Common Mistakes Mystery Shoppers Make When Assessing Banks
People from different walks of life come to the bank as customers transacting varied money matters. And since money is the most important element of their transaction, trust is of utmost importance. How the bank employees deal with clients is a very influential factor in maintaining loyal customers. Bank owners can actually check on this factor by hiring bank mystery shoppers.
Bank mystery shoppers function as secret agents whose main objective is to assess how the bank performs in real-life scenarios. As undercover customers, they evaluate the products, services, and overall experience provided by the institution. To accomplish these, the mystery shoppers visit the banks, contact customer service, and also use the online banking system. However, the common mistakes they commit are the following:
Lack of Preparation
The mystery shoppers should know the exact objective of the banker hiring them and the guidelines provided by their agency to be able to conduct an accurate observation. They should be familiar with the bank’s products and services before they venture into the given task.
Forgetting to Be Objective
Some mystery shoppers forget to practice objectivity, and instead allow their personal opinions and biases in making the narrative report. Also, they sometimes make assumptions, rather than follow strictly the guidelines.
Overlooking Small Details
They fail to take note of small but significant details that could help them in evaluating the overall bank performance. Both verbal and non-verbal cues are important like the employee’s body language and tone of voice.
Failing to Remain Anonymous
Jotting down one’s observation must be done discreetly. The way the mystery shopper behaves, talks, and dresses should not raise suspicions because they should remain anonymous throughout.
Inaccurate Reporting
To avoid inaccurate reporting, a mystery shopper should write the report immediately after the visit while the information and specific examples are still fresh in mind.
Ignoring Customer Journey
From entrance to exit, the mystery shopper must not forget to include all factors that may be observed by the customer which should include signages, wait time, cleanliness, and others.
Lack of Compliance Awareness
To report on compliance awareness, the undercover customer should first be familiar with the banking regulations on disclosures, data privacy, and anti-money laundering to assess properly whether the bank’s staff followed these protocols.
Overemphasizing Negative Aspects
The mystery shopper should keep in mind that he is evaluating the bank for both its weaknesses and strengths. Both are needed for the bank’s improvement so a balanced evaluation is preferred.
Rushing the Assignment
Taking time to extensively observe and interact naturally will produce a comprehensive report and evaluation. The mystery shoppers should really set time for this and avoid rush observations.
Misunderstanding Cultural or Regional Norms
Personal expectations of the secret agent should not take over the local norms. They sometimes forget to adjust the evaluation criteria if they are not also familiar with cultural and regional expectations in that area.
If you are a bank mystery shopper, you may review these common mistakes to avoid them in the future and if you’re a banker you can also take these mistakes into account so that you can hire the best bank secret agents next time.
