SEVEN SEVENTEEN CREDIT UNION 'Shoppers' check out bank's service to customers
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
WARREN -- Big Brother is watching -- these days it's a phrase with a whole new meaning for Seven Seventeen Credit Union employees.
The Warren-based credit union has adopted a "mystery shopper" program and recruited credit union members as paid shoppers to monitor its employees' performance on the job.
At any given time, the credit union has between 10 and 20 paid shoppers making periodic checks on its workers, either in person or by telephone.
Kathy Cumberworth, a sales manager who has overseen the shopper program since it began 18 months ago, said it's working so well that the credit union plans to continue it indefinitely.
Shoppers are assigned to visit all the credit union's offices in Trumbull, Mahoning, Portage and Stark counties.
And they also shop Seven Seventeen's competition -- banks and other credit unions in the communities where its offices are located. "So far, we've done very well in comparison," she said.
About the shoppers: Some credit union employees have made a game out of trying to identify the shoppers, Cumberworth said, but they're not easy to spot because they were chosen to represent the range of the credit union's customer base.
The group is racially diverse and includes men and women from senior citizens to college age.
The shoppers are employed and trained by Creative Image Associates, a Boston-area market research firm that specializes in mystery shopping programs for credit unions and financial institutions. Cumberworth wouldn't say how much the program is costing the credit union.
A shopper may approach a branch from one of several different directions: He or she might make a withdrawal at the drive-through window, call on the phone to ask about a loan program or stop in to talk to an employee about opening a new account.
After they shop, they complete a questionnaire reporting on their "shopping experience." The results go to the manager of the department shopped and to the employee who is the subject of the "shop."
Cumberworth said the program has helped the credit union to recognize employees for outstanding work and to make measurable improvements in customer service.
"The way I look at it, if the employees know that anybody could be a shopper, they'll be practicing the skills they know we're looking for," she said.
For the first few months, shoppers focused their attention on employees' use of common courtesies, such as greeting the customer by name, smiling, handshakes and handing out a business card, when appropriate.
In the first quarter, employees' average scores on those courtesy points showed what Cumberworth called "a huge increase," from 72 percent to 84 percent.
Courtesy issues are still included in the shoppers' surveys, but now the focus has advanced to take in the employees' knowledge of credit union products and services and their ability to suggest products to meet customers' needs.
For example, the mystery shopper might pick up a brochure on investment products or loans, might drop a hint about buying a house or the need for college funds.
The employees are scored on how quickly they respond to the hints and how effectively they provide information about the pertinent union product or service.
What's behind this: Jackie Buddle, president of Creative Image Associates, said her company specializes in market research and mystery shopping programs for financial institutions and credit unions all over the United States and Canada.
Customer service is especially crucial for banks and credit unions because they all offer similar products. The only way to compete is to focus on creating relationships and a feeling of trust with their customers.
"You can match a rate," she said, "but you can't match people."
Mystery shopping has a negative reputation in some circles, Buddle said, because some businesses have used it to entrap or punish employees. Others have tricked job-hunters into paying for mystery shopping job opportunities that they could have obtained for free by doing some Internet or library research.
Buddle said Creative Image Associates insists that the results of its shopping research be used only for positive reinforcement and as an employee coaching tool, not as a punitive tool.
"It should be a positive thing. It should make employees want to be evaluated, the same way a good student likes to see his report card up on the refrigerator," she explained.
Because credit union business is limited to members, Seven Seventeen advertised in its newsletter for members interested in working as part-time paid shoppers. "The company was bombarded with applications," Cumberworth said. "They got hundreds of applications."
Using an independent market research company assures that the shoppers' survey and its results are neither biased nor designed to set a trap for the employee, Buddle said.
How it's done: Shoppers work on their own schedule but are asked to make a specific number of visits to selected departments at one or more branch offices.
After a visit, the shopper completes a questionnaire about their experience for the market research company, and the company sends a summary of its findings to Seven Seventeen.
Buddle and Cumberworth agreed that it's important and fair to keep employees informed when they've been the subject of a shop. Most of the points on the shoppers' surveys are either common knowledge or are part of the employees' training, Buddle said.
Seven Seventeen is the third-largest credit union in the state, with a corporate headquarters in Warren and nine business offices.
vinarsky@vindy.com