How an employee handles a customer on the telephone is just as important as the customer service that visitors to your store or business receive when they visit in person. It is vital that employees understand exactly how important it is to remain pleasant and polite at all times. Sadly though, this is not always the case, so employers need to take steps to monitor the treatment customers receive on the phone.

This has given rise to a special type of mystery shopping known as telephone mystery shopping. As the name implies, mystery shoppers are assigned to make telephone calls instead of visits. The procedure is almost the same as that of the store visit, including filling out questionnaires and so on. But of course there is simply a phone call instead of a visit.

Telephone Mystery Shopping Is Important

Why does telephone mystery shopping have such an important contribution to make? Many times, customers will phone a store or a business before they go in person, to make sure that what they want is available, or to check on opening times, and if they don't get a good reception, they'll simply go somewhere else. This is true even if they've been customers for a long time.

It's a fact of life that in the retail business, one unfortunate experience with a rude employee can cancel out ten years of loyal service. So telephone mystery shopping is a way for employers to keep track of how customers are being treated and thereby protecting and nurturing customer loyalty.