One Tool to Avoid Bad Mystery Shopping Companies

Sleazy company director sitting on a large chair with his feet on the desk smoking a cigar.

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

Photo of bird following crumbs. Photo Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels

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.

We forget that thermometers don’t cure anything

Thermometer to take temperature

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 […]

Why this survey doesn’t work

Image of Survey form QR code

Dan Murphy’s is Australia’s biggest liquor chain. You’d think they’d know how to do a survey. I found a pile of these paper slips at the counter. Whilst it’s admirable to “do something”, Its got problems. 1) The staff member is supposed to enter their name, but they didn’t do that. 2) Staff members may […]

6 ways Amazon zigged when others zagged

Photo of Amazon Pixel, thanks Pexels.com

We’ve all heard that we should zig when others zag. Find that blue sky, be unique. But it’s harder than it seems. Here are 6 ways Amazon went their own way. After smashing the digital bookstore space, Amazon had to deal with the new digital world. Steve Job even invited Jeff Bezos to Apple HQ for […]

eVouchers are broken

eVouchers and gifts are broken. They focus on the transaction and not the experience of the giver and recipient.

Don’t benchmark, except when….

Oscars behind smoke benchmark

Don’t stress about industry benchmarks except for when you are measuring against your own strategy. Industry benchmark studies are a dangerous distraction. Here’s why.

Don’t be the customer’s spider

spider web

Humans are afraid of that which is different, like spiders. We love dogs (mammals, but hate spiders). Be like your customers, mirror them and they won’t think you’re a spider.

Why I drove 1,500km for $80

tesla on dirt road

I drove 1,500km in the Australian outback to earn $80 for a Mystery Shopping client. There are 8 good reasons why this wasn’t unreasonable.

How a flimsy sign altered behaviour

Hungry Jacks Coffee sign

Although we see thousands of pieces of advertising every day, they work. But in order for them to work, each store must implement (with precision)

Why you should collect useless information

Why a staff member should collect information even if they can’t do anything about it I closed a bank account today, and the reason I had to close it IS relevant. I closed it because my bank, Greater Bank does not have Apple Pay as part of their Visa card offering.  I am now wallet free, digital […]