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Grow your business through employee training, improving company communication and morale and inspect what you expect through mystery shopping reviews.

Be the Change Your Workplace Needs

Most people don’t like the idea of being tested, and fewer still like the idea of being subjected to pop quizzes—especially when they’re being conducted without your knowledge. It should be no wonder that many retail and service employees are wary of mystery shops, which are a lot like secret…
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Alternatives to “No”

No one likes being told no to something they want, especially if they think their request is completely reasonable. Being told no can turn a positive interaction negative, especially if it’s not handled well. Oftentimes, how you’re given an answer is just as important as the answer itself. Shep Hyken…
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Understanding Tough Customers

For anyone who has worked face-to-face with customers, you know there are just some people out there who—to put it delicately—are difficult. They’re seemingly impossible to please, expecting near perfection from you and your products. Not only are these interactions stressful, but they can go wrong in a flash. To…
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The Wow Starts Now

“The Customer Experience” is a catchall term you’ll hear thrown around a lot in the retail and service industries. It encompasses the entire interaction a customer has with your business, including everything from branding impressions, the store visit, and to what happens after—customer service, sales, and support. For a restaurant,…
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Avoiding More Common Mistakes

Last week, we took a look at Gene Marks’s article for The Hartford, wherein he explained many of the common pitfalls that small-business owners fall into. This week, let’s take a deeper look at a few more critical mistakes you should avoid. Don’t Overwork Yourself Marks admits that “running a…
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Avoiding Common Mistakes

Gene Marks, writing for The Hartford, has posted a great list covering many of the common traps small-business owners fall into, especially when they first get started. Many of these observations are important even for veteran business owners, so let’s look at a few today. Don’t Ignore Your Customers As…
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The Trust Economy

Reputation is everything. It encompasses every aspect of your business, from the quality of your products to the care you show your customers. It’s word-of-mouth, and it’s the number of stars on Google Reviews, Yelp, or whatever else. Perhaps most of all, it’s a measure of your business’s trustworthiness to…
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How to Safely Reopen

Stay-at-home orders began on March 19, 2020 in America, more than 440 days ago at the time of this post. Since then, nearly every business has had to contend with closures, reduced staff, social distancing implementations, supply-chain interruptions, and much more. Many restaurants became to-go only, and even doctors switched…
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Why Employees Should Care About Net Profit

Anyone who has ever looked at a business’s financials will quickly understand the difference between gross and net profit. But for clarity sake, let’s define them. Gross profit equates to how much money is made on a sale after deducting its production costs, while net profit is what’s left over…
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Using Mystery Shops to Coach

You’ve made the decision to start mystery shopping your company, and now your first reports have arrived. Perhaps they’re a mixed bag: some did great, others so-so, and a few poorly. How should you, or those employees’ manager, use this data to instruct them? Reinforce When discussing what went well…
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The Make-or-Break Ratio

We’ve often discussed the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences every time. The Customer Experience (or CX) encompasses thoughtful customer service, a detailed sales process, and great products and services. Your business must deliver on all three consistently, whether we’re talking about at the restaurant table or the hot-tub showroom.…
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Never Force a Customer to Call Twice

While it’s true that people’s attention spans are growing shorter every year with our on-demand, always-connected lifestyles, what’s also diminished is our patience. There’s hardly ever any need to wait for anything now. Think about it: Want a product? Your favorite online retailer can probably deliver it in under two…
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