Shop’n Chek Inc., an Atlanta-based customer service measurement and secret shopper firm, can help Georgia companies, consulates, government agencies and trade groups improve their services in foreign markets by evaluating customer preferences and employee performance in various countries, according to the company’s director of international, Janet M.G. Ackerman.

Ms. Ackerman, who joined Shop’n Chek in February, is leading the company’s push into Asian, European and Latin American markets to form relationships with entrepreneurs and companies who are interested in joining the Shop’n Chek worldwide licensee network.

“Companies can use Shop’n Chek’s services to assess their employees’ performance from the point of view of an average customer in a particular country. Or we can provide localized information for companies that are expanding internationally and want to know the profiles of customers in those countries beforehand,” Ms. Ackerman told GlobalAtlanta.

She said that Shop’n Chek can perform customer measurement programs, pricing studies, product audits or competitor evaluation programs for Atlanta companies in overseas markets. The company can also help local businesses evaluate their services for foreign-born customers here in Georgia.

Additionally, Shop’n Chek is looking to partner with binational chambers of commerce and consulates in Atlanta to offer its services to foreign-based companies seeking market data from secret shoppers in the United States. The company is also seeking secret shoppers in the U.S. and other markets, Ms. Ackerman added.

Secret, or mystery, shoppers are hired by Shop’n Chek to go into stores and evaluate the quality of their customer service etiquette, product offerings and other aspects of the shopping experience.

“If companies can better understand their customers in overseas markets, or in any market, they can provide better service, better training programs for their operations and make their customers happy. That way, they can stay ahead of their competition in market share, get better earnings and hopefully save jobs here in the U.S. that may otherwise go overseas,” Ms. Ackerman asserted.

She added that customer retention is one of the top concerns of U.S. companies operating overseas, and it is important for companies to understand their foreign customers’ cultural preferences to deliver the best services to them. Shop’n Chek licensees in other countries can evaluate a company’s customer service strategies from a native point of view, using the company’s methodologies, processes and quality standards, she explained.

“Customers are becoming more savvy as the world gets smaller, and as developing countries develop, customers there want quality. The Shop’n Chek process helps companies deliver quality services and products worldwide,” Ms. Ackerman said.

There are some 700 secret shopper companies in existence, but Shop’n Chek has the largest and only truly global shopper database, she said. The company has nine licensees in more than 30 countries in Asia, Europe and Latin America.

For more information, visit www.shopnchek.com or contact Ms. Ackerman at (770) 441-5366 ext. 3186 or jackerman@shopnchek.com