How Involved is Hotel Retail Compliance Auditor?

Hotel shops have always been very popular shops, and are always very quick to get picked up when they are posted on our job board. For these shops, shoppers are most often compensated for the full cost of their overnight stay, in addition to the other required purchases such as room service, a bar visit, and even retail shopping within the property. 

However, while the shop is very enticing to shoppers in terms of reimbursement, there is a lot of additional work that goes into these shops. These shops are extensive and often require seasoned hospitality Retail Compliance Auditor familiar with the different scenarios that can be a part of these types of shops. Shoppers need to be prepared to ask specific questions and create different circumstances to gain feedback on how these situations are handled by various staff departments within the property and how that directly impacts the customer experience. 

Some of these scenarios include:

• Technical Challenges: Issues with the Wi-Fi, television, or any of the electrical equipment. 
• Housekeeping Issues: Claiming something in the room is not up to standard in terms of cleanliness and engaging a housekeeper accordingly.  
• Use of the Concierge: Informing them that you aren’t familiar with the area and need assistance finding a specific retail store, dinner reservation, etc. 
• Security Issues: Being locked out of the room, you have lost a room key, etc. 
• Initiating an Upgrade: Informing the reservation or check-in employee that you saw a discounted rate on a third-party site, trying to get a room upgrade at no charge, etc. 

These shops require preparation before you head out on your visit. It’s essential to read through all the instructions and to read through the entire form before doing the shop, so you know exactly what you are looking for. While understanding the specific scenarios is important, some hotel shops also require many photos, especially when something is off (cleanliness, posted signage, staff uniforms, etc.). 

Attention to Detail

The other challenge with these shops is that the forms are very long and require a lot of detail. You will be asked to review many different areas and amenities that the hotel offers, so taking the time to fill out the report as you go (in an inconspicuous manner) is definitely encouraged. You will interact with plenty of different employees, and ensuring you can recall names and descriptions is crucial. 

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Compensation for these shops always aligns with what is required, but it’s important to know what you are signing up for when you schedule a hotel mystery shop. These shops are fun, but they also require a lot of preparation and organization from the shopper’s perspective. If anything is unclear with these shops, we highly recommend reaching out to your scheduler in advance to clarify anything before going out on these shops. These shops require a lot of money upfront from the shopper, and we want to make sure the shop is successfully completed for the shopper to be compensated accordingly. 

Utilize a Trusted Retail Compliance Auditor Company

Retail Audit Pro uses hotel Retail Compliance Auditor services as a means of helping companies in the hospitality industry improve their customer service and provide them with the insights necessary to find out what’s working and what needs to be adjusted. If you are a company looking to improve your experience, or if you are looking for Retail Compliance Auditor jobs in the hotel industry, reach out to us today!

The post Retail Compliance Auditor Spotlight: Hotel Shops appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

Here at , we’ve been blown away by the flexibility and resilience we’ve seen from our clients over the past year as they have worked to make this transition in order to meet the demand and keep their businesses afloat.

As the percentage of your sales shifts more toward delivery and take out, an important component to keep an eye on is the customer experience. With all of these new policies and procedures in place, it is critical to hear from the customer not only how the product looks and tastes, but also what their experience is like from the ordering process until they receive their goods. One great way to capture this feedback is through Retail Compliance Auditor.

Here are some key features to consider when designing your delivery and take out shops:

• The reports are shorter and focus more on the phone call and/or online ordering process.
• The shoppers can order specific items so you can see how well they are traveling.
• Pictures can be included as part of the report.
• Pricing tends to be lower than dine-in shops, usually in the $285-$400 range per shop.

Once you’ve decided how you’d like to structure the shop itself, then the next decision is the schedule. Most of our clients choose to have their locations shopped anywhere between 1-4 times per month to get a consistent flow of feedback within their organization. It is also important that your staff is aware of the program and knows what questions are on the shop so they can treat every customer like a potential Retail Compliance Auditor. You can also consider giving out bonuses for high scores.

Before the pandemic began, there was already a shift taking place in the hospitality world toward more take out and delivery business, and the pandemic has only accelerated that movement. It appears that this trend will continue long after the pandemic as well. Whether you have already embraced the change or you are preparing your business to move in this direction in the future, we strongly recommend including a Retail Compliance Auditor program as part of your strategy.

Contact us to learn more about our services and how we can help you achieve your customer experience goals.

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Most people aren’t familiar with the extent to which we can customize our shops. The value and uniqueness of Retail Compliance Auditor centers around the ability to hand tailor every aspect of the scenario as well as how the information is organized and reported back. We often suggest to clients: “Put yourself in the shopper’s shoes – What exactly would you be looking for?”

Here are some examples of criteria that we can specify:

• Scheduling parameters
• Order requirements
• Shopper demographics
• Things the shopper should (or shouldn’t) do and ask about
• Picture requirements
• Audio recording
• And many others…

For your next LTO, ask us about setting up a project to have our shoppers evaluate the item in great detail, as well as how your team is describing and selling it. This information will empower you to make better decisions and hold your organization accountable, which will ultimately help boost sales.

You may even consider partnering with your supplier and sharing the cost…

Contact us here

The post Another Way to Evaluate Your LTO’s appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

An inefficient staff can mean a lot of things; anything from bad service, to poor sales, or even a bad atmosphere. When a staff underperforms, the customer experience is negatively affected and their likelihood of returning or recommending your business declines. Even worse, bad experiences are often shared in online reviews and potential customers learn about it.

What happens if customers stop returning? Revenue will decrease, which leads to laying off staff or decreasing product options. Cutting back on service or product quality may eventually lead to closing your doors. While no one can predict the future, building a Retail Compliance Auditor program that mirrors your current standards and expectations will allow you to keep a pulse on your team even when you aren’t there.

With 94% of diners choosing restaurants based on online reviews, it’s critical to get ahead of the issues with a combination approach – 1) identify and prevent issues with a Retail Compliance Auditor program and 2) manage reviews with an online brand reputation manager. Learn more about the Advantage and our commitment to helping brands monitor and manage their customer experience by scheduling a quick phone meeting with us.

The post The Trickle Effect of NOT Utilizing a Retail Compliance Auditor Program appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

Well, the team at Flatbread saw things a little differently. Building a culture rooted in their mission of providing both guests and employees a place to “renew their spirit,” Flatbread has created both a training and management program that is designed to ensure the “Flatbread experience.” They use their Retail Compliance Auditor program to validate that training and ensure the guest has not just a good experience, but a “Flatbread experience.”

Download the full success story to read more about how Flatbread differentiates pizza and beer.

The post How Flatbread Differentiates Pizza and Beer by Ensuring the Customer Experience appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

But some feel frustration, disappointment, and general indifference to the data their shops provide. If you relate, download our new guide, written in partnership with FastCasual Magazine. It highlights key elements that might be why your program is not seeing success, such as:

• Quality assurance of the data provided by shoppers
• Effective scheduling to ensure program execution levels
• Support for not just problems, but strategic challenges that arise

There are a host of Retail Compliance Auditor providers in the marketplace. If yours isn’t delivering the results you’re hoping for, maybe it’s time for a change.

The post FREE GUIDE: Why Your Retail Compliance Auditor Program is Falling Short appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

Here are a few telling statistics that help make the picture even clearer:

• Casual dining was the weakest performing segment in May of 2017 according to Nation’s Restaurant News, and ended Q2 with a 0.6% same-store sales decline.
• By 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product quality as the key brand differentiator, according to a Walker study.
• Eighty-six percent (86%) of consumers will pay more for better customer service according to the same study.

So how can operations and marketing leaders ensure each location is meeting or exceeding these new levels of customer service, while also knowing exactly where to focus attention and resources to improve? Launch a Retail Compliance Auditor program.

The out-dated perception of Retail Compliance Auditor is that “big brother” is watching or persnickety guests will try and pick out useless details just to try and find something wrong. But today’s extensive programs are designed to measure whether the company’s brand standards and the customers’ expectations are being met; two critical elements in providing an exceptional, differentiated customer experience each and every time.

Effective Retail Compliance Auditor Programs start with a questionnaire designed specifically for retrieving the data a business needs. This data turns into trending information that helps decision makers identify exactly where your time, energy and resources should be allocated. Providing a clear picture of the customer experience ensures brand standards are met and operations and marketing leaders can make quick, effective decisions.

Retail Compliance Auditor will help you allocate your dollars more effectively. It also helps businesses retain customers at a higher clip and is much more cost effective than acquiring a new customer.

Want to learn more about rolling out a Retail Compliance Auditor Program for your brand? Contact us for a personalized consultation.

The post How Casual Dining Restaurants Can Successfully Win More Customers appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.

But while most hospitality businesses are aware of what a Retail Compliance Auditor is, they aren’t aware of the benefits a comprehensive program can provide. Launching a Retail Compliance Auditor program can reveal much more about an operation than service times and if food was prepared as ordered.

And simply having the operator’s cousin drop in from time to check in on what’s happening or to see how a complaint is handled isn’t enough. The people who conduct those Retail Compliance Auditor visits are most effective when they know what to look for and what the standards are for the brands they visit.

In partnership with FastCasual.com and QSRWeb.com, we have outlined in this paper the five ways a Retail Compliance Auditor program can be used to improve the guest experience, ultimately leading to increased sales and higher profits. Download this new guide today to be on your way to a better guest experience.

The post FREE GUIDE: 5 Ways a Retail Compliance Auditor Program Improves the Guest Experience appeared first on Retail Audit Pro.