As basic service levels improve to a point where incremental improvements are increasingly difficult to obtain, more challenging scenarios can be used and more sophisticated skills can be measured. Reporting formats can change, also, with different weighting and scoring methods used to encourage the use of particular skill sets. These 10 points represent the basic components in the design and implementation of a call center mystery shopping program. As a final note, some companies add new twists to mystery shopping, using the methodology for very specific purposes. In hot markets, such as telecommunications services and computer hardware, it is important to know what the competition is saying when customers call for information.
Some companies shop the competition as well as themselves in order to gain an advantage.
Testing product knowledge. When new products are introduced, it is common to find that the marketing department is several steps ahead of employees. For example, a mystery shopping study revealed customer service representatives at a bank s call center were unable to discuss details of online banking, despite that the product was being heavily advertised. Evaluating voice response units. Shoppers try a variety of scenarios to determine whether they are being properly and efficiently transferred and to evaluate the system s ease of use.