"Mystery shopper" originated in the United States and is widely used in retail, hospitality and restaurant industries. For example, fast food giants McDonald's and KFC use mystery shoppers to help restaurants assess the quality of products and services, identify deficiencies and problems, and then improve the overall performance of restaurants and improve customer satisfaction.
In China, with the development of the catering industry, mystery shoppers have also been applied by more and more enterprises in daily management. For example, Haidilao, in 2023, a total of nearly 40,000 mystery guests will be invited to evaluate stores across the country, and the mysterious guest reports after the inspection will be publicized internally, and the report scores will be included in the store's quarterly scoring system.
Banu Mao Mao Hot Pot also has a mystery shopper system, but it has been complained about recently, and it is from the mystery shoppers he invited.
1 There are many restrictions and few benefits
According to the China Consumer Daily, some consumers were pleasantly surprised when they received an invitation from Banu's "mystery shopper", but they couldn't help but get angry when they saw the instructions for the task.
Because there are so many restrictions, including:
- Ordering requirements: must order hairy tripe and mushroom soup, the bottom of the pot can choose three flavor pot, five flavor pot or self-selected pot, if you choose five flavor pot, at least two flavors (mushroom soup + any one);
- Number of customers: Two customers must come to the store for consumption;
- Checkout requirements: You must use the member account that receives the task message to scan the code to order, and you must also use the member account at checkout, otherwise you will not be able to get the coupon.
Too many restrictions, too few benefits.
Mystery shoppers will only get a 50 yuan Banu member exclusive coupon if they complete the experience as required at the mission store within the specified time and successfully submit the questionnaire, and if they do not complete the experience as required or fail to submit the questionnaire within the time limit, they will not be able to get the exclusive coupon. And according to consumer feedback, this 50 yuan coupon can only be used after the next meal is over 200 yuan, "that is to say, eating Banu twice can be cheaper by 50 yuan."
Therefore, some "mystery shoppers" think that Banu is "tricking consumers" and "lacking sincerity".
2 Banu responds to questions
In response to the complaints and questions of "mystery shoppers", the relevant person in charge of Banu said: "The original intention of this event is to understand the dining experience of customers more directly, as well as suggestions for improving products and services, so as to optimize them in a targeted manner and provide customers with better and more extreme dining services."
"Whether it is the registration, invitation method, or activity link and rule setting, this event has been clearly informed in advance, and there is no mandatory requirement to participate. Banu is deeply sorry for the customer's bad experience and attaches great importance to it, and has communicated with the relevant internal departments to optimize and modify the activity plan and invitation method. ”
The biggest change in Banu's adjusted activity plan compared with the old version is that the benefits for mystery shoppers have been greatly increased from 50 yuan to 300 yuan, and it is not an "exclusive coupon" but a "gratuity".
Of course, there is also an additional restriction on the ordering requirements, "the actual payment amount shall not be less than 300 yuan".
As for the rest of the requirements, there are no significant changes, except that the new version is more detailed and specific about what mystery shoppers are to investigate.
3 The problem is still there after the adjustment
Banu's adjustment of the rules of the "mystery shopper" program has responded positively to the concerns of consumers. However, after the adjustment, the problem still exists, and it seems to be more obvious.
"Mystery shopper" is not mysterious, it is another major slot in Banu's activity plan, in addition to too many restrictions.
A consumer who participated in the event told China Consumer Daily that the event required participants not to disclose their identities to any staff in the store, otherwise they would not be able to record a valid questionnaire. After she scanned the QR code to order, without revealing any information, the person in charge of the store clearly knew that she was a user who participated in the mystery shopping activity. When consumers asked how they knew about it, they said "familiar". During the whole experience, the service staff was much more enthusiastic than before, and gave a 9% discount at the checkout, and reminded consumers to give a good review after the meal.
Another consumer said: "When I went to Banu to eat, I was always asked by the clerk if he was a mystery shopper, and his identity was identified by the clerk in advance, and he secretly experienced the food and evaluated it as a decoration." ”
Why is this happening?
△ Picture self-dining book
Obviously, this is not the customer's fault, nor the clerk's fault, nor is it explained by a "familiar" sentence, but the root cause is that there is a problem with the design of the event.
Because too many restrictions mean too many labels, and when there are too many labels, it is naturally easy to identify.
For example, at least two people must go together, and the order must order hairy tripe and mushroom soup, and the new version of the plan also requires the actual payment amount of more than 300 yuan - is there a more conspicuous "mystery shopper" than this? For a company that has introduced a mystery shopping system, if the employees do not even have this sensitivity, it is too unqualified.
The customer is not like a "mystery shopper", but more like a bully meal (of course, the overlord meal is not so prescriptive).
4 Conclusion
There are four purposes for Banu to recruit mystery shoppers: (1) to create the ultimate dining experience for customers, (2) to help stores discover the overall status of the service process, (3) to evaluate all aspects of the service hardware and software, and (4) to identify problems in order to provide better service to customers.
It can be said that Banu's starting point is good, and this kind of initiative to invite people to "find faults" is commendable and worthy of learning from others. However, in the process of specific implementation, how to achieve its own goals while ensuring a good experience for participants, to achieve a win-win situation or even a win-win situation, instead of spending time, energy and money but damaging the brand reputation, "good intentions do bad things", this is worthy of serious consideration.
Bibliography:
[1] Sun Wei. Banu hot pot "mystery shopper" complained: I feel like I was tricked...... China Consumer Daily, 2024-04-01.