This Side Hustle Actually Pays You to Shop

A few years ago, when I wasn't making enough money to live comfortably in California off my single job, I decided to look into a side hustle that I had only ever heard of briefly and didn't understand: mystery shopping. Once I decided I wanted to give it a try, I started by going to MSPA's website to start signing up. The start-up process is tedious, because you have to fill out the same application form for every individual mystery shopping company you want to shop for. At the peak of my shopping, I think I was working for about 20 companies.

But once you've filled out the applications and can get going, it's easy. You'll be eligible for more assignments, commonly referred to as "shops," with more experience, and you'll get faster at it the more you do it. Also, when you shop the same brand over and over, you remember the things you're supposed to look for. One question I've gotten from nearly everyone who asks me about mystery shopping is how much it costs. If you're signing up with legit companies, it should cost you nothing. You shouldn't be paying a fee to join and you shouldn't be paying to do a shop. You will front your costs for the shops, but that is clearly stated in your shopping instructions. Keep reading for more information on mystery shopping, and try it out for yourself.

What is mystery shopping?

Mystery shopping, sometimes referred to as secret shopping, is going into an establishment to evaluate the service or product. It can vary from retail to food service to even experiences like sporting events or concerts. Ahead of time, you're given a form that you'll have to fill out upon completing the shop so you can be prepared for what to look for. Some shops require you to remain undercover for the whole time, but some will require you to reveal yourself as a shopper and inform the recipient how they've done.

Where do you mystery shop?

Mystery shopping covers a lot of areas. As a shopper, I've shopped fast food and sit-down restaurants, retail stores, hotels, sporting events, concerts, car dealerships, bars, etc. Because it is all a mystery, I can't reveal specifically what restaurants or stores I've shopped, but you might be amazed at how many large corporations use mystery shoppers to ensure customers are getting top-notch service.

How much do you get paid?

All shops pay in some form or another. Most shops will get you a free meal or retail item, plus a small fee on top of it. For example, when I would mystery shop food places, the cost of my meal would be covered (up to a certain amount), plus I would get paid about $10 or so on top of that. More difficult or larger shops pay more (like sporting events, which require a lot of different interactions, pay $50 or more) than others. Some will not pay on top of getting a free item during the shop. However, note that all your costs are paid upfront and then reimbursed as long as the form is done correctly and accepted by the client. If you mess up a form, you're out the money, so it's important to make sure you're doing everything exactly how you're asked.

What do you need in order to be a mystery shopper?

You honestly only need the basics: a computer to fill out your completed survey and something to take notes with. I got by on using my phone for everything. I would take notes in my notes app or jot down things to remember to look for. I would also sometimes take pictures in stores to remind myself of something I need to remember to add to my completed form. Other things that will really help you are maybe having a camera for certain shops and definitely a mode of transportation. When I was in California, I had access to a lot more shops because I could drive to them. I would pick up shops if I knew I was going to be in a different region visiting someone. 

 

(SOURCE: PopSugar)

SCORE: True #CustomerService is Keeping Your Eye on Why

I get a lot of work done over a cup of coffee. In one of these productive sessions last week, a small business CEO expressed a frustration of how to keep up with good customer service and then she asked, "Do they really care?"

My answer: No.

OK, I do need to explain. The subtitle to this column should be "... at least, not the way you think they do." I received reminders when I read a blog several weeks ago by Micah Solomon, who writes regularly on customer service, customer experience and customer trends.

Solomon contributed a great business operational truth. "Customers don't care about customer service," he said. "At least, not exactly. What they care about is something a little different: They care about the feelings, the results, the impressions, the memories that come from being well served, poorly served or that beige area in the middle."

Do you catch the reality here? This is a distinction that's worth wrapping your mind around. When you undertake a customer service initiative, its odds of success are related closely to your understanding of this principle.

Solomon suggested a successful customer service effort or initiative shouldn't rely solely on goals such as, "Provide world-class customer service while becoming an unfailingly customer-centric companywide." (Have you seen these?)

Instead, it also depends on goals such as, "Make our customers feel better." Or, (I love this) "If that sounds too unpoetic to you, how about borrowing this beautiful aspiration of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company: 'To serve even the unexpressed needs and wishes of our guests.'"

My takeaway from this is the difference here is you're now "keeping your eye on the why." And the "why" in question is the goal of adding value for customers, value that can run the gamut from hard-nosed results — "I got my invoices within 30 minutes of requesting them," — to idiosyncratically tender feelings — "I really felt cared for by that agent."

Solomon closed his blog with, "If you keep your eye on the why, you'll avoid the trap that so many organizations fall into, the trap of incorrectly framing this issue, of thinking that their customer actually gives a hootenanny about their company's org chart, its staffing levels, its internal code of conduct. Which, of course, they don't."

I suggest you may think about monitoring your customer's experience with your company. Why? Because customer experience is more important than ever. Businesses that aren't focused on delivering on the promise of good customer service are seeing their customers leave in droves.

In fact, 66 percent of consumers will switch companies if they have a bad experience, according to a report by Accenture. Because today's consumers are so fickle and because they have access to a variety of options, your business's customer experience needs to be on point — always.

I have a perfect example. Because I like to have coffee, one of my favorite places in my city is the two franchise restaurants that feature "pie" among a whole menu of options. There is one toward the south end one toward the north end. I no longer will go to the one on the north side. Why? Because the last three times I went there — yes, I gave them two more chances — I left feeling frustrated, disappointed and mad because it took 45 minutes to get my coffee, another 20 minutes to get what I had ordered — and when it came, it was wrong. I won't go back. The unfortunate thing is this poor manager thinks the reason the people aren't coming back is because there is some road construction. He didn't listen to what customers were experiencing. He didn't see his waitress was wearing an apron with a logo from her last job. He didn't understand why people were leaving with a frown.

So how do you know whether your customers' experiences are positive?

Some businesses conduct annual or semi-annual customer satisfaction surveys to take the pulse of their business and its performance. Yet, considering how quickly information flows nowadays, the data from those surveys often is stale by the time it has been collected and analyzed. Which isn't to say you should stop conducting customer satisfaction surveys, but they shouldn't be the only arrow in your customer-experience quiver.

SOURCE: POST BULLETIN 

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Go Undercover: Improve Your Brand Experience with Mystery Shopping

Providing your customers with a consistently great experience across all channels helps them form a positive connection with your brand. When customers expect a great experience, however, their expectations have to be met or you risk disappointing them.

As this article from Entrepreneur highlights, a great brand experience means that customers are satisfied with each channel of your brand, including your website, branding, atmosphere, and employee interaction, but a single bad experience with one channel can ruin the customer’s perception of your entire brand.

Controlling your customer experience is easier on some channels than others. Because your website, mobile app, and marketing are entirely under your control and offer lots of data and feedback opportunities, you can ensure that your customers have great interactions on those channels. However, it can be difficult to ensure the same consistency in stores.

In your stores, atmosphere, communication, competing priorities, and employee engagement can all be barriers to a positive perception of your brand.

Fortunately, there is a way that you can ensure you are creating a consistent experience in stores, too: mystery shopping.

Improving Brand Experience with Mystery Shopping

Your stores may look great, and your employees may be highly engaged when you and your managers are watching, but how can you be sure your employees are creating a great customer experience when they aren’t being monitored?

A well-designed customer experience program that includes mystery shopping give you feedback on your total brand experience, as your customers experience it. Mystery shoppers compare your stores’ appearance and merchandising to your expectations and, most importantly, monitor how your employees interact with customers. Because mystery shoppers look just like regular customers, you gain invaluable insight into actual employee behaviors and customer interactions.

They are able to review all aspects of the physical shopping experience and target specific concerns, including cleanliness, use of brand strategies, and employee engagement. Because they experience your brand as a customer, mystery shoppers collect data you can use to adjust your strategy and correct employee behaviors.

The data collected by mystery shoppers can help you identify trends in brand experience and pinpoint where your strategies can be improved. It also allows you to ensure that your customers are greeted with a consistent experience regardless of time or location. This is especially important for chain retailers who may have difficulties with consistency across different regions and sales volumes.

Mystery shopping programs provide you with rapid feedback, and store managers receive extremely timely results along with tools they can use to improve store performance quickly. One of the biggest benefits of mystery shopping is that managers can use this feedback immediately to encourage employee engagement by recognizing outstanding performance in front of the whole team, as well as correct subpar behaviors with training. This ensures that unsatisfactory behaviors stop immediately without damaging further customer interactions.

As Forbes points out in this great article, a great brand experience is about creating a culture change, rather than a change in “culture talk.” Mystery shoppers help you ensure that culture change is real and visible at all stages of the shopping experience and give you confidence that your customers have a great, consistent experience with your brand at all times.

SOURCE: Business 2 Community 
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Tesla Hilariously Finishes Dead Last in #MysteryShoppers Study

If there’s a list Tesla is probably OK with not being at the top of, it’s ‘Best Car Salesmen’. The company boasts about its distribution and servicing model being unlike any other in the industry and the latest mystery shoppers study by Pied Piper, a real consultant and market research firm (not based on the HBO series Silicon Valley), kind of proved that it is the case by placing Tesla dead last.

The study sends “mystery shoppers” to dealerships across the US in several different locations per brand to measure “how well dealerships follow sales processes, such as asking qualifying questions and ultimately asking for the sale”, according to Ward Auto.

Apparently, Tesla doesn’t follow standard sales processes in the industry because Pied Piper placed the company last with 86 points, 10 points behind the second “worst”, Volvo with 96, and 28 points behind the highest ranked, Infiniti with 114 points.

Here’s the full ranking via Pied Piper:

 Pied Piper CEO Fran O’Hagan said that while staffers at some Tesla stores were found to act more like car salesmen, and to be fair a lot of Tesla store employees were previously employed at other dealerships, he says that at most Tesla stores, employees tended to act like “museum curators” because they were knowledgeable about the product, but they never asked for the sale, which is actually probably more in line with Elon Musk’s vision for Tesla’s retail experience.

In a 2012 blog post, Tesla’s CEO explained the company’s approach to distributing and servicing cars. He described the goal of Product Specialists, Tesla’s equivalent of salespeople:

“They are not on commission and they will never pressure you to buy a car. Their goal and the sole metric of their success is to have you enjoy the experience of visiting so much that you look forward to returning again.”

While Tesla scored the lowest in almost every single category in Pied Piper’s research, like giving out printed materials for shoppers to take with them, the automaker received the highest rating for discussing features unique from competition.

Tesla doesn’t use a franchise dealership models like most automakers in the US and instead owns all of its stores. It is still struggling to instate its distribution model in several states where the auto dealer associations are pushing back and trying to force Tesla to use their model through legislation preventing automakers to own auto dealerships.

The main issue with Tesla using the franchise model is that dealerships make most of their profit on servicing the vehicles they sell, while Tesla aims not to make a profit on service. Musk is on record saying that he thinks it’s “terrible” to make a profit on service.

SOURCE: Elektrek 
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Get To Know Charles Stiles!

If you'd like a signed photo of Charles, merchandise or info about @B__E__S, email: MysteryShopperServicesBES@gmail.com

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Ely Railway Station Achieves 100% in Mystery Shopping Exercise

Ely railway station achieved top marks in a recent mystery shopping exercise.

Abellio Greater Anglia's rail stations were assessed between January 10 and February 6 as part of a regular mystery shopping exercise to check that stations are meeting the standards that customers expect of them.

Ely achieved a score of 100 per cent for good information provision to customers.

The criteria for scoring points for good information provision includes: visible signage and directions, a clear public address system and regular announcements and the provision of customer information screens which provide timely and accurate information.

It also takes into account relevant timetables and posters on display, local bus and taxi information available, as well as clearly displayed opening times, no smoking signs and maps.

Abellio Greater Anglia's customer service director, Andrew Goodrum, said: "I am delighted to see that Ely has achieved the top score for the information provided to customers.

"Our teams are working hard to provide excellent customer service at all times and good information provision at stations is a key element of this."

SOURCE: ELY NEWS 
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Onsite Mystery Shops -- Video

Feedback Solutions Help Improve Member Service

Some credit union executives found point-of-service feedback solutions have helped them make daily improvements in delivering in-branch member services – and given them a competitive edge to keep and attract members.

Many cooperative leaders typically rely on monthly, quarterly or annual surveys and mystery shoppers to find out what members think about their services and what could be better. While those tools are useful, they give cooperatives feedback information only from the time the survey and mystery shopping took place.

That's why some large and small credit unions are using point-of-service feedback solutions that record member satisfaction or dissatisfaction anonymously every minute of every business day, giving credit unions a daily report of their service performance and the ability to resolve issues promptly.

Credit unions are also leveraging this technology because they are finding the member response rate is higher than with email or snail mail surveys. What's more, it is motivating employees to achieve consistency in delivering excellent member service.

About 20 large and small credit unions are using a point-of-service feedback solution from HappyOrNot, a Finland-based company that manufactures small, portable kiosks that record member satisfaction or dissatisfaction, according to Ed Gundrum, CEO of DoublePort, an Andover, Mass.-based authorized reseller of HappyOrNot in North America.

The kiosks feature four buttons etched with a dark green face with a big smile, a light green face with a slight smile, a light red face with a semi frown and a red face with a frown.

One simple question printed on a small placard atop the kiosk asks members to “please rate our service today,” for example. Credit unions phrase service questions in other ways as well, but only one question is asked to keep it simple, which helps to increase member response.

The $120 million Duke University Federal Credit Union in Durham, N.C. installed 20 kiosks in one branch. Each teller station, as well as the desks of loan officers and member service representatives, has a kiosk. There is even one affixed next to the vacuum tube at its drive thru.

“We wanted to capture the satisfaction from the member at the time they did their transactions for every employee,” Duke President/CEO Dan Berry explained. “We felt like we would get higher volume of feedback.”

In December, of the credit union's 11,000 branch transactions, about 2,600 members provided feedback. That's a response rate of 23.6%, which is significantly higher than the response rate from an email or U.S. mail membership survey.

Berry said this response rate has been consistent month over month since the credit union installed the kiosks in April 2015. Other credit unions also reported the same response rate of more than 20%.

Member responses are recorded along with the date and time. That data is then uploaded to a HappyOrNot central server via a cell SIM card within each kiosk. The cloud-based service generates the graphic reports, which are emailed to management and employees for review early the next morning.

The data can be broken down to show employees on which days and during which hours they performed better or worse.

“I have a credit union with $146 million in assets and I really need to compete on services with everybody in the area,” Howard Meller, president/CEO of GHS Federal Credit Union in Binghamton, N.Y., said. “HappyOrNot kiosks are just a way for me to always check to make sure that we are providing the service that we need in order to grow.”

SOURCE: Feedback Solutions

Mystery Shoppers to Anonymously Evaluate all Aspects of Aquarium

Amusement Advantage Inc., has been chosen by the Florida Aquarium to help identify ways to improve its business operations.
The popular tourist attraction is keen to get a better understanding of how visitors interact with the aquarium and pinpoint opportunities to enhance the guest experience.

Scot Carson, President and General Manager of Amusement Advantage said the company was eager to start working with the aquarium. “Our expertise and experience in the industry fits perfectly with The Florida Aquarium’s high standards of excellence and service delivery.”

Amusement Advantage will draw from their pool of 30,000 mystery shoppers to anonymously evaluate all aspects of the aquarium including ticket purchasing, food quality in the café and the educational nature of the exhibits and presentations.

Matt Heller, founder of Performance Optimist Consulting will analyse the report which intends to highlight opportunities for further improving leadership and staff engagement and therefore, the guest experience.

The partnership follows Amusement Advantage’s recent appointment of a Director of Business Development based in Orlando to better serve the Florida tourism industry. The company already provides mystery shopping services to over 400 attractions in the US and Canada.

“Amusement Advantage will provide valuable insights into what we are doing right as well as identity areas we need to improve on,” Scott Rose, Chief Operating Officer of The Florida Aquarium.

 

SOURCE: BlooLoop

Mystery Shoppers Uncovered Surprising Secrets About Local Supermarket Chains

Mystery shoppers at Checkbook Magazine uncovered some surprising secrets about local supermarket chains, and the results might just have you switching where you choose to buy food for your holiday meals.

Checkbook Magazine surveyed consumers and did its own mystery shopping to compare prices.

It shopped a list of 150 items at various chains all across the Delaware Valley, and what it found may surprise you.

Depending on your regular supermarket preferences, you might want to head elsewhere!

Click here to watch video from ABC6 News 

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Secret Shoppers Helping Improve Customer Service

A team of more than 100 mystery shoppers are helping improve customer experiences on Jersey's high street.

Secret shoppers talk to sales assistants and buy products, then write up reports about the level of service they received.

Retailers say it is the only real way they can get an idea of what it feels like to shop in their stores.

People often say to me, well surely you could judge it by sales. We can to a degree, but what you don't know by just judging it by sales is how many sales we lose if we don't give good service. So customer service, and measuring customer service is absolutely critical.
– David Elliott, Retailer

One mystery shopper has given her top three tips for retailers to deliver good customer service. Claire Boscq-Scott says it is all about delivering the basics:

Greet the customer
Smile
Use eye contact

The best customer service you can give is just so simple, it's all about basics, a smile, eye contact, a hello, those are the three free gifts you can give your customers and I think when people don't get the customer service and you get an apathy, when you get people who are not happy in what they do in their own jobs, themselves, they're not happy inside so they're never going to deliver a good service.
– Claire Boscq-Scott, Secret Shopper

SOURCE: ITV News 

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Three Ways to Earn Extra Money Before Black Friday

Saving money before the holidays is a great way to avoid going into debt to cover the added cost of gifts, parties and travel. But if you’ve already cut your spending, finding room in your budget to set aside more cash might not be possible. Or perhaps you just don’t want to live like a pauper for the next few months to be able to pay for holiday festivities with cash.

So consider the alternative: earning more. There are plenty of ways to make extra money over the coming months — and some don’t even require much time. Here are three you should consider when saving for your Black Friday shopping trip.

GET A SEASONAL JOB OR SIDE GIG: If you have time to work extra hours, now is the time to start looking for seasonal work. Outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects retailers to hire 755,000 workers for the holiday season. You’ll likely find openings at retailers such as Amazon, Gap, Kohl’s, Macy’s and Target, which add tens of thousands of employees to their payrolls in October through December.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas also recommends looking for positions at warehouses and shipping facilities, which ramp up hiring before the holidays. Restaurants and entertainment venues that see increased business during holidays also hire seasonal employees.

Another option, if you can’t commit to working several hours a week, is the occasional side gig. Grayson Bell, creator of the Debt Roundup blog, would find quick work — such as loading a moving van or doing yard work — through the “gigs” section on Craigslist.

SELL STUFF YOU DON’T NEED: Your closet, garage or attic is likely a treasure trove of stuff that’s just taking up space and can easily be turned into cash.

Leah Ingram, founder of the Suddenly Frugal blog, recommends taking clothing that’s in good condition to a consignment store now to get a payout in time for Black Friday. When you sell clothes on consignment, you typically get 50 percent of the price at which your items sell. You also can sell clothing, shoes and accessories through a fashion resale site such as thredUP.com, which sends you a pre-paid bag to ship your items in.

You can make money on items around your home such as furniture, tools or music equipment by selling them on Craigslist.

And don’t forget electronics: If you have cellphones you’re no longer using, you can get cash for them through trade-in services such as ecoATM, Gazelle, NextWorth and uSell.com.

BE A MYSTERY SHOPPER: Yes, mystery shopper scams abound, but there are plenty of legitimate opportunities that offer a quick and easy way to earn extra cash if you’re willing to evaluate products or visit establishments and offer feedback. “Mystery shopping won’t make you rich, but you can often earn free things that you may want to gift to others, and you also may earn a little bit of side cash for the holidays,” said MakingSenseofCents.com founder Michelle Schroeder-Gardener, who has earned from $5 to $100 for mystery shopping jobs. She found all of her opportunities through BestMark.

 

SOURCE: Dallas News

Flipkart Employees Turn Spies to Beat Fakes

India's largest online marketplace has deployed spies to keep tabs on the merchandise being pushed by sellers. Flipkart, which kicked off its five-day discount sale on Tuesday, is taking precautions after getting stung by instances of sellers listing counterfeit and sub-standard products and inflating the maximum retail price.

It has rolled out an initiative to enroll employees as mystery shoppers — those paid to masquerade as customers — to buy products from sellers listed on the platform and report on the experience. The online marketplace has also hired a Big Four consultancy firm.

"With rising customer concerns around fake and counterfeit products online, we have rolled out the Flipkart mystery shopping programme where employees can act as Flipkart secret agents to identify fraudulent sellers on our platform. This initiative aims to ensure optimum quality, uniformity and fidelity of all the packages delivered to customers," said Manish Maheshwari, head and vice-president, seller ecosystem, at Flipkart.

I just don't like the way they add delivery charged for each and every item ordered. Logically, they should charge for the total order.Sanjay Sable
Employees who sign up for this voluntary effort, which will continue after the festive season, will get special incentives. "Those members of the staff who enroll for this programme will get Flipkart shopping vouchers," he added.

Flipkart's 'secret agents' will have to send in photos of the packaging, labels and products that are delivered to them, which will be processed by the trust and security team. If the quality of the product, service and packaging is substandard, action will be taken against the seller, ranging from being recommended for mandatory training programmes to being delisted in extreme cases.

SOURCE: Times of India

Mystery Shopping Catches Some Advisors Off-Guard

 
Most advisors behave themselves, even if they don’t know a regulator’s watching. But some are still failing the basics of advice.

That’s what OSC, IIROC, and MFDA found in their joint report, Mystery Shopping for Investment Advice. The report describes the results of a mystery shop of advisors across Ontario between July and November 2014. The review didn’t find any serious misconduct, but of shops that made recommendations, 14% made unsuitable ones, 21% did not conduct thorough KYC and 29% didn’t discuss fees appropriately.

The first initiative of its kind undertaken by Canadian securities regulators, the mystery shop assessed retail investors’ experiences and evaluated the investment advice process.

A total of 105 shops occurred throughout Ontario across four investment platforms, including investment dealers, mutual fund dealers, exempt market dealers and portfolio managers. Of these, 88 shops had sufficient data to allow for an assessment of the shoppers’ experiences against a set of benchmarks for best practice, compliant and non-compliant advice.

Good news: In more than three-quarters of shops (78%), investors heard about investment products that advisors could sell. Investors were asked about their investment objectives in 89% of shops.

But, shoppers were less likely to hear about product fees (56%), be told about the risk/return relationship (52%), be asked for thorough know your client (KYC) information (32%) or be told about advisor compensation (25%).

And regulators concluded that since their experiences varied, investors would have difficulty comparison shopping, understanding the variety of business titles or knowing whether they received suitable advice.

About a quarter of shops (24) made recommendations. Suitable product recommendations (appropriate given the investors’ investment objectives, risk tolerance and financial circumstances) were made in 86% of shops, and unsuitable recommendations in 14%. For these 24 shops, thorough KYC information was collected in 79% of shops and an appropriate discussion of product fees in 71%. Sixty-three percent of shops met or exceeded all regulatory expectations.

In response to these findings, the OSC, IIROC and MFDA have set out detailed action plans to build on their ongoing efforts. These next steps will focus on an enhancement of advisory practices, setting out clear expectations and using the findings to inform policy making, with a view to improving the overall experience investors have when seeking investment advice. Investment industry firms and advisors should review and respond to the findings to ensure investors receive advice that is appropriate and leads to a better investor experiences.

The related Notices (OSC Staff Notice 31-715, IIROC Notice 15-0210, MFDA Bulletin 0658-C) also include critical information about proficiency and registration categories of the platforms shopped (Appendix A) and evaluation benchmarks (Appendix E) against which the mystery shop results were assessed.

#MysteryShoppers to Test Cardiff Taxi Drivers' Fares

 

Mystery shoppers will test taxis drivers for the remaining Rugby World Cup games in Cardiff following claims people have been refused fares.

Cardiff council has announced the initiative to ensure short-distance fares are being accepted, in the wake of three sex attacks in the city.

The city's taxi association has denied claims some drivers have turned people away for short-distance taxi trips.

Trading Standards Officers will pose as the mystery shoppers, the council said.

Residents, visitors and commuters have been advised to use the taxi ranks at Greyfriers Road and Lower St Mary Street on Thursday night.


Councilor Jacqueline Parry, licensing committee chairwoman, said: "I read with interest the recent media reports on taxi drivers and claims that people are being refused because the fare is too short.

"We take these matters very seriously. Taxi drivers should be ambassadors to our city and complaints will be investigated.

"If you are getting a taxi from a taxi rank, the light is on, and the fare starts and ends within Cardiff, the driver has to take you home and must use the meter. It is as simple as that."

SOURCE:  BBC

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Mystery Shopping Probe Finds 'Basic Errors' at Post Offices

Mystery shopping probe finds 'basic errors' at post offices

A mystery shopping investigation revealed some "basic errors" at post offices, including advice on whether to send items second class.
The new model of local post offices, often sited inside shops, has improved opening hours

Citizens Advice said that although 75% of shoppers were satisfied with the level of service at local branches, a number of "inconsistencies" were found.

Staff correctly recommended that an item should be posted second class in only 39% of cases, while almost one in 10 shoppers could not withdraw the amount of money they wanted.

The new model of local post offices, often sited inside shops, has improved opening hours, but 4% of the mystery shoppers found the store was closed when it should have been open.

After 457 visits, the shoppers said queue times were "broadly good", being served immediately in 60% of cases.

The report said that in 97% of cases, accessibility was good or had been recently improved, although it added: "In an unacceptable minority of cases, there are persistent problems with access into and around the premises for elderly or disabled consumers."

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "Local post offices are crucial to consumers and businesses so these changes are absolutely vital.

"They have the potential to ensure the sustainability of the network and protect its role at the heart of communities.

"While the principles behind the reforms are right, our investigation has uncovered some inconsistencies with service delivery that quickly need to be put right.

"Post Office Ltd should urgently iron out these problems to ensure the new service works effectively for all consumers."

Post Office spokesman Mark Davies said: "Our modernisation programme is delivering longer opening hours, greater accessibility for customers and a branch network sustainable for the future.

"These mystery shopper visits to a number of branches at the start of the year show waiting times coming down, with 60% of customers served instantly in local branches, and the vast majority of mystery shoppers being satisfied with staff knowledge on the scenarios tested, as well as with the overall experience of their visit.

"This tallies with our on-going research based on customer experiences which consistently shows over 95% customer satisfaction with the Post Office Local model.

"There is always room for improvement and we will consider as a business what further steps we can take to improve service for customers, but the findings of this research, if not the narrative which accompanies it, shows positive steps forward in one of the largest transformation programmes in Europe."

 

SOURCE: Express And Star

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#MysteryShoppers Show Financial Advisers Failing to Fully Inform Clients

An undercover shopper investigation of Ontario financial advisers has found that only a third of them gathered thorough, know-your-client information, and less than a quarter discussed how the adviser was compensated.

The so-called mystery shoppers also reported that while advisers were able to give clear information about products and services, they were less likely to inform a potential investor about the risks of any investment and the fees that might be associated with it.

Three regulators — the Ontario Securities Commission, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada — sent in the mystery shoppers to investigate whether financial advisers put the client's interests first.

Their findings are similar to those of a hidden-camera investigation two years ago by CBC's Marketplace.

That CBC investigation revealed a wide range in the quality of advisers, a confusing regulatory environment and, in some cases, advice that was incorrect or misleading.

The OSC urges a greater emphasis on the customer experience in the advice process after its mystery shopper investigation.

Over the course of the summer, people posing as potential clients approached 105 advisers in Ontario.

The mystery shoppers visited four types of financial advisers — investment dealers, mutual fund dealers, portfolio managers and exempt market dealers, a form of specialized adviser who deals with products such as limited partnerships, private shares and real estate trusts.

The three regulators concluded there were no examples of serious misconduct among the advisers and said recommendations were suitable in 86 per cent of the shops where an adviser offered direct advice.

Confusing designations

But it said the number and variety of titles of advisers its shoppers encountered was confusing. There is a patchwork of regulatory bodies that govern the various types of financial advisers, and the term financial adviser is a loose designation used by an array of practitioners without consistent training.

The OSC found that 42 per cent of Canadians had a financial adviser.

The Ontario regulator said it's difficult for investors to comparison shop for financial advice, as the information and advice they are given by different advisers varies so widely.

Among the findings:

• Only 32 per cent of shops gathered thorough know-your-client information from the shoppers.
• Just 52 per cent of advisers discussed the risk-return relationship with shoppers, adequately warning them of the risk of each investment.
• About 56 per cent discussed product fees.
• Just 25 per cent discussed how the advisers themselves were compensated.

The shoppers found that advisers did disclose and describe the products they sell clearly, though they were less likely to make specific recommendations in the initial visit. Instead, 36 per cent of the advisers gave general advice and about one third gave no advice at all as the shoppers did not come with a pot of money to invest.  

The regulators each call for steps to educate and guide financial advisers, but also put forward recommendations to educate consumers about the financial advice industry.

Probe further, says consumer group

Neil Gross, executive director of investor advocacy group FAIR Canada, said the regulators' probe doesn't go far enough, as it failed to continue beyond the first visit to an adviser. Even so, the results were not impressive, he added, with so many advisers failing to comply with guidelines about know your client and full disclosure.

Regulators should follow shoppers through the entire advice process to get a fuller picture of whether advisers comply with regulatory standards, Gross said in an email to CBC's Marketplace.

Gross said the recommendations by regulators focus too heavily on educating investors and too little on how regulators can play a role in protecting investors.

"This mystery shopping exercise should galvanize regulators to increase proficiency standards for investment firms and advisers, and step up compliance monitoring and enforcement action where necessary," he said.

If you're considering implementing a mystery shopper program for your company, or would like to join us as a mystery shopper, we'd love to have you join us!
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Google Will Use Mystery Shoppers Very Soon in Your Search Results

Google is starting to make it easier to find plumbers, locksmiths, cleaners, and other home service workers. It's rolling out a new type of search ad today that'll place listings for these services at the top of relevant search result pages, although only around the San Francisco Bay Area for now. The listings include a phone number for the business, customer ratings, basic details on their services, and a photo of someone who represents the company. The idea is that you can now just search for "lock repair" and immediately get a locksmith's number, rather than having to look through search results — or, you know, turn to another competitor like Amazon.

But keep in mind that these aren't people working for Google, nor are they necessarily recommended by Google: these are paid ads for local companies. That said, Google does have a slight hand in curation here. Google requires that every company go through background checks, get properly licensed, and obtain insurance, according to The Wall Street Journal. Google will also use mystery shoppers to check in on their performance. The ads are only open to plumbers, locksmiths, cleaners, and handyworkers for now — and again, only in the San Francisco Bay Area — but this is also just the start of what appears to be a much larger effort from Google to compete with the many tech companies already in this space.

SOURCE: The Verge 

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A New Mystery Shopper Campaign Aimed at Highlighting the Problems Disabled People Face in Everyday Life

A charity is hoping to tear down barriers for disabled people in West Lothian.

Disability West Lothian are launching a new mystery shopper campaign aimed at highlighting the problems disabled people face in everyday life.

Volunteers will document their journeys to places like shops and restaurants using dictaphones and cameras.

Organisers then plan to present their findings to West Lothian Council in a bid for change.

It comes as the Pumpherston-based charity’s Community Equality Officer, Fiona McKeon, claimed that some disabled people are too nervous to leave the house.

She said: “We find that when disabled people are trying to go about their day-to-day business they are encountering problems.We’ve got a woman in her late thirties who rarely leaves the house because she just thinks it’s too hard. There’s young people who can’t leave the house because there are no dropped curbs for example. Even going to a film with a friend at night can be challenging because a lot of the time disabled people use carers who usually put them to bed at 6.30pm.

We are trying to empower people to think: ‘Why can’t I do what everybody else does?'"

Volunteers from all areas of West Lothian are still being sought for the project which begins late next month. The idea is to show a different view of a daily journey which most people take for granted.

Fiona said: “If I wanted to get a paper, I’d jump in the car or walk to the shop, it’s not that simple for a lot of people. This is about giving an account of what it is like to be a disabled person on a normal day. The plan is to record people’s journeys to the shops using a dictaphone or camera over a couple of months. Our board members are mostly disabled, so we’ve got a good idea of the challenges but there are people out there who just aren’t living a life at all.”

Asked how the findings could make a difference, Fiona continued: “We want to speak to local retailers and organisations about the difficulties people are having. Finding a solution to the problems people face doesn’t have to cost hundreds of pounds. It’s just about getting people on board. We’ve got about 20 per cent of the population who have got disabilities. That’s a big pocket of money that could be spent in shops which currently isn’t happening.”

Disability West Lothian are already lining-up their next venture after the mystery shopper project ends.

Fiona added: “Once we’ve completed this project we’re going to be more ambitious. We’ll present our findings to local politicians and the council. We’re then going to examine how difficult it is for disabled football fans to get to and from games. It’s just about highlighting something that’s a wee stretch at the moment for people. That football project will start after Christmas.”

SOURCE:  DAILY RECORD

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Top Baton Rouge Companies Share Their Customer Service Playbooks

When it comes to gaining and retaining customers, businesses often get just one chance to make a good impression.

With a wealth of local companies competing for Baton Rouge consumers’ time and attention, businesses must find ways to set themselves apart from their rivals. Six prominent locally owned and operated firms have found that customer service is the key to doing so. From restaurants to retail, these companies boast a successful track record in the local community and are looking forward to continued growth.

Business Report recently surveyed its readers to find out which local businesses left the most positive impressions with them. The magazine then sat down with executives of the companies—Raising Cane’s, CC’s Coffee House, Campus Federal Credit Union, All Star Automotive, Bet-R Neighborhood Market and Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry—to get a look inside their customer service playbooks for a feature from the current issue.

“It starts with selection and finding people who have an enthusiastic way about them in their day-to-day life,” says Raising Cane’s regional vice president of operations Clint Penfield. “We know that will transfer over to the workplace. It is about creating and maintaining an environment that is great for customers. And when that happens, it can only happen with crewmembers contributing to that environment.”

Along with careful hiring, CC’s Coffee House Senior Director of Company Operations Sean Marlow says using mystery shoppers is a good way to evaluate and improve customer service within the company.

“At the very end of the mystery shop, there is the opportunity for the shopper to call out the team member or even the whole team on what they did to make their experience that much more special or share what their expectations are,” he says.

Listening is key to customer service, says Campus Federal Credit Union Chief Development officer Ron Moreau. And that means listening to your staff members as well as your customers.

“They are the voice of the public. They have ideas for continuous improvement,” Moreau says of his staff. “Our CEO Dawn Harris constantly sends out communications to our staff wanting to know, ‘Let me know anything you’ve done unexpected for our members.’ So everyone is striving to do the unexpected.”

SOURCE: Business Report 

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