Mystery shopper is one of the oldest and most common methods for collecting feedback. But how accurate is it to collect feedback with a mystery shopper?
All the information you need for the success of your business is hidden in your customers. How is your brand, products and services perceived by customers? What are you doing well and badly? It is not possible to find the answers to the crazy questions in your head on your own. If you listen to your customers, you can find answers to all your questions.
There are many methods in the feedback collection process, which is the first step in customer experience management. In addition to traditional methods such as paper satisfaction forms, complaint suggestion boxes, call centres, mystery shoppers, you can also collect feedback through channels such as websites, sms, QR codes, kiosks, e-mails, and mobile applications that have emerged with the opportunities offered by technology today.
Customer experience differs from generation to generation. Today, which is called the age of experience, customer expectations are much higher than quality products and quality service. We see that brands that offer a unique and seamless customer experience are at the top.
Now let’s talk about the secret customer. As the name indicates, mystery shoppers hide themselves like sleuths and wander around. They inspect products and services disguised as customers and send their reports to the brand they work for. While a mystery shopper may seem like a nice and practical method, it is no substitute for a real customer.
Here are the disadvantages of using a mystery shopper
Can’t feel like a real customer
A mystery shopper is never a substitute for a real customer. It is not possible for a professional mystery shopper to feel the emotion of a real customer experience. While a mystery shopper evaluates based on a checklist, a real customer evaluates based on past experiences, emotions and expectations. A mystery shopper cannot answer the NPS question or the happiness question correctly.
An expensive method
A mystery shopper receives payment or a gift for each visit. Consider a retail chain that serves the whole of Turkey. It will need huge budgets for periodic mystery shopping. The result will be spending big money and not being able to measure the real customer experience.
There’s a high probability of getting deciphered
Mystery shoppers’ actions and questions easily decipher them. All experienced store employees are aware of the mystery shopper method. Store employees recognize the mystery shopper and provide the excellent service they expect and send them on their way.
The frequency of visits is low
Mystery shoppers are sent to stores on a regular basis. In most common use, visits are made once or twice a month. The audited time cannot represent even one percent of the un-audited time.
Offers a single point of view
Mystery shoppers give you a single perspective. There are evaluations made through the eyes of a single person on a standardised chart. Real customers give you feedback from a wide range of perspectives. When a brand evaluates the customer experience from a single perspective, it misses opportunities and threats.
Data security is at risk
Imagine a brand working with dozens of mystery shoppers. The confidentiality and security of the data these mystery shoppers have is at risk. Even if you have a confidentiality agreement with each mystery shopper, you cannot ensure data security with the agreement.
Collect feedback from real customers
Collect feedback from your real customers instead of wasting money on mystery shoppers and collecting feedback that doesn’t add value to your business. You can start by offering feedback channels across all touchpoints. Register for free with Wiseback, an omni-channel customer experience management platform, and get started now!
