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What is Mystery Shopper Interview Bias?

Aug 26, 2009 by Elaine Buxton

Businesses considering mystery shopping services sometimes ask us about “interview bias,” or the concern that the mystery shopper will sway the employee to behave in a certain way or that the mystery shopper will bring opinions to the shop visit which might affect the outcome of the research.

Mystery shopping requires human interactions. Perfection is not possible. However, steps can be taken to ensure that interviewer bias is minimized so that mystery shopping value is maximized.

Decide what to test. Mystery shopping is performance research. In order to compare how each location is performing, it is important to decide what that performance should be. It is impossible to ask a mystery shopper to test performance without telling the shopper what the test is. Thus, the all-important first step is to determine what can and should be tested. Without requiring that each shopper approach the shop the same way, the results will be a hodge-podge of random events, reported on a meaningless survey form.
Here are some examples of how random experiences can be categorized into “tests” so that mystery shop results can be reasonably compared:

  • Banking. Instead of sending in mystery shoppers to inquire about opening “an account”, send in shoppers to ask about opening the same type of account. This allows comparisons of service descriptions when shoppers present the same scenario.
  • Restaurants. Send mystery shoppers during specific meal time windows. Units are more likely to be staffed similar, selling similar product and enjoying about the same amount of customer traffic.
  • Retail stores. Send mystery shoppers to look for specific product categories or departments.
  • Automotive services. Send mystery shoppers for the same type of vehicle service.

Inform mystery shoppers of required observations, not expectations. Mystery shoppers should be given enough information to conduct their visits and gather the appropriate information and observations without biasing them

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Mystery Shopping Call Scenarios for Banks

Sep 10, 2009 by Elaine Buxton

Considering telephone mystery shopping call scenarios for your bank? A good starting point is to think about the client interactions that are most critical to the achievement of your bank’s sales and service goals.

For example, if your goal is to become the bank of choice for those relocating into the area, include a phone shop where the shopper calls a branch, tells the employee that he/she is new to the area and is considering several local banks before making a decision. Then measure the interaction based on the employee’s friendliness, knowledge and willingness to “close” the sale.

If your goal is to capture more business from CD “rate-shoppers”, include a measurement to determine if your employees go a step further when providing the client with basic CD information. For example, shoppers listen to see if the employee simply quotes a CD rate or if the employee asks the client additional clarifying questions before quoting a rate. They also listen to see if the employee invites them to come into the branch to open the CD.

You might also be wondering about how well your front- line employees handle complaints

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