Once upon a time, you could enter a store and expect to be met by a friendly, helpful sales associate. Today, in many cases, you’re lucky if you can even find a sales associate to ask a simple question.
In a study conducted by STORES/BIGResearch, 19% of shoppers believe rude employees are at the core of poor customer service. With the next overly-indulged generation of sales associates about to come of age, today’s customer service is not likely to improve.

For retailers, the challenge of finding helpful, cheerful store employees who care about treating the customer well grows greater each year. While technology can measure many quantifiable aspects of store management, customer service or the lack thereof is much more difficult to quantify and correct. Certainly, employees are not robots, so it is a challenge for stores to help employees see the value in treating customers well, rather than simply punching the clock to earn a paycheck.

Mystery shopping is a proven method for quantifying performance data and offering constructive suggestions for change. Used correctly, mystery shopping can improve employee morale and overall outlook. The employees win, the store wins, and the customer most certainly wins

Tags: customer experience, icc/decision services, mspa, mystery shopping, secret shopper

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