I have read numerous surveys indicate the majority of dissatisfied customers don’t complain, they just never return. If you don’t know what you are doing wrong, how can you fix it? Some owners/managers in restaurants, hotels, spas and other customer facing industries hire mystery shoppers to visit their location to determine what’s going on in their business from a customer’s point of view, but many do not. This is the perfect instance where hiring a professional is an investment and can really help your business grow and help you stand out among your competition in a good way!
Some hire their friends to stop in regularly to give their opinion and feedback. It’s difficult to always get an objective opinion and real honest answers, from your friends, not to mention proven action steps that will improve your customer’s experience. After all you wouldn’t hire your friend to do your taxes if they weren’t a trained professional would you?
You might ask, “Why hire a professional to do the job?”The difference between a skilled mystery shopper is that they are armed with a formal rating system. You want a mystery shopper to critique every aspect of your business, since there are so many areas where you must satisfy your customer.
A mystery shopper checks even the most minute details including those you might overlook, from the freshness of the garnish to timeliness and quality of your service and even the overall cleanliness of the restroom. Mystery shopping reports can identify what your staff is doing properly and provide insights on what improvements need to be made. This offers a clearer picture of where you need to focus your efforts to attain your customer success goals. This can include better training, hiring a better management team or changing your menu/services. A professional mystery shopper goes beyond the details, and looks at the entire operation to assume the whole experience.
A mystery shopper’s greatest contribution is the ability to look at the operation through the customer’s eyes.
Your goal is attracting a first-time customers, but getting them to return and refer others is where the strategy to your success starts to take shape. Consistent mystery shops by a professional can make all the difference in retaining your customers and getting referrals!
If you want to to get a customers perspective of what they see when they visit maybe it’s time to hire a professional mystery shopping company. We at The Hart Experience work with business owners to show them why it’s important to have regular mystery shops. We are a unique mystery shopping company that personalizes and customizes our reports to your needs and then discuss with you the results. We will help you train and educate your employees on how to give quality customer experiences.
Contact Debbie Hart 602.717.3271, Debbie@thehartexperience.com or go to www.thehartexperience.com and fill out the information on Becoming A Client. We offer free consultations and discounts for additional locations. Also we love referrals and comments…
A Referring Customer is a Happy Customer!!!