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Have training apps had their day?

Have training apps had their day?

I think they probably have.

We’re ‘apped out’.

Of course, apps still have an important place for things like health & safety, risk assessments, food safety regulations and HR compliance. But beyond that, if you want your team to genuinely go above and beyond when looking after customers, especially in customer-facing roles, then the training needs to be human too.

When I started Silent Customer back in 2008, the original idea was to use feedback from mystery guests and feed those insights directly into training and development programmes. But the financial crash happened and businesses, understandably started looking for cheaper ways to do everything. Training apps became the replacement for traditional classroom-based training and face-to-face development.

Now, though, it feels like things are shifting back the other way.

Companies are returning to mystery guest programmes, taking cheaper online review insights with a pinch of salt and realising they need to invest in genuinely engaging their teams again, human to human.

Customers can barely afford to eat out these days – never mind giving their money to miserable team members serving mediocre food.

If you need help, get in touch.

Janet.

A photo of 4 adults, 2 men, 2 women sat at a desk with laptops in front of them

And finally – an exciting announcement…

A new beginning for our next chapter!

Silent Customer is excited to announce that we have joined SHARCC Group, where we will add our expertise in customer experience insight, mystery shopping, behavioural analysis and hospitality sector consultancy to an already formidable portfolio of research businesses.

Our Founder, Janet, and Sally Godwin will continue to play an active role in the business, alongside our new Directors, James Keleher and Greg McDonald. Together, they bring extensive industry experience and a shared ambition to build on the strong relationships we have with our existing clients while creating new opportunities for growth.

This marks an exciting milestone for our team and we look forward to enhancing our offering, expanding our capabilities and continuing to deliver valuable insights and exceptional support to our clients.

We’d like to thank our clients, partners and colleagues who have been part of our journey so far and we’re excited about what comes next.

Full announcement details here: https://lnkd.in/et4mxMAJ

Looking forward to the future,

The Silent Customer Team

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Intercepting Complaints

Check-backs and complaint handling go hand in hand. Intercepting a problem before a customer tells you, or Google, not only prevents negative word-of-mouth but can increase revenue through loyalty and positive PR.

Use our fun PEP talk sheets to support your front-line teams in learning how to avoid complaints.

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Engaging Conversations

Building a natural and genuine rapport with guests can be the most positive and memorable part of their dining experience. Whilst the food and the environment can be remarkable by itself, making a customer feel that they are more than just a table number, has a far wider reach in terms of spreading positive word-of-mouth.

Use our fun PEP talk sheet to support your front-line teams in learning how to have engaging conversations.

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Positive Body Language

Being able to communicate positivity, and with enthusiasm, encourages customers to reciprocate in the same manner. However, most of us are unaware of how we are perceived by others and, whilst we may think we are coming across as welcoming and friendly, our body language could be telling a different story.

Use our fun PEP talk sheet to support your front-line teams in understand the importance of self-awareness.

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Relevant Recommendations

Team members need good product knowledge to be able to describe and enthuse, but often don’t know what many of the dishes taste like. A lack of upselling is also often due to a lack of confidence in knowing where to start a conversation that leads to a recommendation.

Use our fun PEP talk sheet to support your front-line teams in learning how to upsell.

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