystery shoppers” to retail outlets or sales offices with or without mandatory purchase, with an assessment: appearance and discipline, working with clients, order and cleanliness, compliance with merchandising rules, corporate standards, etc.

Phone calls from “mystery shoppers” to your employees.

Observation of “mystery shoppers” under the guise of a customer waiting for their friend of everything that happens in the client area of your company.

Stages of monitoring "mystery shopping"

Determining the purpose and format of monitoring.
Obtaining requirements for “mystery shoppers”.
Study (if necessary, creation and implementation) of corporate standards for the Customer’s company.
Coordination and approval of the script for visits, calls or observations.
Development and approval of “legends” with which “mystery shoppers” come.
Development and approval of questionnaires filled out by “mystery shoppers”.
Detailed instruction of “mystery shoppers” selected by the Contractor (possibly together with the Customer).
Conducting monitoring with “mystery shoppers” filling out questionnaires after each visit or call.
Checking by the project curator the accuracy of the assessments and descriptions of visits in the “mystery shoppers” reports in accordance with the audio recording (if necessary), adjusting (if necessary) the actions of the “mystery shoppers”.
Analysis of verified information received, preparation of a summary report and recommendations.
Transfer to the customer a summary report and recommendations, as well as all primary information: questionnaires and audio recordings.

At each stage of work, the Customer has the right to request and receive all the intermediate information he needs.

Mystery shopper questionnaire
The author of the template is Dmitry Kolesnikov (research.rbc.ru). Templates used by MICROSOFT Corp.
Download >>>

Checklist for visiting the store and Memo for the employee carrying out the inspection
The author of the template is Marat Salmanov ( research.rbc.ru). Templates used by MICROSOFT Corp.
Download >>>

Mystery Shopping Mistakes

Further material is intended for direct performers of the functions of the company/agency that has entered into an agreement for marketing research using the "mystery shopper" method.

It's no secret that there are mistakes in any job. How to avoid them, or at least minimize them. Here are the “three pillars” on which the reputation of a successful employee performing the functions of a “Mystery Shopper” rests:

1. Completing the task on time- means that the “buyer” completed the purchase at the agreed time or period of time, prepared and sent the report before the end of the specified period.
2. Performing tasks accurately and accurately- means that the purchase must be completed in accordance with the task, the report is filled out correctly, the information in the report is correct and the awarded points (scoring) do not contradict your own comments.
3. Complete the task completely- means that the “buyer” filled out all the required fields in the report form and made the necessary comments, did not forget to attach a receipt (if required) and other necessary materials to the report.

If you accepted a purchase task but did not complete it, then most likely you will no longer receive new tasks, at least from this agency. The Contractor risks undermining his reputation in the eyes of not only the Customer, but also potential Customers and partners.

What to do if suddenly the circumstances turned out to be higher than you and you realized that you could not complete the task?

Immediately notify the employer about this; the Contractor company, if it cannot complete the work, notifies the Customer about this.

The sooner you inform your employer about this, the easier it will be for him to find a replacement for you and reschedule the purchase. What else should a “secret shopper” pay attention to when interacting with his employer?

First of all, remember that you are working with people, so be polite at all times. Try to do so not to be an additional burden, but rather to make their job a little easier. For example, when you receive a task, do not immediately rush to ask questions. First, read and think about everything carefully, think through your questions. When receiving instructions over the phone, always take notes so you can refresh your memory of the conversation later. Don't call your employer just to chat.

These are, as a rule, busy people and they don’t have time to chat. Keep your employer informed about changes in your personal data. If the site allows you to submit and edit profiles, then do it through the site.

Otherwise you can send by email. There is no need to ask when you will receive your next assignment, or why you receive so few assignments.

The reason for this may be a low number of orders in your region, or high competition among “mystery shoppers”.

Maintain contact with the employing agency throughout the assignment. Inform him of any facts that will delay the sending of the report or the completion of the purchase itself. Complete your tasks as quickly as possible, in accordance with the instructions.
Don't ask for extra time on the report over and over again. Respond as quickly as possible when an agency sends you a new assignment or asks you a question.

Be flexible and cooperative when the agency is in a tight spot.

For example, take a last-minute purchase order and the agency will, of course, appreciate it.

Don't cancel your assignment at the very last moment, or, more importantly, don't forget about your assignment.

Do not submit an incomplete report, thereby causing the agency to waste time clarifying issues with you.

Thus, your reputation as a Mystery Shopper will suffer greatly if you make the following mistakes:

Error	Nature of the error
Not reading and/or following instructions	Serious - critical
Accept purchase/inspection assignments and then disappear without completing the job	Critical
Don't report problems	Serious - critical
You give conflicting answers to questions	Serious
Carry out purchases/inspections in a hurry	Serious
Not checking your purchase/inspection report thoroughly. Lots of errors in reports	Serious
Hiding the truth	Serious - critical
Don't want or don't know how to admit your mistakes	Serious - critical
Sending reports late	Serious - critical

If you try to follow these guidelines and try to avoid mistakes, you will be in good standing with agencies and will undoubtedly receive more assignments than others.

This section of the article was created based on materials from the sitewww.Mystery-Shopper.ru

Memo for the employee performing the inspection

1. Test methodology.

1.1. Before visiting the store, you must carefully study the proposed questionnaire and try to remember its contents.
1.2. It is necessary to prepare a “legend” in advance, that is, think through the purpose of your coming to the store (what you would like to choose, purpose, for whom, color, size, etc.).
1.3. Approximate time spent in the store: 40-50 minutes.
1.4. When entering the store, pay attention to the exact time of your visit.
1.5. During one inspection you need to visit three departments.
1.6. When communicating, behave naturally and at ease, like an ordinary buyer. Listen carefully and observe the seller's actions.
1.7. Be sure to remember the seller's first and last name on the badge (in extreme cases, only the first name).
1.8. When communicating with the seller, be polite and correct, do not allow conflict situations.

When conducting an inspection Special attention you need to pay attention to such parameters as:

Try to remember what you especially liked or, conversely, didn’t like in the store. During your visit, pay attention to the store as a whole (window display, signs, product information, catalogues, lighting, fitting rooms, ventilation, etc.)

2. Methodology for filling out questionnaires.

2.1. After visiting the store, you must fill out the proposed questionnaires. It is better to fill out the forms immediately after visiting the store, before all the information is erased from memory, but do not do this right away in the store (even small notes).
2.2. For each store, you need to fill out 3 questionnaires for different departments, each for a separate seller.
2.3. Don’t forget to indicate in the form the name of the store, the date and exact time of your visit, the department, your last and first name (in full), and the last name and first name of the seller. If you rated a seller who did not have a badge, write in the “Name of the seller” column - “without a badge.”
2.4. If you fill out several questionnaires for the same store, then give the same ratings for the work of the cash register and the work of the security service in all questionnaires (do not contradict yourself).
2.5. Attention! In the block highlighted with a double line, mark only one indicator.
2.6. In the questionnaire, mark “1” next to the selected parameter.
2.7. If the indicator is not assessed (for example, the goods were not delivered to you or there is no controller in the store), mark “0” in all cells for this item. Then this parameter will not be taken into account when calculating store ratings.

Try to take this work as seriously as possible.

What you will read about in this article

How does mystery shopping technology work?
How to organize employee checks
Mystery shopping questionnaire

Technology "Mystery shopper" appeared in conditions of high competition, when the fight for each client acquired a catastrophic priority. In the USA in the 70s of the last century, business owners had to look for new tools to increase the efficiency of their entrepreneurial activity. To retain customers, company managers began checking their employees: a specially trained “imaginary client” contacted the company and then reported all the shortcomings in the work of the staff, hidden from the manager.

The mystery shopping service is relevant for any business. But among the main customers of “mystery shoppers” it should be noted banking and insurance organizations, hotels, catering enterprises, retail and cellular communications. Today there are over 100 companies operating in the domestic market that provide the “mystery shopping” service.

General Director speaks

Dmitry Tikhonov, General Director of the Neokon School of Management, Moscow

The “mystery shopping” method is known to everyone. Why not take a similar approach to studying a company from the inside? This is how the idea of the “secret employee” method was born. An independent expert is introduced into the team as a new employee. It is advisable to apply for a mid-level management position. Then he will be able to obtain the necessary information from the employees, and in addition, he can count on the staff to be more or less frank with him in informal conversations. A “secret employee” was introduced into one of the companies. The first thing he noticed was the company's telephone directory: all employees were listed in alphabetical order, and not by position. The expert experienced the inconvenience of such a reference book himself: if he had a question and did not know the name of the person responsible, then the solution to the problem was greatly delayed.

How does mystery shopping work?

Step 1. Statement of the research problem. The standard “mystery shopping” service is based on the following principle. Several trained specialists contact the company to “purchase” a product or service. As a client of the company, they will have to identify:

Do secretaries, salespeople and other company employees who interact with clients work well?
Checking the integrity of employees.
How workers get out of dangerous and critical situations.
Do employees comply with the requirements for the style of service and customer service?
Do employees strive to complete a transaction, and what are they doing to achieve this?
Are employees well aware of the features of the product or service?

When preparing such a study, it is determined what the emphasis will be, what aspects are planned to be assessed: the honesty of employees; quality of service; comparison with competitors in the market; whether the organization’s client policy corresponds to the overall brand image.

How customer centricity turns an ordinary company into a market leader

Step 2. Study parameters. It is important to understand at this stage the parameters by which the “secret shopper” will evaluate the work of the staff. The criteria depend on the specifics of the company's work.

It is important to carefully consider the choice of parameters when working as a mystery shopper, since they form the budget for your research. If there are a large number of parameters, it is more profitable to involve specialized agencies. Therefore, if you are planning to apply for the “mystery shopping” service in special agency, you should assign a number of tasks to your marketing and HR departments. Including:

Monitoring agencies specializing in these services.
Meeting with the project manager, a group of analysts, with personal presence during the interviewer briefing.
Preparation of lists of those being checked, questionnaires, legends, rating scales - together with project managers. You should also focus on the features of work that are significant for the company.
Receipt and approval of the research schedule and script drawn up by the agency.
Obtaining results - questionnaires, reports, presentations.

It is more effective to contact professional agencies for the following reasons. 1. It is difficult for the company itself to find a large number of absolutely objective interviewers who are in no way connected with any of the staff (after all, your employees will be looking). 2. It is technically and organizationally difficult to ensure secret operational communication with interviewers and instructions within the company large quantity people, submitting questionnaires, etc.

Step 3. Selecting a verification method. Among the most popular verification methods are:

telephone calls - they allow you to evaluate the quality of work of company consultants, secretaries, call center employees of other categories of workers who interact directly with clients by phone;
purchase of goods or services - assessment of the activities of the sales department, the work of sales consultants, cashiers, etc.;
creating a provocative situation that will help you understand how employees behave in non-standard and conflict situations.

Step 4. Mystery shopping questionnaire. The “mystery shopping” questionnaire is the main tool for collecting the necessary data. The overall results of the study will depend on the correctness of drawing up and filling out the questionnaire. It is important to remember that there cannot be universal questionnaires for all cases. To check each company, an individual questionnaire is developed, and appropriate adjustments are made depending on the assigned tasks (step 1). The questionnaire must contain specific questions that can be answered with a simple no/yes answer. Each customer determines his own parameters, although there are cases that during the visit of the “mystery shopper” information that was initially unplanned is also revealed.

Step 5. Collection of questionnaires, verification and analysis. After completing the tasks of mystery shoppers, the identified data must be checked and analyzed.

Step 6. Report preparation. When a report is drawn up correctly, it allows you to quickly assess the current situation and react in time to certain changes. The mystery shopper report should be simple, easy to read and at the same time visual.

The practitioner tells

Anna Belyaeva, Analyst at IT monitoring company, Moscow

On New Year's Eve, a company with a chain of computer hardware stores ordered a comprehensive study from us. Our task was to identify the leading store among its outlets. We identified and agreed with the customer the main evaluation criteria. They became:

1. Personnel activities:

the behavior of salespeople and consultants (do they smile at customers when they enter, do they tactfully answer questions, etc.);

sales skills (how sociable the sellers are, how they can present the product).

2. Condition of the sales area:

its overall attractiveness (including the originality of New Year's decorations);

window dressing;

cleanliness of the room.

A questionnaire was compiled with the listed criteria. Then we compiled a guide (algorithm) explaining how a “mystery shopper” should act, what questions to ask sellers and in what order. The guide was also agreed upon with the customer. Two people took part in the action.

Based on the results, the customer company identified a leading store, which was awarded. In other retail outlets, explanatory conversations were held with sellers and directors, and additional training was planned.

Vitaly Golysh, Mystery Shoppers project manager at Professional Manager, St. Petersburg

When communicating with a company, we identify its potential clients and, based on the consumer’s profile, select “mystery shoppers.” So, very young or elderly people are not suitable for checking out an antique store, but even students can evaluate the work of a fast food chain. To get objective results, it is better to send several people to the same point.

For companies operating in the b2b sector, we hire employees from similar companies to play the role of “mystery shoppers”, having agreed on the candidates with the customer’s management. Companies in this segment receive various requests - not only, for example, audits of sales managers, but also assessments of middle managers.

How to create a “mystery shopping” questionnaire yourself

The “mystery shopper” questionnaire contains data on the assessment of the main criteria for the work of the company’s personnel - greeting, appearance of managers, knowledge of the features of the product and service, working with client objections, sales skills, etc.

The mystery shopping questionnaire contains the following information:

Questions to answer - “yes” or “no”.
Questions for clarification (more detailed answers).
Rating on a scale - for example, within 1-5.
Proposal to select an answer option;
Free comments on answers.

If the enterprise has customer service standards, a mystery shopping questionnaire will be compiled to assess the completeness of compliance with these standards. In particular, if the consultant needs to show initiative, offering help to the client no earlier than 30 seconds later, then the buyer needs to indicate this in the questionnaire.

Criteria for evaluation

A mystery shopping questionnaire is compiled individually for each employee, taking into account the many tasks and evaluation criteria that are set for secret shoppers:

Convenience of accessibility and location of the inspection object:

availability of free parking spaces;
availability of clear direction signs;
friendliness and friendliness of the administrator at the entrance, security, etc.;
presence of a visible and easily readable sign at the entrance.

Cleanliness and comfort in the room:

how clean the display cases, doors and windows are;
how clean the floors and carpets are in the room;
queues at storefronts;
comfortable room temperature and lighting standards;
availability of children's areas, etc.

Appearance of employees:

compliance with work uniform requirements;
absence of strong perfume odors;
neat appearance, calm hairstyle and makeup;
readable badge, etc.

Staff behavior:

welcoming clients with a smile;
lack of a consultant in the workplace;
offering assistance with appropriate choices;
irritability, inattention, conflict among employees;
employee conversations on abstract topics, etc.

Sales performance:

working with sales tools;
identification of consumer needs and requirements;
working with client objections;
knowledge of offered goods, services, etc.

And much more. It is necessary to draw up appropriate evaluation criteria so that the maximum amount of data of interest can be collected. To do this, you should correctly formulate the relevant questions in the questionnaire, indicate clear, simple questions, excluding double meanings

The practitioner tells

Alexey Marey, Director retail sales and customer service, Vice President of Alfa Bank, Moscow

For us, “mystery shopping” is a way to improve. After visits from “mystery shoppers”, identifying shortcomings and carrying out additional work with staff, the number of clients noticeably increases and the number of complaints decreases. The main goal is to find out to what extent our service standards are accepted by employees and to what extent they are implemented. At the same time, we determine how these standards are perceived by the buyer. We do not specify which specific function should be checked. A comprehensive analysis is carried out, the task is to assess the level of service as a whole.

Typical mistakes when creating a mystery shopping questionnaire

The difference between a high-quality questionnaire and a bad one lies in correctly formulated questions. If the relevant questions are formulated incorrectly or inaccurately, you will need to spend a lot of time on clarification and preparation of secret shoppers, and checking the data in the questionnaires.

Let's look at typical errors that prevent us from obtaining useful data from the test results.

Several questions in one. It is quite difficult for mystery shoppers to evaluate several criteria at once. To evaluate different criteria, one complex question should be divided into several simpler ones.
Questions requiring clarification. Sometimes just a buyer's assessment is not enough. Therefore, if necessary, questions should be supplemented with explanations.
Limited answer options. By limiting the number of answer options to a question, there is a possibility of missing certain nuances, which will lead to a distortion of the objective situation. Therefore, the questionnaire must be supplemented with “your own answer option.”
Incorrectly formulated question. It is considered the most typical mistake for compiling questionnaires - when the question was formulated incorrectly. Ambiguous questions should be avoided. When you create a questionnaire, you should test it on friends. A poor quality questionnaire will result in a failed test.

According to most experts, a questionnaire of no more than 50 questions is recommended. The optimal option is within 30-50 questions. Usually better time compile a questionnaire and then periodically use it for research at this site. Thanks to a single form, it will be possible to receive the same reporting, with control over the dynamics of changes. Periodically, the questionnaire will need to be revised - in particular, when there are additions or changes in service standards.

General Director speaks
Vladimir Mozhenkov, General Director of the companies “AvtoSpetsTsentr na Taganka” and “AvtoSpetsTsentr na Varshavka”, Moscow

I believe that the best “mystery shoppers” are acquaintances or friends who, without questionnaires, but completely sincerely and with the smallest details, will tell you what is good in the company and what is wrong. I trust their opinion and can be guided by it. I don’t yet feel the need to involve outside “mystery shoppers”.

The mystery shopping service is suitable for monitoring the work of not only your company, but also competitors. In particular, you can use your employees to understand the principles of work of competitors, their atmosphere, and the characteristics of customer service. In addition, you will be able to understand the situation in your company - if an employee gives a high rating to a competitor, you should think about changing the situation in your company.

Who to invite to be a “mystery shopper”

Any person can be involved in the work of a “mystery shopper”. Let's consider the main characteristics of the person who is best suited for this task:

communication skills - to provide greater flexibility for managers;
acting skills to get used to the assigned role;
possession of sales skills - to objectively evaluate the manager’s actions, not limited to just a template.
creativity and flexibility to ask questions beyond the template.

What is important for a good “mystery shopper” is the ability to go beyond the usual limits of standard questions, asking them in a non-standard way, communicating in a measured and familiar way.

"Mystery shopping" in an online store

The “mystery shopping” service is also relevant when checking an online store. After all, the actions here are reminiscent of going to a regular store. Although the main difference should be taken into account - here you have to evaluate not only the quality of service, but also the convenience and functionality of the site.

How to start selling online: the main rules of online stores

General Director speaks

Ruslan Nevolin, General Director of the Krastechnologii company, Krasnoyarsk

Assessing the usability of a website is largely a subjective parameter. Therefore, to obtain more objective results, a group of “mystery shoppers” of 50-150 performers should be involved. We divide them into subgroups (ordinary and advanced users, the older generation and youth) for a comprehensive assessment. We need to remember about important rule– one inspector is in a certain store no more than once every 2-3 months. Records data about strengths site and nuances that require editing or correction.

Alfa Bank founded in 1990. It is a universal bank that carries out all main types of banking operations represented on the financial services market. Serves more than 40 thousand corporate clients and about 1.5 million individuals. There are branches and branches of the bank (total number - 121) in Moscow, regions of Russia and abroad, including subsidiary banks in Ukraine, Tatarstan, as well as in Kazakhstan and the Netherlands. The bank has representative offices in the UK and the USA. Alfa Bank is one of the largest banks in Russia in terms of assets and equity capital. According to 2005 data, the assets of the Alfa Bank group amounted to 9.8 billion, net profit - 180.6 million, equity- 885.5 million, loan portfolio - $5.7 billion.

LLC "Professional Manager" specializes in providing consulting and training services in the field of staff and customer loyalty. One of the company’s projects is personnel testing using the “secret shopper” technology.

Companies "AutoSpetsTsentr na Taganka" and "AvtoSpetsTsentr na Varshavka"- official Audi dealers, part of the AvtoSpetsTsentr group of companies. It also includes the Skoda Auto Center (three dealer centers) and the Nissan Auto Center on Voykovskaya. The AvtoSpetsTsentr group of companies has been operating in the automotive market since 1997.

Company IT monitoring has been operating on the market since 2003. The main activity of the company is regular monitoring, analysis and research of the Mass Media.

"Krastechnologii"
Field of activity: marketing research
Form of organization: LLC
Location: Krasnoyarsk
Number of staff: on staff – 5, outside staff (“mystery shoppers”) – 200
Annual turnover: 2.7 million rubles. (average)
Experience General Director in position: since 2008 (since the company was founded)
Participation of the General Director in the business: owner.

When a b2b company is just entering the market or launching a new product, it is necessary to differentiate itself from competitors. At the initial stage, this can be done through service: b2b clients value the level of service. If you work with customers better than other companies, this will influence the choice of potential clients. Evaluate competitors' services and improve the quality of work own managers"mystery shoppers" will help.

In this article you will read:

How to increase the conversion of calls to sales by 1.5 times
Sample “Mystery Shopping” questionnaire

IN “mystery shopper” questionnaire (sample document) recorded shortcomings in the work of operators so that later our company would not make the same mistakes. When we assessed competitors, we came to the conclusion that initial contact is the main point when interacting with a potential customer. A client who does not like communication with the manager during the first telephone conversation will not call back and refuse to cooperate. What shortcomings in service can be eliminated by assessing competitors using a “mystery shopper”, and what three points should you pay attention to?

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We interviewed businessmen and found out what modern tactics help increase average bill and frequency of purchases by regular customers. We published tips and practical cases in the article.

Also in the article you will find three tools to determine customer needs and increase the average bill. With these methods, employees always fulfill the upsell plan.

We turned to the “mystery shopping” questionnaire when we opened an outsourced call center. To do this, the manager called competitors for a week and said that he plans to order call center services for the company.

Study« Mystery shopper» : intonation and speed of speech

Remember: the customer must feel that he is truly welcome in the company. If the “mystery shopper” found out that the sellers are not friendly enough or are in too much of a hurry, separately record these points in regulations and scripts. Avoid officialdom that spoils the impression of the company. Managers should be friendly, empathetic and still smile.

According to a 2016 Mystery Shopping study conducted among 1.2 million consumers worldwide, salespeople smile at customers 83% of the time and greet customers 87% of the time. Russia ranks fifth in the “smiling and friendliness rating” - the best result in the last 11 years. However, when calling competitors, we discovered that nowhere they greeted each other sincerely. And in one company they answered the “mystery shopper”: “Talk quickly, we have a lot of work.” To avoid repeating similar mistakes, we listed acceptable greeting phrases in the scripts (“Hello, thank you for calling us!”, etc.) and indicated that the manager must pronounce them in a friendly manner. The script noted that the conversation with a new client should last five to seven minutes. During this time, sales identifies the needs of a potential buyer.

Focus on needs

It is not enough to advise the buyer over the phone. A customer contacting a company may not fully know what product or service he needs. Therefore, it is important that the manager uses techniques to identify the client's needs.

Sales scripts: how to sell without annoying clients

We encountered the fact that in 50% of companies where the “mystery shopper” called, the salesperson did not ask about the needs, but answered the client’s questions. Therefore, we went from the opposite: we trained managers in the techniques of active listening and leading questions. The technique was gleaned from Julia Gippenreiter’s book “Communicate with a Child. How?”, which we recommend to sellers: the rules for communicating with children and clients are the same.

Managers in conversations use the phrases “I understand you”, “I heard you”, “I know what you are talking about”, etc. In addition, salespeople ask clients questions that require a detailed answer: “Please tell us about your problem ", "What do you think about it?". This technique inspires trust among buyers, they open up to the sales team and share their problems. Therefore, we can prepare a current offer that the client will be interested in.

Questionnaire"Mystery shopper": h ending the conversation

The manager’s goal during initial contact with the customer is to demonstrate readiness to cooperate. To do this, you need, firstly, to find out and record the buyer’s contact information (phone number, address Email, position, etc.) and the company he represents. It is inconvenient to write down an e-mail by ear: the manager may make a mistake, and clients may become annoyed. When we realized that 100% of the companies we called were doing this, we introduced regulations.

The manager sends from the corporate mobile phone a test message to the client, in response he sends an email address. This is how we check the relevance of the customer’s phone number. And clients, having written an e-mail via SMS, are sure that the manager received the correct information.

The best sales manager: the competencies of a professional

Secondly, during the initial conversation with the consumer, it is important to agree on the next contact. With the help of a “mystery shopper,” they noted that not a single company’s managers asked: “When will I call you back?” or “When will we meet to discuss cooperation?” Therefore, they wrote in their own scripts that the manager is obliged to ask the client the date and format of the next conversation (call or meeting). Due to this, we established a connection with the buyer: when we called again, we mentioned that we had agreed to call or meet. This makes negotiations easier and potential customers more loyal.

Study"Mystery shopper": results

Thanks to the Mystery Shopping study, we studied the mistakes of our competitors and improved our service. As a result, the conversion of incoming calls into sales increased by 1.5 times. 60% of new customers who called the company became regular customers.

A sample “mystery shopper” questionnaire was provided by the Proland group of companies (profile - wholesale, telemarketing, consulting).

Reporting is carried out in an online research system using the Mystery Shopping method. The report contains: completed questionnaires or checklists, audio recordings, photos, scans of receipts if necessary, and a final analytical summary of parameters.

Mystery shopping questionnaire

The mystery shopper questionnaire, any sample of it, contains points for assessing compliance with the company’s Customer Service Standards (clients, guests). As a rule, they are based on generally accepted Sales Rules, and of course, each company has its own nuances of service developed over the years, and due to its specifics. For example, for a store, these sales stages include: Greeting, Establishing contact, Identifying needs, Presentation, Overcoming objections, Closing the transaction. In cases where a purchase is made with a return, the questionnaire contains a section: Service at the checkout, Procedure for returning goods. Due to the individual nature of the organization of the sales process in each company, the questionnaire is developed individually for each Mystery Shopping study.

Mystery shopper checklist

The checklist is a Mystery Shopper questionnaire in the most in simple form. A check is a Yes/No mark (a check box is a flag button, a check box (from the English check box), a tick in which allows you to mark the status Yes or No). Most often, detailed comments are not provided in the checklist. Mystery shopping checklists are used in cases where the task is limited and has a narrow focus. For example, checklists are used to monitor the presentation of products or set prices, compliance with the Rules for the sale of something (for example: alcohol, tobacco products). Sometimes a checklist or questionnaire is called a “secret shopper form,” which in this case is the same thing.

Audio recording

Communication and consultation of a mystery shopper (mystery client, guest) with staff is recorded (voice recording) and is available for further analysis. This allows you to remove the subjective part in evaluating staff performance. Allows you to more objectively assess the state of affairs by analyzing exactly how a potential buyer and a specific sales manager (salesperson, waiter) communicate. The employee being reviewed can view similar records, which helps make this assessment tool as effective as possible. Audio recording is also used for the purpose of conducting subsequent individual training for the employee and correcting his skills in working with the buyer.

Photo

At the request of the Customer, research in addition to the mystery shopper report can provided photographs (for example: photos of facades, external storefronts).

Analytical, final report

The format and composition of the analytical report is determined in each case individually, for each study. A brief analytical report and statistical summary is performed in an online research system using the Mystery Shopping method. Statistics on changes in the quality of customer service over time are available - from wave to wave, both in general and for each point (objects of inspection).

Serving clients and visitors of various establishments greatly affects the income of their owners. Secret shoppers are hired to check the quality of service in their brainchild. They will evaluate the performance of the staff using standard questions, take into account the behavior of employees and the fulfillment of customer requests, and ultimately create a detailed report on the work. Let's look at the features and example of a mystery shopping questionnaire to understand it.

How to compose a questionnaire

There are two ways to check the service in an organization: direct hiring or contacting a specialized agency (of which there are a huge number). In the first case, you will have to independently analyze your goals and come up with a legend; in the second, you will be offered standard templates for individual enterprises (catering, food or shoe stores, pharmacies, banks, etc.) and provided with advisory assistance and mediation.

In any case, you must firmly decide where you might end up. weak sides personnel. For example, the sellers of your store are alarming because they don’t always punch receipts. In this case, the report on the store visit should contain information about what the mystery shopper found out about this. He is initially instructed to check for the presence of a check. If they don’t punch it, ask them to do it and give an explanation (you can refer to the consumer rights law, the possibility of returning a check).

The director can check the bank's employees (or a specific representative) for professional suitability. In this case, a secret shopper who is savvy in financial matters is selected. He is given instructions to try to ask as many specific questions as possible, evaluate the level of answers and their completeness, as well as the behavior of the employee if he cannot give an answer.

It is customary to draw up inspection questionnaires in detail and unambiguously (example). If your goal is information about the cleanliness of the hall and the presence of workers at work in work time, then you should not include a question about how the buyer liked the product or the counter. The more specifics and fewer abstract questions in the questionnaire, the more effective the research will be. There are usually 30-50 questions, no more. Otherwise, the information may be distorted - it will be difficult for the secret shopper to reproduce everything down to the smallest detail from memory.

The more specifics and fewer abstract questions in the questionnaire, the more effective the research will be.

Example of a questionnaire for a store

Here's a short example of a mystery shopper questionnaire that will contain a grocery store inspection report:

Full name, date, address and exact time of check, store name, seller (if there is a badge, or you can ask for the name).
The seller noticed you and said hello (yes/no).
The seller did not pay attention to you (answer options: talked on the phone, was busy laying out the goods, paid attention to another buyer, did nothing, your own option).
Seller's appearance. Several positions, for each of which the answer will be “yes” or “no”: the presence of a badge, hair removed, the presence of a uniform, a strong smell, causing makeup, etc.
Seller's courtesy. Options: spoke competently, had slang, spoke rudely, spoke kindly and offered help. Answer “yes/no”.
Reaction to objections. It is better to leave this question with fields for comments from a mystery shopper. The options may be as follows: a response to the objection “Your prices are so high”, a response to the objection “Why can’t I pay with a card? What should I do?" and in the same spirit.
Reaction to refusal of purchase. The behavior of the seller in a conflict situation is assessed, for example, if the products were already included in the check. The options can be the following: friendly reaction, neutral reaction, negative reaction.
General impression from communication with the seller. Options may be offered (good, satisfactory, negative), or a field may be left for a handwritten response.

The price of the service and the effectiveness of the procedure depend on the quantity and quality of questions, time for the task, and the need to make audio or video recordings. Evaluate the mystery shopper's report adequately and on its merits. You should install the questionnaire alone, and then track its performance over time, depending on changes introduced in personnel or service requirements.

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