The comments portion of any survey gets all of us at Pinnacle and our clients very excited. Here is the area of a mystery shop that really allows others to get a feel for the shop. Good comments take readers into the event itself, as though they were sitting next to the mystery shopper as the shop unfolded.
Yes/no answers are by their nature very black and white. Luckily the world is made up of more than those colors alone though. The reason why comments are so important is that they fill in the survey with all the other shades. They color the yes/no responses with additional detail. Yes, the employee made eye contact, but the expression was vacant. No, the employee did not shake my hand, but she did give me a high five. Yes, she smiled and it was super welcoming.
It’s important to understand what the comments add to the survey. Don’t the yes/no responses cover everything? Actually, no! It’s true that these set up the framework of the shop by providing the facts. And although those are important and measurable, they are a little dull. Your comments dress those bare facts up in a snazzy outfit. Maybe yes the employee did greet you and no the branch wasn’t tidy, but we’re dying to know how you were welcomed and in what way the branch was cluttered.
Eloquent, well-written comments ensure your shop will be understood. Here are five top tips on getting your point across:
- Be detailed! The more information you provide the better. Your comments should allow the reader to get a real feel for what happened, how it occurred and in what order it took place.
- Be consistent! Make sure that your comments explain your yes/no answers on the survey. Opposing or confusing information gives rise to questions instead of answers for clients.
- Be relevant! Your comments should pertain to those things that are important to the client you shopped. Use the yes/no questions as a guide and ensure that each comment box reflects information that relates to the above questions.
- Be grammatical! Part of being clear is using conventional grammar and spelling. Incorrect usage of words can cause your comments to become vague and misunderstood. SASSIE provides the option to spell check next to all comment boxes.
- Be objective! Stick to the facts in your comments. Your opinion shouldn’t color what did and did not happen. Keep comments regarding your satisfaction for the relevant place on the survey.
- Be original! The best shop comments are tailor-made and by that we mean that your summaries should vary shop to shop. This is not a “one size fits all” business. Even when visits are very similar, each employee is an individual deserving of a personalized description of his/her service. Don’t copy and paste, but be original instead.
Apart from structure and content, the quality of your shop comments is also dependent on basic grammatical rules. These tips offer some quick insight.
Feeling tense? Write your shop comments in the past tense. It’s the easiest case to stick with throughout the narrative. It’s best to avoid the rather tricky gerund case, know what I’m say-ing?
Capitalize on sharing the ins and outs of your shop, but avoid using upper case for all your comments. Instead properly apply the highs and lows in lettering for easy reading and editing.
.Be punctual with punctuation! Ensure that your readers can easily navigate through your sentences by using punctuation marks as guide posts.
He said, she said. Always be careful to use the correct pronouns for all of the employees you encounter.
Check it out. Read through your comments and survey before submitting the shop for review. Use the built-in spell-checker to find any sneaky spelling mishaps.
