As retailers strive to provide the best possible service, customer feedback becomes extremely important. Service Intelligence demonstrates how feedback programmes can be implemented to obtain the desired results Customer feedback is one of the most important parameters for determining the success of a company. In the retail industry, one question that is constantly thrown up is, can customer feedback be substituted with mystery shopping (or vice versa)? The simple answer is that it cannot. While both provide valuable data, they are distinctly different measures providing different insights into an organisation's service delivery. Although the goal of excellent service, as it relates to a companyís ability to attract and retain customers, is a virtual staple in todayís business practices, it bears a few words of emphasis here. Innumerable studies have been conducted with respect to the link between customer satisfaction and key business metrics such as consumer loyalty and brand recognition, which ultimately translate to sales volumes and profitability. One such study quotes the following results: 26 out of 27 dissatisfied consumers of relatively low-priced goods do not tell their suppliers about their dissatisfaction; however, 63 per cent never buy again 45 per cent of customers who experience a problem with a relatively low-cost service do not complain; 45 per cent of those never return  Similar results are obtained time and time again in study after study. So, the value of excellent customer service, as it translates to sales and repeat visits, is, for all practical purposes, indisputable. Customer feedback and mystery shopping are two methods by which a company can gather information about the way its products and services are delivered to its customers. 'What gets measured gets done.' A phrase heard so often these days, it has almost become a clich'. However, at face value, it has particular meaning for the topic of feedback. Mystery shopping and customer feedback programmes are both ways to measure your customer's experience. Mystery Shopping Mystery shopping programmes gather data in the form of directed observation. A questionnaire is designed based upon specific data points you want gathered, and observers, trained on those specifics, pose as customers to gather the information. The parameters are tightly controlled and can include measurements such as timings, product knowledge, specific product quality, service standards, and environmental attributes (such as cleanliness or store maintenance). Typically, a shop report is given out for each visit. These reports can be used to create on-the-spot performance improvements, which are valuable in themselves. Further, if enough visits are completed, the data can be compiled and analysed for trends, performance drivers, regional discrepancies, and so on.
In combination with other datasets, such as sales volumes, correlations can be discovered and it becomes a powerful tool for business improvement.  Customer Feedback
Customer feedback programmes gather data in the form of recalled impression. As in mystery shopping, a questionnaire is designed based upon specific data points you want gathered, but there the similarity ends. The survey is administered to actual customers in a variety of ways, including IVR, web, comment cards, and intercept interviews. After receiving the service or product, the customer is asked a number of questions, typically about satisfaction levels. Individual results have very little meaning and should not be used as such. When enough samples have been gathered, analyses are required to ferret out the meaning and validity of the results. When done properly, you get a part of the picture of how your customers view you and your product or service.
Customer feedback is about impression. Mystery shopping is about observation. Both are equally important. They are not interchangeable. Let us consider an example. A customer enters a hardware store because he remembered at the last minute that the light bulb in the living room had burned out. After looking for someone to help him for several minutes, he gives up and decides to look for the bulbs himself. He cannot find them. He is in a bit of a hurry. He finally finds a salesclerk, who is busy helping another customer. He decides to wait until she is finished. The customer finally moves off and he steps up. He has been in the store for 10 minutes, but it seems like an hour. He asks his question. The salesclerk smiles blankly for a moment and then answers that she does not know. She is happy to find someone who does, though. He follows her up and down a couple of aisles, until she finds another clerk. This clerk does know where the bulbs are and, not only that, proceeds to give the customer various stats on the energy output of another bulb, which is far more energy-efficient, but much more expensive. He collects the bulb and gets in line to pay. There is only one of four tills open, a half dozen or so people in front of him, and two employees chatting by the door. He forces himself to stay in line. Eventually it is his turn; he pays for the item and leaves.  The hardware store has two problems: The hardware store is concerned that the overall sales of a new low-energy light bulb are not meeting expectations. They want to know if salespersons are demonstrating product knowledge and actively offering them as options to inquiring customers. The hardware store wants to be seen as a leader in customer service. They believe their customers are not looking for fast and convenient service, but prefer a friendly, relaxed, and service-oriented environment. They have emphasised this and trained their staff accordingly, but are not seeing the kind of growth they would like. How do they gather data that will help solve their problem? The Customer Feedback Solution The kinds of questions that may be answered with a customer feedback programme:
Are customers being offered the new low-energy bulb? Are customers satisfied with the service they are receiving? Do customers perceive the hardware store staff as friendly and helpful? Do customers enjoy their overall experience at the hardware store? Are customers able to find the products they want at the hardware store?  The questions are subjective and are about their impressions and feelings while in the store: satisfied, friendly, enjoyment, easy-to-find are all concepts that mean different things to different people. The goal is to find out what is driving, on an average, the most desired behaviours (increased sales) or what might be driving, on an average, the most undesirable behaviours (loss of sales). There are also dangers inherent with relying solely upon a customer feedback measurement: They tend toward the extremes: only the very satisfied or the very dissatisfied Respond (population sample bias) Correlation does not equal causationóa common error when interpreting results Results cannot be taken singlyóthey are only meaningful in aggregate The impressions are undirected and usually non-specific It cannot tell what is really happening at the location, only how the customer feels about what happened-and those results can be affected by external events.  The Mystery Shopping SolutionThe kinds of questions that may be answered with a mystery shopping programme: Are employees hitting the key product points when describing low-energy bulbs? Are employees offering this information or waiting until they are asked? Are employees following established service standards? Are the products in store laid out to plan? Is there enough visible staff on the floor helping customers? Does the sales staff ëask for the saleí? These questions are objective in the sense that the mystery shopper acts as a type of recording device, gathering observations without the emotional involvement that is often present during an actual customer interaction. Individual results can be taken on their own to create training opportunities, or used in aggregate to assess trends or comparisons across regional or product boundaries. As with customer feedback, mystery shopping has its limits. What mystery shopping cannot do is: Measure what an untrained customer feels - Mystery shopping training sets expectations (the cashier should smile, for example), which, when not realised, can lead to a biased impression. Measure too many things at once. The human short-term memory can only hold between five and seven items at any given time. Measure what the organisation does not know how to measure - For example, perhaps the lowenergy bulbs are not selling because customers do not like the kind of light they give off, rather than as a result of an employeeís lack of product knowledge. A Balanced Approach The ideal programme is a combination of both customer feedback data and mystery shopping observations. Intelligent decisions are based upon good customer feedback, which is turned into action (employee training or service standards deployment), which is then, measured with a mystery shopping programme to test its successful implementation.
It is important for retailers to constantly seek feedback to further improve their service and customer satisfaction. However, feedback needs to be well balanced, with customer feedback as well as mystery shopping. This will help discover any shortcomings that would otherwise go unnoticed. It will also help monitor operations and improve the service standards of the retailer. |
