Mystery calls: how to check what customers really hear when they phone your business
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
A mystery call is a check of your service where you call your own company posing as an ordinary customer. Write 4–6 scenarios in advance: a price question, a booking, a question missing from the answer sheet, an unhappy customer, an evening call. Score every call on the same sheet: how many rings, whether the facts were right, whether a next step was offered, whether the promised callback happened. Make at least ten calls on different days and at different times. Use the results to train, not to punish.
What a mystery call shows
Reports show how many calls came in and how many were answered. They don’t show what the customer heard. The phone was answered, but an old price was quoted. The price was right, but nobody said “Shall I book you in?”. Someone said “We’ll call you back” and nobody did. You only find this out by stepping into the customer’s shoes and hearing it yourself.
For example, a barbershop owner listened to ten test calls: staff quoted prices correctly, but only two asked “Shall I book you in?”. The problem wasn’t the price but the next step. This is only an example.
Which scenarios to write
- A simple price question: “How much is a men’s haircut?” Check: was the price right, and was a booking offered?
- A booking or order: was a specific time offered, were the name and number asked, was everything repeated back?
- A question missing from the answer sheet: was an answer invented, or did they say “I’ll check and call you back”, and did the callback happen?
- An unhappy customer complaining about a late order: were they heard, was there an apology, a concrete next step?
- An evening or weekend call: was it answered at all?
- A call in Russian: was it answered in the caller’s language?
Scoring sheet
| Criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Answered within three rings | 1 |
| Greeted with the company name and their own name | 1 |
| Understood the question without asking twice | 1 |
| Prices and facts were correct | 2 |
| Asked the customer’s name and used it | 1 |
| Offered a next step (booking, order, callback) | 2 |
| The promised callback came on time | 2 |
| Total | 10 |
The criteria are an example: add what matters in your business. The key is scoring every call on the same sheet, so you can compare month by month.
How to run the check
- Choose the caller: someone whose voice your staff don’t know, such as a friend, a relative or an agency that does these checks.
- Plan at least ten calls on different days and at different times: morning, lunchtime, evening, weekend.
- Fill in the sheet straight after each call, and keep the recording if you can.
- Share the results with the team in general terms: not whose name, but which mistake came up and how often.
- Write one rule or answer for the most frequent mistake, and repeat the check a month later.
Ground rules
- Tell staff in advance that such checks happen, but not when.
- Don’t punish anyone for a single call: draw conclusions from ten.
- You can listen to competitors too, but don’t place fake orders or take up much of their time.
Test the AI operator too
When every call is recorded, you need fewer mystery calls: instead of ten tests you listen to real conversations. In Sado every call’s recording, full transcript and outcome are in the portal. Still, once an AI operator answers your incoming calls, call your own number with the same scenarios: a tricky question, a call in Russian, “Are you a robot?”. If an answer is wrong, you correct the operator’s information.
What an AI operator can do: what an AI voice operator is and frequently asked questions. Be the mystery caller right now: try it live or call 78 778 01 23.
Questions
Should staff be told about mystery calls?
Yes, in general terms: “We check our service a few times a month.” Don’t say when or who will call, or the check won’t be genuine.
How many calls are enough?
At least ten, on different days and at different times. One call can be a fluke; a mistake repeated across ten is a real problem.
Do we need an agency for mystery calls?
Not necessarily. In a small business a friend or relative with ready scenarios and a scoring sheet is enough. An agency suits companies with several branches.