Mystery Shopping / On-Site Inspections

Client FAQs

Please review the questions in this FAQ prior to e-mailing Customer-1st. If you have a question that has not been addressed then please contact our staff.

Does Customer 1st service our industry?
We do not specialize in a specific industry since customer service is all about making the customer feel welcome, appreciated, and invited to return. Our typical client base is business-to-consumer but we also service business-to-business clients.

How long has Customer 1st been in business?
Customer 1st is a division of FirstPoint, Inc.. Our parent company will celebrate 100 years of serving the business community in 2006. Customer 1st formed an alliance with FirstPoint in 1996 and became a division in 2000.

Can you service a national account?
With a database of over 200,000 shoppers throughout the US and Canada we are able to meet the needs of national clients as well as Mom and Pop businesses.

Do you have standard shopping reports or can we develop our own?
Customer 1st is here to inspect what you expect. We typically assist clients that do not have mystery shopping standards in place helping them develop their own shopping report. The forms we use are not cast in stone. We have found that once a program is underway, associates automatically start raising their service standards requiring us to adjust the shopping report questions to challenge the new service levels.

How do clients receive completed shopping reports?
Customer 1st has developed our own web based reporting systems. We do not use an outside service, eliminating the possibility of your mystery shopping information being hacked by your competition.

What other services can you provide to help us evaluate the information we receive?
Our on-line reporting systems track the history of each location, giving you the opportunity as a store manager to see your trend from one month to the next, or over a given period of time. You would also be able to view your standings within the total company, but you would not have access to other stores' shopping reports. At the corporate access level, you would be able to view all shopping reports by store, region, or division levels, and assess important customer service needs prior to a store visit. Our reporting/tracking systems have been revered by our clients as their P&L of customer service. Many of our clients use our reports for customer service awards as well as a percentage of the store manager's annual review.

How much does it cost?
The cost for our services depends on the amount of information you would like our field staff to gather. Cost is determined by the detail and timeframe of the mystery shopping report.

Is there a contractual requirement?
We operate under a Service Agreement rather than a legal contract. The Service Agreement spells out your needs so there is no misunderstanding on our part. We hope our clients conduct business with us because they want to, not because we force them to via legal contracts.

How soon can we start?
Typically we need 30 days to get our field staff trained, instructions and shopping reports built and available on-line, plus setting up your client log in and email notification system. If you have a more immediate need, we would be happy to try and assist.