Back to Basics: People & Customer Service Still Win in Retail

In a world increasingly seduced by shiny new tech that promises wonders, it’s easy to forget that customer service is about people and it’s built on people.

At ABa, we work in close partnership with our clients, successfully helping retailers to reconnect with the basics.

Danielle Sones, our Managing Director at ABa Quality Monitoring, was recently interviewed by The Retail Bulletin about how our mystery shopping company has been helping retailers strengthen service fundamentals and deliver exceptional customer experiences across the UK and around the world.

Fundamentals Still Matter in Customer Service

Retail has evolved and keeps evolving. Digital touchpoints, omnichannel strategies, personalisation, AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and AI-driven recommendations are becoming part of everyday operations. However, when it comes to what truly shapes the customer experience, the core remains unchanged.

Greeting customers sincerely, active listening, being proactive and resolving any issues quickly, while keeping store environments in top shape, are the foundations of offering customers a great experience.

It can be easy to take these aspects for granted, but they’re often overlooked and can make the difference between a one-time purchase and long-term customer loyalty.

When people visit a physical store, they seek the human interaction that is missing online, which could turn a basic transaction into a memorable experience.

Mystery Shopping Is Making a Comeback

The pandemic was a wake-up call. Many businesses that had been chasing technology trends realised that without a strong customer service foundation, resilience falters. Since then, we’ve seen a shift, with more retailers returning to mystery shopping as their go-to tool for keeping teams engaged and focused on what matters most: the customer.

Because no matter how fast the landscape shifts and technology evolves, consumers will always consider the human element as the most important for good customer service.

Excellent service still starts with a warm hello, a clean space, and someone who genuinely wants to help.

We’re not anti-technology, far from it. But we are strong believers that tech should enhance human connection, not replace it.

What we’ve learned over nearly three decades is that when businesses get the fundamentals right, everything else, growth, innovation, and loyalty, follows more naturally.

Retail Trends Reinforce the Basics

Another reason retailers are reinvesting in mystery shopping?

Physical retail is making a comeback, especially in the Fashion/Clothing sector. According to the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025, 54% of shoppers prefer to buy clothing in brick-and-mortar stores, and 75% are likely to spend more after receiving high-quality service from store staff.

This is precisely where mystery shopping becomes invaluable and where we step in. We help ensure our clients’ staff consistently meet those customer expectations and quality standards by secretly assessing the service they provide.

Blending Data, Insights, and the Human Element

We believe this is the key to our success. Staying true to our core expertise by supporting retailers in strengthening their customer service experience while providing actionable mystery shopping insights.

Specifically, we focus on:

• Quality Insights: We provide quality insights that go beyond raw data, offering actionable strategies.
• Human-Centric Approach: We prioritise the human element in every aspect, from customer service delivery to the careful recruitment of our mystery shoppers.
• Expertly Briefed Mystery Shoppers: Our mystery shoppers are thoroughly briefed to ensure accurate and relevant feedback.
• Dedicated In-House Tech Team: Our in-house technology team develops custom dashboards and apps tailored to each client and industry.

We work hand-in-hand with operational leaders and frontline teams to ensure that the data we gather translates into practical, meaningful change. We help our clients connect the dots, from raw data to boardroom strategy to shop floor delivery.

From Pub Floors to Global Brands: ABa’s Story

We have been building real partnerships, which often last years. In fact, we’ve been working with one luxury beauty brand since 1999, and we’re about to celebrate a decade with a British icon of the luxury retail space.

Many of our clients stay with us for five, ten, fifteen years and more, because they see us as a valuable extension of their team.

How It Started…

ABa’s journey began with our late chairman, Alan Butterworth, and his wife Mary, who were brilliant at managing pubs successfully. Alan, who also had a background as a market stallholder, understood people, how they think, what they value, and what keeps them coming back.

When the brewery asked Alan what made his pubs so successful, his answer became the basis for a new kind of consultancy. He started matching landlords to venues based on personality and fit. And to evaluate how things were going, he’d visit pubs incognito.

That was the beginning of ABa Quality Monitoring and the start of our work within the Leisure & Hospitality industry. In 1994, Alan’s daughter Kate and her husband Conrad joined the business, and in 1995, we secured our first major retail client.  

Growing With Purpose

From then on, our business has grown by referral, with happy clients recommending us or taking us with them when they move to a new organisation.

Since the pandemic, ABa has enjoyed consistent year-on-year growth by sticking to what we do best. While we offer other CX measurement services like customer satisfaction surveys and voice-of-customer tools, our primary focus and where our impact is strongest, is delivering high quality, effective mystery shopping programmes.

We’re also growing and delivering mystery shopping programmes globally. What started in a British pub is now helping clients across 14 countries, including the US, to deliver world-class service, built on simple but powerful principles.

ABa is All About People

We believe that what sets us apart is our values. Our owners, Kate and Conrad, invest in their people.

Whether it’s our team of dedicated staff, our long-standing clients, or the in-store employees we evaluate and support, we believe in recognising effort, rewarding excellence, and nurturing relationships that last.

And this is why I decided to stay. Like many of our team, I joined ABa on the ground floor. I started as a mystery caller while studying at Manchester University, and I saw firsthand how impactful our work could be.

The Takeaway for Retailers? Keep It Simple, Keep It Human

My message to retail leaders is this: keep things simple.

Focus on being friendly and polite. On making life easy for your customers. Keep your sales floor clean and tidy, and your service genuine, consistent, and kind.

Innovation is undoubtedly powerful, but its true potential is only unlocked when it’s paired with the human touch.

And for businesses like ours? It’s about partnership. Not transactions. Real relationships that allow for sustainable growth on both sides.

You can read the full interview here.

We would love to chat. Contact us today to start building your mystery shopping programme.