Also known as secret shoppers, mystery shoppers are professional shoppers whose main purpose is to help businesses evaluate customer service and increase productivity. In today's business world, there is a growing demand for mystery shoppers. They are usually hired by large restaurants, hospitals, movie theatres, fitness centers, fast food chains, corporations and banks. Most companies hire mystery shoppers to know how customers view their business and to make decisions that motivate overall performance. Financial mystery shoppers, as the name suggests, specialize in mystery shopping for financial institutions of all kinds.The success of a financial institution depends greatly on the performance of its employees and the manner in which they implement the policies of the management. Financial mystery shoppers evaluate customer service, administrative functions, interpersonal skills of employees, product knowledge skills, and the selling skills of the staff. The observations made are indicators for the company to maximize sales effectiveness and customer service.
After evaluating the overall performance, a continual feedback is provided to the manager. This is incorporated into the performance standards of the financial service institution. Reports produced by financial mystery shoppers provide ample insight into the institution and its activities. They will help financial service firms to compare its results relative to the overall competition and to identify areas that require improvement.
Mystery shoppers' reports are found useful in tracking an institution's growth and to provide specific training and marketing recommendations. Also, they suggest incentives for immediate improvement in performance levels. Besides, these reports play a vital role in recognizing those employees who provide superior customer service.
Creative Image Associates, Inc., Barry Leeds and Associates, Ath Power, Certified Reports, Inc., Professional Review and Operational Shoppers, Inc. and Support Financial Resources, Inc., are some of the mystery shopping firms that offer financial mystery shopping services. These mystery shopping firms perform face-to-face mystery shopping, telephone shopping and internet shopping to arrive at their goals.