How to Conduct an Effective Secret Shopping Programme for Restaurants

At Ammonite Hospitality, we've seen first hand how a well-executed secret shopping programme can transform a restaurant's operations and customer experience. In this post, we'll share our expertise on creating and implementing an effective secret shopping programme for your restaurant. Let's dive in!

What Is Secret Shopping?

Secret shopping, also known as mystery shopping, is a valuable tool for restaurant owners and managers to evaluate their business from a customer's perspective. It involves sending trained individuals to dine at your restaurant anonymously and provide detailed feedback on various aspects of their experience. The key to success here is anonymity, no one will know that we are there If Ammonite Hospitality Conduct the programme.

Setting Clear Objectives

Before launching a secret shopping program, it's crucial to define what you want to measure. Every manager/owner has a different set of preferences. At Ammonite Hospitality, we help our clients identify key areas for evaluation, which often include:

Food quality and presentation
Service speed and efficiency
Staff friendliness and knowledge
Cleanliness and ambiance
Compliance with brand standards

Designing Your Programme

Once objectives are set, it's time to design your program. This involves creating a comprehensive checklist for our expert mystery shoppers to follow. We recommend including both quantitative and qualitative measures to get a well-rounded view of the dining experience.

For example, a shopper might rate the cleanliness of the restrooms on a scale of 1-5, but also provide a written description of what they observed. This combination of data gives restaurant managers actionable insights. A number figure alone doesn't really mean much without reasoning to back it up. Cleanliness could be a 3 for example, but as an owner you are aware of a refurb scheduled for the bathrooms.

Selecting and Training Secret Shoppers

Choosing the right secret shoppers is crucial for the success of your secret shopping programme. Look for individuals who:

Are detail-oriented
Can remain objective
Have good written communication skills
Represent your target demographi
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At Ammonite Hospitality, we provide thorough training for our secret shoppers to ensure consistency and reliability in their evaluations. What sets us apart from a lot of other secret shopping companies is that our shoppers do this for a job, not just a hobby on the side. We expect the best results and the most professional outcome.

Implementing the Program

When implementing your secret shopping program, consider the following:

Frequency: We typically recommend monthly visits to maintain a consistent flow of feedback.
Timing: Vary the days and times of visits to get a comprehensive view of your operations.
Data collection: Use user-friendly forms or apps to make reporting easy for shoppers.

It is important to discuss this with us, or another secret shopping company because if you would like multiple visits per year, it is best for the same shopper to do the visit. This establishes a baseline of comparison over multiple months. We can then also introduce spot checking with a different shopper to compare results. In our opinion it is better to get results from 2 sets of eyes, rather than one.

Analysing and Acting on Results

The true value of a secret shopping programme lies in how you use the results. If you just want them as a record of how your team perform, that is fine. But we find that restaurants get the most out of their secret shopping programme by implementing the findings and actioning the recommendations. Our team at Ammonite Hospitality helps clients:

Interpret data and identify trends
Develop action plans to address areas of improvement
Recognise and reward excellent performance
Track progress over time

Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid

To make the most of your secret shopping programme it is imperative that the owners/directors of the business know about the shop, but not the dates. We also advise that all staff are not aware that there will be a secret shopper. At Ammonite, we will provide the directors with a rough date range for the shop, however to make it as authentic as possible, we will never reveal the exact date until the report. It is very important to us to:

Maintain shopper anonymity to ensure authentic experiences
Keep staff informed about the program's purpose without revealing specific visit dates
Avoid over-relying on scores; context is key
Act on the feedback received; a program is only valuable if it drives improvement

Measuring ROI

To justify the investment in a secret shopping program, as an owner you need to be tracking your numbers. Using a secret shopping company isn't free, but we will highlight key areas of improvement that will guarantee to offset the cost of the secret shop. It is important to track key performance indicators such as:

Customer satisfaction scores
Average check size
Return visit rates
Online review ratings

At Ammonite Hospitality, we've seen clients achieve significant improvements in these areas after implementing our secret shopping programs. We also work with the clients after the shop to implement the improvements and recommendations. In our opinion this is an absolute no brainer for a business. We are so confident in our ability that we will issue a full refund if you are not delighted with our service. We can also tie secret shopping in with a hospitality audit, so you get a clear understanding of the whole picture.

Conclusion

A well-designed secret shopping program can be a game-changer for your restaurant, providing invaluable insights into your operations and customer experience. By following these guidelines and partnering with experienced consultants like us at Ammonite Hospitality, you can create a program that drives real improvements in your business.

Remember, the key to success is not just gathering data, but using it effectively to make meaningful changes. If you're ready to take your restaurant to the next level with a professional secret shopping program, we're here to help. Contact Ammonite Hospitality today to learn more about our services and how we can tailor a program to your specific needs.