Mystery shopping is invaluable for all companies whose staff have direct contact with members of the public. Using mystery shopping, it is possible to monitor the manner in which staff interact with customers when they believe they are unobserved. It can therefore prove invaluable for staff appraisal and training.

PCP has worked with mystery shopping clients as in fields as diverse as retail, estate and property agents, and local government. We are currently working with Barnsley Metropolitan District Council in pioneering the use of council tenants as mystery shoppers. This has proved very successful and added considerably to the authenticity of the work.

It is vital that the process is both an accurate indication of the experience of real customers and is consistent across different mystery shoppers and staff. Therefore, a detailed assessment of the behaviour of genuine customers is carried out before mystery shopping commences. This can be achieved by visiting branches, shadowing members of staff, or through more in-depth analysis via focus groups or quantitative research with customers. Once this process is complete, a specific brief can be drawn up for mystery shoppers to replicate. This also increases the likelihood that mystery shoppers will remain undetected, adding to the credibility of results.

Assessment is usually made over a range of different scenarios. PCP develop the scenarios in conjunction with the client. Typically, these assessments examine many aspects of customer interaction, looking not only at staff members' manner and efficiency but also experience of the system. We monitor for example, the time the caller is left on hold, the number of rings before the call is answered, tidiness of the office for visits and the time the customer is kept waiting.

Marking of calls / visits is centralised whenever possible, to ensure consistency of interpretation and mystery shoppers are asked to record mostly factual, rather than subjective information. Telephone calls are usually recorded to help both in the centralisation of marking and for the training and assessment of staff.