Mystery shopping is a proven, objective tool for measuring the quality of customer service. It offers a clear, unbiased view of how your employees interact with customers, helping you identify strengths and areas for improvement. As Jeff Hall, the former President of the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA) North America, once said, “There is not a single smallest store in the USA that does not use mystery shopping in its daily management process.” This widespread use highlights the importance of maintaining high-level customer service standards.

The importance of measuring customer service

Effective customer service management is crucial for long-term success. Every business should have a tailored quality management system that includes customer service measurement. Customer service has a significant impact on your company’s reputation and success, so it’s vital to start measuring it as soon as possible.

Even if you begin with just one aspect of your overall management system, the tools and results from mystery shopping should be integrated and used effectively.

Why use mystery shopping

Managing customer service quality can be challenging. When managers are present, employees often perform better, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of day-to-day service quality. Mystery shopping addresses this issue by allowing you to see what happens when you’re not there, offering valuable insights into your company’s performance. This service helps you answer critical questions like:

  • Where are the strengths and weaknesses in our customer service?
  • What should be addressed in the next personnel meeting?
  • Which employees deserve recognition, and who might need further training?
  • How can we ensure that our service quality does not negatively impact our business?
  • Do we have a system that continuously ensures high-quality service?

If you’re unsure of the answers to these questions, it’s likely that your customer service quality isn’t being adequately measured or controlled. To achieve service excellence, it’s essential to implement or improve a service quality management system, with mystery shopping as a key component.

More than
180 000 visits per year!
Around
60 000 mystery shoppers, all areas and cities covered
More
than 100 employees

Understanding mystery shopping

Customer service quality surveys typically fall into two categories:

  • Subjective: Based on feedback from existing customers.

  • Objective: Actual measurement of the customer service process according to specific standards.

Mystery shopping belongs to the objective category, providing measurable and actionable insights.

Mystery shopping is a tool within Customer Relationship Management (CRM) that provides an accurate snapshot of the customer experience at a specific time. It focuses on objective facts about the customer’s interaction, supplemented by subjective observations to create a full picture. This method is the most widely used and reliable for assessing customer service quality.

Mystery shopping involves trained anonymous shoppers who act as regular customers, visiting agreed-upon locations to assess the quality of service. They observe specific aspects outlined in the survey objectives and later provide detailed reports on their experience. This method is particularly useful for evaluating employee behavior against pre-established standards.

Mystery shopping isn’t limited to assessing your own company. It can also be used to analyze competitors’ customer service, allowing you to benchmark your performance against industry standards.

We offer various mystery shopping methods tailored to both B2C and B2B contexts, including:

  • Mystery shopping 
  • Mystery calling
  • Mystery web and email
  • Audit services

To be most effective, mystery shopping should be conducted regularly—monthly or quarterly. However, consistency and systematic follow-up on results are crucial. The sample size depends on the number of branches, departments, and the survey’s goals. It’s recommended to evaluate all units in one wave to maintain comparability.

Each questionnaire for a mystery shopping survey is tailored to your organization’s needs, based on your service standards and internal processes. The questions are fact-based, with an option to include emotional responses to understand the correlation between service standards and customer feelings. A simple “yes” or “no” evaluation scale is often used, with an additional “not applicable” option where necessary.

  • General customer service quality: Assessing all aspects of the customer experience, from first contact to the end of the interaction.
  • Specific business aspects: Focusing on narrower elements, such as the impact of personnel training, pricing, product placement, or adherence to sales processes.

Research results are delivered through our online system, Dive OnLine, where you can view overall results and drill down into specific feedback. We also provide comprehensive reports with analysis, suggestions, and action plans for improvement. For top-level managers, we can prepare a written summary of the current situation and trends.

Success in mystery shopping requires a clear communication system, defined responsibilities, and an action framework. Middle-level managers should communicate results to employees and address issues at the personnel level, while higher-level managers focus on staff development and training. To shift the focus from control to improvement, we recommend creating a game or competition to reward top performers.

Dive is a customer service improvement company with over 20 years of experience, specializing in mystery shopping. We run both local and international projects, covering eight key markets in Northern Europe—Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. As an elite member of the Mystery Shopping Professionals Association (MSPA), we adhere to the highest standards in the industry, ensuring you receive the most reliable and actionable insights to enhance your customer service.

If you’re looking to improve your customer service quality and ensure your business stands out in a competitive market, Dive is here to help. With our extensive experience and proven methods, we can provide you with the tools and insights needed to achieve service excellence.

Contact us today to learn more about how our mystery shopping services can benefit your business. Let’s work together to elevate your customer service and drive long-term success.

#Development of service #Evaluation of service #Mystery shopping main