Mystery Shopping can be of enormous value to operators of fast food outlets in helping them to ensure consistent high standards in every area that is important to their customers.
Customers of fast food outlets generally have a number of basic expectations:
- They expect staff members to be polite, friendly and efficient.
- They expect food itself to be prepared / delivered quickly and / or in line with what they are told when they place their order.
- They expect the food to be prepared in a hygeinic environment and for any serving or seating area to also be clean and tidy.
- They expect their food to be prepared to a high standard and – crucially – a consistent standard.
Depending on the situation, customers may or may not have expectations about the provenance of ingredients, or the use of fresh ingredients, but the expectations above are almost universal.
Customer service, cleanliness and consistency are key, and serious failings in any of these areas, can cause a fast food business to lose a potential long term repeat customer.
Mystery Shopping can help businesses to ensure the high standards that lead to loyalty and repeat business, and avoid the falling standards that can easily lead to drops in loyalty, trade and profitability.
Example businesses and situations
Food outlets, kiosks, cafes and restaurants with ‘take away’ facilities: independent, franchised or chain operations.
How is Mystery Shopping used and what are the potential benefits?
Mystery Shopping can be used to monitor standards in relation to every key part of a customer’s experience. This could include the presentation and cleanliness of premises, the handling of telephone orders, staff presentation, front line customer service, upselling / add on sales activity, product advice including allergy information, the provision of accurate wait times by staff, speed of food preparation, standards of food preparation and presentation, the handling of special customer requests, and the handover of food and drink, and the final moments of the interaction / farewell. Each of these factors can have a significant effect on customer satisfaction and / or sales performance.
If you would like to discuss the possibility of Mystery Shopping for a fast food business, please don’t hesitate to contact us.