In the hospitality space, customer experience is everything. And in 2019 the increasing standard of living, high disposable income and a hunger for perfection has given the luxury hotel industry a list of high expectations to be met.
Tag Archive for: customer service
‘Team members must be “people persons.” In the hospitality industry, we are always interacting, whether it’s with co-workers, guests, or vendors. If we cannot do our job with a spirit of hospitality, executing genuine guest service, we will fail our team and our guests.‘ BARE shares an article by Larry Stuart for Forbes on “Hiring The Spirit Of Hospitality.”
As a President and Co-Founder Mike Bare said the business in our last interview, ”We’re only as good as our people”, meaning the contribution from the work our evaluators (perhaps such as your) means more than just a Read more
I’m pretty sure everybody played shopping in their childhood. I myself certainly enjoyed it: I had a cash register, some toy money, I drew price labels, even had my shop’s name; my family and my dolls were the customers and I sold as many things as I could. When my little brother became older, he joined me and I finally could play the part of the customer (until then, nobody had been allowed to play the part
Call Centers are a tricky topic when it comes to customer services. We have all had the opportunity to experience their effectiveness or inefficacy, and some of us have even encountered the opposite side and had a job as a call center representative. [spacer height=”20px”]
Those who worked in this field know how hard this job can be. The customers are fighting their way to through the IVR (Interactive Voice Response -the actual menu- its purpose is to direct the customer to the right person) so they can find a real person who is competent and is able to solve their problems, ask their questions. As customers we can be inpatient, angry, frustrated, so the representative must not only perform professionalism, efficacy and promptness, but enthusiasm, politeness, positivity, and most importantly honesty.[spacer height=”40px”]
That’s where mystery shopping comes in! 
Some call centers have their own monitoring system with mentors and colleagues who are experts in this field so they can help improve the service. But for those companies who would like to build up a more neutral and comprehensive picture about the quality of their call center services, the obvious choice is a mystery shopping service. They know it can be more effective and genuine when mystery shoppers do this, because mystery shoppers are always closer to the target audience of the company, and the way of their work is much more spontaneous and lifelike than an internal monitoring system.[spacer height=”20px”]
The so-called Front Office is the most important part for any service-provider company, because it’s where the company meets the customers: through the employees, and also the customers see the business through the customer service center representatives. That’s why it is vital to pay close attention to the customer service.
[spacer height=”20px”] Simply put, there are 5 main pillars of an efficient call center, so either as a customer, or a representative of a call center, here is what you should pay attention to:
- IVR : is it clear, fast, and concise? How long have you been waiting?
- Call Center Representative : is he or she polite, kind, a professional, helpful? Was he or she able to solve your problem? If not, what did he or she do?
- How many times have you been put on hold? And how long?
- How long was the call in total? Was the length appropriate according to the problem?
- What opportunities do you have for giving a about the phone call service? How it seems, does the company take it seriously?
Author: Adrienne 
Adrienne is a guest blogger of BARE International. She is interested in many things: from playing music, riding horses, to reading ancient texts in their originally written languages. Basically she never gets bored.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
It all started in September. I arrived to this beautiful country when the weather was still nice. The air was rich with autumn scents – by the way it was the exact same feeling as it supposed to be according to my Hungarian standards. This means nice and warm sunshine during the day, colour changing leaves, crispy air in the mornings, and so on. It was beautiful, and just the way I like it. For the whole week.
On top of that, everybody was kind and nice, in the shops as well! What to say, I was impressed, how everybody spoke English, how everybody was able to be nice, friendly and professional at the same time. What to say, this treatment fulfilled my checklist for an outstanding customer service, absolutely:
- Smile from afar – I know: you, me, we are all only humans with our fluctuating moods and sometimes it is really hard to do our job with a smile on our faces. But it’s worth the effort. I have not one, but several shop assistants working in nearby stores who I started to like during the years. We shared smiles, then longer greetings, and after that our thoughts and dreams and we even started to share stories from our life.
- Clean shop – oh, yes, there isn’t a worst thing when you enter the shop and it looks like a battlefield.
- Help me, I’m lost! – Without the shop assistant’s help I would never have found my non-allergic bread.
- Don’t make me think – well, this is just like the previous one. When I’m shopping, I’m more or less on autopilot, so it can be really problematic, if I start circling in the shop and not finding the desired products. In this case either I gave up or sought for help. Once I even asked a stranger – who, according to me, looked like an employee of the supermarket – where I could find my favourite chocolate. The poor victim looked so dumbfounded, I felt really terrible after it, because I judged him by his clothes. Lesson learned.
- Respect me – even if I’m a foreigner or worst, a tourist.
- Try to understand my needs – listen carefully, with the intent to understand the others is one of the greatest gifts ever.
- No hurry, let me breathe and take my time – give me space to feel comfortable while I’m deciding what I want to buy. I really liked that. But when I needed them, the staff was always nearby.
- Give me some extra tips – I’d love to hear about the latest discounts and the best offers – who wouldn’t?
Conclusion: if you want to lose customers, don’t follow the Dutch example.
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Author: Anita @AnitaKocsis910
Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work, she loves doing yoga, dancing, running, travelling and reading – which is why she often wonders how would it be possible to fit one or two more hobbies into her schedule. Her love for the automotive industry came from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s degree in International Economics and Business.
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Interested in becoming an Automotive Evaluator with BARE International?
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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Automotive community We Are Cars?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
Let’s talk about one of the most important topics in the world. The very substance that will get you through your working day and back home again: coffee! More specifically, let me introduce to you the exclusive Swiss coffee brand that uses coffee capsules instead of coffee beans but still offers a great taste. Not yet convinced? Ask any coffee drinker or read my blog message below.
They have been one of our longest and most cherished clients, and over the past few years we’ve indulged in all kinds of projects with them, ranging from recorded customer service calls to visits to their exclusive stores to big multimedia store visits. Their purpose has always been to evaluate the customer service; the friendliness, professionalism and knowledge of the coffee specialist regarding the brand and the coffee industry in general; as well as, in case of mystery visits in electronics stores, to analyse the visibility of the brand compared to its competitors.
Out of these three projects, let us have a look at our most popular channel, the calls, which can be grouped into two scenarios: New Member and Technical. Either the evaluator is asked to subscribe as a brand new member or the idea is to simulate a technical problem with the coffee machine, in order to find out how the coffee specialist would solve it.
Now let us have a look at what they have to offer their loyal customers. You will find that their arrangement of espressos, lungos and ristrettos has been ever-expanding, including various flavours, ranging from low to high intensity. A range of decaffeinated capsules ensures that you can even enjoy a cup of coffee in the evening, without having to lie awake in bed all night. Their limited editions range from all over the world, from Mexico to Peru to Rwanda. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
Several kinds of machines give the customer the opportunity to drink their coffee in any way they want, as some of them are equipped with a milk frother for a wide range of coffee recipes such as the old-time classic, the cappuccino, or a delicious macchiato.
Our mystery calls and shops are the ideal way to discover the wonderful world that is coffee. It might also be a good idea to have a coffee before setting out on a mystery adventure for any of our other clients, so that you won’t fall asleep. And it definitely beats having some beers or a bottle of wine before having a test drive at a car dealership.
Author: Gert
Gert specialties are any coffee-related projects as well as reports in Dutch, French and English. In his free time he writes novels, plays and poems, and performs spoken word all over Flanders and the Netherlands. He also loves travelling, listening to music and going to concerts. He has a Master in Applied Linguistics and one in Modern Literature.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
Many of us already had the experience of going out the door to do “some” shopping but ending up with half of the bank account empty. But did you now that some people are actually paid by a company to go shopping? In that case, they all of a sudden get the label of “Mystery Evaluator”. Of course there is more to it. These shoppers then become secret agents of what is called “Mystery Customer Research”.
Now, what exactly is this taboo called Mystery Customer Research? Mystery Customer Research is a simple act of shopping where everyday people with an eye for detail go shopping, go to a restaurant or take an airplane, while they actually get paid to do this! These “undercover shopaholics” then fill in a questionnaire evaluating the service they had been given. This way they help companies obtain valuable information concerning their own services, enabling them to improve customer satisfaction, and consequently increasing profits.
So what does Mystery Shopping exactly look like?
Tom Johnsson goes to a fast-food chain. On his way over, he pays attention to whether there are street signs guiding him to the restaurant he is looking for. Once he gets there:
- He checks whether the restaurant and its employees are clean and not too smelly.
- He also focuses on the time spent queuing.
- Once he gets to order his meal, Tom observes whether the cashier is friendly and helpful.
- When he takes his first bite, he must try not to lose himself in the delicious taste of his fast-food hamburger.
- After he gets home he has to fill in his questionnaire with every single little detail of the visit.
However, Tom is happy to have his burger for free, and the fast-food chain will be pleased as well when the questionnaire is filled in correctly. This scenario will be repeated by many shoppers, in multiple restaurants of the chain, during a period that can vary depending on the desires of the brand in question. The overall evaluation will enable them to look for solutions as how to do better on both general and shop level.
It goes without saying that there is more than mystery shopping alone. Sometimes the evaluator is only asked
- To make a phone call,
- To act as future client, or
- To give feedback to the salesperson after the mystery evaluation is performed.
But the aim of all this will remain the same: to improve customer satisfaction. Either you are a Mystery Evaluator or a normal person with no secret life, I’m sure you would like the extra spending money or getting nice products for free. If you simply want to enjoy the experience as a Mystery Evaluator, then this is your chance to try it out.
Author: Annelore
Annelore has been an employee of Bare International since September 2011 and is based in the Antwerp Office. She has a Master’s degree in English & Spanish literature & linguistics and a Master’s in Management. She likes discovering new places, travelling, reading and going out with friends to enjoy some very good (Belgian) beers.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
I started working in the mystery shopping industry for BARE International in 2015.
BARE International is one of the market-leading companies providing mystery customer research and auditing services at a national and global level. A mystery evaluator is a freelancer who goes to specific shops pretending to be a regular customer whilst keeping an eye on all details, because after the store visit they have to answer questions about the customer service.
As a newcomer at the company I wanted to learn as much as possible.
I was curiously asking my colleagues about their positions and responsibilities. One key account manager told me that she was the main point of contact for the clients: she mapped their needs; she helped them set up the group of questions that mystery customers would have to answer, and reported the results to the clients.
Some clients need help in setting up the questions?
It fully surprised me. I have to admit I have full respect for our clients: they realized the importance of customer satisfaction, they are ready to get feedback and they are even paying for it.
But how can one ask for feedback if one is not even sure what he or she wants to know? It made me think…
There can be a parallel drawn between customer satisfaction and life satisfaction.
I work in an industry where we sell feedback to clients who ask for it. These companies have a healthy level of self-criticism to hear an honest opinion about the customer service they provide. They are ready to hear it. They are keen on improving.
Are we ready to receive a detailed feedback about our lives?
We don’t necessarily have to ask others to provide it in the first place. Mystery evaluation made me realize that the most important thing is to be able to set up our questionnaire and to be aware of what the most crucial things are for us to be satisfied. I think my questions would be: Do I spend enough time with the ones I love? Do I keep travelling? Is there enough music and sport in my life? Am I in a good mood on Monday mornings? Can I be proud of my professional and private life achievements when I look back to past years? The list is much longer of course, and will be changing constantly during the course of my life.
What questions would you ask yourself?
Have you thought about them yet?
Are you ready to give yourself feedback?
Author: Szintia 
Szintia is an employee of Bare International.
Besides her work in the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves sports, travelling, and she is learning her 6th language. She is a Couchsurfer. She has a master’s degree in Strategic HR Management and she is a professional pastry chef.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com