Legion of Secret Shoppers

Every business needs feedback to determine how well they’re performing. More often, we leave that up a reactionary process of asking clients after we sell to them. But what about the people who don’t buy? Do we know why that young couple left without speaking to anyone? Are you sure it was poor reception for that dropped call earlier?

Relying on feedback from happy clients might only get you half the story and the feedback from an unhappy client may mean a very public and messy conversation. You need a different path to understanding how well the dealership and its employees are doing.

The solution is to use mystery shoppers. Whether you do it yourself or have unconnected actors doing it, mystery shopping can give you invaluable information. Of course, we may not always be ready for that information, but if you’re doing the right things, no one ever has to worry about it.

Ways Mystery Shopping Can Make Your Dealership Thrive

1.  Reduces stress for Employee reviews

Whether it happens once or twice a year, every business eventually comes around to determining how well the employees are doing. It can be an arduous process and sometimes off-putting if not handled well as employees either feel watched if you use sit-in appointments by a manager or underappreciated if they go years without recognition.

Mystery shoppers can go through the whole process without the employee knowing so you get unbiased feedback about how well an employee is doing.

2. Recognize the Hustle of Great Employees

Just as you can verify what training you need, you can give kudos to employees doing a great job. With positive reinforcement, you not only recognize the good work, but you show others what to emulate.

 3.  Better training

Now that you have a process of learning how well the employees are doing, then you can begin to see where your training is needed. If you do this more frequently then you have an opportunity to make adjustments and clear up misconceptions before they become poor habits. Doing it as often as bi-weekly is a great way to gauge performance and adjust accordingly. 

4.  Better marketing

It isn’t just about how well a salesperson or service tech are doing. You can test a lot of things like your digital marketing solutions. Have a few people try to use your online marketing; website, social media, booking programs. See how user friendly every facet of your process is by having people who don’t necessarily have a good handle on technology do it. Not every client will be computer savvy, but you need a process for them all.

5.  Increase empathy

As the saying goes, if you want to know what another person is thinking, walk a mile in their shoes. If you want to teach everyone how frustrating it can be to connect then have every person in your dealership play the mystery shopper at some point. They will get a first-person view of what does and doesn’t work.

Invaluable & Compareable

Feedback for the dealership and the employees can be stressful. When people know they’re being watched, they won’t perform at their best. Conversely, if their best isn’t good enough, your dealership suffers. Mystery shopping is a great way to get that feedback, whether it’s through a telephone call, walk-in appointment, online booking, or the more obscure parts orders. Remember to do it often enough that it becomes comparable feedback.

Would rather watch? Check out the video!

 Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

JH