Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/400168
ad service in a store will certainly hurt the retailer, but it can harm the reputation of a shopping center too. so to help them keep tabs on the consumer experience, some landlords are turning to the same strategy that retailers have been using for years: the mystery shopper — a hired "customer" who will go into a store to "shop," interact with the sales associates and then report back on the experience. B MindinG the store Secret ShopperS help landlordS monitor tenantS By Rebecca Meiser n o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 / S C T 49 i l l u s t r a t i o n : e l l e n B y r n e caruso affiliated, a los angeles–based real estate firm whose properties include the Grove, in los angeles, and waterside Marina del rey (calif.), has always prided itself on stellar cus- tomer service. "our internal motto is, we'll do anything for our guest — as long as it's legal," quipped Jackie levy, the firm's executive vice president of operations. caruso affiliated em- ployees have helped shoppers plan weddings — even marriage proposals — at the firm's shop- ping centers. they have taken guests' laundry to be dry-cleaned, helped them book travel ar- rangements and more. "customer service is everything for us," levy said. caruso managers understand that a single bad experience — a rude sales associate, say, or a snarky concierge — can sour a customer forever. what had always worried levy most were not the customer-service problems he already knew about — those could be solved — but the ones he did not know about. so five years ago he began hiring mystery shoppers to visit stores at the company's 13 malls and see that the tenants were offering the best customer service possible at all times. "what differentiates us who deal in brick-and-mortar from online shopping is human interaction," levy said. "For our customers it's all about the experience, from trying on the clothes to dealing with sales associates. we want to make sure the experience is as enjoyable as possible." these sorts of mystery customers have long been a staple of hotels and restaurants as well