About Sondra Pulford, TSN Founder and President

Frequently Asked Questions

What is "mystery shopping"?

Mystery shopping uses trained evaluators who pose as customers in order to evaluate a company's service, quality and cleanliness. These "undercover customers" interact with employees, engage in transactions, and otherwise act like "normal" customers. After their visits, they complete reports which describe what they observed in objective terms.

Why would I want to mystery shop my business locations?

Mystery shopping provides you with information about how you are seen my customers. Are your employees upholding your standards for service and cleanliness? Are they using suggestive selling techniques? We are your "eyes and ears" to tell you what your customers won't.

What can mystery shopping do for us?

In today's competitive environment, can you afford to be complacent about customer service? Mystery shopping helps to maintain the high levels of quality and service you worked to so hard to reach. Also, implementing a mystery shopping program emphasizes to employees how committed your company is to providing outstanding customer service.

We also find that even high-performing companies will find opportunities for improvement. Even if everything appears to be going well, you may not be aware of the details that affect your customers. What may be a small detail can make a big difference.

How would your sales be affected if employees always used suggestive selling techniques?

How many sales have you lost because of missing prices? How many customers have not returned because of inadequate service, employees who don't make customers feel welcome, or restrooms which are "less than clean"?

TSN's reports can identify opportunities for improvement, even in areas you didn't anticipate. We train our evaluators to go beyond the standard questions and include details they observed.

What makes Texas Shoppers Network different from other mystery shopping companies?

Texas Shoppers Network uses a unique methodology which is currently under a U.S. Patent Pending . Important elements of our process include:

• TSN uses a wide variety of marketing surveys and customer service evaluations, to provide the specific feedback you need. We visit each of your locations on varying days and at different times to get a comprehensive picture of service patterns. Potential customers may be gained or lost before ever entering your store, so knowing how your employees respond to telephone inquiries is critical. TSN's standard service package includes telephone evaluations.
  
  
• TSN will develop a customized evaluation form for your company, based on your company's service standards. Each question has a weighted point value, and TSN's graphical management reports provide you the information you need in a user-friendly format.
  
  
• At TSN, we know how important it is to provide a complete picture of the shopping experience. In addition to the objective data revealed through the questions, our evaluations include extensive comments by the shoppers.
  
  
• Our evaluations involve several employee contacts per visit, where TSN shoppers will interact with your employees and report their experiences. TSN loves to find Superstars. TSN shoppers are encouraged to identify employees who go the extra mile to provide special service.
  
  
• Our shoppers are given extensive, personal training. Many traditional mystery shopping companies' idea of "training" is mailing a photocopied sheet of instructions to a shopper they have never even spoken with over the telephone. Each of our shoppers receives a reference manual of instructions for completing their assignments, plus regular updates.
  
  
• Every evaluation submitted by a shopper is reviewed by TSN staff for completeness and accuracy, and shoppers are given feedback on the quality of their reports. Our quality control reviews ensure that clients receive the best evaluations possible.

How can I qualify for a complimentary mystery shop and find out how Texas Shoppers Network can help my business?

Call Sondra Pulford at 713-984-7631, or email her at sondrap@texasshoppersnetwork.com