 Anne M. Obarski | I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, “Oh, you do mystery shopping; I always wanted to do that!” I think most people find the thought of posing as a customer and reporting back on how they were treated rather intriguing. But there is a lot more to it than skulking around in a trench coat and spyglass! I believe most companies, including garden centers, have taken the plunge and decided that it really is important to conduct frequent mystery or secret shops of their garden centers. The question remains: Do they do anything constructive with the information or is it used as a disciplinary tool? Before you start having people snoop around your garden center, consider the following clues that will help guarantee a successful program. 1. Is there value in a mystery shopper program? The most important reason to conduct a mystery shop is to see your garden center through the eyes of your customer. Not only should you consider mystery shops, but using quarterly focus groups made up of some of your actual customers can provide you with valuable information you can use immediately.
The same thing happens with employees. If you want to build a team, let the players know the game plan. Tell employees why you’re planning a mystery shop. Explain that it is part of ongoing training, and a way to find out what the customer really wants. It’s also a way to hold employees accountable for information they received during training. Employees are far less likely to be upset with test results if they had sufficient time to “study.” 3. Where should we start? Decide what information you want to obtain from these reports and what you are going to do with it. Developing questions is critical to the success of the program. Start with your training material and employee handbook to develop procedural questions. Your initial questions may focus on employee dress, communication skills and customer service. Most garden centers then usually focus on three or four areas where they want accurate customer feedback. The first area is often the garden center itself. Was the location easy to find? Was the entrance neat and clean? Did I feel safe parking after dark? Was the layout attractive and was it easy for me to find what I was looking for? The second focus is on inventory or on merchandising. Was signage helpful as well as informational? Was the garden center stocked with what I needed? A critical area to focus on is customer service. How was I greeted? Was the employee easy to find? Was the employee knowledgeable? Was the transaction quick and did they offer additional services, i.e. taking my items to my car or helping to load my purchases? Did the employee answer all of my questions and would I tell others about my experience? Did the employee invite me back? And don’t forget to add a question about your restroom facilities!
I am often asked, “How often should I do a ‘shop’ and how much should I expect to pay?” If you are looking at saving money you can always choose to do your shops randomly. Pay is usually based on the length of time it takes the shopper to do the “shop” from the time they leave their residence until they get back, and the pay is all across the board, from $50 to $100 per shop. Depending on budget and whether you choose to do them weekly, monthly or randomly, make them a pivotal part of an ongoing training program and do not do it for less than one year.
Columnist Anne M. Obarski is a retail strategist and frequent speaker regarding customer retention and relationship-building. Join her new group for garden center professionals at www.merchandiseconcepts.com/gcroundtable. |
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