10 Ways to Discuss Mystery Shop Results/Recover from Service Mistakes

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Ten Ways to Discuss Mystery Shopping Reports with Employees  

 
business meeting discussion
  1. In person, one on one: One of the best ways to gain impact from mystery shops is to meet with employees one-on-one to discuss results. If an employee does not score well on a shop, managers need to coach the employee privately. They can discuss ways to improve the customer interaction and also the employee's concerns with any of the mystery shop expectations.
  2. Email: Companies send summary emails about regional and company performance within each mystery shopping area to keep everyone on the right track. Highlighting the high-scoring areas compliments employees, while detailing often-missed sections lets employees know where to place more effort.

Read the full article here

Mystery Shoppers Report It As They Hear and See It!  

Bag over head
A few months ago, Confero revealed 25 mystery shopper comments that shed some interesting light on shopper experiences in a humorous way. We know our clients take mystery shopping reports seriously, as we do, but some comic relief is always welcome so we decided to share more funny comments. Enjoy!
  • "Since there was not a bagger available, the customer bagged himself."
  • "The music was not on, but a few employees behind the counter were singing 'Hotel California.'"
  • "When I entered the location, I saw one customer being hung up by the cashier."

Read the full article here.

Service Recovery  

pharmacist mistake
Customer service is full of surprises. Sometimes, no matter how well we plan customer service strategies, something goes awry. Usually, the customer is the first to know and the associate may be taken by surprise. How does your team handle service recovery? Is your team prepared to respond in the best way possible when service recovery is needed?
  
Last month, Confero posed an interesting question to mystery shoppers: Mystery shoppers observe and report on customer service every day. What is the one thing an employee or business can do to turn a negative customer experience into a positive one?
  
We received many insightful comments, including these:
  • "It's the willing spirit that makes the difference; showing that they are listening, and they want to make things right."
  • "When the customer is unhappy, the best thing that can happen is the "Better than equal, before you are asked" approach. Customers are inconvenienced when something is not right. They have lost time from their day, missed a postive meal experience, etc. When the business offers "better than equal", for example "This meal is free and we will give you 75% off your next meal with us." This shows the customer that they matter, and their business is important."
Read the full article here.

June 2011: Low Hanging Fruit: These Stats Show Opportunities to Best the Competition

picking pears  
  • Consumers say top-notch service is more important than the bank's reputation. The 8th annual Capgemini study of 14,000 bank customers in 25 countries revealed that only 27 percent felt that the bank's brand image is a major reason for leaving a bank. On the other hand, 55 percent indicated that lack of service quality would motivate them to switch to another bank. The study showed that 59 percent of bank customers are satisfied with their banks. Overall, a bank's success in positive customer experience delivery averaged a rating of 72.2 out of 100.   
  • 2011 Mother's Day spending shows a positive increase.  National Retail Federation's Mother's Day survey showed an average of $140 spent on gifts for Mom this year, with 55% of respondents indicating that they will treat Mom to a restaurant brunch or dinner. One-third of those responding to the survey said that they would purchase Mother's Day gifts at a department store, the highest percentage in the survey's history. 21% preferred to purchase Mother's Day gifts online. Men said that they would spend an average of $169 on Mother's Day while women indicated that their purchases would average $114.  

Read the full article here.     

Confero President Honored by Women's Foodservice Forum   

Confero is pleased to announce that Elaine Buxton, president and CEO, was honored recently by the Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF). Recognized for her work on the Executive Programming (Summit) Committee, Elaine was the recipient of the WFF's Committee Contributor of the Year award. This award recognizes a committee leader for their record of achievement, and for exceeding committee chair expectations by making the committee better than it was in previous years. The annual WFF Executive Summit, held in September 2010, provided executive-level education provided by the Kellogg School of Business.
  
Read the full press release here.

June 2011

Issue: 16   
In This Issue
Ten Ways to Discuss Mystery Shopping Reports with Employees
Mystery Shoppers Report It As They Hear It and See It!
Service Recovery
June 2011: Low Hanging Fruit: These Stats Show Opportunities to Best the Competition
Confero President Honored by Women's Foodservice Forum

 

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Group Buying:  

One-day 'buy-ins' from Groupon and other similar companies.  

 

Mystery Shopper Comments of the Month

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What would you do if a customer made one of these comments about your location or about one of your employees?

 

"I would recommend this property location. My objections were refuted quickly with kindness. The employees were attentive."

 

"Our server was cordial but not on the friendly side. He did not bring out our appetizer. We told the manager, and she apologized and said that we could have dessert on the house. When our original server brought the dessert menu, he did not acknowledge the error."

 

"The representative was extremely professional, personable, friendly and courteous. She showed great interest in helping me and gave me her undivided attention." 

 

 

How Can We Help Grow Your Business?

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Compliance Audits


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All of us at Confero hope you enjoy this newsletter.  Feel free to share this information with colleagues and friends.  We would appreciate your comments about the articles and suggestions for future issues.

  

Elaine Buxton

President & CEO

  

Confero, Inc.   535 Keisler Drive, Suite 204     Cary, NC 27518

(t): 800-447-3947     (f): 919-380-7136     www.conferoinc.com     info@conferoinc.com