Limitations (3 for each method)
Mystery Shopper - Primary A lot of companies use mystery shoppers to record how well their customer service
is from an unbiased point of view. A drawback of using mystery shoppers would be
that information gained may be unreliable and untrue. Because of the mystery
shopper not having an audio or video object on them, this means that the company
would not be 100% certain that the data they have collected is true. By not being
able to rely on the data received 100% means that it can take at least a few times
for the company to get an idea of what their customer service is like.
The second drawback could be that data received from a mystery shopper can only
be compared to previous records which means that they do not know if the person
is biased especially if they were the mystery shopper last time. The mystery
shopper could also speak negatively of the company if they have already
experienced a negative issue.
The last limitation that a mystery shopper would produce is that staff do not know
when they are coming in. This would be a drawback as a mystery shopper could
come in on the busiest day of the year when they have numerous staff off ill, which
would mean that there are less people to give service. Staff would always have to
be trained and up to date with the products and services that the company provide
as this could mean if the company gets a negative or positive review.
Questionnaire - Primary The main limitation for questionnaires is that they are expensive in the long run. It
would take a lot of ink and printing in order to get enough answers from the public
to conclude their questionnaire. Another issue could be that people would need to
redo their questionnaire multiple times which would mean that the organisation
would have to reprint it out numerous times.
The second limitation would be that most times when a member of the public is
given a survey or questionnaire, they make up their answers to make the process
quicker. Some people would not read the questionnaires correctly and therefore
could answer them wrong. A company could pay a lot of money for the public to not
take the questionnaire seriously. This would mean that the results they gather from
the questionnaire would not be appropriate or correct. If members of the public
were to leave blunt and short answers to the questions, this would mean that the
company would have to put more money into finding out information.
The last limitation links into the last point, which would be that data received from
the questionnaires, may not be reliable or truthful. This would then make it even
harder for the company as it means they would have to spend more money into
finding out different answers.
Focus Groups - Primary The main drawback of using a focus group for data is that there can be
disagreements within the group which could affect the results gathered. This could
mean that some people are biased and will produce the same answers. This would
mean that the company would have to spend more money to find out the same
information.
Likewise to questionnaires, focus groups are an expensive way of doing things.
Most organisations do not use just one focus group, but use a few in order to gain
reliable data and to gather a wide range of answers. This would cost the company a
lot more than originally planned.
The last limitation of a focus group would be that it can be difficult to find a focus
group that is the needed criteria for the company. It can be difficult for a company
to find specific ages within a focus group. This would also link into it being
expensive for a company to find the correct focus group.
Mystery Shopper - Primary A lot of companies use mystery shoppers to record how well their customer service
is from an unbiased point of view. A drawback of using mystery shoppers would be
that information gained may be unreliable and untrue. Because of the mystery
shopper not having an audio or video object on them, this means that the company
would not be 100% certain that the data they have collected is true. By not being
able to rely on the data received 100% means that it can take at least a few times
for the company to get an idea of what their customer service is like.
The second drawback could be that data received from a mystery shopper can only
be compared to previous records which means that they do not know if the person
is biased especially if they were the mystery shopper last time. The mystery
shopper could also speak negatively of the company if they have already
experienced a negative issue.
The last limitation that a mystery shopper would produce is that staff do not know
when they are coming in. This would be a drawback as a mystery shopper could
come in on the busiest day of the year when they have numerous staff off ill, which
would mean that there are less people to give service. Staff would always have to
be trained and up to date with the products and services that the company provide
as this could mean if the company gets a negative or positive review.
Questionnaire - Primary The main limitation for questionnaires is that they are expensive in the long run. It
would take a lot of ink and printing in order to get enough answers from the public
to conclude their questionnaire. Another issue could be that people would need to
redo their questionnaire multiple times which would mean that the organisation
would have to reprint it out numerous times.
The second limitation would be that most times when a member of the public is
given a survey or questionnaire, they make up their answers to make the process
quicker. Some people would not read the questionnaires correctly and therefore
could answer them wrong. A company could pay a lot of money for the public to not
take the questionnaire seriously. This would mean that the results they gather from
the questionnaire would not be appropriate or correct. If members of the public
were to leave blunt and short answers to the questions, this would mean that the
company would have to put more money into finding out information.
The last limitation links into the last point, which would be that data received from
the questionnaires, may not be reliable or truthful. This would then make it even
harder for the company as it means they would have to spend more money into
finding out different answers.
Focus Groups - Primary The main drawback of using a focus group for data is that there can be
disagreements within the group which could affect the results gathered. This could
mean that some people are biased and will produce the same answers. This would
mean that the company would have to spend more money to find out the same
information.
Likewise to questionnaires, focus groups are an expensive way of doing things.
Most organisations do not use just one focus group, but use a few in order to gain
reliable data and to gather a wide range of answers. This would cost the company a
lot more than originally planned.
The last limitation of a focus group would be that it can be difficult to find a focus
group that is the needed criteria for the company. It can be difficult for a company
to find specific ages within a focus group. This would also link into it being
expensive for a company to find the correct focus group.
