Is Now Really a Good Time to Mystery Shop?

Unless you’ve just returned from a sabbatical in the Alaskan interior, you’ve probably noticed that these are unusually intense times we’re living in: the headline of every newspaper and the highlight of every cable news segment is singularly focused on just how perilous it is to even go outside. Hyperbole…
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What’s the Difference Between a Mystery Shop and a Feedback Survey?

When we’re first approached by prospective new clients, we often hear that they’ve already tried conducting feedback surveys in the hopes of understanding their customers’ viewpoint. This is actually great since it demonstrates the natural interest we should show for the quality of the customer experience, especially as we hope…
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Leveraging Online Reviews

Everything has been moving towards the web for many years now, displacing everything from business directories, like the Yellow Pages, to actual in-person commerce. Included in that shuffle is how word-of-mouth—one of the most critical ways your business’s reputation is measured—is spread. While chat around the office cooler or in…
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Mystery Shopping for Survival

Earlier this year, back before the start of the lockdowns and the social distancing, we posted an article about the importance of Mystery Shopping for Compliance. In it, we described how critical it is for businesses to ensure their employees are obeying the laws governing the sale of age-restricted products…
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Mystery Shopping Under Lockdown

Amid social-distancing recommendations, stay-at-home pleas, and shelter-in-place orders, businesses everywhere are trying to find ways to remain open—even if in a limited capacity—to serve their communities and keep their staff members employed. Restaurants are closing their dining rooms but switching to pick-up and delivery, retailers are shuttering their showrooms but…
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Adapting Your Business for Zero Contact

Whether ordered by state or local governments, or out of an abundance of caution, many businesses have closed their doors during the coronavirus pandemic. Many of those businesses want to stay open, of course, if only to bring some income in during this time so that their employees are not…
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Customer Service in a Time of ‘Social Distancing’

Many of our clients are in the retail, restaurant, and medical services industries, which means their employees are out in front of the public all the time. Reduced hours, understaffing, sanitization requirements, supply-chain stress, and temporary business closures are very real factors affecting these industries and many others, so it’s…
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Mystery Shopping for Compliance

Many industries are closely regulated, and so it’s very important for employees to follow the rules and avoid any legal violations. For example, retail stores that sell tobacco or alcohol are not permitted to sell those items to anyone under the age of 21, and doing so can result in…
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Happy Employee Appreciation Day 2020!

Happy Employee Appreciation Day 2020! Today is the one day of the year to show your staff just how much your value their hard work and overall contributions. Just today. No other day. Of course that’s not true! Just like Valentine’s Day isn’t the one time of the year to…
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