Rosetta Stone

Client:

Rosetta Stone is the World's #1 Language-Learning Software. Their retail stores/kiosks operate in more than 150 locations, primarily in shopping malls and airports across the continental United States.

Challenge:

Rosetta Stone needed a method to identify customer service and performance levels. In addition, they wanted to ensure their language learning philosophy and programs were presented in a consistent manner at all of their retail locations.

Solution:

CSE has partnered with Rosetta Stone since November 2005 to implement an intensive Mystery Shopping program to measure service, sales, and performance levels. These evaluations provide measurable insight into the overall customer experience, reinforce the standards for employee performance and establish a basis to help Rosetta Stone develop an overall strategy to strengthen customer service on the front line company-wide. CSE began the initiative with 85 locations across the country, conducting approximately 41 evaluations bi-monthly, rotating frequency based on a variety of client needs. CSE shoppers currently visit over 125 locations conducting approximately 45 total evaluations each month.

Results:

Rosetta Stone kicked off their program with a baseline score of 75.7%. At the end of 2006, scores remained constant at 75.6%. Realizing that mystery shopping could not single handedly improve service on its own, Rosetta Stone began utilizing coaching and performance techniques with mystery shops as the primary tool for improvement. In 2007 scores had seen a significant increase and reached 82.3%. In 2008, Rosetta Stone partnered with CSE to parallel their training efforts with the mystery shops and rolled out a formal training initiative. By the end of 2010 they achieved 90.18%, a noteworthy company-wide increase of their service scores.

Over the 5 years CSE has engaged with Rosetta Stone their company has grown and evolved with new company initiatives and programs. CSE's customized and flexible approach to mystery shopping programs allowed for the seamless integration of new initiatives and standards into the program which has kept it relevant for Rosetta Stone. In late 2010, CSE partnered with Rosetta Stone to conduct customer feedback surveys, eliciting feedback from their customers. This feedback provided another tool for improving the customer experience. Rosetta Stone looks forward to continually maximizing the effectiveness of their service evaluation results with the goal to improve their scores annually.

Andrew Brotherton, Corporate Trainer at Rosetta Stone, says, "Customer Service Experts has provided us with a great tool for managing the customer experience. They provide us with a specifically customized form which accommodates our unique product line and company-wide standards of performance. This allows us to isolate and train on any areas needing improvement in our sales process and customer experience. The mystery shopping program is a very efficient and productive way to communicate our service standards and maintain accountability of our front-line staff around the nation."