Use the Right Type of Mystery Shop for the Best Results

An effective mystery shopping program will address your customer touch-points and mirror the ways that customers interact with you. Here are the four basic types of mystery shops:

1. In-Person Mystery Shops

The most common type of mystery shop is a single mystery shopper visiting a location and assessing performance based on the pre-defined metrics. Depending on the nature of the metrics, the purpose of the shop and the type of industry, these shops can take anywhere from 10 minutes to to several hours to complete. In-person shops are common in industries such as:

• Retail
• Restaurant
• Banking
• Fitness
• Wireless
• Hotel
• Health Care
• Gas Stations
• Convenience
• Automotive

2. Telephone Mystery Shops

Telephone mystery shops are common in call center environments, and industries where the telephone is an integral part of the customer experience. They are typically conducted through a mystery shopping company's call centre. (Although RetailTrack offers the option of having calls conducted by mystery shoppers in each actual market).

When a company is using mystery shopping as a coaching tool, calls can also be recorded.  (Individual States and Provinces have different rules regarding recording of telephone calls, so this must be carefully planned). Telephone mystery shops are common in industries such as:

• Call Centers
• Hotel
• Travel
• Tourism
• Information Technology
• Telecommunications
• Health Care

3. Internet Mystery Shops

Internet-based mystery shops are conducted with a mystery shopper assessing how responsive a company is when customers try to interact though the company's website or social media.  Internet mystery shops are common in industries such as:

• Travel
• Telecommunications
• Automotive
• Real Estate
• E-Commerce

4.  Multiple Touchpoint (Hybrid) Mystery Shops

Many companies now interact with their customers on a number of levels, and understand that World-Class Customer Experience means delivering at every touch point. Hybrid mystery shopping, as the name suggests, involves mystery shoppers following an entire customer journey, from the internet to to the telephone to a live experience.  Hybrid mystery shops are common in industries such as:

• Banking
• Travel
• Health Care
• Hotel
• Real Estate
• Automotive

Contact Us Today

To learn more about how RetailTrack can help your company stand out, contact us today at 1-800-576-6860, or info@retailtrack.com