A mystery shop is just a snap shot in time for beauty businesses…..
4th February 2019, by Angela Bartlett
4th February 2019, by Angela Bartlett
Remember that if your service isn’t that bad you could get 50% from a mystery shopping report and if it is not that good you could get 100%, just because of the moment in time that the mystery shop took place.
A mystery shop is just a snapshot in time, it’s not the whole picture of your business. The mystery shopper could be lucky and visit your best employee or unlucky and visit your least well-trained or least enthusiastic employee. This is why mystery shops need to be done consistently to build a full picture of what your clients or customers experience in your business.
Over time patterns start to emerge that give a much clearer image of what is happening in your salon, spa or beauty counter. If mystery shops are not planned consistently it is like taking only one day of sales figures multiplying them by three hundred and sixty five to achieve your annual sales figure. We all know that there are good days and bad days for sales figures. However, there should not be good days and bad days for customer service. So finding out when the good days are and comparing them to the worst days can lead you on a voyage of discovery to gain consistency and improvement in your customer service.
Take a moment to compare these excerpts from two mystery shopping reports. Both were carried out by the same mystery shopper, in the same salon but at different times of the week.
Monday morning “the salon was practically empty… there was stock being delivered ….. the staff seemed distracted by the stock delivery and not all interested in my request for information on purchasing a night cream”
Friday “the salon was busy... I observed staff members upselling to other clients ….the telephone rang twice and the standard salon greeting was used ….the salon had a good ‘buzz’ about it…. although they were busy I was taken to the tester stand and sampled two different night creams, one of which I purchased”.
And what happens on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday? No one knows!
For mystery shopping to be effective and useful it is advisable to add into your mystery shopping plan a series of short and frequent mystery shops to see what type of service your front of house is portraying to the passing customer. This type of shop complements a more in-depth, expert mystery shop very well.
There are a variety of different types of mystery shop available to support your business, from short ten minute customer service and telephone mystery shops to internet shops and expert mystery shops covering a full range of customer touch points.
Let us help you gain consistency in your business.
When was the last time you had a mystery shop and what did it reveal? Let us know at mysteryshopping@hiddenbeautyuk.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
For more beauty related articles, review our latest beauty news - or perhaps take a look at this earlier article (from 28th January 2019): " Beauty Counter findings revealed: tips tips to increase sales & retain clients "
About Angela Bartlett:
Angela Bartlett is an expert in the health, beauty and skincare industry with over 35 years' experience. As a high profile individual, she is passionate about the high-quality treatments, procedures and products in the beauty industry and is linked with leading industry bodies whose aim is to advance standards in beauty and holistic therapies. Based in Cheshire, Angela operates Hidden Beauty nationwide across the UK to support beauty industry businesses in their business development. To learn more about Angela and her accreditations, don't hesitate to get in touch.
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