Evaluation Of The Role Of Mystery Shoppers In Delivering Quality Service In Hospitality And Tourism

Introduction

Hospitality is a major global industry and a very complex one at that. The future of the industry depends upon satisfying experiences of customers, hence it is important to understand the concept of service quality and the processes associated with it. Customer satisfaction plays a central role in the long-term success of all organisations, whether goods or services. In simple terms any tangible products are referred to as goods and intangible products as services. Service has been defined as “any activity or benefit one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. Production may or may not be tied to a physical product” (Kotler, et al, 1998). The service process or the encounter has been defined by Shostack (1985) as that period where the customer interacts with a service provider, and assesses the quality of the services provided and consequently, the satisfaction achieved (Kandampully, 2001). Service quality is concerned with the process of satisfying the customer so as to develop positive perception regarding the service provided (Ostrowski et al, 1993). But because services are characterised by intangibility, perishability, inseparability of production and consumption, and heterogeneity, it is very difficult to evaluate them. Various organisations have different methods to continuously monitor and analyse customer satisfaction levels, like complaints, surveys, feedback forms, suggestion boxes or formal written complaints, etc (Milakovich, 1995). One of the tools used for feedback from an unbiased perspective is Shoppers Studies, also referred to as mystery shopping or shopping surveys.

Service Quality

Cost factors play an important part in running any organisation. But there has been overwhelming evidence to suggest that service quality is critical to the success of any organisation operating in the services industry (Kossman, 2006). This is especially true of the hospitality industry as evidenced in Olsen et al (2003). Service quality directly or indirectly affects profit of an organisation, as it is cheaper to retain customers by providing them excellent service quality, rather than having to attract new customers due to high customer turnover and inability to retain customers. Excellent service quality also leads to ‘word-of-mouth’ communication, which is very effective and influential kind of communication in the field of services (Mack et al, 2000). Along with this, long-term customers are more likely to purchase larger volumes and higher price premium services and products. These could possibly lead to higher margins (Morrison, 1997). Service Quality has various dimensions and a variety of factors have been identified as contributing to achieving service quality. Zeithaml et al (1990) developed and refined a SERVQUAL (Newman, 2001) battery which suggests that the dimensions of service quality focus more on the service delivery process rather than on the technical outcomes associated with the services (White & Schneider, 2004). The service dimensions consist of reliability, tangibles, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. In order to measure these dimensions, it is important to adopt certain tools which will help an organisation to gain insight into customer-related functions. One of these tools is mystery shopping where people pose as customers to evaluate service levels and measure service as it exists irrespective of customer interpretation (Calvert, 2004). It proves to be an alternative method to other more customer focused perception based quality analyses
(marketingsciencecentre.com).

How Mystery Shoppers are used

Mystery shopping is part of a market research process as it tests sales methods in commercial establishments, more so in the services industry where the measurement of customer satisfaction is more difficult. This is even more pronounced when there are high expectations of the intangible aspects of the service (Harrington & Lenehan, 1998). Sometimes it is very critical, as the only possible way to find out the extent of achieving customer satisfaction is through a supposed purchase or enquiry. It is possible to get information on sales standards, staff training and product knowledge, the key factors in any sales process. Mystery shoppers are people who pose as a customer to anonymously assess and evaluate service experience, either in person or over the phone. Sometimes they simply observe or sometimes they make an enquiry. Mystery shopping differs from conventional market research techniques in two ways. Firstly, the mystery shoppers pose as potential customers and their aim is to examine the efficiency of the sales process (Wilson, 1998). Secondly, they fill in questionnaires or written details after the sales experience – except those which are undertaken over the phone. The client usually specifies what information and improvement factors they would want to be measured as part of the mystery shopping process (Fache, 2000). Shoppers are sometimes given specific scenarios with specific instructions or procedures to follow, in order to assess the service skills and knowledge of the employees. These are then drawn up into survey questionnaires and instruments. Typically, mystery shopping is used to evaluate (Hague & Jackson, 2002):

1. Courtesy demonstrated by staff. For example, was the customer greeted at arrival in a restaurant?
2. Their product knowledge and skills. Does the waiting staff know the menu inside out and can recommend something to the guest if asked for advice?
3. The quality of the product provided. What was the quality of food in a restaurant?
4. The total time taken for the customer to complete the buying process. For example, how long did it take for the bill to be presented to the customer after requesting for it?
5. The length of time taken to resolve a query. For example the time taken to provide the customer with an estimate for catering for a party.
6. The speed with which the phones are answered. For example in a restaurant if someone calls to make a reservation or to order a take-away or home-delivery.
7. The general appearance of the outlet, whether clean and well-presented.
8. The grooming of the employees, especially in the hospitality industry.

Critically Evaluate the Use of Mystery Shoppers

In order to influence future purchase, it is important to measure the quality of service received in the previous purchase. Shoppers studies or mystery shopping exercises are mostly undertaken by specialised companies, who have different profiles of shoppers on their database. These mystery shoppers are professionally trained and have the advantage of generally being unknown to the client organisation, along with having no or limited prior contact with the employees. These companies can tailor their services as per the specific needs of the organisations. This could be to monitor the launch of a new product or to assess the standards of service across various stores of a multi-national chain of superstores. Even though they might cost more, they tend to be more reliable in the sense that they do not have any motive to present information either in a negative or positive manner. Mystery shopping results are primarily used for three purposes (Hogg & Gabott, 1998):

1. To identify the strengths and weaknesses in an organisation’s service delivery via – effective continuous monitoring of service levels; adherence of company policies and standards; better understanding of customer perceptions
2. To develop and motivate service personnel, who are critical in any service organisation, by associating with employee training, appraisal and reward.
3. To assess the company’s competitive standing, by benchmarking the service standards with those being offered by other companies in the industry

In order for the results to be taken seriously by the staff, their acceptance of being mystery shopped is very critical and also to ensure ongoing smooth relations between staff and management (Erstad, 1998). Therefore, mystery shopping needs to be positioned positively within an organisation before any research is undertaken. Mystery shopping is a useful tool to supplement customer feedback as it provides information on service quality which is independently monitored (Cook, 2002). However, as with any other method, there are certain limitations to using mystery shoppers. Seay et al (1996) suggested that a major limitation with the use of mystery shoppers in both external and internal mystery shopping was the fact that it was a limited one-off observation of the service provided (Williams et al, 2003). The results of any mystery shopping exercise need to be integrated with other measures of the service delivery process like the number of complaints, sales figures, staff attitudes, etc (Hogg & Gabbott, 1998). Hence, it should not be the only method of evaluating service quality in an organisation, but be a part of a variety of survey methods to gain insight into actual service levels. Another problem with using mystery shopping as a service quality measurement mechanism is the small sample size (Akpolat, 2004). Increase in the sample size tends to make the exercise more expensive, so organisations with a tight budget are unable to increase the sample size. In such cases, the reliability of the results becomes slightly questionable. Although a job as a mystery shopper may sound like fun, like any other profession, it is actually a very serious business and needs to be carefully dealt with. There are certain traits required in a mystery shopper which are the ability to pretend, being trustworthy and professional. Besides these, the mystery shopper should be observant and has good memory as the reporting of service standards is usually done after the visit to the outlet (Roberts & Campbell, 2007). This sometimes leads to forgetfulness and compilation of inaccurate data (Morrison 1997). The shoppers also need to have good communication skills, own mode of transportation, and a clear understanding of the variables to be measured which should not be clouded by any previous personal opinion. Ensuring the presence of these characteristics is very difficult if a company decides to directly hire mystery shoppers. The agencies who specialise in providing mystery shopping services would normally train their shoppers accordingly, but an organisation would not have any control over the assessment of the quality of mystery shoppers used.

Cite and Analyse use of Mystery Shoppers in International Hospitality Industry

Many organisations have large chain of stores across a wide region and in order to control the customer experience in these outlets, mystery shopping is commonly used as a service quality measurement tool. Victoria Wine, part of the First Quench organisation, regularly monitors its outlets by using mystery shopping to assess the cleanliness levels, customer arrival and enquiries handled by the outlet staff. The feedback is given to each outlet, along with a comparison of previous mystery assessment scores and those of other branches. They have training programmes which incorporate overall trends for the area and training (Cook, 2002). There are other organisations like Pret A Manger which have a simple mystery shopping system in place. A mystery shopper visits all the stores and hands over £50 to the service provider if the set measures of quality service are met. Other organisations like John Lewis send their own employees to mystery shop in other stores. The underlying assumption is that it provides the employees with the understanding of issues involved as well as their application, along with increasing awareness about the customers needs. In addition to this they also have an annual mystery shopping exercise undertaken by an external agency (Cook, 2004). Some organisations like Pizza Express invite their customers to mystery shop by mailing customer questionnaires and getting a £10 gift voucher in return. But in these cases the customer might tend to offer positive feedback because of the gift voucher. In some organisations employees do object to having mystery shoppers in their stores, especially if the feedback is in any way linked to bonuses or salary.

Identify Areas of Improvement

Mystery shopping is usually undertaken by specialised companies who provide with required profiles of mystery shoppers. These companies have a ready-to-use database of mystery shoppers who are trained in what they do. Alternatively sometimes companies try to use mystery shoppers directly to reduce costs. In such cases, more efforts in training need to be put in and the reliability of data collected needs to be checked. It is very important to inform the employees about the use of mystery shopping before starting the exercise (Jones, 2004). Various methods like presentations, seminars, etc can help in positioning the mystery shopping exercise so that they understand the purpose of the research, what standards it is going to be measured against and how it will affect their evaluations and incentive system (Hogg & Gabbott, 1998). They also need to be made aware of the results of the research and consequently, the need for improvement in specific areas. Mystery shopping as a service quality measurement tool is not very reliable if used by itself as it is a one-off service encounter. In order to get a comprehensive view about the service delivery process, the results of a mystery shopping research need to be integrated with customer feedback, number of complaints, sales figures and staff attitudes (Kirkup & Rafiq, 1999). The sample size in a mystery shopping research is normally very small. In order to increase the sample size, while avoiding the accelerating costs, it might be worth trying to get telephone mystery shopping done first.

Conclusion

Today’s consumers are well-informed, sophisticated and are flooded with a lot of choice. They have many alternatives and a high quality of service is what makes them decide which service provider to use. In such a dynamic business environment, with serious competition all around, it is critical for any organisation to know what the service delivery encounter is like for a customer. The presentation of the outlet, the grooming of the employees, the attitude of the staff, how they treat a customer, how long it takes for an enquiry to be sorted, are some of the questions which can be researched by mystery shopping. The purpose is to obtain an impartial and immediate reflection of the service encounter as it is, without any customer interpretation. Mystery shopping is widely used by organisations successfully to keep in touch with their customer interface and to keep their staff constantly challenged (Stanley, 2006). It also plays an important role in the motivation of employees, by linking it to their periodic appraisals and reward systems. But like any other measurement tool, it has its benefits and drawbacks and hence, needs to be used with careful consideration and well-integrated with other service quality measurement tools.

Recomendations

1. Mystery shopping should only be used to improve customer service quality, if it is intended to be used as a long-term activity and not a one-off. The intention should be to identify areas of improvement and to motivate the employees.
2. Mystery shopping as a motivational tool definitely works in the short-term, but for it to work in the long-term, the service standards need to be constantly updated and presented to the staff in such a manner that they understand and appreciate the benefits of the mystery shopping exercise.
3. As a service quality measurement tool, the results of a mystery shopping activity should not be used in isolation to gain insight into the customer service delivery process. It should be well-integrated with information provided by other tools.
4. When using an external agency to undertake a mystery shopping activity as a research method, create a baseline performance standard before starting the process. An agency which has technological expertise will be able to provide accurate information at a much faster rate and will be able to collate data and present reports more efficiently.