Fitness facilities, gyms, and health clubs utilize Retail Compliance Auditor services for a variety of reasons. Most commonly, they are looking to measure their guest experience; specifically, their new membership procedure and the sales tactics used in that process. They are also looking for feedback on their facility and equipment cleanliness, guest services, and amenities among other things. If you haven’t yet done a shop for this type of client, below are some helpful guidelines and tips.

Multi Step Shop

These shops usually require both a phone call and a visit to the facility. The call and tour should occur on the same day. The call is often recorded so make sure you take thorough notes as the questionnaire will ask about the employee’s sales pitch and you will be asked to check off which points they hit during the conversation.

Straight Profit

            All of our fitness facility shops are straight profit shops, meaning, you aren’t required to spend any money on the visit. The payment ranges based on the shop, but the majority of these shops range from a $25 – $40 payment.

Photos

Almost every shop in this segment requires photos, most often of the exterior, interior lobby, and marketing material. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the form and requirements prior to going on your visit to ensure you have prepared yourself for what photos need to be taken and when during the visit you will obtain them.

Dressing the Part

When doing one of these visits, you should dress in workout attire. If you aren’t wearing clothing with an athletic aesthetic, you will stand out and you may be identified as a shopper. These gyms are looking for new members, so regardless of your current level of fitness, you are a qualified shopper.

Proof of Visit

As there is never a purchase required for these types of shops, you won’t have a receipt at the end of the visit. We still require proof that the visit occurred, so most often you will be required to obtain a brochure or business card from the facility. If they are unable to provide you with these items, a photo of the rate sheet will suffice.

Timing and Follow-Up

You may be asked to hold these shops for a period after the visit has occurred. Often, our clients are looking to see if the employee follows up within 24-48 hours of the visit as it’s a part of their sales process. It’s important that you fill out as much of the shop report as you can while in the holding period, so the scheduler knows you have completed the majority of the assignment.

Fitness facility shops are quick and easy, and best of all, a great way to make a little cash as you are never asked to put out any money on these shops. The forms are usually short and condensed and directed at very specific points of service. If you haven’t done one of these shops and are hesitant to pick one up, please let us know and we would be happy to answer any questions you have.

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There are many different types of banking and financial intuition shops that we conduct for our clients such as phone, email and web inquiries, teller interactions and a more in-depth personal banker shop. Within these shop types, there are many different scenarios that are played out including but not limited to, new and existing account inquiries, a variety of personal and small business loan and financing inquiries, along with standard teller services.

For a banking or financial institution shop, the shop generally requires more preparation than a standard mystery shop. There is most often a scenario that the shopper must follow, and becoming familiar with certain terminology and verbiage associated with the financial world is pivotal for a successful shop. For example, if the shop instructions indicate that the shopper must inquire about a small business loan, they must prepare the appropriate background information to be ready for any questions that may be asked of them by the rep such as the name and size of the business, the location of the business, and the amount they are looking to borrow. If a shopper is faced with these questions and isn’t prepared to provide relevant answers, the shop’s status becomes compromised as any delay or uncertainty in their responses will raise a red flag with the rep. While we will never ask you to provide any of your sensitive, personal information; it is vital that you have made up a back story that goes along with the scenario you are playing out.

These shops can vary significantly and it’s important that the shopper is always reading through all the instructions and requirements prior to accepting the shop. Some banking shops require the shopper to already be a member of the bank, and some specifically ask that they are not.  The phone inquiries most often involve a recorded call element making it all the more important to ensure the shopper is prepared to answer any questions they are asked as the recorded file is being sent directly to the client.   A lot of the phone, email, and web inquiry shops typically involve some back and forth, and awaiting follow up and it’s important to make sure you are updating your shop report along the way, so your scheduler knows that the shop is being actively worked.

These types of shops are often very popular among shoppers as there is no money spent out of pocket, making them straight-profit shops. If you are interested in learning more about these shops or are interested in being scheduled for these shops, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.

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Randi was hired right out of college to help build and run the Retail Compliance Auditor division of Goodwin Hospitality (our former company name). Little did she know that she was about to begin a long and successful journey here. With an endless work ethic, attention to detail, and tremendous pride in everything she does, Randi has continually solidified her unofficial title as “the one that keeps the trains running on time.”

From company strategy to hiring/training/managing our team to sales and execution, Randi makes her mark on just about everything we do as a company each day. Most of our clients are unaware of her direct impact on their programs so I wanted to take this opportunity to recognize her loyalty and achievements and express my sincere gratitude for all her contributions over the years.

Randi’s knowledge base in the Retail Compliance Auditor world is second to none. She has helped to create and run programs in virtually every industry across all company sizes, with a wide variety of use cases. She has always worked hard to cultivate relationships with our shopper community while being fair and holding our shoppers accountable for a high level of performance on behalf of our clients’ best interests – Not an easy task! Randi has also invested the time to truly master the Prism reporting dashboard system, constantly finding new ways to deliver valuable insights to our clients, as well as streamline internal tasks.

Additionally, as our company has grown and changed over the years, she has adapted and responded to every challenge with professionalism and grace. Her willingness to step outside her comfort zone and try new things has helped propel us forward as a team. Personally, she has been a big asset to me and my own development over the years that I’ve been here, and we have built a great partnership together. I look forward to many more years ahead.

We wouldn’t be the company we are today without Randi – Thank you for everything you do for us!

-Kurt Eddins, President

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In 2021, we decided it was time for a slight adjustment to our brand, so we partnered with a local marketing agency that presented us with several options to choose from for a name change, and Relay clearly stood out as the best fit of the bunch. Here are some of the reasons why we feel it is a great description of who we are as a company and the work we do everyday:

• Relaying Information: In the most basic sense, what we “sell” is information. And the way we deliver this information to our clients is by gathering it from a variety of sources, reviewing and processing it internally, and then relaying it to the end users. Hence, we felt the term relay matched up well with our business model. We view ourselves as the middleman in this scenario and to be successful, we need to understand and communicate well with all our stakeholders around us.
• Relay Race Mindset: Much like a relay race on a track which usually consists of several racers passing the baton to one another, we view ourselves as an extension of our clients’ businesses and as part of their team. With our collection of services, we “pass the baton” to them to support their company’s growth and improvement. To be successful in passing the baton requires great preparation, communication, and experience. Our team has worked with thousands of businesses and is well-versed in all the steps that must be followed to deliver the desired outcomes.

Anyone who has experience with branding can attest that naming a company is a challenging task. There are many things to keep in mind and it is not a perfect science, but in our case, we are very excited about the outcome. Retail Audit Pro is here to stay!

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“Attending this conference for me was an amazing way to not only introduce the program to the future owners, but strengthen the partnership with the locations we currently shop monthly. The energy this brand creates is contagious. Everyone is positive and only looking to improve the lives of everyone they interact with. It was great to be able to put a face to our company and help all the locations understand ways the data can be used and work for them. I can’t wait to see all the growth they are capable of!”

We began working with HOTWORX in 2018 when they had just 50 locations, and today they have over 300 across the country, with many more in development. We strive to provide them with valuable customer feedback on a monthly basis and we are very grateful for the opportunity to help support their continued growth. Go HOTWORX!

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Third-Party Sellers

If your company is partnered with an outside sales agency of some kind, we can direct our shoppers to initiate contact and then evaluate the entire sales process with various salespeople. By doing this on an ongoing basis, you can ensure that your company is represented professionally and adequately out in the marketplace. 

Is there anything worse than losing out on growth opportunities due to a flawed sales process? Our shoppers can help reveal this problem early on so you can jump on it and make any necessary changes. On the flip side, if your third-party sellers are doing a great job, then our program will show it, and you can further develop and celebrate that partnership. 

Product Quality and Customer Service:

Do you have contracts with key suppliers? Do you use an outside company to handle your customer service inquiries? Our shoppers can make sure that products are available, delivered on time, and meet consumer expectations. They can also call into call centers, initiate live chats, send emails, or reach out in other ways to make sure that their questions are being answered promptly and correctly. The difference between good and bad customer service can be life or death for your business, especially in today’s competitive environment.

Vendors for Universities

How can higher education institutions know that they are receiving the right candidates if they are using third-party vendors? Because of this, plenty of universities have turned to Store Support Specialist programs as a means of evaluating admissions procedures, on-campus student interactions, and plenty more. The results from these Retail Compliance Auditor lead these institutions to see where best to improve the student experience when it comes to their third-party vendors, from online tutoring to campus restaurant evaluations.

Don’t take a chance – Be upfront with your partners and work together to implement a Retail Compliance Auditor program that ensures everyone stays on top of their game.

Reach out to us today if you’d like to learn more.

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Are Retail Compliance Auditor Assignments for Competitors Common?

Our clients ask us from time to time if we offer competitor Retail Compliance Auditor, and the short answer is yes! We are absolutely willing to shop competitors, as long as it is accompanied by a regular inward-facing mystery shop program as well. Pricing for competitor shops is typically the same or very close to your existing prices, and you can order them on an as-needed basis. 

We are more than happy (to the extent that you can provide us the details on those competitors) to give you comparison data, but we are not willing to solely act as a “spying” service. Our intended purpose for any secret shopping we undergo for your competitors is to use the data that we come away with and compare it to the results of your own Retail Compliance Auditor experience. This way, you can see how you stack up and focus on the areas you need to improve upon.

Finding Room for Improvement

Competitor shops are extremely valuable in providing context to your own mystery shop data. You may think that you are excelling or struggling in certain parts of your customer experience, but if you don’t have something else to compare it to, your analysis may fall short. 

Here are some examples of items that our clients will have us look for in competitor shops:

• Pricing
• Product features and benefits
• Product availability
• Staff sales skills
• Staff response time
• Subjective feedback from the customer about the experience

This information, coupled with the results of a mystery shop at your own business, gives you in-depth information regarding what is working for you and your competitors and what isn’t. From there, you can make any necessary changes that can bolster your customer service and allow your employees to have a better shopping experience.

Enhance Your Marketing Research

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that you are better (or worse) than your competition. Go gather some data using our shoppers so you can genuinely assess where you stand and find ways to improve. Once your customer service evaluation is complete, you can see what they are doing well and where you can improve, helping solidify your business and building your reputation.

Curious about how a Retail Compliance Auditor company can help your competitor analysis? Retail Audit Pro can help you learn more about your company’s customer interactions and help you discover what to build upon to improve your business. Ask us about incorporating competitor shops into your program today!

The post Can Retail Compliance Auditor Your Competitors Improve Your Business? appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

Mystery Shop Cancellation Trends 

We monitor this data very closely as we are constantly strategizing on how to lower this very high cancellation rate. When we see cancellation trends that are in our control — such as shoppers canceling because they feel the pay is too low or the instructions are unclear — we take that feedback seriously and internally try to figure out how we can make these shops more attractive and clearer to shoppers. 

However, the majority of mystery shop cancellations occur with shoppers giving no reason at all. Shoppers simply cancel the shops without informing their scheduler, or shops are auto removed from shoppers’ accounts because they pass the 24-hour submission deadline. When this happens and we don’t know the reasoning behind the cancellation, we are at a loss. We can’t help rectify the situation if we don’t understand why these shops are being dropped.  

The Impact of Canceled Retail Compliance Auditor

When a mystery shop is canceled, it puts the scheduler in a challenging situation. They need to quickly refill the dropped shop, usually with a limited timeframe to work with. This puts us at risk of not delivering on our clients’ needs and providing them with the data they rely on to make critical decisions for their businesses. Most clients operate on a month-to-month basis, and they depend on receiving the same amount of data each month across all of their locations. Clients often use shops to bonus their managers, and when we aren’t providing them with consistent data, their needs for the Retail Compliance Auditor program change. 

We understand that Retail Compliance Auditor is not a shopper’s full-time job and that situations arise that are out of their control. Most often, completing a mystery shop will likely fall to the bottom of the priority list. While we understand that this happens occasionally, this mustn’t become a consistent habit. Habitually canceling shops will result in the deactivation of a shopper’s account. If a shopper needs to reschedule, it’s essential they reach out to the scheduler promptly. If they can’t reschedule, at the very least, they should let their scheduler know as soon as possible before it’s too late to get the visit rescheduled.

We Want to Hear From You!

We are committed to doing everything we can to make our shoppers’ experiences shops as straightforward and seamless as possible; any feedback our nationwide Retail Compliance Auditor have regarding why the cancellation rate is always so high is always welcome. Please reach out to us if you have any questions, insight, or would like to discuss your Retail Compliance Auditor in further detail! 

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Why Goodwin Recruiting?

For those who don’t already know, Goodwin Recruiting and Retail Audit Pro used to be the same company. It operated under the name Goodwin Hospitality and was founded by Eric Goodwin back in 1999. Over the years, the recruiting division and the Retail Compliance Auditor division grew until there came a point in 2017 where it was decided that separating them would serve the companies — and their clients — much better. While the two companies have different ownership now, they still work very closely and are always looking for ways to support each other.

Over the last few years, since restructuring into two entities, Goodwin Recruiting has expanded into many different industries outside of hospitality, such as executive search, manufacturing, engineering, senior living, healthcare, financial services, and IT. With almost 200 recruiters nationwide, representing vast networks across all industries, Goodwin has filled over 2,500 salary-leveled positions annually, helping their clients with their most critical asset — their people. 

Additionally, they provide diversity sourcing training and certification for their recruiters to better support their client’s current and relevant hiring strategies. They will always go above and beyond to identify the exact talent you are seeking to enhance your business. 

Why Staffing Issues Matter Now More Than Ever

In this unique time in the labor market, you need someone you can trust who will take the time to understand your business and send you quality candidates for your open positions. We are thrilled to be able to refer you to the Goodwin Recruiting team with a high level of confidence.

If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out and we will make a personal introduction to a recruiter in your area. For more information on the industries we serve or any of Retail Audit Pro’s other services, contact us today!

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In continuing with our series of recent posts regarding features of the most underused benefits of the Retail Audit Pro Retail Compliance Auditor program, here’s another one that stands out — photos. We have the ability to include required photos for Retail Compliance Auditor as well as internal audits simply and easily.

Photos: An Under-Utilized Feature for Retail Compliance Auditor and Audits 

Surprisingly, many of our clients don’t take full advantage of this option; however, there’s a variety of benefits:

Benefits of Images for Retail Compliance Auditor

Taking images during Retail Compliance Auditor provides powerful, practical, and actionable feedback into your business, product, and operations, including insight like:

• Food presentation
• Drink presentation
• Restrooms
• Exterior of the building
• Products/merchandising
• Display cases
• Brochures
• Business cards
• Sales quotes
• And more

As long as a customer can capture it without being completely obvious that they may be one of our national Retail Compliance Auditor, we strongly recommend including photos as much as possible. The pictures are embedded right in the shop reports, and there is a “media gallery” segment within the dashboard where you can log in to see a collection of every photo ever taken as well. For Retail Compliance Auditor, as long as you keep it to five or fewer required images per visit, you likely won’t see any change in price!

Benefits of Images for Internal Audits

For internal audits, we also can make photos required or optional for each question on the form. As an auditor, it is fast and easy to upload the pictures from your phone right onto the mobile app (assuming you have a strong internet connection). Just like the shops, these pictures will be embedded in the completed audit and also available in the “media gallery” on the dashboard. We recommend keeping each audit form under 30 photos for the best user experience. If you need additional images, we can separate the audit into multiple forms; the price per audit does not change based on the number of photos on the form.

At Retail Audit Pro, we offer Retail Compliance Auditor programs for just about every industry, including restaurants, retail, entertainment, services, higher education, and more. If you are interested in taking advantage of this feature, contact us to determine which photos you’d like to include in your Retail Compliance Auditor and/or audits moving forward!

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