Retailers and restaurants may add staff during summer months by hiring seasonal workers, but according to 75 percent of mystery shoppers who earlier this month attended the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) National Educational Conference for Shoppers, the extra bodies do not translate into improved customer service.
John Swinburn, MSPA Executive Director, said in a press release, "The survey results are not necessarily negative for business owners, as they don't show a dramatic decline in customer service with the addition of summer help. However, they do illustrate an opportunity for companies to utilize their fresh summer staff to really ramp up service."
Mr Swinburn said mystery shoppers can help retailer clients "pinpoint areas where additional training of their new employees may be needed, ultimately resulting in exceptional customer service year around."
The mystery shoppers who participated in the MSPA survey conduct more than 3,600 assignments a month across the country.
Discussion Questions: Why do larger staff numbers not translate into improved customer service and what can retailers and restaurants do to remedy this? To that point, do they really see a need to remedy the situation?