Mystery Shopping by SERVUS
One of the main reasons why guests do not return to a hotel again is simply poor service (as per the graph below).
WHY CUSTOMERS LEAVE
DON'T LOSE YOUR CUSTOMERS TO THE COMPETITION
SOURCE: Michelson and Associates
It must be and I know it is the aim of all our clients whether it is the owner of a hotel or the General Manager to ensure the very best service is provided at all tImes. "The guest who walks away unhappy and maybe doesn't tell us, is a guest we might lose and we really can't improve on our services if we don't know," one Hotel General Manager told me.
Everybody's had a bad experience trying to get the customer service they deserve. Like checking into a hotel that has botched a reservation. A guest may have asked for a non-smoking room somewhere on the first few floors of the hotel. Instead, he is booked into a smoker's room on an upper floor.
The hotel made a mistake, but the desk clerk doesn't seem to care. The guest wants better service and so does hotel management.
Mystery shopping is a billion dollar industry in North America. In Turkey this instrument to objectively measure the performance of mainly shops and its staff has also widely been used.
However Mystery Shopping to hotels is rather new. Never ever however has the time been better for improving services on one hand and finding out the costumers’ perspective of services on the other hand. At times when overall market pie does not increase only these hotels which provide the best value for money in the costumers’ perspective will benefit the most. To the excitement of our partners and clients recently we have started to integrate these services in our overall services
Big hotel chains depend on mystery shoppers to get a customer eye view. A Hotel Mystery shopper is someone who visits an establishment for the purpose of evaluating the customer service, product quality, presentation and other specific details as requested by our clients. The shoppers follow specific instructions during their visit and complete a written report after leaving the establishment. Prior to the actual Mystery Shopping we use our frame of questions and guidelines to fine tune the criteria to your requirements.
During our visit we also use a Digital Camera to tape key moments (check-in, check-out, Restaurant Experience, Recreation experience, Room Service, and so force) during a stay.
On an assignment the Mystery shoppers go to designated establishments and pose as typical customers. When they leave, they fill out report forms that are custom-designed for each client as well as writing a narrative of our visit. As a shopper, we serve as the eyes and ears of our clients (owners and General Managers). The reports which are being produced are measurable and are designed to serve as benchmarks for future future mystery shopping reports.
The advantage an anonymous service evaluation, commonly called “shopping," is one more way to assess how well your staff is serving your guests. When properly used, a mystery shopper helps you identify weaknesses and flaws in service delivery that never happen when you as the owner, General Manager are watching. Shoppers can also uncover theft, an unfortunate but real problem that occurs in all business environments. On the positive side, a shopper can also identify those employees who provide consistently superior service to your guests. We always advise our clients to use this knowledge to recognize and reward employees. Your employees will appreciate and respond to positive feedback.
Mystery shopping is just one more tool to help management assess employee performance, assure consistent adherence to standards, maximize guest satisfaction and ultimately improve profits.
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