5 surprising ways that mystery shopping can help your business

From the physical setup of receptions and hotels, to team motivation and analysis of management performance, mystery shopper feedback does far more than you might think…

Discovering the truth
Mystery guests identify what’s happening on the floor when the owners aren’t there to see what going on, but it goes deeper than that.

We all see and experience the world through different filters. For example, a business owner might believe that the food is the most important aspect of what they offer but, because their focus is on that, they don’t see that their customers are not returning because of the lack of ambiance. Mystery guest tells you what your customers want you to know but won’t ordinarily tell you!

Identifying lost revenue
We identify missed upselling opportunities at the point of sale, but we have also recovered many thousands of £££s in lost revenue away from the table.

For example: inefficient invoicing processes and loopholes result in charges not being added. It could be that booking and communication processes have not flagged that hotel guests haven’t paid for breakfasts and result in generous giveaways at the buffet station.

Changing the ergonomics
Mystery guest feedback helps teams to follow ‘steps of service’ but it also identifies when desired processes are just not working and where it is not the fault of the staff.

For example, if customers are to be greeted and seated but there is no obvious ‘wait here’ point then they will seat themselves, resulting in lack of controlled flow and a domino effect of chaos.

Learning through copying
Mystery guest feedback identifies when team members haven’t done something to specification, but what is more powerful is when a Silent Customer describes how a team member has over-delivered in some way.

When this is noted by a colleague or a senior manager, these ‘above and beyond’ behaviours are copied and become the norm. Generally, people respond better to the recognition of doing something well than the opposite.

Keeping shareholders happy
The investment of mystery guest feedback goes beyond just the frontline teams. It goes a long way to reassuring shareholders about the efforts being made at middle and senior management levels, as well as justifying any further investment by way of the process of due diligence in valuing the company.

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Reputation Management

Mystery Visits

Phone & Online Audits

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Free Training Tools

Intercepting Complaints

Check-backs and complaint handling go hand in hand. Intercepting a problem before a customer tells you, or Google, not only prevents negative word-of-mouth but can increase revenue through loyalty and positive PR.

Use our fun PEP talk sheets to support your front-line teams in learning how to avoid complaints.

Engaging Conversations

Building a natural and genuine rapport with guests can be the most positive and memorable part of their dining experience. Whilst the food and the environment can be remarkable by itself, making a customer feel that they are more than just a table number, has a far wider reach in terms of spreading positive word-of-mouth.

Use our fun PEP talk sheet to support your front-line teams in learning how to have engaging conversations.

Positive Body Language

Being able to communicate positivity, and with enthusiasm, encourages customers to reciprocate in the same manner. However, most of us are unaware of how we are perceived by others and, whilst we may think we are coming across as welcoming and friendly, our body language could be telling a different story.

Use our fun PEP talk sheet to support your front-line teams in understand the importance of self-awareness.

Relevant Recommendations

Team members need good product knowledge to be able to describe and enthuse, but often don’t know what many of the dishes taste like. A lack of upselling is also often due to a lack of confidence in knowing where to start a conversation that leads to a recommendation.

Use our fun PEP talk sheet to support your front-line teams in learning how to upsell.