Mystery Customer

Currently the application of "Mystery Customer Inspection Service" is incomplete in China and many companies learn little about it. "Mystery Customer Inspection Service" is the use of the professionally trained individuals to experience and measure the service process by acting as customers in the regulated time and place, and then report back on the service quality, business level of the enterprise in a detailed and objective way. It is commonly called as “anonymous audit” or "mystery customer investigation".

The mystery customer investigation was originally applied in catering industry. McDonald was the apotheosis providing normative service in catering industry and perennial mystery customer investigation has been playing an admirable role of supervision and deterrent in strictly executing the service criterion. Surely there are also a bundle of international companies such as KFC, Nokia, Phillip, who introduce the inspection into domestic chains to reinforce more effective management. Currently in China , this inspection is primarily used in enterprises specializing in service industries, e.g. posts and telecommunications, banking, insurance, catering, commodity retails, airline and chain stores. At present, several enterprises like China Petroleum, China Telecom, Shanghai & Volkswagen, etc. have already conducted the inspection in public.

Well, what problems can be solved by "Mystery Customer"?

Firstly, the anonymous audit and supervision performed by the mystery customer put on intangible pressures on the objects, which inspires them to voluntarily improve their business quality, service skill and attitude, further to offer knight service for customers and the effectiveness can last for a long time. Secondly, the mystery customer inspection detects and modifies the deficiency in the services in time from the angle of customers so that it advances the customer satisfaction. Thirdly, it intensifies the supervision and management system of enterprises and polishes up the service attitude of servants. Finally, by the mystery customer inspection enterprises can systemically analyze the root causes of discovered problems, upgrade management methods, perfect management policy, and consequently strengthen the competitive ability and better hold the market.

Anyway, the ultimate purpose of enterprises to conduct mystery customer inspection is to improve their own service level and service quality by information collected during the investigation and the predominance of mystery customer inspection in this aspect is distinct.

Above all, the process of anonymous audit will not be influenced by the individual’s subjective favor and external factors such as the comprehension of work criterion or the individual’s experience of the same job as there is not any business or interpersonal relation between the mystery customer and the object. Next, the anonymous audit is objective, fair and confidential as the mystery customer processes inspection as the third party. Moreover, the mystery customer observes the most authentic performance of the servants when purchasing commodities or services, and the mystery customer evaluates on the commodity and services equal to other customers as he/she shares the same feelings as other customers. In addition, enterprises’ routine inspection stresses on the internal management regulation, operational approach, behavior guide, etc. Though the scale of inspection is wide, the mode is single and unclassified in respect that the inspected department and employees have made sufficient preparation. Therefore, the inspectors are hard to detect the truth. Comparing with it, mystery customer inspection emphasizes on the performance of employees and is confidential and authentic.

Based on Steele’s experience in mystery customer inspection, essential conditions of objectivity, veracity and effectiveness are required in the investigation process and result of mystery customer inspection.

Objectivity. Seen from the selection of mystery customers, to avoid the utilitarianism in the implementation of internal organization, enterprises usually prefers to select a neutral third party to complete the anonymous audit, which ensured the authenticity, objectivity and fairness of the investigation outcome.

Veracity. As different persons hold different reflection and views toward the same thing or action, before the mystery customer inspection, we should make out a serial of more detailed implementation standard of inspection on the basis of the enterprise’s management flow and regulations. The standard can be designed in form of questionnaire, scoring or grade partition by compa