Confessions of a Mystery Shopper
Sales pitches, personalities affect customer’s experience at tire stores
One of the jobs of a mystery shopper is to check consistency among franchises. Are all locations presenting their customers with the same information, sales pitch and quality products? For this assignment, the client owned several automotive repair and tire stores in Columbia, and wanted to know if members of its sales team were looking at the same vehicle and giving the customer the same friendly advice and/or estimate. That’s where my trusty van and I enter the picture.
Before heading out — and knowing that “all things cars” can be a bit intimidating to many people, myself included — I did a bit of homework. Besides, I hate looking like a “dumb girl.” And let’s face it, if you don’t know what the salespeople know, or at least know enough to hold your own in a conversation, they could sell you anything and everything. This is especially true with cars, but in this case I was dealing only with tires.
There is a tire trick that many pages on the Internet, which offer hints, tout as a great way to determine if you need new radials or can remain rolling along with the tread on your current tires. Using a penny, dunk President Lincoln’s picture — head first into each groove. If you can see any portion of his head, you need new tires. Of course this is not a steadfast, hardened rule. There are other factors to consider as well. Are there small or large pieces of steel sticking out of the rubber? Is there uneven wear on any of the tires? As far as tires go, I felt pretty confident to conquer the two tire shops and overcome the “dumb girl” feeling within.
Armed with my Lincoln penny evidence that I might need only one new tire on my van, I headed to the first tire shop. It was not busy, so I parked in the first space near the office. The sales manager greeted me with a big smile and asked how he could help me. I used the scenario that I was going on a long trip and wanted to know if my tires would make the trek or did they need to be replaced beforehand?
“Well,” he said, walking around the van, placing a grease-covered hand on every tire and running a finger in several grooves. “How far are you going?”
Drat, math. I quickly calculated the distance between St. Louis and my father’s house, and then added the extra mileage from Columbia.
“About 379 miles,” I replied.
He motioned for me to squat next to him near the front passenger side tire.
“You really don’t need new tires,” he said. “See here?”
I hadn’t realized it, but I had parked with the front wheels turned, allowing him to see the other side of the tires.
“We could just rotate them and give you an alignment and you’d be good to go.”
As I wondered if an alignment was going to hurt me, he went the extra mile that so few retailers have gone lately. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow? It’s ladies day and you will save an additional 15 percent on the alignment and tire rotation.” Wow, that is customer service!
After collecting his business card, I thanked him for his time and the extra information and continued on to the next shop.
I recycled the first scenario of the trip out of town and being unsure of whether I needed new tires.
“Well, lets take a look, little lady,” the salesman said as he lumbered out to the van.
Now I am pretty sure we are far north of Mayberry and I know I’m not a little lady, but I truly try hard not to prejudge people. But I just knew this was the one who would make the “dumb girl” just that, dumb, and worse then all the rest.
He looked at the tires on the front driver’s side and then the back driver’s side. He didn’t bother to bend down, or walk around to the other side. I’m guessing that he assumed that either all the tires were the same or that I didn’t know any better.
“Come on in and I’ll get you fixed up,” he said.
Like a “dumb girl,” I followed him into the showroom.
He showed me the same brochure as the last shop and quoted me prices for four new, top-of-the-line tires that were naturally more expensive than the ones at the last store.
“You don’t want to be stranded on the side of the road, now do ya?”
I took a deep breath and recalled my research.
“No. No, sir. I don’t want to be stuck on the side of the road. However, I’ve done a little research and I believe I only need one tire and that’s all I can afford at the moment. Could you look again at the rear passenger tire and give me an estimate on just that tire?”
I waited inside as he checked the specific tire and then handed me his card with the quote scribbled on the back.
As far as franchisees go, consistency with products and pricing can be controlled from store to store. However, it seems that sales pitches and personalities will never be consistent in any two people.