Recently, a good businessman, who once worked for me, called and asked my opinion of "mystery shoppers". Bad managers love to add gadgets to their mix to disguise their incompetence and general gutless approach to running a business. Along with unfocused meetings, solutions in search of problems, elaborate instructions, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, and unneeded and unread reports, is the employment of "mystery shoppers". How some Bozo recruited from Craigslist can provide a meaningful evaluation of a business escapes me. Their report empowers the manager with a tool to "ratwhip" an employee where the employee has no recourse. I've spent most of my working life among the 20% who produce 80% of the sales. I refused to participate in these so called evaluations; being both willing and able to take my last three pay stubs to any dealership and go to work that day.
The great dealers and managers I've worked for over the years didn't need any mystery shoppers. Without fail, every day, they called each of their stores to see how the telephone was answered even if they had to use a satellite phone from Australia. They randomly picked recent customers to call and discuss that customer's buying experience. They knew what was going on in their business.
Corrections were made immediately. Their employees knew the standards would be enforced. No need for outside intervention.
Some good advice given when I decided to retire was to taper off. A man, who I greatly respect, pointed out I had been running at "redline" for thirty years and it was dangerous to just quit. Good fortune lead me to the perfect part time job. Three days a week, eight hour shifts, five to six of those hours are very intense and the job ends in June. My supervisor is someone I both like and respect so I grit my teeth and listen while he reads the "mystery shopper" reports as required by management. Management? I wouldn't trust these clowns to procure a pet license.
Over the years, as a supervisor and manager, I "shopped" my organization. I would call myself to see how I was treated. (OK, I had someone do the talking).
To me, this was important. Never would I entrust this to anyone, let alone some total outsider. Knowing how your organization is perceived by the people who keep you in business is, I believe, the most critical part being a manager.
1 comment:
I think that a manager/ owner should have enough since to tell what is a matter with his company and the people that work for him. Msytery shoppers are nothing more then people that cant find a real job. Ive knew 3-4 and there the last to be judging.
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