Project Report: Mystery Shopping and Service Quality at Riverside Cafe

This project report presents a mystery shopping analysis of the Riverside Cafe, located at the University of Sunderland. The report begins with an introduction to mystery shopping as a method for evaluating service quality and customer satisfaction. It then discusses the importance of service encounters, service quality principles, and the role of front-line employees in shaping customer experiences. The report explores the development of a mystery shopping framework, including the use of nominal scales and other methods for assessing various aspects of the cafe's service. The report also includes an evaluation of qualitative and quantitative research methods, along with recommendations to improve service quality at the Riverside Cafe. The report concludes with a summary of findings and references.

Project Report
Project Report
Mystery Shopping
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Project Report
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 2
Discussion relating to Service encounter, Service quality and Front-line employees:..................3
Discussion relating to Mystery Shopping Framework...................................................................5
Different frameworks for measuring service quality:....................................................................8
Development of my mystery shopping framework:....................................................................10
Evaluation of the pros and cons of using qualitative and quantitative research methods:..........11
Recommendations to improve service quality............................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................. 14
Referencing :............................................................................................................................. 15
Appendix.................................................................................................................................... 18
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Introduction
The mystery shops are an effective technique by which the quality and the service of an
organization can be assessed. It helps to provide information regarding the ambiance,
service, quality of food, efficiency of the employees and other factors (Rajković, 2019). It
basically gives a detailed report on the observation that the person made during his. In
this report the shop that has been allotted for a review is a cafe named “The Riverside”.
This cafe is located in a university named the “University of Sunderland”. The location of
the cafe is on the ground floor of the Prospectus building. The role of the mystery
shopper is to visit this cafe and notice every single happening of the cafe. He needs to
provide information regarding the desk employees, their behavior. Even the quality of
the service must be taken into consideration. The main motive behind such an action is
to understand the service quality that the cafe is providing to its customers, the role of
the management to provide such service and the initiative taken by the management to
improve such service. The importance of the service is quality is great as it helps the
organization to attract more customers. This is why during the operation of any
organization it is very important that priority is given to the need and want of the
customer as at the end of the day they will be the one responsible for the growth of the
organization. Therefore, the motive of the report is to discuss the principle theories and
necessity of the service quality. Further, the necessity of mystery shoppers is mentioned
along with the report of the research which is done in the Riverside cafe.
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Discussion relating to Service encounter, Service quality and Front-line
employees:
Service quality, its principle and theory.
For the operation of any organization extra focus must be given to the service provided
by such organization. In this case we will be talking about the service encounter and the
service management of the Riverside Cafe. Service is the primary element when it
comes to the running of any eating outlet. The researchers have immensely
emphasized the study of the experience that people have from the service provided to
them and the method used to know their experience is by service encounter. Coming to
the word service, it is the most important element to draw the mass or to develop the
restaurant. Good quality of service provided to the customers will not only make them
visit the place once again but they will further recommend others to visit the place hence
adding to the growth of the outlet. This is where the importance of service management
has a role to play.
The term service quality management refers to the process of providing customers with
the services that they expect to get. Its main aim is to analyze the service that has been
generated to the customers, how satisfied they are with such services in order to
improve the services rendered in future, identification of the problem attached along
with the quality of service provided and what correction to be made in order to increase
the level of customer satisfaction.
For the proper management of service quality there are certain principles that can be
followed (Slack, et al, 2018). These principles are as follows :
1. Customer Focus - The organizations can put extra focus on the wants and
expectations of customer. They must put the effort into understanding the quality
of service that the customers expect from them so that they will be able to fulfill
the present and the future expectations of the customer.
2. Leadership - Leadership is the key to the success of an organization. Is the duty
of the leaders to maintain a peaceful environment within the organization in order
to keep the employees motivated so that they can work together to achieve the
goals set by the company.
3. Participation of People- it is very important for an organization to succeed that
the employees working in the organization have their full involvement towards the
work (Bakotić, et al 2017). They must be given proper training and provided with
the required knowledge in order to provide the best service to the customers.
4. The approach towards processing- it can be seen that the staff of an
organization tend to work efficiently when they see their managers or the leaders
manage and control their workings.
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5. Adoption of systematic approach by the management- it can be seen that when
the management adopts a systematic method of working by working as a single
high-class management system then in such a case the company tends to
achieve its desired goals (Halvorsrud, et al. 2016)..
Along with the principles adapted there are certain theories which are attached to the
management of service quality. The Main theories that are related to the service of
quality is the Prospect Theory (Huang,, et al, 2019).
Prospect Theory - it is the theory applied to describe the relation which is present
between the customer quality and the satisfaction of the customers. In such a theory
only the relationship between the two are only described. A negative relationship
between the two is described in such theory and the relationship is such that it is
asymmetric negative in nature. The value of function in the case of the prospect theory
are the three main characteristics it possesses. They are
1. The dependency on the point of reference
2. The rate of loss involved
3. The sensitivity is diminishing in nature
Service Encounter and its importance in quality of service
In order to understand what will satisfy the customer's service encounter is an effective
way to understand so. Even the researchers have stressed on the adaptability of the
service encounter. Service encounter is basically the interaction initiated with the
employer or the employees working in the organization with the customer in order to
understand if the customers are satisfied with the service provided to them or not
(Larivière, et al 2017).
The focus of the management on the service encounter with their employees will help
the management to get a better understanding of the customers that they deal with.
It is not always necessary that service encounters must be performed physically only.
They can be done by the help of emails, texts, ratings and any other form. Usage of
such versatile methods of service encounters makes it easier for the management to
know on what areas of service it must work on.
How service encounters are an important part in quality service is that it is responsible
for covering up the gap. The gap that is most likely to be created between the visitor
and the management is reduced by the help of service encounter. In this case a gap is
referred to any kind of deficiency or lack of service provided by the management. It
makes it easier for the management to understand the lack by assessing the difference
between the provided service and the expected service of the customers. The
difference in the gap might arise because of the miscommunication from the end of both
the customer and the employee. Such a gap generally arises when the employees fail
to understand the statement of the customer. In such a case adopting digital techniques
for the service encounter will be effective the most so that there is not any kind of
misrepresentation.
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Front line employees and consumers relation with service of quality
Front line employees are the direct face of an organization, that is they are the person
who is approached first when a customer enters the restaurant or any other
organization. That is why the front line employees are very important for a company.
Front line employees are referred to those employees who deals with the customers
directly or who face to face. Therefore for the management it is crucial that they employ
such front line employees who are not only efficient but also have good communication
skills and are presentable. Now coming to the relationship between the frontline
employees and service encounter. It is mostly the front line employees who deal with
the customers and have communication along with them (Stock,, 2016). This is why
they play a vital or significant role in an organization. They are the medium between the
customer and the service quality. It is primarily their job to study the need and want of
the customers and provide them with the best quality of service so that the customers
feel satisfied.
In the end it is the customers who are the main element of an organization. It is them
who adds on to the growth of an organization. Therefore the customer value is given the
most importance. This is why the company takes initiatives, marketing strategies by
which they can attract more customers. The relationship between consumers and
service encounters is such that the main aim of the service encounter is to understand
what the consumer wants. The customer experience can improve the value and the
standard of the business. With proper customers who tend to provide their experience
and suggestions to the management staff not only the experience of the organization
will have a clearer understanding regarding its customers and the quality of service will
improve but the customers will be beneficial by such an act.
Discussion relating to Mystery Shopping Framework
The Idea of Mystery Shopping and how it works:
Mystery shopping is research in which an individual visits different shops, stores,
theatres, and restaurants with an aim to examine its service quality and customers
satisfaction.
It is crucial for companies to assess the experience of customers in their business
locations.
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This helps companies to ascertain the weaknesses and flaws so that they can work on
it. mystery shopping makes it easy to evaluate the quality of service provided and also
understand customers’ perception towards it.
For conducting the process of mystery shopping, companies approach mystery
shopping companies. These companies take upon the responsibility of organizing the
entire procedure. They find a perfect customer profile who can be set as a target. They
act as mystery shoppers. These individuals are properly trained on how to examine the
quality of the services, which are the criteria to be focused on and are provided with
questionnaires through which they can share their experiences. These mystery
shoppers then visit different stores, restaurants and shops of a particular company
pretending to be customers to observe and take note of the services provided therein.
The collected data from survey is later reported to the mystery shopper companies who
then analyze and scrutinize the collected data and inform the companies about the
same so that they can make necessary improvements in their sales in different
locations.
Mystery shoppers are generally individuals who are paid for conducting such inspection
for the mystery shopper companies. Moreover, they are also paid the amount they
invest in purchasing things or consuming food items. The areas which are mainly
scrutinized are customer service, team cooperation, handling of cash, providing
recommendations and persuading customers, knowledge regarding products, working
efficiency and visualization of displays.
Practical approach:
In this, some of the mystery shopper frameworks are discussed below:
Using nominal scale:
A nominal scale does not involve any numerical classification. This can be used as a
mystery shopper framework. It involves direct questions relating to experiences of
mystery shoppers. For example, let us consider mystery shopping has been conducted
in a restaurant:
a. Were you welcomed in the restaurant with a smile and greeting?
● Yes
● No
● neutral
b. Were you satisfied with the services provided by the staff?
● Yes
● No
● Neural
c. What did you like about the restaurant?
● Ambiance
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● Food
● Staff service
Using Likert scale
Likert scale can be used as a mystery shopper framework. This is generally a five-point
or seven-point scale used to determine the intensity of the mystery shopper’s
perspective towards the services provided in a particular restaurant or shop. For
example, let us consider a seven-pointed Likert scale measurement and let us assume
that mystery shopping has been conducted in a restaurant:
Strongly agree-1
Agree- 2
Somewhat agree-3
Strongly disagree-4
Disagree- 5
Somewhat disagree-6
Neither agree nor disagree-6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Welcomed
with
greeting
and a smile
The staff
had kind
gesture of
interaction
The quality
of food and
staff service
was good
Different frameworks for measuring service quality:
IPA model
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Rood and Dziadkowiec used an importance-performance analysis( IPA) tool to compare
data relating to post-visit experience and pre-visit expectations of the mystery
shoppers. Records of around two hundred visits to the U.S. and Poland restaurants
were made. The mystery shoppers examined 35 types of different performing aspects of
the restaurant. They found that there was variation between expectations and the real
performance of the restaurants in both countries with original performance being lower
in the both. However, the overall performance liking rate was higher in Poland
Therefore, it can be concluded that IPA can be used as an effective mystery shopper
framework.
Fig 1. Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/GWpRE4PpZJCdLW9y6
SERVQUAL model
Qualitative mystery shopping research was conducted in the year 2005. It was done on
the ground of 97different questions. The dimensions adopted by regulars in assessing
service quality are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility,
security, competence, courtesy, understanding or knowing the customer. The difference
between expectations and perceptions form the aim for measurement of the perceived
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quality of the services (Wai Fong Yu,2008) . The modifications made later on led to the
improvements. Five dimensions originated which are used today through the scale
purification approach. These are tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and
empathy. The examination of customers´ expectation and perception towards service
quality are recorded in a questionnaire for each of the five dimensions. The records
collected on a 7 point scale. Finally measurements are calculated as perception minus
expectation. Thus after statistical processing the perceived quality is demonstrated
(Wankhade and Dabade,2010). Therefore, the SERVQUAL model was considered to be
an important tool for measuring service quality.
Fig 2. Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/ftSS95U6GpTPnSQC8
Theoretical Approach:
According to Wilson and Gutmann (1998), mystery shopping is the art of viewing and
getting information on customer service. It is designed to record the experience of
mystery shoppers relating to customer satisfaction and staff services in a particular
service environment.
According to Dawes, John and Byron Sharp (2000), the necessity of providing best
quality services is an essential objective of all business organizations. Managers can
ascertain the functioning of its business at various sale locations in various ways i.e. by
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conducting customer surveys or by hiring personnel who walk into the shop secretly
acting as customers to observe the service quality and assess the performance of staff.
The method stated latter is termed as mystery shopping. This helps businessmen to
determine their loopholes and improve their service qualities.
According to Poisant (2002), mystery shoppers or secret shoppers put themselves into
the shoes of customers in order to understand their perspective on various questions
such as the appearance and gesture of front liners, greeting and welcoming at entrance,
the aesthetics of the place etc. This process is termed as mystery shopping. The
procedure is carried on by a freelancer who gets paid for doing this secret survey and
providing appropriate feedback and data.
Development of my mystery shopping framework:
In this report, I will discuss the structure and development of my mystery shopping
framework (see appendix). I basically conducted a mystery shopper task in my
University’s cafeteria, ‘The Riverside’ which is situated on the ground floor of Prospect
Building at St. Peters Campus.
From the mystery shopping survey using the framework (see appendix), it is evident
that the initial impression about the cafeteria was good. I received a warm welcome and
kind greeting as soon as I entered the cafe. Although the decor and ambiance inside the
cafeteria is worth visiting and enticing, the entrance can be decorated in a more
appealing and presentable way to attract customers. Talking about the way of
interaction by the staff, it was overall an impressive one. In this case, my only
suggestion would be to make the working staff well-versed with the menu so that they
can help in assisting customers on what would be best for them to order. I have
mentioned in my survey that the menu card was good displaying relevant information
about all food items in detail. Moreover, it was a pleasant dining experience and there
was a 50% off for University students and that was clearly mentioned on a board inside
the cafeteria. The best thing about the cafe which impressed me was the coordination
among staff and their efficiency in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene. The quality of
the food was commendable. However, the area of service speed should be worked on a
bit to ensure customer satisfaction. Therefore, I recommend that apart from a few
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aspects which ‘The Riverside Cafe’ should work on, it is overall doing a good job in the
business market and in providing effective consumer service.
Evaluation of the pros and cons of using qualitative and quantitative
research methods:
For the research of the mystery shop framework there are two techniques that are
adapted. They are namely, the qualitative and the quantitative method.
Qualitative Method
The qualitative method is the most suitable method for the purpose of explanatory
research. It signifies the understanding and the experiences or the thoughts that the
individual has after the research. In mystery shopping, the mystery shopper collects the
data on the basis of research questions and feelings of what he has understood.
Pros of qualitative research
1. The qualitative research goes to the depth of the research. They analyse the
behaviours and feelings of the others in order to perform the research
2. This technique also encourages the individuals to open up on new topics creating
an openness between each other
Cons of Qualitative Method
1. The data is not in the statically proven data representation and it only provides
the data from an individuals perspective.
2. Such a technique completely relies on the experience of the researcher.
Quantitative Research
Quantitative research refers to the systematic way of investigating by collecting data
from the statistics and other technical places. Therefore this is the process where the
framework of the mystery shopping will be derived from the statistics and computerized
techniques.
Pros of Quantitative method
1. This method eliminates the biases as they are the result of research from a
statistical proven data.
2. The information that is derived is reliable and can be trusted on.
Cons of quantitative method
1. Such a method lacks the authenticity of the answers. The mystery shoppers work
on the basis that the answers provided to them are true, but in reality the
truthfulness of such answers cannot be judged.
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