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Are your service standards actually reaching your customers?

Mystery shoppers approach your business like any other customer, in store and across digital channels. Checon shows you whether the problem is one location or your entire network.

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Ask an employee and you’ll learn what they know. Not what they do.

What is mystery shopping?

Mystery shopping is a research method in which trained evaluators experience a company’s service as ordinary customers, follow a standardized script and record what they find. It shows whether your operation delivers what your brand promises, location by location and channel by channel.

One visit, from first contact to walking out the door

Friendly service that misses what the customer needs may look right, but it doesn’t get the job done. That’s why we evaluate every moment. The notes below are examples.

  1. Before they walk in

    Service starts the moment someone looks you up online, calls or sends a message.

    • Internet
    • Phone
    • WhatsApp
    • Social media
    • Response time
    • Online information
    • Physical space
    What the standard says

    Up-to-date information on every channel, and replies within the set timeframe.

    What the shopper noted

    Old address on the website. WhatsApp took three hours to reply.

  2. The welcome

    Courtesy, availability and professionalism from whoever greets the customer.

    What the standard says

    Greet customers as soon as they arrive and give them your full attention.

    What the shopper noted

    Warm welcome, big smile. So far, so good.

  3. Understanding the need

    Does the employee ask questions, understand the situation and tailor the advice?

    What the standard says

    Ask before you offer. Understand what the customer needs.

    What the shopper noted

    Didn’t ask me a thing. Went straight to the list of services.

  4. The solution

    Are the options explained clearly? Does the customer leave knowing what happens next?

    What the standard says

    Present the right options and agree on the next step.

    What the shopper noted

    Good explanation of the options. Just not clear what I’m supposed to do now.

  5. The goodbye

    Often the most overlooked moment, and the one that decides whether the customer comes back.

    What the standard says

    Recap what was agreed, invite questions and stay in touch.

    What the shopper noted

    Ended with “come back if you need anything.” Left without a single contact.

One bad location, or a broken standard?

Each visit produces an evaluation. The real value comes from reading them together, because these two problems need different fixes.

Red means the item was missed. Look for where the red repeats: in a column or in a row.

Sample map of 10 locations. Does not reflect any client’s data.
Item · Location12345678910
Greeted on arrivalmetmetmetmetmetmetmissedmetmetmet
Seemed availablemetmetmissedmetmetmetmissedmetmetmet
Asked questionsmetmetmetmetmetmetmissedmetmissedmet
Tailored the advicemetmissedmetmetmetmetmissedmetmetmet
Explained the optionsmetmetmetmetmetmetmissedmetmetmet
Gave a next stepmetmetmetmetmissedmetmissedmetmetmet
Recapped the planmissedmissedmetmissedmetmissedmissedmetmissedmissed
Invited questionsmissedmetmissedmissedmissedmetmissedmissedmetmissed

When it pays to send someone to check

  • You’ve trained your team.Has anything changed on the front line?
  • You have a lot of locations.Do customers get the same service at all of them?
  • Your standard is new or has changed.Has it sunk in, and are people following it?
  • Service has moved online.Do phone, WhatsApp and social media live up to the same standard?
  • Your competitors seem to be doing better.What’s it really like to be their customer?

How the evaluation works

  1. Your standard becomes a script

    We start with what your company promises its customers and turn it into things an evaluator can observe.

  2. We decide where to look

    The locations, channels, regions and situations to be evaluated.

  3. Shoppers get ready

    They’re trained to go through the experience like ordinary customers and record what they find.

  4. The visits happen

    In person and on digital channels, always following the same script.

  5. We read the full picture

    Evaluations are consolidated and compared by stage of service, region and type of location.

Writing a service standard is the easy part.

Through more than 100 evaluations, in person and online, Checon helped an organization with a service network pinpoint where to revise its standard, where to change its training and where to act location by location.

Read the full case study

Before you hire us

How does a mystery shopping study work?

Trained evaluators approach the company as ordinary customers, follow a standardized script and record what they find at each stage of service. Their evaluations are consolidated to show where service meets the standard and where problems keep repeating.

Is mystery shopping only for physical stores?

No. An evaluation can cover in-person service, phone, WhatsApp, social media, response times and information published online, as well as the physical space. The scope is based on the channels your customers actually use.

How many evaluations do I need?

It depends on the number of locations, the channels and how you want to compare results, such as by region or type of location. Checon sets out the design in its proposal, based on the goals of the study.

What’s the difference between mystery shopping and a customer satisfaction survey?

A satisfaction survey asks customers how they felt. Mystery shopping checks whether service followed the standard your company set. One shows perception, the other shows what actually happened, and the two work well together.

Is the goal to punish employees?

The real value is in the overall picture. When the same problem shows up across many locations, the cause is usually the standard or how it was taught, and the answer is to revisit both the standard and the training.

How much does a mystery shopping study cost?

The cost depends on the number of evaluations, the channels, the regions and how complex the script is. Tell us what you need evaluated and Checon will send a proposal tailored to you.

What are your customers finding today?

Tell us what you need evaluated. A specialist will get back to you within one business day.

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