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

Happy 4th of July!

A happy Independence Day from all of us at The Brandt Group to you! And a happy 249th birthday to the United States of America!
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Walking the Talk

“Customer-first” is a phrase you’ve probably heard a hundred times. Maybe you’ve even written it into your company’s mission statement. But as easy as it is to say, living it takes intention, discipline, and the courage to see your business through your customer’s eyes, to admit when you’re wrong and…
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Treat Every Customer Like a Co-Owner

You’ve probably heard of employee-owned companies—those workplaces where employees hold a significant stake in the business. These aren’t just feel-good stories; studies show that employee-owned companies often experience higher satisfaction, lower turnover, and a stronger culture overall. When people feel like they have skin in the game, they’re more engaged.…
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Closing the Sale Doesn’t Have to Feel Weird

Asking for the sale can feel awkward—especially when you’re new or working in a high-end retail. Whether you’re helping someone shop for an anniversary gift or guiding them toward the luxury timepiece of their dreams, that final moment—the moment where you say, “Would you like to move forward?”—can make your…
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Loyalty Is a Two-Way Street

Nobody likes being caught off guard—certainly not your customers. And yet, too many businesses adopt a “deal with it later” mindset, hoping to smooth things over once the damage is done. Whether it’s a delayed service, a sudden price increase, or a product that doesn’t quite fit the bill, surprises…
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Man vs. Machine

You’ve probably heard the buzz: artificial intelligence is changing everything. And in the world of customer service, the next big wave is something called agentic AI. It promises to revolutionize how businesses interact with customers—but if you’re running a small business, you might be wondering: Is this a threat or…
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Answering the Call

Let’s be honest—most customers dread picking up the phone to call customer service. And can you blame them? Between endless hold times, confusing automated menus, outsourced representatives who struggle with communication, and the looming sense that no one really wants to help, it’s no wonder customers hang up feeling more…
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When Price Stops Being an Advantage

Many businesses are feeling the squeeze right now—even giants like Walmart are under pressure. In a recent CNN Business article, Walmart’s CEO warned that U.S. prices on many of its products are likely to increase due to tariffs on imports from China. That’s a big deal. Remember, millions of consumers…
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The Drop in Dining-Out Is a Wake-Up Call—and an Opportunity

In a sign of the times, “Restaurant Brands (QSR.TO) missed first-quarter revenue and profit estimates on Thursday, hurt by sluggish demand at its restaurant chains such as Burger King and Tim Hortons amid tariff-related uncertainty,” according to a recent Reuters report. That miss isn’t just a warning signal for the…
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Tariffs, Turbulence, and the Power of Your Customer Experience

One of the hard lessons of the last few years has been that economic uncertainty is just our reality. now. Whether it’s global pandemics, international tariffs, shifting regulations, or even Houthi pirate activity disrupting supply chains, you can count on something throwing a wrench in the economy. The big-box retailers…
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The Complaints You Don’t Hear Hurt the Most

When a customer has a bad experience, you think you’d hear about it, right? A chance to make it right, to apologize, to improve. But the truth is that most unhappy customers don’t complain to businesses directly. They walk out the door, close their browser, or hang up the phone—and…
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Being Helpful Is Better Than Being Right

Customers have too many options to tolerate frustration. If they don’t like how they’re treated by a business, they can walk across the street or open a browser on their smartphones to find someone else eager to help them. That means one of the only sustainable advantages a small business…
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