Secret Shopping is NOT Opinion Research
Many of the people talking and writing about mystery shopping say that it is about getting paid to give your opinions, and tell businesses what customers think about them. Well, that is the opposite of what mystery shopping really is. In fact, you should keep your opinions out of your secret shopping report, with one exception.
Secret shoppers are paid to report whether the location being shopped lived up to the standards of that business during the shopper’s visit. Questions such as, “Were tables cleared and reset within three minutes of a guest’s departure?” do not leave a lot of room for opinion. Either the table was cleared and reset within three minutes, or it wasn’t. Yes or no.
Most of the questions on a mystery shopping report are like that. Did the salesperson suggest additional items? Were all items priced? Was the telephone answered before the fourth ring? Did the server thank you by name?
They are not asking if you think the server should thank you by name, or if it is reasonable to have the table reset within three minutes. These are the client’s standards, and they want to know if the standards were met during your visit.
There are some questions that are not quite as clear cut. For example, asking is something was “clean” calls for some judgment. But you know when something is clean–or not–don’t you? Even a question such a, “Did the employee show an interest in determining your needs?” (as badly constructed a question as that is) can be answered objectively.
The exception to the “do not give your opinion” rule is when you are specifically asked for an opinion. Many reports include a question or two along the lines of: What could this business do to improve service? Would you return to this business–why or why not? What did you like best about your visit today? These types of questions clearly call for an opinion, and you should offer your opinion when asked. However, that does not mean that want to be subjected to a rant. State your opinion clearly and, when possible, back it up with objective information.
Need an example? If you suggest that service could be improved by having additional cashiers available during the busiest times, you could back it up by pointing out that at 4:30 p.m. there were two cash registers open, and a line of six customers at each register.
Remember that as a secret shopper you are akin to a journalist, reporting the facts, not an editorialist who is giving an opinion.
Note: The example questions in this article are typical of the kinds of questions found in mystery shop reports. They are not taken from an actual report form, and no mystery shop report forms were harmed in the making of this article. ;o)
Related articles:
Post a comment