Comments on: Mystery Shopping: Now Is The Time

By: Nadia Parikh

Nadia Parikh — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 20:40:32 +0000

Mystery shopping is a great way to make some extra money, and to get reimbursed for some big tisket items. I participated in EvaluateIt’s Via Rail campaign. It was great! I was reimbursed for half of my ticket from Windsor, Ontario to Toronto, Ontario.

I have also done some mystery shopping for a Canadian company called SQM. They are a really great company to work for; they treat their shoppers really well. I would recomend them to anyone who wanted to make some extra cash.

They do mystery shopping for companies in Canada and the USA.

By: Mystery Shopping vs District Manager Store Walks « Retail Compliance 2.0

Mystery Shopping vs District Manager Store Walks « Retail Compliance 2.0 — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:58:46 +0000

[...] a comment » I read Bob Phibbs’s (you might know him as the Retail Doctor) blog post on mystery shopping with great interest. Bob stresses the importance of a compliance process that is done regularly, [...]

By: bobphibbs

bobphibbs — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:17:44 +0000

exactly, the point is to inspect what you expect.

By: Fabien Tiburce

Fabien Tiburce — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 04:16:26 +0000

Bob, I agree that the two activities are not mutually exclusive. When a District Manager does a visit, I call this “quality assurance”. The visit is meant to be a preventive process to ensure the organization’s operations are conducive to efficiency, safety and customer satisfaction. The DM is encouraged to be a coach, not just a cop. This is partly why compliance is, in and out of itself, a virtuous process that engages the store owner/franchisee. Mystery shopping is more like “black box” testing, less interested in the process, more focused on the outcome.
The two activities also have different scopes. District managers will typically address the front-of-the-house, back-of-house and health and safety while mystery shopping typically focuses on the front-of-the-house and the customer experience. At the end of the day, you need quality assurance, preventive measures and coaching. You also need unbiased third-party customer-centric validation.

By: bobphibbs

bobphibbs — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:15:51 +0000

Thanks for commenting Fabien. While DMs can and do do spot checks, they have no way of being a “new customer” to the business – their eyes are jaded in some ways to some of the things easily apparent to a newcomer. Mystery shops that are well-done with a narrative component let the owner see exactly how the transaction went down, not just a series of checked boxes. I think there is room for both.

By: Fabien Tiburce / Compliantia

Fabien Tiburce / Compliantia — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:11:16 +0000

I read your post with great interest. I agree with the premise and your observations but not with the underlying conclusion that mystery shopping is the only solution to the problem.
What you are describing are the benefits of a compliance process. This process must be done regularly. The questions must be unequivocal. We have found that measurement actually breeds compliance. But nothing prevents the organization’s own District Managers from doing this. Indeed some of the most operationally successful QSRs I know do precisely this. They use web and mobile-based operational compliance/store walk tools such as Compliantia and rip many of the same benefits you discuss in your blog.

By: Hot Retail Trends In 2010 | Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor® blog at Retaildoc.com

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 17:28:35 +0000

[...] Interactions found me and thanked me for my blog,” You stated the value proposition of mystery shopping better than I’ve seen anyone do.” I also had owners, Directors and managers waiting for [...]