StORES Magazine - August 2007 - (Page 78)

COMMUNICATIONS Service Call Mystery shopping programs can help boost performance in call centers, too BY KAREN M. KROLL tum in call centers,” says Ron Welty, president of IntelliShop, a Perrysburg, Ohio-based consumer research firm and member of the MSPA board of directors. “People are tired of just paying lip Like their counterparts in stores, call center mystery shoppers act like regular conservice to customer service.” sumers; they ask questions about the merchandise, and some even place orders. They Retailers operating in multiple chanrecord each step of the purchase process, and relay their experience to the retailer’s nels want to ensure that the customer management team in order to help it measure and boost sales associates’ performexperience is similar across all channels. ance. As a result, while call centers traditionMystery shopping is an $800 million industry that is growing at a rate of 20 perally have measured performance by volcent annually, according to estimates from Mystery Shopping Providers Association, ume, a growing number of operators a Dallas-based trade group. While MSPA doesn’t have separate figures concerning also are measuring quality. Austad’s Golf, a Sioux Falls, the use of mystery shoppers in call centers, this also apS.D.-based golf retailer, began a pears to be a fast-growing area. Mystery shopping: mystery shopping program in “In the last nine months, we’ve seen a lot of momen2005. Management’s goal was to ascertain just how well its sales Growth: associates were adhering to Austad’s standards for working with customers, such as approaching Source: Mystery Shopping Providers them with a non-sales greeting as Association they walk into the stores. “It focused our selling team on the standards we expect,” says Patrick Penney, vice president and chief operating and financial officer. In a call center program, mystery shoppers evaluate employees’ sales skills, demeanor and product knowledge. For example, they may note the number of rings before the service representative picks up, the representatives’ tone of voice, how well he helped the customer navigate the order, the protocol used to place customers on hold, and whether the service representative thanked the customer. The frequency with which a call center is “shopped” can vary. At Austad’s, for instance, call frequency generally doubles to twice weekly during golf season. (While no “magic number” exists, the more calls made to a customer service center, the greater the likelihood that S avvy retailers are aware of the value that mystery shoppers can add to the performance of their bricks-and-mortar stores. A growing number also are recognizing that mystery shoppers can boost the performance of their call centers, as well. $800 million 20% per year 78 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of StORES Magazine - August 2007

Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Upfront NRF News Retail People Concept2Watch Supermarkets Cover Story Online Marketing In-Store Marketing RFID Data Management Payment Systems Software Loss Prevention E-Commerce Risk Management Communications Loyalty Marketing Human Resources Mobile Commerce Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View Advertising Index Retail Industry Calendar

StORES Magazine - August 2007

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