Do You Use Mystery Customers In Your Bar?

Posted by barblog on Nov 2, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Service, Opening a Bar | 3 comments

Many bar owners are surprised to learn that 92% of unhappy guests never complain, but instead never visit the bar again.

Studies have shown that a happy guest will tell five people of their pleasant experiences, but an unhappy guest will tell twenty people of their unpleasant experiences.

Such statistics show that in today’s market, it is essential that you see what the customer sees and what better way to achieve such a view than to hire an industry insider to evaluate every aspect of your operation for you.

It’s all about feedback, getting it in a constructive way from an independent source who will tell it like it is.

If you think that feedback is asking a family member or friends to dine or drink occasionally in your establishment and then tell you what they think of it all, then you are mistaken. Sometimes it works but they still won’t want to hurt your feelings by telling you that an area needs improvement.

A Mystery Guest evaluation involves the following:

• An experienced industry professional will dine in your establishment to an agreed value; perhaps even evaluate certain dishes you would like feedback on.

• An extensive report is compiled on the visit covering every area from car parking to the final farewell, and analyzing each point for you, suggesting improvements or congratulating you on positive points.

• A full report is then presented to the owners in a follow up meeting the day after the meal/visit and feedback is analyzed.

Only by truly seeing from a guest’s perspective, can you get a true feeling for the needs and expectations of each customer.

Many restaurant and pub owners have benefited greatly from undertaking a service like this and have found that points were discovered during the evaluation which led to future revenue generating possibilities and overall service standards being improved.

It might be worth considering for your business.