Check out our mystery shopping results!
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Every year customers take part in a mystery shopping exercise that tests out the quality of service offered in Sheffield Homes housing offices and over the phone.
The exercise aims to:
- ‘reality’ check services and assess their quality
- provide a tangible way of getting tenants involved in a constructive and influential way
- help develop plans to improve services
- test the effectiveness of staff training
A 13-strong team of mystery shoppers carried out 155 telephone enquiries and 24 in person office visits late last year, using scenarios that tested every part of the housing service.
The first mystery shopping exercise in 2005 set high standards but these results have brought further improvements.
Overall, the headlines are:
- 100% thought overall quality of the first contact in offices was quick and efficient
- 100% thought staff in offices were polite and courteous
- 81% thought overall quality of the first contact over the phone was quick and efficient
- 93% thought staff were polite and courteous over the phone
The mystery shoppers also identified areas for action, which include access issues at some offices, a standard way of ending enquiries to ensure all matters have been dealt with, and the need to continue to improve the way in which transferred calls are handled.
Sheffield Homes provides training and offers support to mystery shoppers, who come from all backgrounds.
Pete Sockett, from Meadowhead, a tenant for 35 years, has been a mystery shopper for two years.
He said: “Most of all, I enjoy doing it. You meet different people and get to travel about a bit. We help to highlight things that Sheffield Homes might not be aware of.”
Mystery shopper Rene Seren-dat, from Netheredge, was the very first recruited and still enjoys his work.
“This is the best way to evaluate the service and test how well the company is doing,” he said. “Mystery shoppers have to be conscientious and able to work systematically.”
Almost any tenant can become a mystery shopper. Sheffield Homes offers training, travel and carer expenses, and gift vouchers on completion of questionnaires.
“Mystery shoppers test out frontline services for us as any customer would,” said Simon Richards, Assistant Director of Business Development at Sheffield Homes.
“They report back with detailed findings that help us assess how well we’re doing and where we need to improve. From the results we produce an action plan to tackle any areas that have been identified as a problem.”
Anyone interested in becoming a mystery shopper should contact Liz Sayles in the Community Engagement Team on 0114 273 5566 or email getinvolved@sheffieldhomes.org.uk