Your Restaurant’s Cleanliness is Judged in One Place (And It’s Not the Kitchen)
When customers step into your restaurant, they don’t just judge you by your food. They judge you by the details—your service, the atmosphere, the overall experience. And whether you realize it or not, there’s one unexpected place that shapes their perception the most: the restroom. Think about it. How often do you hear someone return […]
How Many Mystery Shops Do You Really Need?
When it comes to mystery shopping, one of the most common questions I hear is: How many shops should we do? It’s a fair question—but the answer is one that no one really likes: It depends. And it depends on quite a few things—your goals, budget, and what you’re trying to uncover. Whether you’re running […]
Launching a New Store? Here’s What to Focus on First
Launching a new store is exciting—and overwhelming. Whether it’s your second location or the start of a nationwide rollout, there’s one question that always comes up: Where should you start? A recent conversation with a client reminded me how often businesses overcomplicate this phase. They get bogged down by endless metrics: Net Promoter Scores, customer […]
Why Luxury Brands Want You to Wait: The Strategy Behind the Line
The Power of the Line Imagine walking past a luxury store with a queue stretching out the door. For some, it’s an inconvenience. For others, it’s an invitation. After all, if people are willing to wait, it must be worth it—right? This isn’t bad service. It’s deliberate strategy. Luxury brands have mastered the art of […]
Are You Winning the Recommendation Game?
When it comes to driving sales, many brands focus on the obvious: great products, compelling marketing, and competitive pricing. But there’s an often-overlooked factor that has an outsized impact on success: recommendations. In fact, recommendations can increase sales by as much as 70%. That’s not just a number—it’s the result of trust and advocacy at […]
Why Customer Surveys Often Miss the Mark (and What to Do About It)
Most businesses rely on surveys to gauge customer satisfaction, but here’s the uncomfortable truth: surveys rarely tell the full story. Why? Two key reasons: 1. The Silent Majority When things go smoothly, customers don’t usually leave feedback. That’s just how we are—we expect things to work. But the one time something goes wrong? That’s when […]
A 5-Star Debacle on Australia’s Rodeo Drive
Here’s how a 5 star store in Australia’s Rodeo drive turned into a disappointing mess. Fancy doesn’t automatically mean good service.
In-Depth Review of H Hotel, Los Angeles Airport | Hotel Operations Insight
A video hotel mystery shop of the H Hilton Curio hotel. It’s almost excellent.
One Tool to Avoid Bad Mystery Shopping Companies
This One Tool Will Expose Incompetent Mystery Shopping Companies Mystery Shopping is a service that is hard to understand. On the surface, it seems simple. How hard can it be to send some people to a store and fill out a report? It gets enormously complex. Mystery shopping companies must deal with questionnaire complexities, shop […]
10 Reasons staff surveys fail
It’s tempting to use surveys to gauge the temperature of the staff. Here are 10 reasons why it’s not a good idea and 12 better ways to do it.
This is why your staff are uncontrollable
We all know what it’s like when we lose it. It also happens to our staff with customers. We assume people control their reaction. But they don’t. Here’s why.
We forget that thermometers don’t cure anything
You wake up in the morning feeling slightly off; what’s wrong? You have a cup of coffee and try to shake it off, but it doesn’t leave you. What do you do? What you don’t do is reach for every pill and syrup in your medicine cabinet. Of course, that would be stupid. So you […]
