@ wrote:
The Mystery Shopper Program uses independently contracted individuals who visit Post
Offices as customers and document their experiences through a questionnaire. Mystery
shopping is intended to provide the Postal Service with an objective view of retail
transactions through anonymous third-party assessments of the customer experience.
Such assessments are consistent with the postmaster general’s emphasis on improving
customer service.
According to Postal Service’s Handbook PO 209, Retail Operations Handbook, mystery
shops are conducted at offices that generate $500,000 or more in annual walk-in
revenue or are in the top 20 percent of the highest revenue-producing offices within a
district.
Using these criteria, mystery shops occur at about 8,800 retail units, eight times
a year, for a total fiscal year count of about 70,000.
The Postal Service’s mystery shop process involves using a questionnaire that is
divided into six weighted categories: waiting time in line, hazardous materials, product
offerings, product explanations, promotion and merchandising, and image. Additionally,
mystery shopper results provided to the Postal Service include the amount of revenue
lost when retail associates do not ask appropriate questions. Further, the information
gleaned from “shopped” Post Offices is disseminated through Postal Service systems,
such as the Retail Customer Experience folder in the Retail Data Mart of the Enterprise
Data Warehouse and through the weekly Retail Digest. The Retail Customer
Experience folder provides mystery shopper results in various reporting formats. The
Retail Digest includes recommended dialogue for mystery shopper service talks, as
appropriate. Both resources provide useful feedback to postmasters and managers who
want to improve the customer experience. As previously stated, program results also
measure the effectiveness of retail operations under the NPA, which is part of the PFP
evaluation system.
No current Postal Service employees or those separated from the Postal Service for
less than 1 year can act as mystery shoppers based on a written agreement required by
the contractor.
In addition, Postal Service policy prohibits management from attempting
to identify mystery shoppers in an attempt to discredit shopper evaluations.
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