Many people are surprised to learn that local government agencies often use a mystery/secret shopping program to evaluate and monitor the quality of the services they are providing taxpayers, and to justify how taxpayer dollars are being used.
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Whether it’s the IRS, the post office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or a military recruitment office, poor customer service can quickly provide a negative public perception about government services.
It is the government mystery/secret shopper’s responsibility to measure the quality of service against the standards that have been set, and to provide the service manager valuable insights into areas for improvement.
Mystery/secret shopping with a local government office or agency can be done by telephone, a letter, or in person. With telephone calls, shoppers evaluate whether the staff was friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. If they left a message during or after office hours, how long did it take to receive a return call from someone at the agency?
If the shopper visited the office in person, they are determining things like whether they greeted warmly by the staff, if the staff responded to their inquiry favorably and knowledgeably, and if they asked the required questions. They also ask if they were provided the necessary forms and information? Did the staff try to up-sell products and services, like Priority Mail or stamps at the post office, for example? Were they shown general courtesy during the course of the transaction?
Using mystery shoppers for a government agency can also be a valuable way to measure the impact of any recently-implemented process changes within the agency. If the change affects the agency negatively, the shopper will likely find frustration with the new process and detail this for the service manager.
Similarly, if the process has become more seamless with the implemented changes, the shopper can provide the positive feedback to the service manager. Either way, the goal for the client and the shopper is to measure the actual performance of a government agency against its existing quality standards.
Government agencies struggle to maintain a high service standard because they are accountable to the taxpayers. The information gained with their mystery shoppers is a powerful tool for them to monitor and improve those taxpayer services.
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