Point #4. Schedule appropriate intervals between shopping.
Shop too seldom and you get insufficient data. Shop too often and your staff can spot the undercover customers easily. For a retailer, the intervals may range from weekly for a large store to monthly for a small store. "Some people can spot mystery shoppers no matter how good they are," cautions Ford. "These staffers will often spread the word about what the shopper looks like. You end up getting false responses."

Point #5. Present mystery shopping to employees in a positive light.
Get your staff on the team. If they resent the fact that you are mystery shopping your store, your whole mission will be counterproductive. It's a bad idea to try to hide the practice of mystery shopping from your employees. This will only encourage the view of the service as a "sneak attack" by management. Present the shopping service as a training aid, to help employees perform better not as a disciplinary procedure meant to "catch" an employee doing something wrong.

Keep this article's points in mind and you will go a long way toward assuring a big payoff from mystery shopping. "With more competition, you've got to be more productive," says Ford. "And greater productivity comes from better performance by people on the front lines."

How to get the most out of a shopping service

• Know what you want before engaging the service.
• Don't try to do too much.
• Select an experienced firm that specializes in mystery shopping.
• Schedule appropriate intervals between shopping.
• Get the employees on your side.

Get your staff on board.
Present the shopping service in a positive light to employees. "You lose if employees think negative about anything you do," says Gary Harper, vice president of marketing services at Elrick & Lavidge Interserv Marketing Solutions, a shopping service in Tucker, Ga. "Have them look at the shopping service as a way to modify training procedures and reward people who do well." Hiding the use of mystery shoppers is a bad idea. "There is some question as to whether mystery shopping is ethical if employees are not made aware of it," says Dr. John Ford, president of National Research Corporation, a shopping service in West Palm Beach, Fla.

"You can also use mystey shopping as part of a reward system" says Howard Levinson, president of Howard Services, a Norton, Mass. "For example, the cashier who goes an extra mile for a customer may receive a $100 gift certificate."

Sources of shopping service leads.
When looking for a shopping service, start by asking for referrals from other retailers in your area. And find out if the retailer was happy with the results achieved. You can also get leads from your local chamber of commerce.

How to select a shopping service
Which shopping service is right for you? Here are some guidelines on making the final cut:
Good track record. "It's critical to deal with a firm with a good reputation," says Gary Harper, vice president of marketing services at Elrick & Lavidge Interserv Marketing Solutions, a shopping service in Tucker, Ga. "Although it seems simple to put people out in stores and get info back, the quality of information is important. Even though they are mystery shoppers, you want to know they are well trained and have a goal."

This means getting a list of current customers from any shopping service you are considering. Then call those customers for feedback.
Quality of finished reports. "Find out what type of report you will get," suggests Howard Levinson, president of Howard Services, Norton, Mass. "What is the format? Is it a simple written form, or is it computer generated with lots of analysis? And how long does it take to get your reports? From three to seven days is the average. Our firm guarantees 14 days. Other companies may take three to four weeks."

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