Mystery Shopper's Manual

  • Blog
  • About
    • Privacy/Disclosures
  • The Mystery Shopper’s Manual
  • Mystery Shopping Companies
You are here: Home / Types of Mystery Shops / Mystery Shopping on the Telephone

Mystery Shopping on the Telephone

November 2, 2008 by Cathy Stucker Leave a Comment

telephone.jpgTelephone mystery shops involve calling a client location and interacting with one or more employees over the telephone. Sometimes the entire shop is conducted over the telephone, and in other cases the mystery shop includes both the call and an in-person visit.

The information that the client wants from a telephone shop relates to the same issues as in-person shops: Were employees courteous? Were they able to provide accurate information to the customer? Did they follow proper sales procedures?

When doing a telephone mystery shop, you may complete a written report or the mystery shopping company may have you record the call and submit the recording as your report.

Here is what you can expect when completing a mystery shopper job involving a telephone shop.

Report forms may include questions such as: How many rings before the phone was answered? Did the employee give a full greeting? Were you put on hold? For how long? Did the employee ask before putting you on hold? Was the employee able to answer your question? Did the employee thank you for calling? Did they suggest that you come in to the store? Were you able to make an appointment at the time you requested? If not, did the employee suggest an alternative day or time? Did the employee confirm your appointment time?

Many restaurant mystery shops require that you complete a telephone shop before your visit. During the call you may make a reservation, or ask directions, hours or other questions.

Telephone call centers, such as reservation offices for airlines and rental car companies, or catalog order centers, may be mystery shopped. You may make a reservation or purchase, or simply request information.

Some telephone shops use a service to record the call for you. You dial a toll-free number and use the service to call the client. The service records the call and sends the recording to the mystery shopping company.

The mystery shopping company may ask if you own equipment to record calls. There are several ways to do this. Radio Shack sells devices that connect to your phone line and to a tape recorder, digital recorder or computer. Because it records directly from the phone line, you get a good quality recording. If the company wants you to own equipment, they may be able to suggest good choices.

Are you wondering about the legality of recording telephone conversations? Legal issues vary by state. Some are “all-party consent” states, meaning that all parties to the conversation must be aware of the recording and give their consent. If you are asked to record in an all-party consent state, verify with the mystery shopping company that they have consent forms on file. Usually, the employer gets the employees to sign consent forms as part of the hiring process or during the annual benefits enrollment.

Many states are “one-party consent” states. That means that if one party to the call is aware of the recording and gives consent (That’s you!) it is legal to record the call. You can see a summary of laws by state at http://www.rcfp.org/taping.

I live in a one-party consent state, and I often record telephone shops even when I am not required to submit the recording to the mystery shopping company. Having the recording to review makes it easier to get the details I need to produce a great report. Of course, this would not be appropriate if you or the employees are located in an all-party consent state or if the mystery shopping company has advised against recording the call.

If you do not record the call, take extra time to prepare so you know exactly what you are to listen for on the call. Take notes while on the call, if possible, and make detailed notes as soon as you hang up.

Filed Under: Types of Mystery Shops Tagged With: call centers, Customer Service, Mystery shopping, telephone mystery shop

« How Much Do I Have to Know to Get MSPA Shopper Certification?
Confero Mystery Shopping Company »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mystery Shopping Companies

Updated 4/20/18! Access my free curated list of more than 150 legitimate mystery shopping companies.

Scam Warning

If you received a check or money order with instructions to cash it and wire money to someone, DON'T DO IT! This is a scam.
Click here to learn more about
mystery shopper scams.

Get ‘The Mystery Shopper’s Manual’

NEW 7TH EDITION!

Get your personally autographed copy of The Mystery Shopper's Manual here.
mystery-shoppers-manual-3d

Connect with Cathy

Follow Me on FacebookFollow Me on Google+Follow Me on TwitterFollow Me on LinkedInFollow Me on YouTubeFollow Me on PinterestFollow Me on RSS

Recent Articles

  • Do Millionaires Mystery Shop?
  • Mystery Shopper Resolutions
  • Mystery Shopping for Mystery Shopper Pros
  • Keep the “Secret” in “Secret Shopper”
  • The McDonald’s Receipt Hack

Categories

Applying to Mystery Shopping Companies Customer Service Dealing with Mystery Shopping Companies Dealing with Shopping Emergencies Employees and Mystery Shopping Grammar and Spelling Green Mystery Shopping Hazards of Mystery Shopping Holiday Mystery Shopping How to Become a Mystery Shopper Identity Theft Independent Contractor Issues Industry News Make Money Online Memory Improvement Money and Mystery Shopping Mystery Shopper Certification Mystery Shopper Ethics Mystery Shopper Fun Mystery Shopper Jobs Mystery Shopper Scam Mystery Shopper Scheduling Companies Mystery Shopper Secrecy Mystery Shopper Taxes Mystery Shopper Tools Mystery Shopping Clients Mystery Shopping Company Mystery Shopping Pay Mystery Shopping Providers Association Mystery Shopping Recordkeeping Mystery Shopping Resources Online Security Opportunities for Mystery Shoppers Preparing for the Mystery Shop Profitable Mystery Shopping Secret Shopper How-To Secret Shopper Quick Tips Secret Shopping and the Law Secret Shopping Confidentiality Sticky Secret Shopper Situations Technology and Secret Shopping Types of Mystery Shops Video Mystery Shopping Working Online Writing Mystery Shopper Reports

Copyright © 2004 - 2022 · Cathy Stucker

Copyright © 2022 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in