Goodwin & Associates Blog
The most trusted name in hospitality.Archive for Mystery Shopper Program
Stonewood Grill is Growing
The Daytona Yacht Club is changing hands and a new restaurant is going to be open to the public!
Continue reading for more information: http://www.news-journalonline.com/business/local-business/2012/08/03/daytona-yacht-club-changing-hands-new-restaurant-to-open-to-public.html
Now Hiring!
Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services is seeking top performing Account Executives. Our company is comprised of several divisions including management recruiting, Goodwin Hospitality Mystery Shopper Program and Customer Prophet.com. We are experiencing tremendous year over year growth and looking for skilled, self-motivated sales representatives to join our expanding team. Goodwin & Associates is looking for people who want to be part of a growing company, allowing for career advancement. We offer detailed training, continued support, and various resources for organization and accountability.
Account Executive Responsibilities Include:
- Proactively and aggressively cold-calling management level decision makers to sell a variety of services including mystery shopping, hospitality management recruiting, guest satisfaction surveys, employee feedback programs, and more
- Account management to retain clients and secure additional business
This independent contractor role may be a full-time or part-time commitment based in your own home office. Compensation is earned mainly through commission with a small base pay. There is unlimited earning potential.
Account Executive Experience Required:
- Minimum of 1 year of relevant inside sales experience
- Ability to work in a home office environment
- Exceptional speaking, writing, and negotiation skills
- Energetic and entrepreneurial attitude
- Driven and dedicated approach
Please contact Christy at Cketz@goodwin-associates.com if you are interested.
Value of Mystery Shopping
American Express just completed a survey that reinforces the value of mystery shopping. The study found that a large majority of Americans are willing to spend more money with companies that have outstanding customer service. Mystery shopping reinforces the importance of customer service and quality control.
To find out more about this study check out: http://www.prweb.com/releases/MSPA/05-1/prweb8403101.htm
If you’re interested in our Mystery Shopping Program and how it can benefit your company please e-mail Cketz@goodwin-associates.com
Positive Trends for the Restaurant Industry
It’s exciting to see some positive trends taking place in the restaurant segment. Take a look at the graph below showing the positive growth.
For more information check out: http://index.opentable.com/
Effortless Marketing
Get New Customers in Your Door!
You’ve all heard how Mystery Shopping can help promote a positive culture within your company and help identify how your locations are performing, but how about the influence they have from a marketing standpoint?
Mystery Shops are not just a training tool any longer. They’re an effective way of introducing new business to your locations. Each shopper is a potential long-term customer, and shopper programs introduce brand new customers (shoppers) to your business every month.
Consider this scenario; a shopper is introduced to your business by accepting an available shop in their area. They’ve never been to your location since it was halfway across town. They are pleasantly surprised with their experience and excited to come back. A long-term customer is created. They share their experience with family and friends, and introduce even more new customers to your business!
Another scenario; A shopper accepts a shop at your business. They were a customer of yours in the past, but haven’t been back since they had a poor experience 5 years ago. They complete the shop and are surprised at the level of service, cleanliness, offerings, etc. Because of the shop, you were able to win a customer back!
Or this scenario; a shopper accepts a shop which reimburses expenses for 1 person. The shopper is aware of this, but chooses to bring their family of 5 along with them. The shop reimburses $15, but they easily spend $50 at your location. These extra dollars equal more money going into your top line sales! The shopper could actually be spending more money into your business than you are spending for the shop, resulting in you making money with the program!
If you’re currently utilizing our shopper program, give us a call to see what our shoppers are spending into your business, compared with what you’re spending on the program. We know you’ll love the results! Or, if you’re not utilizing our shopper program, give us a call to see how we can start introducing more customers (and sales dollars) to your business today. 603.223.0303 x150 or jbattershell@goodwin-associates.com
Client Testimonial
Wanted to congratulate our team on a job well done. We’re always proud to share our clients satisfaction in our valuable Mystery Shopping Program. This testimonial says it all:
“Being new to the US market, we selected Goodwin & Associates from a shortlist of four companies. Quality of customer feedback was our biggest selection criteria and we have been absolutely delighted with the insights Goodwin’s Shoppers provide. Their understanding of our business, ability to comment to the level of detail we expect and provide constructive suggestions on how to improve has been far superior to all of the mystery shopper companies I have ever used in the past. This coupled with the attentive and responsive service from their operations team means you really do get a professional, customized program that really meets your business needs. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.”
- Chris Gwilliam, Pret A Manger
Airport Mystery Shops Available!
December is always a busy month for traveling, so if you or anyone you know is going to be in any of the following airports this month, feel free to take a shop/get a free meal!
-Cleveland Hopkins International Airport-
-Washington Dulles Airport-
-Denver Airport-Concourse B (East End)-
Sign up to be a shopper & find even more shops in your area at: http://www.MysteryShopperProgram.com
Bar Loss Prevention
Attention Restaurant Managers! Do you know what your bartenders are up to?
Just take a look at some of the things our bar shoppers have uncovered in the past:
• Overcharging for drinks, and pocketing the difference (for example, say three $4 beers = $12, instead, bartender tells customer $15 and pockets the rest)
• Bartenders putting money in the drawer but never ringing it in. They might use matches bent back, pennies lined up on the register, etc to count how much cash to remove from the drawer later
• Bartenders bringing in their own bottles of wine / liquor and selling if as if it were the bar’s
• Serving to underage individuals and/or not carding
• Over pouring for larger tips
• Drinking while on shift
If you own a bar or have one located inside of your restaurant or hotel, it’s absolutely essential that you have a formal bar loss prevention program in place. Consistent application of a professional program identifies potential problems and ensures that your bar staff is accountable for their actions. The average bar without a program in place loses thousands of dollars a month due to over-pouring, drink give-a-ways, poor cash handling, and theft.
To learn more about how Bar Loss Prevention shops could save you THOUSANDS of dollars: click here
Mystery Shop Assignments Available Nationwide
We’re always looking for new shoppers, and our Mystery Shopping Division has been growing faster than ever! We have shops available nationwide, including Bar & Dining Shops, Hotel Shops, Ski Shops, Retail Shops, and more.
If you or someone you know would be interested to get paid to have fun, take a look at our website and sign up to be a shopper!
Mystery Shopper Program Featured on MysteryShoppersManual.com
Our Mystery Shopper Program was recently invited to do an interview for a blog featured on www.MysteryShoppersManual.com. This website is an extremely valuable resource for mystery shoppers, regardless of whether they are just starting out, or if they have been in the business for awhile. This is a great resource for tips on how to be a good shopper, report writing, and many other facets of the business.
Here’s our interview that can be found at The Mystery Shoppers’ Manual
Amy Melanson, Client Services Manager at Goodwin & Associates, along with the schedulers and editors at Goodwin, recently answered some questions about mystery shopping for them. Goodwin & Associates specializes in providing mystery shopping services to the hospitality industry, although they serve a variety of industries. The company is a member of the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.
Here is what Amy and the staff had to say about mystery shopping for Goodwin & Associates.
Describe the ideal shopper.
The “ideal” shopper is one who is careful to read and follow ALL instructions, completes their visit and their report on time, with receipts turned in, too! The “ideal” shopper also writes a detailed and well-written report. Beyond those two concepts, it would be even more impressive if the shopper was comfortable with the Prophet reporting system and was able to self-assign their own visits, access the instructions and forms, and submit the report without issues.
What types of shops does your company do? What types of reports are used?
We have expanded tremendously over the course of the past year and now offer shops in a wide variety including the ones below:
Restaurant shops for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner
Quick-service restaurant shops, including dine-in, take-out, and delivery shops
Bar loss prevention shops
Phone shops for hotels, catering calls, banks, and retail
Overnight hotel stays
Ski experience shops
Golfing experience shops
Movie Theater shops
Tanning Salon shop
Bank shops
Retail shops
Children’s play facility shops
Internship evaluation shops
Aquarium shops
What is the best way for a new shopper to get in the door and get a first assignment?
The best way for a new shopper to get in the door would be to register as a shopper on our website (www.mysteryshopperprogram.com). Once registered, the shopper should log into their account on a semi-frequent basis to find shops in their area. We prefer to fill the majority of our shops using the auto-generated notification emails and self-scheduling and we only reach out by phone or email when it gets later in the shopping period.
How can shoppers qualify for your best (highest-paying and most interesting and enjoyable) shop assignments?
The best way for a shopper to get the most desirable shops is for them to build up a history of being a solid, reliable shopper. Once we are familiar with the fact that they do good work, we would be more likely to use them.
What is your biggest problem/pet peeve with shoppers?
One of our biggest issues are shoppers who accept visits and do not complete them. Many shoppers do not understand the importance of completing visits on their scheduled dates/times. These dates and times are extremely important to our clients so when they are not completed appropriately, we are not fulfilling our obligations to the client.
The other biggest pet peeves come from incomplete or poorly written shop reports. It is frustrating when shoppers do not take into consideration that their job is more than just going on the visit, and that they are expected to write a useful and well-written report. We understand that not every single question can be answered in great length, but do appreciate those who put an obvious effort into writing their reports.
What are the biggest challenges facing mystery shopping companies today?
The biggest challenges facing mystery shopping have to do with the economy. Most mystery shopping deals with services that the everyday person is trying to cut back on in these hard times, (i.e./ dining out, going to the movies, making purchases, etc.). It is harder to find clients who are still willing to pay for this type of seemingly “unnecessary” service. The fact of the matter is, tight times are when mystery shopping is even more critical to our clients. The public is being more selective about when and where they will bother to spend money. If a restaurant is not providing a good product and great service, they are going to lose those opportunities to capture that business.
Another entirely different challenge is that the idea of mystery shopping is so often overshadowed by the scam companies who have ruined the business for many. I speak with many shoppers who admit their hesitance to start actually shopping because they have heard horror stories. We all urge shoppers to go to the MSPA website to verify the companies that they work for, but for many, the idea of shopping is lost as soon as they hear the first scam story.
What do you want shoppers to know–what will make them more valuable to your company?
Always be reliable, honest and upfront with your scheduler. Be honest with yourself and your capabilities. Do not take on more than you can handle. It is better to do a great job on 5 shops and get paid for all of them, than it is to do a poor or below average job on 10 shops and risk not being paid.
Always read every single line of the shop instructions REGARDLESS of whether or not you have done the same or similar shops in the past. Instructions can change from month to month. We have to throw out an alarming number of reports because the shopper did not follow instructions.
Lastly, be AVAILABLE. Often times we need to contact the shopper about something that was said in the report, or to obtain a receipt, or a variety of other reasons. Many times shoppers get right back to us with their answers to our questions. Many times we have to chase people down via email and voice mail days after they turned in the report.
