Doris Highsmith is a 38-year veteran of the mystery shopping profession and president of her own Augusta-based market research business, Highsmith Charnock Interviewing Service Inc. Ms. Highsmith has helped thousands of businesses improve on their services. MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF

Secret shoppers help businesses

Companies looking to improve services through market research summon undercover consumers

Web posted February 7, 2000

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By Heidi Coryell
Staff Writer

It's no secret, mystery shoppers are becoming a fixture in most retail businesses.

Banks. Restaurants. Department stores.

These undercover shoppers, hired by managers to evaluate their employees' customer service and product knowledge, are becoming an increasingly popular method of market research.

``The span of companies that are interested in mystery shopping has grown significantly in the last few years,'' said Tasha Alison Korb, general manager of the Augusta-based market research firm Answers Inc. ``Businesses are realizing how important the consumer's opinion is.''

And getting honest feedback is not always as easy as asking customers directly, or even indirectly, in the form of a survey, business owners say. That's where the mystery shopper -- an unbiased, trained professional -- can step in and give a business what it's looking for: cold, hard customer feedback.

``One of the requirements of a mystery shopper is they need to be detailed and observant and someone who can blend into a crowd,'' said Doris Highsmith, a 38-year veteran of the mystery shopping profession and president of her own Augusta-based market research business, Highsmith Charnock Interviewing Service Inc. ``It takes a special person.''

And these undercover agents are all around us. Mystery shoppers -- who are charged with being keen observers with a critical eye -- must blend into a store's surroundings so as not to appear obvious and tip off employees.

A mystery shopper enters a retail establishment with a checklist of questions and expectations predetermined by the company.

But regardless of the business's niche, market researchers say some standards are universal, such as eye contact, knowledge of the product or service, repeating the customer's name, courtesy and enthusiasm.

And mystery shopping has become increasingly popular in the past few years, officials say.

``As companies have come to realize the advantages of market research there's been more of a demand,'' Ms. Highsmith said.

As far as she's concerned, there are improvements to be made everywhere. Since Ms. Highsmith started mystery shopping nearly 40 years ago, customer service has been on the decline, she said.

``I don't see improvement, despite all the training people are getting,'' Ms. Highsmith said. ``I think it's the general attitude.''

SunTrust Bank started sending mystery shoppers to its Augusta branches on an occasional basis about three years ago, said Bill Thompson, president of SunTrust Augusta. During the past year, however, the bank has begun using the researchers on a quarterly basis.

``I think it's made our employees more conscious of reacting promptly to customer requests,'' Mr. Thompson said. ``It's identifying customer needs through conversation and testing product knowledge.

``We think it improves the way we operate.''

His bank tellers are not told when they will be evaluated, although every employee knows SunTrust uses mystery shoppers to test their knowledge of banking products and their treatment of customers.

The bank tries to focus its mystery shopping research on areas that have been identified as needing improvement, Mr. Thompson said.

Most businesses report that once they receive a mystery shopping report, the information is used to help improve employee training programs or to help focus ongoing improvement efforts.

``You can find things about a company that you won't see as a business owner, whether it's a small or a large corporation,'' Ms. Korb said.

Reach Heidi Coryell at (706) 823-3215.