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.
