Mystery Audits

Mystery Audits

Mystery Audits – How do customers & potential customers see my products and services ?

Very few organisations can honestly answer this question. Each organisation, to some extent, does have an idea of how they are rated by customers and potential customers. However, this is based purely on their own perception, and not from the point of view of outsiders. The ONLY way of arriving at a definite answer is to step into the shoes of your customer, and experience for yourself how your customers are treated by your employees who are responsible for customer contact areas. But the problem here is that no amount of surveys or surprise checks by employers / supervisors can generate the actual data that organisations would require if they are to improve on services, because obviously, front-line employees are usually on their best behaviour when they know they are being assessed. However, do they perform the same way each time, even when they think they are not being assessed ? There is only one way to answer that question, and that is by conducting mystery audits.

A mystery audit is a comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination of company’s or business unit’s environment, objectives, strategies, and action. It is a structured review of the organisation’s current practices and service standards, vis-à-vis industry norms.

It gives you the opportunity to review objectively what you are currently doing and it enables you to analyse your current performance as well as your past performance. It is a comprehensive review of a company’s service environment, objectives, strategies, and activities compared to world class standards. The audit identifies operational strengths and weaknesses and recommends changes based on the assessment, thereby helping the organisation to attain consistency in performance.

Carried out by third parties, it is a non-biased as well as objective assessment that focuses on identifying the weak links, and suggesting remedies thereof.  It helps to answer the following questions:

  • What do customers “really” think about the company ?
  • How can we improve customer satisfaction ?
  • How do customers view the attitude of the service personnel ?
  • Are service personnel attentive to customer needs ?
  • Are service personnel going the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction ?
  • How do customers perceive our processes and procedures ?
  • How do we compare with our competitors ?
  • Which of our strategies are working and which are not working ?
  • What can we do in terms of employee training to improve the overall service quality ?

 Advantages of Mystery Audits

  •  Cost effective method.
  • Positive feedback for improvement of services.
  • Introduction of positive changes.
  • Increased employee involvement and productivity.
  • Increased customer satisfaction & loyalty.
  • Increase in sales.
  • Opportunity for growth.
  • Improved quality control.

 For more information about how we can work together for conducting a specifically tailored mystery audit, please email me.

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