A mystery shopper is basically someone who pretends to be a customer in order to test the level of service provided. The difference with this scheme is that we got housing association residents to do the mystery shopping as opposed to “professional” mystery shoppers employed by companies.
We began by leafleting residents about the idea of becoming a mystery shopper and what skills we were looking for. We then sent the chosen residents on a course that included role-plays to get them used to their roles and we explained what was expected of them. In total, 27 tenants took part.
One of the main hurdles was to get people to understand that the point of checking an association like this is that you are checking whether they are sticking to their stated level of service. So, they might not do things exactly the way you want them to but that’s not the point – the point is do they stick to what they say they will do?
The mystery shoppers phoned their own associations in order to monitor the service. They ask a range of questions such as: ringing up to ask what the opening hours are, asking them what your housing rights are if you have split up from your partner or finding out how to deal with problem neighbours. The scenarios are based on everyday situations that tenants face.
Over the next few years we also hope to develop a national pool of resident mystery shoppers.
Source
Housing Today
Postscript
Susy Lloyd is managing director of national resident participation consultant Solon Community Network, part of the Network Housing Group. She spoke to Mahua Chatterjee
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