Comments for ICC/Decision Services

Comment on Protecting Retailers from the “Flash Rob” Trend by drich

drich — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:49:22 +0000

Yes…growing segment.

Comment on Protecting Retailers from the “Flash Rob” Trend by Joyce Boles

Joyce Boles — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:12:07 +0000

Are you using smart phones for instant mystery shopping?

Comment on When finding a Mystery Shopping company, it’s about quality over quantity by Searching for a mystery shopping company? Look for quality

Searching for a mystery shopping company? Look for quality — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 18:46:37 +0000

[...] of reports that a company can provide when, really, it should be about quality, according to this expert. The primary purpose of a mystery shopping company such as Customer Perspectives is to gather and [...]

Comment on The Secret Shopper Stigma Revealed by Affordable Care Act by Tom

Tom — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:22:33 +0000

Estimates are somewhat all over the map from 30 to 55 million uninsured reported by most mainstream media outlets. We just went with a conservative number just to be safe. But you are right; the lack of data for what is likely to be the largest change in American health care cries for a quantitative measure, whether that be gathered through mystery shopping or otherwise.

Comment on The Secret Shopper Stigma Revealed by Affordable Care Act by debra

debra — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:15:00 +0000

I am doing a literature search to assess the utilization of health services for medicare patients covered by the affordable care act. There isn’t much out there. Where did the number, “30 million” come from when estimating future patients needing primary care doctors in the “Secret Santa Shopper” post 7/7/11?

Thanks!

Comment on Mystery Shopping in the education sector by Mystery Shopping in the education sector | ICC/Decision Services | Mystery Shopper l Mystery Shopping l Secret Shopper

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 13:51:18 +0000

[...] The reality is that there are more industries that are customer-oriented than.See original article: Mystery Shopping in the education sector | ICC/Decision Services This entry was posted in Mystery Shopper and tagged mystery shopping, paid to shop by [...]

Comment on Great service is service with boundaries by Joseph Mahar

Joseph Mahar — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:17:09 +0000

Having been in the Retail Industry for 35 years, our mission was to ensure always that the customer experience started at the curb. This set the tone for our guests and their experience.
The easy functions were the excitement, newness and cleanliness of the store. The fun function was the entire staff, starting with the greeters and sellers, working together to ensure that each customers’ wants were satisfied and memorable. The result was the most effective and inexpensive means to drive sales.
In my opinion, Ruth Chris Steakhouse and Publix Market, here in Mobile do an exceptional job at makimg a difference in two very competitive arenas.

Comment on Become a Shopper by How to Make Money this Summer

How to Make Money this Summer — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 03:57:46 +0000

[...] 4. Secret Shopping: Who doesn’t like to spend money? Secret shoppers can get free food and even stay at a hotel to review customer service, all while making money. Sometimes, you can even bring your spouse or another guest along. To find out more, check out Secret Shopper, Certified Field Associate, Coyle Hospitality, and ICC Decision Services. [...]

Comment on Shopper Intercept Interviews”¦Unlocking the Potential by Boris Kukurov

Boris Kukurov — Mon, 09 May 2011 07:03:31 +0000

A Shopper Intercept Interview is surely a great tool to gather information from the management’s standpoint. However, I wonder what would the reaction to most of the clients be when asked to participate in such a survey or interview. Considering, that the most important group of clients that you can interview are the ones unhappy with the service you have provided and have not made a purchase, won’t the response rate be really low?
I am from Bulgaria and here conducting an Exit survey a.k.a an intercept interview without providing the shopper with some sort of bonus for participating, is nearly impossible.

Comment on Mystery Shopping – a Real Value or a Real Bust? by Quora

Quora — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:51:24 +0000

How does mystery shopping help retail companies improve their customer service and experience?…

Mystery Shopping is a widely used, but often misunderstood tool in retail. In best scenarios it is used to help retailers maintain a consistent customer experience. At worst it is used as a “gotcha” tactic. Depending on the outcome there is a time an…

Comment on 3 tips to ensure your Mystery Shopping program success by Judi Hess

Judi Hess — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:28:31 +0000

I would also add that the more ways you use the mystery shopping results,the more “bang for your buck”. Use it to measure and fine tune your training program, to recognize outstanding employees and for coaching those with deficincies, to name a few.

Comment on Demonstrating Why Boundaries Matter for Customer Experience by drich

drich — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:13:47 +0000

You are wise to see the differences between “product” vs “service” both are important to shape the overall satisfaction of a customer. Also kudos to you for thinking out side of your industry. If Southwest compared itself to all the other airlines they would never be Southwest. Setting your own standards far ahead of your competition is important. I would start talking to your customers to find out what is important to them via customer intercepts or focus groups. From there get an understanding on what you can deliver (or should I say want to deliver) that would make a difference in their eyes. Perhaps even services that they would pay more if done correctly. Set the rules upfront and communicate them to your employees and customers. And don’t forget to measure through customer satisfaction surveys (subjective feedback)and mystery shops (objective feedback).

Comment on Demonstrating Why Boundaries Matter for Customer Experience by Jim

Jim — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:42:17 +0000

You retailers seem to be leaps and bounds ahead of the auto body industry. I’m trying to figure out what boundaries I can set, and show to customers, that will create added value while establishing guidelines. We always offer a lifetime warranty on our workmanship and paint, while virtually no one takes us up on this offering. I wonder if I can come up with something else that makes people feel more comfortable with using our services even if it means that we have to put them back into a rental for a few days to correct any issues they might have. Good post!

Comment on Great service is service with boundaries by Gerard McLean

Gerard McLean — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:38:40 +0000

So timely! As I was reading this post, literally, a call came in from Bobby Kramig @coachkramig, the head soccer coach for the Miami Redhawks (Disclaimer: we do his website) Last year, he decided that his team was going to be made up of women who were single-mindedly into the game of soccer. They were going to be told EXACTLY what it took to play at the collegiate Division I level as he was tired of sugar-coating offers to entice players to play there and then having half the team wash out. “The toughest team you’ll ever love” is the tag line he uses and he is so fiercely honest with recruits that even the parents get a bit scared. A lot of girls select themselves out, but the ones who say “yes” know the expectations; they know the rules.

And he had a winning season this year; the first in a long time. They were finalists at the MAC which is the same as making it to the Final Two in basketball. Pretty dang awesome. Next year, I suspect he will have an even better season that causes him a lot less stress.

So, I referred him to this blog post, right after he asked if we could quick make some unscheduled changes to the camp map and could we do it in 20 minutes because he had to send an email out today….

It’s a process.

But the idea of service with boundaries I think is going to be a trend as more and more businesses get squeezed to do more on phantom resources.

Comment on Choosing a Mystery Shopping Provider: Five Essential Questions by Melissa Martiarena

Melissa Martiarena — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 02:22:06 +0000

Very well written article. It will be supportive to anybody who employess it, including yours truly . Keep up the good work – for sure i will check out more posts.

Comment on Skweal: Customer Satisfaction Survey Application Provides Real Time Feedback! by Gerardo Ritchey

Gerardo Ritchey — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:39:56 +0000

Over the past 2 years, I’ve spent a lot of time around small business owners, particularly retailers, and I know for a fact that they want this.

Positive and Negative tweets and facebook posts are generally jerk reactions to an experience. Small retailers want that feedback, good or bad, and they’d prefer to get when it happens, and privately so they can build closer relationships.

Applications like Skweal allow users the satisfaction of knowing they are being heard right when they have that jerk reaction. If you look at most negative reviews on Yelp, you’ll find that they are out of some frustration because the customer feels that they are not being listened to.

Comment on Skweal: Customer Satisfaction Survey Application Provides Real Time Feedback! by Tyler

Tyler — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:13:44 +0000

Beth,

Thanks for the post.

You might find it interesting (I sure did) that the majority of Skweals are in fact positive. Depends on location of course, but overall about 70% of comments rate their experience 4 or 5 stars.

Warmest,

Tyler Crowley
CEO | Skweal

Comment on Undercover Boss Brings Exposure to Mystery Shopping by Paul Anater

Paul Anater — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:24:58 +0000

Empathy and humility are maligned attributes in the US all to often and I hope that this TV show might a way to reintroduce them to US business culture.

Comment on Undercover Boss Brings Exposure to Mystery Shopping by Gerard McLean

Gerard McLean — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:55:26 +0000

I’ve seen a couple episodes and like most surveys, shops, etc. some of the CEOs use the “data” they collect to beat up their employees and some use it to learn, grow and change. One always hopes it is the latter…

Comment on Undercover Boss Brings Exposure to Mystery Shopping by Saxon Henry

Saxon Henry — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:46:35 +0000

This will indeed be an interesting premise to watch: the executive struggling to manage the tasks he or she gives to the “underlings” to fulfill, believing, perhaps, that these tasks are so easily completed that “anyone” could do them. I imagine some will squirm, some will learn and some will not. Will empathy come to some, perhaps? That would be rewarding to see!