To mystery shop or not to mystery shop; that is the question! What’s the dilemma? If you want an un-biased opinion of your staff’s performance, mystery shopping is a great way to get it.
When I mystery shop, I’m looking for all the marks I know the server is supposed to hit. I also look for personality and a genuine desire to perform the job well. It’s not something that’s on any forms anyone ever makes up; it’s an intangible quality and not always easy to define.
Guests want a cheerful server, not a grinning idiot. Guests want confidence, not arrogance. And guests also want knowledge. I think we all feel more confident when we know our server knows the menu almost as well as the kitchen staff. When we ask about ingredients, we’re thrilled when the server can just tell us what an item is made of and even how it’s made. We don’t even mind if he doesn’t know, as long as he goes and finds out right away.
These are important things to know about your servers. Are they confident, cheerful and possess a genuine desire to make your guests happy? Bad days and mistakes happen; the brilliance is in the recovery.
So how do these intangibles help you improve your staff’s performance? If I come in to secret shop your store and I’m put into the station of a perceived great server, and I end up feeling alienated and uncomfortable with your establishment, you have to examine all the possible reasons for it. Maybe this particular server isn’t as great as you think. His actions are robotic and cold; he hits all the marks, yet shows no sign of a personality or genuine concern for the well-being of the guest.
Now you know! This guy isn’t the super server you thought. And what kind of representative is he for your restaurant? Is he the image you want people to have of your business? Can he be re-trained to better serve your clientele? And if not, aren’t you better off without him? If he can’t be bothered to take personal pride in his work, he can’t be re-trained.
On the flip side, I have gone to mystery shop a restaurant where my server was obviously having a bad day. She was flustered and sadly unsure of herself. However, she was gracious and knowledgeable. She truly cared about my dining experience. Her only problem was that she apologized way too much! One sincere apology is all I need. Most guests want to move on from a mistake, however big or small. In my case, it was small and not necessary to go overboard on the apologies.
You learn the good, the bad and the ugly about your staff and the overall image of your restaurant. Maybe you have food and kitchen problems; maybe you have front-of-house problems. Whatever the case may be, you get an outsider’s view of your establishment. Let’s face it, your eyes and your managers’ eyes are all seeing it every day and they’re missing a lot of small stuff that your guests see and feel. Success is in the details.
Now, what to do with that information is the roadblock for some. For others, it’s clear that they have to invest in more training. Shameful plug for my business? Sure – and in reality it’s exactly what you have to consider. You have located the source of your problem; now you have to fix it.
It’s not all on your shoulders. Servers should be held accountable for their actions, good or bad. Sharing the mystery shop results with them lets them know in what areas of their service they need to improve. The mystery shop makes them perform better. In the beginning, they might improve only for the mystery shopper, which is the wrong reason. Once they have good habits in place, they will see the benefits of doing things the right way and they will perform better for themselves, not the mystery shop scores. Ultimately, they should want to do it for themselves; it’s their business and livelihood they’re affecting. And on up the food chain, it’s your business and livelihood they’re affecting.
Long story short, it’s about accountability. In no other business do we get the immediate results of our actions displayed in monetary units. Servers have to learn they are accountable and ultimately responsible for the dining experience of their guests. An excellent server will possess a conscience that guides him to greater success.
Growth Ideas Inc. 