Mystery Shopping Providers Assoc. Study Ranks Best Wait Times

The Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) has released a survey that offers some insight into one key component of customer service: wait time.

The 2008 Wait Time Survey reveals the average amount of time people spend waiting at stores across the country, with a focus on 25 U.S. cities and five industries. Mystery shopping is one of only a few tactics businesses use to monitor wait times.

In addition to wait times, the study also measured Return Ratios, or the likelihood respondents would return to the location based only on wait time. A high return ratio represents consumers are satisfied with the wait time or expected longer waits. A low return ratio represents consumers expect a shorter wait time.

The following shows the top 10 average wait times and return ratios at
limited-service restaurant brands nationally:

• Dunkin Donuts, No. 1 with a wait time of 4:03 and return ratio of 83.33
  percent
• Panera Bread, No. 2 with a wait time of 4:26 and return ratio of 92.31 percent
• Chick-fil-A, No. 3 with a wait time of 4:33 and return ratio of 88.99 percent
• Arby’s, No. 4 with a wait time of 4:42 and return ratio of 77.54 percent
• Carl’s Jr., No. 5 with a wait time of 4:54 and return ratio of 77.14 percent
• Starbucks, No. 6 with a wait time of 5:06 and return ratio of 81.21 percent
• Sonic Drive-In, No. 7 with a wait time of 5:18 and return ratio of 82.08 percent
• Chipotle No. 8, with a wait time of 5:20 and return ratio of 92.16 percent
• Dairy Queen, also at No. 8 with a wait time of 5:20 and return ratio of 79.17 percent
• Burger King, No. 10 with a wait time of 5:32 and return ratio of 77.54 percent

The survey also evaluated restaurant locations in various cities. The following shows the top five by average wait times and return ratios:

• Sacramento, Calif., No. 1 with a wait time of 3:57 and return ratio of 88.46
  percent
• Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., No. 2 with a wait time of 4:20 and return ratio of 83.87 percent
• Denver, No. 3 with a wait time of 4:29 and return ratio of 77.50 percent
• Cleveland, No. 4 with a wait time of 4:36 and return ratio of 69.05 percent
• Baltimore, No. 5 with a wait time of 4:36 and return ratio of 77.27 percent
  

The MSPA received nearly 9,000 responses from mystery shoppers across the country. Mystery shopping provides businesses with an objective snapshot of the customer experience. The practice is used in nearly every consumer industry and can measure a variety of areas contributing to the customer  experience. The information allows business owners to understand how their companies compare to competitors.

For more information on the survey, contact Kelly Hancock of Hart Associates, MSPA public relations agency of record, at khancock@hartinc.com.

If you’d like to talk about how a successful mystery shopping program can improve your wait times and your customer’s overall experience, contact Customer Perspectives at 1-800-277-4677 or email marketing@customerperspectives.com. Visit us on the web at http://www.customerperspectives.com

Feedback that Makes a Difference

Timely and Targeted Advice Helps Banks Effectively Utilize Mystery Shopping Data
By Kimberly Daniels

When Judi Hess, President of Customer Perspectives™, a mystery shopping provider based in Hooksett, New Hampshire, began working in the mystery shopping business 25 years ago, she spent a large amount of time explaining to bank executives what mystery shopping was and why it could be useful for their institutions.

Now, she says, banks are familiar with mystery shopping, but oftentimes need to be educated about how to utilize the feedback it provides to improve sales and customer service.

“Nothing is worse than having the [mystery shopping] executive summary stuck in the bookcase,” says Hess.

“I suggest to my clients that the more ways they use mystery shopping, the more value it has to them,” says Hess.

Hess suggests that clients apply mystery shop results in at least five key ways, including to:

Measure training
Coach on a one-to-one level
Offer positive reinforcement
Redirect training efforts
Develop a system of incentives

Electronic Feedback

Customer Perspectives™ offers feedback to bank executives in a variety of user-friendly forms so that they can utilize the information effectively.

“One of the biggest trends in mystery shopping that has changed the industry inside out and upside down over the last couple of years is that banks can now receive mystery shopping reports electronically, usually in less than three business days,” says Hess.

The fast turnaround has dramatically affected how banks use mystery shopping information to coach and recognize employees, she says.

“Banks can give positive reinforcement right away,” says Hess.

Customer Perspectives™ sends mystery shopping reports to bank executives via email and also provides data reports online thorough a password-protected website.

The reports allow executives to view data per individual and/or branch and/or month to month.

Results can be compared with competitor information gleaned from similar mystery shops, or, in the case of a follow-up study, with information gathered during the bank’s initial benchmark study, says Hess.

Hess recommends that banks conduct a follow-up mystery shop six to nine months after their initial benchmark study. This allows them to update their training programs to address weaknesses in customer service and sales skills, she says.

After this, Hess recommends that mystery shops be conducted on a quarterly or monthly basis in order to reinforce good customer service skills.

“The savviest banks will continue to utilize mystery shops and training programs on a regular basis,” says Hess.

“Time after time, we’ve seen banks wait a couple of years to conduct mystery shops and their training drops off,” she says.

If you’d like to talk about ideas for your mystery shopping program, contact Customer Perspectives at 1-800-277-4677 or email marketing@customerperspectives.com.

Visit us online at www.customerperspectives.com.

Taking a Fresh Look at Customer Service

by Karen Gomes Moore

As a businessperson, you know how important it is to make sure your customers come first. Your employees have gone through some orientation or training program. You see your employees assisting customers in a friendly, professional manner whenever you are on the premises. So you are sure your employees are providing topnotch customer service… right?

If your answer is “yes”, congratulations! Your business is undoubtedly thriving and a force to be reckoned with.

If you answered “no”, or you can’t be at all of your locations 24/7, you might consider a formal customer service evaluation program, a.k.a. “mystery shopping”.

What is a mystery shopping program, exactly? It is a cost effective way to objectively evaluate customer service from the customer’s point of view. “Secret shoppers” visit your business, appearing as average customers. They evaluate what they find based on criteria established by you, the client. Their goal is to be unobtrusive while observing the customer service and sales skills of your employees. In so doing, they provide a fresh look at how your most valuable asset, your customer, is being treated.

To launch a successful customer service evaluation program, first consider the following:

What do you want the program to do? What is your goal?
Mystery shopping programs can do several things:

Provide a “snapshot” of current employee customer service skills prior to developing or conducting a training program

Evaluate the effectiveness of training programs post completion

Be the cornerstone of employee recognition/incentive programs

Monitor competition

And much, much more…

What is your budget?
How often do you want evaluations to take place?
What mystery shopping company will you work with?
How will you bring your management team on board?

A well thought out mystery shopping program, with clearly defined criteria and objectives as well as appropriate follow up, is a visible show of management support for the maxim “the customer comes first”. Such a program gives businesses a valuable and unique opportunity to see their services as their customers do. If the program is promoted at all levels of management, the importance of superior customer service at all times will be reinforced to front line employees.

Cost is based on many factors, including volume, complexity and location. Shopping services that employ online reporting can usually deliver a completed report within 48 hours of the shoppers visit, and often sooner.

If you’d like to talk about ideas for your mystery shopping program, contact Customer Perspectives at 1-800-277-4677 or email marketing@customerperspectives.com.

Visit us online at www.customerperspectives.com.

Tips for a Successful Mystery Shopping Program

by Karen Gomes Moore

Here at Customer Perspectives™, we know a successful mystery shopping program doesn’t just “happen”. They require more than someone just deciding to do it, then finding a provider. After over two decades in the business, we’ve got some ideas about what can make a program work best for you.

Consider the following:
» Know what your objectives are. It’s important that goals be defined in specific and measurable terms. Do you want to reinforce the lessons of a recently completed training program or do you want to establish a baseline before a training program is implemented? Do you have standards or behaviors that you want to make sure are adhered to at all times? Has one store/branch been the target of consistent complaints – or praise – and you want to get an objective picture of what’s going on there?

» How will you use the information? Will the shopping reports be used as part of an incentive program for managers, employees, or both? Will they be used as part of a contest – the store/branch with the highest score wins a reward of some sort? Will a member of management review the evaluation with individual employees or will they be part of an overall store/branch score? Will the shopping reports be part of a performance review? (They should never be the sole criteria for such a review, but they are often one of many factors taken into account.)

» Keep it simple. It’s tempting to develop lengthy questionnaires in an attempt to cover all possible behaviors, but experience shows the simpler, the better. Confusion and frustration are avoided and the information obtained is more reliable.

» Test it: Allow your mystery shopping provider adequate time to pre-test the questionnaire before rolling out the full program. Weak spots will be detected early so that modifications can be made more easily and less expensively.

» Identify the  mystery shopping company that best suits your company’s needs. Some companies specialize in particular industries; others limit themselves to defined geographic areas. Some companies offer mystery shopping as an adjunct to other services such as customer surveys, concept and design testing, brand image research, and focus group moderation. Others specialize in mystery shopping only.

» Get your front line on board. It’s vital that the people responsible for the results of the mystery shopping program – front line employees, supervisors, store managers and regional managers – understand and are supportive of the program. This is especially true if incentives are tied to the results. Before the program is finalized, management MUST make sure key players are fully informed about how the program will work and how the results will be used. If this critical step is omitted, the person in charge of the program can expect a deluge of phone calls and emails, complaining about the program, explaining away every negative comment, and demanding the evaluation be done over for any one of numerous reasons.

» Introduce it positively. Advise your employees that the purpose of the program is to “catch them doing things right”. Mystery shopping should be used as an employee development tool – a carrot rather than a stick. Employees, as well as the management team, should know how the results will affect them.

» Assign adequate supervision on your end. A well run mystery shopping program will require administrative time on your end. Make sure the person assigned to handle the program has the authority to make decisions and the time to act on the results (e.g. coach, provide recognition, etc.).

» Review periodically. This is important to keep the program fresh and relevant. Make sure the evaluation form always reflects current standards. If the goals of the program change, or the ways in which the reports will be used are modified, work with your shopping company to revise and update the program.

A successful mystery shopping program is a collaboration between client and provider. Each partner has a role to play. If both partners perform their roles well, they will find mystery shopping an invaluable tool in their quest to maintain and improve customer service, product knowledge, and sales ability.

If you’d like to talk about ideas for your mystery shopping program, contact Customer Perspectives at 1-800-277-4677 or email marketing@customerperspectives.com.

Visit us online at www.customerperspectives.com.