Be A Mystery Shopper

The basic methodology of music shopping hasn't changed since it began in the US about 25 years ago, says David Backinsell, consultant for NOP Mystery Shopping. But he sees a move towards conducting more mystery shopping over the phone. His company has set up a new service called AudiTel, specifically to audit in-bound call-handling systems.

What about the quality of the mystery shoppers, the people in the field who do the actual assessment? The long-running debate between 'informed' professional and 'authentic' amateur assessors rages on. NOP prefers to use the latter - "with a very basic training in memory retention and recall techniques you can be a mystery shopper ". So does electrical goods giant Dixons, whose spokeswoman emphasizes that "mystery shoppers must not have worked in retail previously. They must be 'typical' customers".

But other mystery shopping specialists, especially in the US, opt for full-time staff. Manchester-based ABA Quality Monitoring, although specializing in the pub industry, recently took on hi-fi retailer Richer Sounds, using small teams of people on a very regular basis.

The people employed all need to have some customer-service experience "so they understand what's happening on the other side of the counter," says ABA director Kate Butterworth.

David Robinson, managing director of Richer Sounds, the much-acclaimed, independent hi-fi retailer, was working behind till December 2006 at one of his company's 29 stores. "It's something that Julian Richer, the founder and chairman, and I like to do in the run-up to Christmas," he says.

One of his customers was Kate Butterworth, an off-duty director of Manchester-based ABA Quality Monitoring, a mystery shopping specialist. "I was elated with the service," she recalls, "but it was a complete shock to see the same guy only a few weeks later under such different circumstances."

She is referring to the strange quirk of fate that prompted Robinson, shortly after her fortuitous visit, to hold a pitch for a new mystery shopping company and, unwittingly, to select her company.

"I like the fact that I was a customer of theirs before they became a customer of mine," says Butterworth. "It's very encouraging to work with a company that already has great customer service."

Indeed it does. Richer Sounds, which started life 18 years ago, has featured in the Guinness Book of Records for the past six years. At L17, 553, its London Bridge outlet has the highest retail sales per square foot in the world. For the past five years, the company has also rated highest in terms of suggestions per employee, as monitored by UKASS (the UK Association of Suggestion Schemes). And as all good employers know, employees only use suggestion boxes if they think their ideas will be taken seriously.

The company's owner, Julian Richer, has also made headlines for his unorthodox employee motivation techniques, which include free weekends in Paris and the use of his Bentley.

Mystery Shopping |