A new mystery shopping package is being launched this week which will tell estate agency bosses how their employees are conducting themselves when they’re not there.
It includes staff being recorded at ‘valuation visits’ by hidden cameras.
The visits would not be to genuine sellers’ houses, but to the homes of the mystery shoppers – although agency staff would neither know this, nor that they were being filmed.
The package, named Your Valuation Blind Spot, is being launched by live chat specialist Yomdel at EA Masters on Thursday.
Yomdel says that the new service is aimed at helping agencies to see how well – or otherwise – they are doing at converting valuation leads and how customers view them.
The objective is that agency bosses can identify areas for improvement, increasing conversion rates in the process, and provide insight into how their staff operate in their absence.
There are three tiers to the package:
Discovery – a mystery shop covering the website experience, pre-evaluation phone call, the in-home valuation, and follow-up conversations.
Insight – as well as the Discovery package, Yomdel will digitally record the pre-valuation phone call as well as record the valuation appointment with multi-positioned covert cameras.
Benchmark – this combines all of the above, plus the addition of a mystery shop of two competitors of the agent’s choice.
Each package comes with a report covering each stage and a tailored action plan, which can be implemented in-house or alongside a Yomdel training consultant.
Yomdel CEO Andy Soloman said: “We’re extremely excited about the launch.
“The valuation process in estate agency is a hard one to get right, and there’s a whole host of competition which often leads to over-valuing to win instructions.
“In addition, it can all depend on your staff, the way they conduct themselves and the market knowledge they portray, which also differs between agents.
“All of these factors make it very difficult to assess and improve your valuation journey, but we’re confident this latest initiative will do just that by providing invaluable insight to estate agents.”
I for one would not contemplate subjecting my staff to this type of snooping by holier than thou ‘secret agents’.
Having become aware of how they’ve been spied upon, how could I ever expect them to trust me again.
Careful recruitment and proper training should alleviate the need for ever needing to call these guys in.
The idea stinks.
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Couldn’t agree more
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I missed out on yesterday, accounts, solicitors directors and trustee meetings meant a very long day and worse still not getting to comment on this story.
I like Yomdell and what it has done and achieved since it started in 2014 so seeing 40 comments was a bit of a shock. I have to admit I dislike video cameras and audio recordings of me like you would not imagine, it is a hang over from not being able to read aloud in class and the humiliation of being dyslexic. If someone decided to video me with my consent or knowledge the camera would find itself recording some interesting colonic footage as it made the reverse journey back up the way, as it were!
I can’t be certain from this story if recording staff in secret is what this is about, if someone told me “we are losing instructions to the gruesome twosome, our fee income isn’t going to keep the doors open if we don’t find a way of sorting out how we can change what we’re saying or how we overcome objections when we are trying to win instructons” I would be keen to find out what I am doing or saying wrong, basically my desire to keep my job would overcome all of the deep embarrassment and fear of seing a video of me nervouslt stuttering through a slightly artificial scenario .
I’m not saying what is right or wrong but I’il find out if this is designed to be a secret snooper service or a service improbvement service.
person down th bottom saying the usual posters are being rude, the irony of your comment is wonderful, your customers don’t like what you are saying “what are we doing wrong?” doesn’t just apply to agents selling their services, it applies to service suppliers selling to agents too!!
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PS – As for the ‘Benchmark’, if I understand the so called initiative correctly, if ever I, or one of my colleagues were found to have been ‘set up’ , and filmed, at a false appraisal appointment I would be taking the strongest possible action.
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Thanks for the comment. Just to clarify, the video recordings will only ever been done with the full knowledge and permission of the client business. Any competitor businesses will never be filmed. The goal is to identify best practice.
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It’s not about my competitors.
It’s about my staff, who spend upwards of 40hrs a week under my tutelage.
I don’t give a stuff about recording my competitors – it is about my work family being manipulated.
The ethical repercussions are huge.
One Question: And it is an important one…
Will my staff know that we have employed Yomdel for a mystery shopping exercise that will record them at some point in the next X months?
If they opt in beforehand on the understanding that they could get the “best practice” feedback in the future, then go for it.
But as long as a member of staff has no idea what is going on, expect to find yourself in court.
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I think I would be pretty uncomfortable that my “employer” was having me filmed. I would expect this sort of thing would be agreed at interview/job offer not post employment. Imagine you been working somewhere for a couple of years and then find your boss telling you that you had been filmed on an appointment?
I would have thought this is against the employee, a personal infringement. The BBC cant film you without your permission why can Yomdel?
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This is an issue for constructive dismissal – plain and simple.
Staff would need to agree beforehand otherwise the employer risks claims of unfair treatment and breach of trust.!!!!
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Absolutely right, and employment contracts would normally reflect this.
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What employee is going to agree to sign an employment contract that states we can secretly film you whilst doing your job?
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Why would the employer put ‘secretly’ in the contract? If the employee agrees to be filmed then they have agreed to open and covert filming. Many employees already agree to being recorded while on the phone.
Do you have CCTV in your office? If so, you are already filming your employees.
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“although agency staff would neither know this, nor that they were being filmed.”
It kind of defeats the object if they know they’re being filmed.
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I can’t think of a worse thing to subject my staff to.
What do I do after I get the video? Call them into a private viewing room and pick apart their pitch?
My staff will feel cheated and manipulated.
I would hate it done to me so would not put my staff through it.
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Appalling idea.
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And Data Protection????
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>Benchmark – this combines all of the above, plus the addition of a mystery shop of two competitors of the agent’s choice.
Not sure if this is legal.
I know that recording somebody for your own personal use is legal but once you start showing them to other people I think you are then committing a crime.
I can remember reading about the dilemma over introducing video evidence in court when secretly recording people.
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Difficult to justify this to any self-respecting agent.
Only fly-by-night agents and control freaks will take Yomdel up on this offer.
And even then, I expect resignations by the recorded staff.
I wonder if it is worth appraising someone who will leave for a more trusting employer in 4 weeks’ time.
I don’t buy this at all. Hopefully nobody else will, either.
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Creepy.
Privacy issues.
Legal action/claim/compensation.
Simply…. a step too far.
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Oh lawd. Just no.
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Bad move, Yomdel.
BAD move.
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How much would this cost compared to ongoing, regular staff training.
Which of these 2 options is more likely to lead to happier, more successful staff?
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Dear EA Company owners.
Trust thy staff… train them well… help them… but lets not give any company a moment to believe using them to secretly film a staff member is acceptable.
I hope the first company to use it, gets a law suit, gets a heavy fine and the employer leaves using constructive dismissal rules and gets a ****** decent pay out in the process.
I am all for improving customer service, but this is just a step to far.
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I suppose it would be pretty worrying if a geezer came to you and said they had a video of your employee doing something wrong. Perhaps making allegations about a competitor that couldn’t be substantiated?
Then provide you with the option of different packages they provide.
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This isn’t new in the property sector and many Yomdel clients already use mystery shopping to help their businesses improve. The key difference with “Your Valuation Blind Spot” is that beyond mystery shopping the outputs include detailed analysis and comprehensive action plans to help businesses improve further. Yomdel isn’t suggesting anything sinister merely supporting businesses to celebrate good practice and identify training needs and gaps.
Yomdel has extensive experience in the property sector and our guiding principle is to work closely with our clients as a partner for growth.
Clearly good businesses would communicate that they were undertaking mystery shopping to their along with their expected good practice so nobody should have anything to fear.
This method is used in a variety of industries and ensures that businesses see improved conversions from leads whilst staff members can be rightly praised for a job well done.
To address the concerns around data protection we can assure you we are fully compliant, and any data collected is sent to the client for their own internal use. To reiterate competitors will never be video recorded.
In an industry that is constantly trying to demonstrate good practice and compliance this should be seen as a positive not a negative, surely?
Tim, COO, Yomdel
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“Benchmark – this combines all of the above, plus the addition of a mystery shop of two competitors of the agent’s choice.”
Perhaps you could clarify – are you inviting competitors to a mystery shop valuation without there knowledge?
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“THEIR knowledge?”
The edit function has gone AWOL again !
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“Yomdel has extensive experience in the property sector”
Really? – You provide a live chat option which a number of other companies do.
Its almost as bad as that prat that does the estate agent awards with RM, mystery shopping my staff, wasting their time in the hope they can flog me a certificate!
Just this morning i got a call from yet another prop tech company try to solve a problem that does not exist. I wish you lot would stop leaching off our profession and disappear.
Remember that shower of **** RaterAgent thank god we dont hear their BS anymore, bit of luck Yomdel gog the same way.
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Thank you for your feedback. You’re right, a number of companies provide Live Chat, but not all Live Chat is the same, clearly you can just chat (message take) or you can offer a warm welcome, deep insightful engagement and capture great well qualified leads. Yomdel has taken considerable steps to offer so much more than just “Live Chat” as our clients will testify and this sets us apart from our competitors.
We believe that someone acting on your behalf and representing your brand needs a deep understanding of your business, can offer helpful & intelligent responses and, if required, can even book market appraisals and viewings for you. Yomdel also offers textual chat to voice, if this is required. Yomdel can now provide superb mystery shopping products and intelligent market research and is also about to launch a “NEW” call answering and call overflow product. So you’re correct that we do offer Live Chat, but also so much more.
We were the pioneers of Live Chat in the UK and the first to offer estate agents the opportunity to be available online 24/7, which your customers these wish. It’s a shame you feel we are leeches in your profession but fortunately we actually enjoy a close relationship with all of our clients.
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Believe it or not Mr “COO” (funny name) a bad estate agent doesn’t stay in the business very long, reason: Well it’s like this.
No Instructions
No sales
No Job
Why video someone in secret?
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‘Clearly good businesses would communicate that they were undertaking mystery shopping to their along with their expected good practice so nobody should have anything to fear.’
You have a touching faith in ‘good businesses’ Tim.
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Thanks AgencyInsider, as you may be aware Yomdel offers far more than just selling its services, we would actively encourage a collaborative approach and the product itself will aid the business owner(s) in ensuring this is seen a positive within the business and a source of good, not something to fear.
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Not quite sure why you are thanking me Tim. I think the filming is a thoroughly bad idea – unless staff are informed and give their express consent to it taking place.
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I was merely thanking you for your feedback, we really value feedback and the time people put into giving it.
I understand your reservations, however, some may see this as a negative and others as a tool to aid personal and business development. Sometimes a picture can paint a thousand words!
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Manners maketh man. Thank you for your thanks Tim. 🙂
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I would be mortified if my employer filmed me in this way. No way would I ever consent to being filmed doing my job, as it would feel like Big Brother.
Also, have you even thought that in this day and age when people are set strict targets for viewings and valuations to try and get paid their commission each month, you are going to waste their time on fake appointments where you film them and report back without their knowledge?
I understand taking a mystery shopping call, that is done at your desk and takes minutes at most. Going out to see a prospective client in their home takes preparation, travel time, time building a rapport, and then follow up time afterwards. Well it does where I work!
Any employer who does this is wasting their employees time, and taking money from them by doing so.
I just thank goodness that my employer does none of these things, trusts me to do a good job by training me well and don’t need to spy on me.
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This chap really ought to have picked up the message by now. He should spare himself further embarrassment at the E A Masters and forget it.
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Interesting to see this article has raised so much attention and perhaps its a great debate to have.
Having been a high volume front line valuer for over 25 years and then equally having been a business owner, I can actually see both sides of the fence.
As a valuer, did I want to improve and critique myself – absolutely. I was there to offer honest realistic advice, win the business and achieve a good fee. Was I perfect? – no. Was I frustrated if I lost an instruction? Without doubt. Would I have loved the idea of seeing myself from the other side of the spectrum and look to improve my mannerisms, tone, pitch and technique to achieve perfection – absolutely.
As a business owner, would you want to know what the experience your clients and customers receive and identify the very areas which you lag behind your competitors – well you would be short sighted and mad not to know and understand.
As an industry consultant I now need to understand the exact areas of shortfall in the processes within each clients business and clarity such as this should not be ignored. Wide brush general training is ineffective when there are specific areas which can be improved and unless you identify, improve and rectify, you continue to make the same mistakes over and again expecting a different outcome.
There are a lot of comments over this issue yet I do not know one agent that would not like more properties, higher fees and happier clients and unless you can take a pragmatic emotionless overview of your entire structure and service delivery how can you ever understand where you can improve.
This is a fact driven process business and not an assumption business. You either win the business or you don’t. You either get a good fee level or you don’t. You either have a happy client or you don’t.
The clarity is simple, do you bumble around in the dark feeling your way around or do you simply switch the light on.
The light switch is there guys.. just push the button, the challenge is, are some people afraid to see what it reveals???
With new emerging business models entering the arena you are not just fighting for today, but for tomorrow and unless we all continue to adapt and improve – for some there will be no tomorrow.
So long as, and I stress so long as, this is taken in a structured positive manner with an aim to progress, train and improve to the next level and deliver a greater customer service then there are no losers, I fact its a win-win for all concerned.
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Always such a shame to see that the usual customers on this forum (PeeBee, Agency Insider, Smile Please, Property Paddy) have to lower themselves to insults and rudeness over something they don’t understand/can’t comprehend/threatens their Jurrasic way of operating.
We are all working in the same industry with the aim to make things better for business and consumer alike (or so you all claim) yet anything you haven’t done first, thought of or implemented isn’t met with constructive criticism, just rude remarks.
Certainly shows the level at which you all operate behind your anonymous screen names and thank god there are other agents/companies out there operating in the space so we don’t have to rely on you to keep the sector progressing.
You all must have such thriving businesses that you have the time to comment on every article to put the subject down, either that or you have no business at all. Judging by the way you conduct yourselves here and your bitterness towards any industry progression it’s clearly the latter.
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Somebody obviously didn’t attend school on the day that irony was covered.
Never mind… I’m sure teacher will go over it for you if you ask nicely.
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No Bitterness at all on my part.
I embrace good tech and innovative ideas, Virtual tours, video email, online chat, advanced CRM systems, Online tenant referencing, online AML. Advertise on every portal going.
Hardly jurassic.
However as Robert May pointed out above, Yomdel are happy to offer us feedback on our pitch but we should not give them feedback after they post an advertorial?
Also my staff’s happiness is my number one priority, if i have content staff they work better. Spying on them making sure they do their job creates a rift.
Shall i get a cctv camera linked to my phone so i can monitor my offices and if i see them chatting shall i call up and tell them to work? Maybe like CW i should listen into their phone calls and ask why they did not push our mortgage adviser?
FYI unlike a lot of these so call ‘Top Agents’ now try to flog training days because their agency has hit a wall mine has not a penny of debt and money in the bank.
Thanks for your insight but happy where i am at 😉
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Of course most of us need more properties, higher fees and happier clients but if we are experienced, capable and very important, kind, leaders we should not need to resort to spying on our colleagues in such a way.
Ours is a people business and as such an appraiser will usually adopt a personal, though at all times, professional, personna during the meeting with his client. To intrude upon this in such a way is rude, unkind and wholly unnecessary.
With your 25 years in the business I am surprised that you cannot empathise. If you do not have the confidence in a staff member carrying out appraisals, you shouldn’t send them in in the first place.
There are so many other ways an effective leader can improve performance than by secret filming.
One other point. If I, or indeed any other self respecting estate agent, having been conned, rumbled the spy in attendance at the place of entrapment, he’d be told in no uncertain terms what was thought of him and his sneaky tactics.
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My last post was placed in response to Mr Emerson, not the rather hostile ‘SimmerDown’ who should perhaps consider heeding his mom de plume.
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correction – ‘nom’
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