NOTA AICEX: una interessante attività di mystery shopping per misurare la customer experience in alcuni negozi O2 in Gran Bretagna. Il risultato? Sembrerebbe un fallimento.

Since the start of 2014 I have carried out a number of mystery shopping assignments. The objective is usually to assess the customer service in a variety of shops and restaurants. In that time I have reported mostly positive feedback. Maybe it’s stating the obvious, but companies that invest in mystery shopping and customer feedback surveys tend to provide better customer experiences.
Since carrying out a few assignments I now find myself applying the mystery shopping tests to stores and restaurants when I am not on assignment. When consciously applying these tests, I have found that customer service is noticeably poor in many stores. A frustrating aspect of this is that I don’t have the assignment sheets or customer feedback surveys to express these failures and often leave the store feeling annoyed by the experience.
But today I remembered I have a blog!
The purpose of my blog was originally to discuss how to do things better – so today I will share that view with O2.
Assignment – visit the O2 Store in St. Albans to collect a replacement battery for a Samsung phone within warranty. Previous visit indicated that a battery would be available for collection by this date.
Visit date/time – 1st June, 11.20am.

Questionnaire:1. Based on your experience today, how likely would you recommend this store to friends and family? 0-low, 10- high. Score – 2.
2. What was the best thing about your experience? Good layout and range of products. Clean environment.
3. Were you acknowledged when you arrived and joined the queue? No. There was one customer being served in front of us. We waited approx. 10 minutes without acknowledgement. The server – Mo – apologised for the delay when he got to us.
4. Did the server appear knowledgeable about the products? N/A.
5. Was your product available for collection? No. It seems to have been forgotten. After some discussion about the original visit it was suggested that another server – “probably Nick” – had made the arrangements. Mo suggested we return to the store some time in the week to discuss with his colleague. We stated this was unacceptable as a) we work full time and can not revisit during the week and b) we need the replacement battery immediately.
6. Whilst in the store was there a manager available to handle any issues? No. Mo stated that managers don’t work on Sunday and that he was probably at home in bed. This was not helpful.
7. What steps did the server take to resolve your problems? He took our phone number, promising that the server from the original visit – “probably Nick” – would call to make new arrangements. He ripped a piece of paper to collect the contact information, folded it several times and placed it under the till.
8. Do you have confidence that your problem will be resolved by these actions? No. I’m not confident at all that the staff in this store can effectively communicate customer needs on ripped pieces of papers that are stuffed under tills. I believe this matter will be forgotten, as I believe the original requirement was from the first visit.
9. Was any one staff member outstanding during your visit? No.
10. Total time spent in store – 20 minutes.
11. Was your visit successful? No.
12. In order to have a perfect experience, which specific improvements can we make? Customer service; communication between staff; availability of management.
13. Do you have any other comments? Yes, we look forward to hearing from “probably Nick” or a store manager to resolve this problem as soon as possible. Additionally, from previous visits I have found that O2 store staff do not appear to be aware of the Sale of Goods Act. It’s not good that so few of your staff are aware of consumer rights in the UK. Don’t worry though, I’ll be sure to let you know – via this blog – every time I hear about your non-compliance.

Update 2nd June

Despite explaining this experience to o2′s twitter service we were assured that O2 take this sort of matter very seriously. However, as of 1600 we have not yet heard back from the O2 store. Does this sound like a company that takes customer service seriously?

Update 3rd June

It seems that using social media to complain about poor standards has helped to resolve this particular issue. The store manager called to apologise and even personally dropped off the replacement battery to our home. I hope that all customers receive such treatment and that staff development and training are used in future to improve the customer experience.

AICEX