Content of the page:
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
regarding mystery shopping
What is "Mystery Shopping"?
What can I improve using
"Mystery Shopping"?
How long will it take to
start a mystery shopping project?
How is the tester personnel
selected?
How are the results presented?
What is "Mystery Shopping"?
Mystery shopping originated in the U.S.A, and is a method which allows
you to get to know your company from a customer’s point of view. A
mystery checker visits your premises anonymously, just like a regular
customer, asks questions, and requests advice with the intention of
assessing the customer service’s quality.
What can I improve using "Mystery Shopping"?
Using mystery shopping, you can identify flaws as well as improvement
potential within your service processes (e.g. lack of your employees’
expertise, non-compliance with business objectives, insufficient focus
on the customer).
Using mystery shopping, you can receive information, required for
optimizing your service processes and thus gaining competitive advantages
as well as being able to increase your sales.
How long will it take to start a mystery shopping project?
Depending on the magnitude of the project, and the number of mystery
checks to be conducted, the preparation for a mystery shopping project
takes 1 to 6 weeks (following the placing of order).
The essential point here is whether the planned project requires
the development of a completely new questionnaire in cooperation with
the client, or an existing questionnaire can be used.
The larger the internal harmonization necessity within a company
(questionnaires, test scenarios), the more time will be required for
the project preparation.
How is the tester personnel selected?
Client requirements: Using a tester profile, the
client defines who should be selected for the project. The tester
profile includes requirements such as age group, income group, gender,
etc.
Selection by gorath
servicetest:
gorath servicetest: A pre-selection of potential testers is done using
information stored in a tester database. Further information, particularly
very specific information, is gathered by interviews with these potential
testers, either via e-mail or telephone calls. Here the scope of the
project defines the method of how to gain the required information:
For instance, information required for testing a finance consultant
with regard to an installment credit plan are much more sensitive
and complex than those required for testing the service point of a
mobile phone provider.
How are the results presented?
It is the client’s decision, how and in which manner the results
of the project are to be presented. Generally, the following options
are possible:
Test Report
Usually a report is provided when there are only a few individual
tests.
Itemized evaluation as a PowerPoint presentation
When the tests involve a company consisting of a network of comprehensive
branch offices, with tests conducted differing in nature and topic,
a PowerPoint presentation with itemized evaluation, management summary,
and concluding recommendations for further actions is usually chosen.
Upon request, the PowerPoint presentation will be provided using the
client’s layout.
WEB-Portal
The implementation and maintenance of a WEB-portal is appropriate
for bulk projects, i.e. projects for which a great number of tests
must be conducted within a very short period of time, and which must
be repeated at regular intervals and compared with each other.
The client and staff have assured access to the system. Following
a quality control test, they can review the relevant test reports
and assessments, and, if necessary, print or process them on their
own computer at any time.