Score Change Requests…Be a Benevolent Despot

One of the most beguiling and frustrating elements of a mystery shopping program is the dreaded Request for Score Change. More gray hairs appear on the heads of mystery shop managers over this than any other element they must deal with.

And how the Request for Score Change is handled is crucial to the success of the mystery shopping program. It’s the proverbial ‘fork in the road’: will this task be used to give the program teeth, or will the program become a joke, subverting the lofty goals and aspirations held by all concerned?

Choosing a mystery shopping provider who offers substance, along with a commitment to providing substantial checks and balances will go a long way in assuring the accuracy and validity of the data and reports. Even then, there is always a chance for error. This is precarious, because errors in data lead to lack of faith in the data on the part of frontline staff.

When this occurs, the ship is going down and you’re going with it.

Oh captain, my captain, what is to be done? Should one take on the persona of Captain Queeg, Captain Bligh or Captain Kangaroo in handling these requests?

Let’s see how each of these options plays out:

Captain Queeg…you become neurotic, worrying everyone is out to get you. This is a self fulfilling prophecy and neither you nor anyone else will be happy.

Captain Bligh… you summarily reject every request, essentially holding down the fort- however, brutality never works and, in the end, it will do nothing to endear the program to your frontline staff.

Captain Kangaroo…you try being a friend to all and never hurting anyone’s feelings. This attitude creates lots of good will, but takes the teeth out of the program, undermining the credibility of the mystery shopper provider and ultimately making the program a joke as frontline staff learn the program has no real overall value

So what should you do? Don’t be a captain! Instead, be a prince- Prince Machiavelli that is!

By taking on the role of the “Benevolent Despot”, you become master of your domain, a wise and all-knowing ruler who gives to the deserved but remains unyielding and steadfast to those who are not.

The ultimate result? Those looking to get away with something will soon learn to focus on improving their businesses as a means to getting a better grade. And those who are earnest will simply respect you even more.

This article was contributed by Howard Seigelman. Howard is Vice President of Program Development at ICC/Decision Services.