How Many Mystery Shops Do You Really Need?
When it comes to mystery shopping, one of the most common questions I hear is: How many shops should we do? It’s a fair question—but the answer is one that no one really likes: It depends. And it depends on quite a few things—your goals, budget, and what you’re trying to uncover. Whether you’re running […]
Why Customer Surveys Often Miss the Mark (and What to Do About It)
Most businesses rely on surveys to gauge customer satisfaction, but here’s the uncomfortable truth: surveys rarely tell the full story. Why? Two key reasons: 1. The Silent Majority When things go smoothly, customers don’t usually leave feedback. That’s just how we are—we expect things to work. But the one time something goes wrong? That’s when […]
We forget that thermometers don’t cure anything
You wake up in the morning feeling slightly off; what’s wrong? You have a cup of coffee and try to shake it off, but it doesn’t leave you. What do you do? What you don’t do is reach for every pill and syrup in your medicine cabinet. Of course, that would be stupid. So you […]
Don’t be so warm. Sell.
Here are the real mystery shop results from a chain of fitness centres. If you asked the prospective customer what they thought of the service, they’d say. Awesome. 100% of people received warm service. BUT 62.5% of people were NOT invited to take up a paid membership. They are not closing. What’s the good of […]
A dumb or cynical question?
When surveying customers, make sure you get the questioning right. Optus Telecom in Australia got it wrong. Check out the question below. How would I answer if I received terrible service? “Has the use of [product] prevented you from…..” If you got bad service, you would expect to answer Yes, […]
Episode #19 Customer Service is overrated
Guess what. Customer service is NOT necessarily the most important driver of sales. That might sound strange coming from someone running a Mystery Shopping company, but I see it time and time again. Companies focusing on the wrong things. Sure service is important, but it’s also important to ensure that: 1) your products are on […]
Don’t do this in surveys
I know I know, everyone wants feedback. But don’t do it like this. Keep in mind, this was sent to me as a customer, not a prospect. It’s OK to send marketing messages with “Hi there” but not when you want something from a customer, the least you can do is to pretend to personalise […]
