A New Spin on Mystery Shopping
In today's fast-changing and competitive environment, excellent customer service is essential for success. Here's how to keep your customers - for life!
Have you ever felt whenever you were in a place of business that the employees really didn't care whether you were there or not?
Have you been using mystery shoppers or web or phone surveys looking for something new? Do you need more data points?
Look no further than your email database of customers. Here
is an inexpensive and fun way to not only help move service
forward, but continue to cement the loyalty of your customers.
If you have a database of customers to whom you send offers on a
regular basis, try this new spin on e-mail marketing. Instead of
sending the typical coupon or discount offer, deputize them to
be on-the-spot managers. In the e-mail, which can include a
typical offer, have a “Bulls-eye” buck and a “You missed” buck
that they can print out.
On each one, have two or three desired behaviors you are looking
for --- great service, smiles, saying thank-you, cook times,
food quality, and so on. Rotate these over time so the customers
look for a different thing each visit and keep the employees on
their toes. Instruct the customer to bring each of the bucks to
the restaurant.
During their visit, if they catch an employee doing a great
job or a desired behavior, they give the employee the
“Bulls-eye” buck. If they don’t experience the desired behavior,
they provide the “You missed” buck to the manager on duty to let
him or her know the employee missed their opportunity to shine.
Managers can now take some corrective action, as well as perk
the customer for the input. Employees can save the “Bulls-eye”
bucks for prizes, free food, or no side-work passes.
A little crazy? Perhaps, but don’t most of your employees do
things right if they know somebody is watching? Give the
customer an incentive to watch! Customers want to see your brand
succeed and help make it better. If your last email offer didn’t
get the response you intended, try this new spin. See more
customers come through the door and provide a fun way to move
sales and service to the next level.
NB: This article was written for was written for QSR
Magazine/Journalistic Inc..
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