Mystery Shoppers

Taking the mystery out of mystery shopping.

By George W. Daye, III

It is a typical Saturday night shift at a local steak and seafood restaurant. All tables are seated with hungry diners and the hostess has put incoming guests on a thirty-minute wait. The bar area soon swells with thirsty patrons and food orders begin flowing into the kitchen. Servers are running at full speed.

In the midst of the controlled chaos, the general manager is the valiant protector of the guest experience. The GM must make sure the operation is running at peak performance, maintain high staff morale, greet VIP guests, make table visits, address guest complaints and find out why Table 22’s entrée arrived at the table before the appetizer. Needless to say, the GM is one busy bee.

So, did the fore-mentioned general manager notice the hostess seat three guests at Table 63 without a smile or without telling them who their server would be that night? What about the server who greeted two guests at Table 35 and didn’t suggestive sell the shrimp appetizer and then later forgot to deliver extra napkins when asked? Did the general manager see the six-top of businessmen at Table 17 finish their experience and pass the hostess stand to leave without being told thank you for coming in or to have a nice evening? Odds are the general manager didn’t notice any of these small missteps. But the eleven guests who experienced them first hand did, and they may choose a competitive steak and seafood restaurant on their next outing.

With so many choices confronting diners, it is imperative for owners and general managers of establishments of all sizes and styles to gain as much visibility as possible into the guest experience in order to parlay this information into gaining customer loyalty. Partnering with a mystery shopping firm is a powerful method of gaining this visibility and much more. Let’s discuss how a mystery shopping partnership works and how bars and restaurants can benefit from it.

Mystery shopping firms, in partnership with establishment management, send teams in to analyze the guest experience while posing as customers. The results of the experience are then placed in report form and shared with establishment management so corrections or commendations can be made.

When entering into a partnership with a restaurant or bar, the mystery shopping firm should take the time to learn about the establishment’s operations. No two concepts are alike and these differentiators should be reflected in what shopping teams analyze. Better mystery shopping firms will take the time to create a unique set of metrics for each and every client. It is important to not only address customer service elements, but suggestive selling as well. Return on investment is mission critical to a successful mystery shopping program.

Scheduling of the actual visits, or “shops”, is also an important element of a mystery shopping program. Establishment management should have input as to how they would like the shops focused. Perhaps the first month will focus strictly on dinner shifts, while successive months will have a mix of two dinners and one lunch. A visit to the bar may even be thrown into the mix. Whatever the schedule, the establishment management should not know the specific dates and times of upcoming mystery shops so as not to skew the results.

After shops are completed and results tabulated, the reports are then delivered to the establishment management, usually in an electronic format. Better mystery shopping firms will take time to go over the results, provide feedback on how the establishment can improve, and continually make changes to the program so that metrics are reflective of what is happening at the tables. If an establishment is promoting “Lobster Month” in April, shopping teams should report if their server was suggestive selling lobster when writing April’s reports. A successful mystery shopping program is always evolving and reflecting the needs of the partner establishment.

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George W. Daye, III is founder and president of BarServ, a unique and insightful mystery shopping firm that only contracts experienced hospitality general managers, wine stewards, bartenders and servers to conduct its mystery shops. For more information, visit BarServ.com or email him at georged@barserv.com. Tell him Jeffrey sent you!

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Mystery Shopper Programs We Support

BarServ Inc.

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