New research carried out in three countries has found that in garden retail businesses, something as simple as wearing a name badge can make a huge and immediate difference to customer satisfaction levels.

The study, carried out by mystery shopping and customer experience experts Shopper Anonymous (www.shopperanonymous.co.uk), found that when garden centres they work with introduced name badges for all staff, customer satisfaction ratings rose by a remarkable 12% almost overnight, in comparison to those that didn’t require staff to wear badges.

The figure came out of the study of 10,000 mystery shopper reports carried out in garden centres and related retail outlets over the last eight years in the UK, Australia and New Zealand by Shopper Anonymous.

Mystery shoppers wanted staff to be wearing badges so they could distinguish between staff and other shoppers if uniforms weren’t being worn; said they trusted staff wearing name badges and were more likely to build up a relationship conducive to making a sale with someone who wasn’t anonymous.

Founder and Managing Director of Shopper Anonymous, Jonathan Winchester, says the findings carry a stark message for those running garden centres and nurseries:

“Who wouldn’t want to see an almost immediate rise in satisfaction from their customers? It’s a no brainer, isn’t it? It may seem like a minor thing but customers like to know who they’re being served by and it makes it easier for the staff member to build rapport, thus making it easier to sell on. Badges also make staff more accountable for their actions and attitude as customers know who to complain about.

“I often hear garden centre owners saying ‘my staff don’t want to wear name badges’ but it should be part of conditions of employment, and management need to lead by example; after all, the manager is the first person customers want to be able to identify!

“A lot of consumer focused businesses such as garden centres really don’t know what customers think of their staff or service or whether they come away with a positive or negative impression, as they’ve never been mystery-shopped. It’s only by regular checking through a programme of mystery shopping that you discover the valuable insights and small changes such as introducing name badges that can make huge differences to the business.”

Jonathan’s top tips for introducing name badges into your business:

• First names only: this helps allay security fears
• Don’t make the badges too shiny: they need to be readable under bright over-head lighting
• Make sure staff understand the benefit of wearing badges and make their importance part of staff training.
• Senior staff need to lead by example by always wearing one.
• Ask your mystery shoppers to specifically look for name badges when dealing with staff, and reward those identified and successfully mystery shopped.
• Also reward those who remember to wear their badge with spot prizes and team awards.

Case Study

Paul Cooling of Cooling’s Garden Centre near Sevenoaks in Kent introduced name badges for all staff a few years ago and has seen the difference they can make:

“Having people’s names on view definitely helps improve the perception of good customer service. Some of those in the upper echelons of retail have had name badges for their staff for some time and Coolings now do the same; if anyone is without a name badge, the rest of the team pull them up on it as it lets the rest of the team down.

“If someone is giving good service, the customer will look for that staff member’s name and look for that staff member again in the future. We often get complimentary letters mentioning good service and mentioning people by name – which goes down very well when they’re pinned up in the staff room, boosting team morale.

“Staff are definitely more aware that they’re accountable when they’re wearing their name badge. When we introduced them one or two people felt it intruded on their privacy, especially some of the less outgoing staff members, but now they all wear it without questioning it.

“Giving the staff name badges has definitely been a benefit to the business. We spend hundreds of pounds a year on the badges themselves as all staff have two, one on a fleece and one on their inner shirt so there’s always one on view, so we definitely think it’s worth it.”

About Shopper Anonymous

Shopper Anonymous UK is the UK’s leading mystery shopping company, specialising in improving customer service standards by providing businesses with constructive, non-emotive feedback through our mystery shopping programs.

Shopper Anonymous programs are unique due to the quality of observations. Mystery shoppers are hand-picked and fully trained, meaning the quality of the feedback is accurate and written in a style that explains the experience in a full, constructive but honest manner.

Shopper Anonymous worked with many HTA members who appreciate the quick turn around of the feedback and action planning support programme which ensures the mystery shopping really focuses on helping owners and mangers grow their businesses.

Set-up in 1995 by Jonathan Winchester, in Perth, Western Australia, Shopper Anonymous have developed the highest quality mystery shopping product in the world.

Ten years later, after successfully expanding the business into the Eastern States of Australia and New Zealand and selling them, Jonathan moved back to East Sussex to establish Shopper Anonymous UK.

For more details see http://www.shopperanonymous.co.uk or call 01424 858 230

ENDS

For all media enquiries including images, interviews and the chance for journalists to go ‘under cover’ as a mystery shopper, contact Steve Bustin on steve@vadamedia.co.uk or 07803 729208.

I asked the owner what had really made a difference to the success of the business. She put great customer service, treating customers as friends and listening to their feedback at the top of the list. This keeps them coming back time after time! When the farm shop opened their own butchery counter, the business trebled. They use local growers and suppliers wherever possible, keep hygiene and presentation high on the agenda, and ensure staff are smart and presentable with clear name badges.

Rumwell aim to give the supermarkets a run for their money and with their great service and lovely local products, they certainly achieved it in my view.

As a small business owner Rumwell demonstrates that the leader will set the tone of the business. Have a look at your business are you at the front leading or sitting in your office expecting the team to do it for you.

Cars are unpredictable and costly, planes are stressful and do not land at my doorstep, so with an impending trip to Edinburgh to work with the fabulous Craigies Farm shop I decided I would take the train. Now that should be easy……

First there’s booking the ticket. So you go on-line and living in Battle in East Sussex I look for the best time and fare price to compare with the airlines. East Coast Main Line comes up but it’s hard to work out the cost of a sleeper compartment – in fact it’s impossible so I don’t bother and decide I shall travel by day. I find the times I want to travel, but how much will it be? When I select a return price option but it won’t let me go to the next screen to make a payment. I look at it for ten minutes thinking I must have missed something. A colleague checks…. no its not me.

I persist. I call them. The call routes to India where I wait for sometime before a pleasant enough staff member asks me my route. Well she can’t speak English and she can’t understand me. She had me going from Battersea to Edinburgh one way. Once we had worked out the route I asked if I could book it and pay. She told me she was going to put me through to the payment department – I am worried now – is this scam? Surely the staff member can take a payment. No apparently not and I go on hold…….yes you’ve guessed it for a long time…and I hang up.

I persist. I go back to the website and try again this time I work out that if I book two single fares I can get to the next page to pay – fantastic. I book it and as a bonus they have free internet. I can hopefully do some work on the way. Just over £100 and all that time to work! I am so clever.

So the journey begins. Battle to London Bridge and then across to Kings Cross. All sounds easy until you reach Kings Cross and have no idea if you need platforms 1-9 or 9-11. It’s not on the ticket and there are no staff around. The problem is platform 9-11 is a fifteen minute walk and the station is heaving. I have 25 minutes before the train leaves. I start to walk to platforms 9-11. Half way there something tells me I don’t have this right and I need the 1-9. Don’t tell me why but as I turn around I see a small sign on the wall stating trains up north this way. Fab, but lucky!

I arrive on the concourse. With ten minutes to go the station is heaving as no one knows which platform to go to…its unannounced. The man next to me needs a pee but he can only see the women’s toilet sign. He could either be a baby and use the baby changing unit or hang on. He asks me if I know. Sorry. Then the platform comes up and the scrum starts. OMG!

Battered, bruised, sweaty and flustered I finally find my seat. Well I think I do. My ticket states Coach F 49A but on the seats they just say F49. Do I settle in and face the risk of being moved? Or do I make no eye contact with anyone and pretend I really know what I am doing? I do the latter and find to my delight I am possibly in the right seat.

Right something to eat. The trolley man zooms past us at high speed (almost the same speed as the train) shouting “refreshments, refreshments” but he’s gone before you can say “Coffee”. The only good thing is the other three passengers on my table thought that was equally amusing and we all become friends. Which is lucky as due to the tightness of the space every time I scratch my backside my fellow passenger received the same experience.

After the initial giggles had calmed down I decide I really need to do some work. I do need a coffee but I don’t want to disturb my fellow aisle passenger who is nodding off so try to logon. I think they said it was free. Well it is for 15 minutes – I am going to have to work fast. You login for your free 15 minutes – well it took 35 minutes to enter my details and work out if the required password is in fact either the passcode or serial ID they had sent me. Why don’t they use the same terminology when giving out instructions? It’s a hurdle.

Over the first fifteen minutes I manage to load Google Cloud and start to see my emails. If only the internet was as fast as the trolley man. So I decide I shall purchase 24 hours worth of internet for £10.00. Good deal (despite me thinking it was free) as I can use 6 hours going up and the rest coming down. Well after 30 minutes I gave up….it was hopelessly slow. My fellow passenger told me it depends where you sit on the train as to the strength of the signal. Maybe the roof would be a better option, or better still the driver’s cabin. Or well I am not in an airport.

I’m getting hungry so having missed Billy the Kid on the trolley I climb over my colleague to the find the buffet car. I join a queue of three customers who watch three staff members in the kitchen having a good social while their poor colleague struggles being tossed around trying to serve coffee and explain that they can’t take credit cards for anything under a five pound value. I see the sandwich the lady in front of me orders and then realise on the board it’s supplied by the Sandwich Factory – OMG what an image…thousands of little sandwiches being made in a big factory. Fresh, tasty, handmade – don’t think so.

So it’s a fresh ham and cheese Panini and a hot chocolate for me. After 13 minutes of waiting, just as the staff social is finishing, I leave the food bar and take my seat ready to enjoy my purchases. The two passengers opposite me tuck into their M and S readymade salads and give each other sideward glance as I proudly produce my Panini. I bite into it and realise that it’s microwaved and like a volcano in my mouth. Rapidly removing it I am told “sorry I should have warned you!” Once cooled down it was like eating plastic ham surrounded by gladwrap cheese.

Anyway nearly there now and I admire the fantastic scenery from Newcastle to Edinburgh. That is the best bit – seeing the country.

I arrive at my destination in one piece and with three new friends – a PHD maths student, a charity worker and a BBC producer. They were great company.

In my hotel room that night I logon and try to send an email East Coast Main Line to ask for my internet expense to be refunded. Of course there is no way of emailing them, you have to make a phone call, but I don’t want to speak to India………..it’s all too hard.

For the return journey I decide I shall try and use my remaining internet minutes of the 24 hours. Oh silly me its 24 hours in real time, not in use like every other internet provider I use has in place. Oh well it will save me all and frustration and after all the women next to me has her music so loud I could be wearing her earphones. So I have entertainment.

My conclusion

My overarching concern, being slightly concerned about our planet, is exacerbated by the fact that it’s going to be the simple things that stop the public using our train system. Its good value but in this case, East Coast put hurdle after hurdle in front of the customer. The bruised customer is not going to jump them. It’s all too hard and yet so simple to put it right.

As for me, what will I do next time? Well three things:

1. I think first and foremost I enjoyed the main present – the trip. It was the wrapping of the present that was poor – not the present. So I will look at another provider who delivers a better parcel wrapped service even it does cost more money.

2. I shall use this story when I keynote at conferences. Telling real life story about service issues that affect you ensures you have great material. You should hear the fantastic Qantas story I have!

3. I shall try my hardest to get this blog in front of the East Coast Mainline CEO so he can make his team realise that all customers are in fact some form of mystery shopper and making judgements all of the time. They need to capture those judgements.

The four simple things East Coast Mainline could do today are:

1. Get the senior management walk the customer journey? Surely if they were any good they would remove these simple hurdles? They need to do it.

2. In a motivational manner ask the teams who run the trains to read, reflect and write down three things they would do to improve the experience for me, the customer

3. Seek more customer feedback on the train, so issues can be dealt with straight away. Training staff to read body language would be a good start. Then any staff member, the trolley operator or the ticket collector would read if someone is having difficulty. Now recognising a problem and offering help before the customer has opened there mouth – that’s great service. Six star hotel stuff. Could East Coast do it – of course they could!

4. Introduce a mystery shopping programme that rewarded staff “on the spot” with incentives when they deliverer a great experience. Instant recognition is the new wave of mystery shopping techniques and has profound, instant and motivational results.

If I were the CEO of East Coast Mainline and closed my eyes I would have a vision of a world that was full of fabulous blogs about my dedicated team’s fantastic service. Where problems don’t exist just opportunities. Where staff are catching opportunities to impress customers all of the time. Where complaints are a gift and finally, when the team do it well, they personally do really well. Getting pride back into a brand is the sentiment.

The cost of not getting it right during a recession does not bear thinking about.

I truly hope East Coast Mainline get it right so the customer has as beautiful experience inside the carriage as I did viewing the north east coastline.

Jonathan Winchester is the MD of Shopper Anonymous UK.

Read More…..

Out of all of the shows I felt this was the most enjoyable really good tips to make the industry improve and ideas that other real estate agents can simply use.

Feedback

It seems a shame that Mary Portas did not look at the whole process rather than just the property viewing. For example, when the buyer moves in what happens? when a buyer moves to local area how can the agent educate them?

We did a lot of mystery shopping in Australia within this sector and we measured numerous different processes within the real estate industry. Improvement is required over the whole experience and maybe not just the property viewing.

My learning points for tonight are :

• Mystery shop the opposition to identify where your service ranks with your competitors. If you have been running a business for a long time you must ensure you look at different ways to do business – going stale kills business.
• Use plain English all of the time – customers lose trust when they don’t understand.
• Look how much better the staff were during the viewing when they knew so much more about the house they were selling.  Product knowledge = confidence = enthusiasm = passion = energy.  Customer service is an energy business!
• Finally, it’s better to be different than better.

Customer Service & Mystery Shopping Document Library

We will be adding to the library over the coming weeks and months so be sure to check back regularly.

Hope you find this new section useful.

Again another interesting show but not as powerful as the first episode. This was probably due to the fact that Jason Tyldesley runs a great business! I felt the original team approach on the shop floor was really good. It was personal, not overly pushy and invited the customer into the shop in a warm way.  It seemed as if they then left the customer alone to browse if they so wished.  The team was also very good and clearly loved working for Jason and the respect levels showed.

Feedback

I felt there could have been more in the way of tips and ideas, on how to find out what the customers needs were, rather than simply telling the team that they need to find them out.  It’s all about questions and listening and awareness of where the team member is in the sales cycle.

When I watch these programmes I image that I work in one of these businesses and what I would take away from the programme. It’s the “how” rather than just talking about the problem that will really make a difference.  Then the UK can really improve.

Learning Points

The key points are:

• All sales teams need to appreciate the need for asking questions and listening to the feedback.  This is step two in our sales process and comes before step three (delivering the offer). So many sales people tell us what they want to tell us rather than what we need to hear!
• The key way to find out what the customer wants is to ask good questions and then listen to the answers. It’s the old adage (we have two ears and one mouth (so why do we talk twice as much as we listen!)
• Don’t make statements that are empty and meaningless (e.g. we will price match)

Want more insight into the series – visit this page > Mary Portas Secret Shopper.

Image: Channel 4

Jonathan Winchester’s Opinions

The programme really highlighted the issues of customer service in the larger chains. Being the first show it was quite an easy target and although they make a great deal of money, the “sell it high let it fly treatment” is a proven formulae. Mary Portas is right though, a little more investment in the service and the smaller groups like Pilot, could have a longer life span. There are some groups like Mistral that do all of it very well and invest in their people to deliver a good experience.

Feedback

It would have been good to have seen more training tips for the staff so other people in the same situation could have taken something away with them. For example, the importance of body language, how to approach customers are just a few. The show really was about changing the customer journey (with the new changing rooms) rather than tactics to serve better. It will be interesting to see how the store is doing in 12 months. It seems like he needed a stronger management structure to support the teams — then that’s all money and effects the margins!

I have seen the same changing room concept in Cottelsoe Perth, Western Australia with the blackboards. They too, are excellent at it. I shall twitter (@shopperanonuk) about them when I remember the name.

Learning Points

The key points were really:

• The owner / manager have to get out and walk the floor. I had two clients today who told me they have been going around their stores today due to the programme. It can be a great team motivator.
• The teams have to have targets which are short and attainable to help keep focused when out of the watch of their managers.
• The store should be zoned so staff look after a set area and do not all stand behind the checkout.
• “Test” new concepts before you roll them out!

Takeaways

Next show will be interesting. It will also be interesting if they do food / supermarkets as we believe we are the best in the world at this!

To discover what was involved at first hand, I ventured out with my two under-fives and their aunty on a real mystery shopping mission. [...] During our visit, we carefully observed the employees and discreetly noted their names. Were they correctly attired? Were they wearing name badges? Did they deal with our requests quickly and politely and provide the information we required? Was our food well-presented and served at the right temperature?

Read: The secret life of the mystery shopper

With less than two weeks to go until Halloween many shops and stores are already decked out with themed displays to entice and delight their customers. But are you, as a business owner or operator, making the most of yours?

Listen to Jonathan Winchester, Managing Director of Shopper Anonymous UK, outline his 5 tips to help improve the customer’s experience of your business during this season.

1. Get your business into character

Think about the full customer journey. The Halloween experience should start before they’ve even entered the four walls of your business. Go out into the road (mind the traffic), look at your signage and ask yourself how you can make make it obvious you’re doing something different for Halloween. Could you add a splash of colour to it? Also look for opportunities to give your car park a Halloween theme. Could you add a pumpkin display? Some music perhaps (see more below)? Or maybe dress a mannequin up as a Halloween character?

2. Educate your customers

As many children and adults don’t really understand the history behind Halloween why not use this as an opportunity to educate? Give them a quiz to fill out as they go around your store; learning titbits as they go about how Halloween started and where it’s come from. They’ll leave the store with some knowledge and, when they talk to their friends and other parents, they’ll refer to your business. Also, try looking into local community groups that involve children – maybe underprivileged? – who would welcome the opportunity to come to the store to learn more about Halloween. Not only does this offer them a great experience but it also provides you with an excellent story for a local or regional newspaper.

3. Create an atmosphere within your store

Some people love in-store music while others don’t. I prefer a quiet atmosphere with appropriate music played at an acceptable volume. You can get CD’s of Halloween music from Amazon or any other online outlet and run it throughout the store during this period – it adds real atmosphere. I worked with a supermarket in Australia that played the music of Frank Sinatra every Thursday afternoon. Why? Because it was pension day. Not only did the dulcet tones of Ol’ Blue Eyes encourage the older generation to come into the store but it became a talking point.

Remember that atmosphere is also about staff. Get everybody (and that really does mean you and every other operator in the business) to dress up as Halloween characters and encourage them to act out the role. Often I’ve found it’s those individuals who are less than enthusiastic about their role within the business that really take to this and come out of themselves. Don’t forget to put name badges on everyone and alter them to suit the Halloween theme to get the customers talking to your staff.

4. Extend your opening hours

Why not organise an evening event with games and costume competitions? Do it for a couple of years and you’ll soon get known for it with whole families coming back and visiting. It doesn’t have to be a large and expensive affair either; even something quite simple and community-based is different enough to get people talking about it.

5. Don’t let it linger

How often have you been into a shop in March to find bits of the previous year’s Christmas decorations are still up. Not good. Once Halloween is finished make sure everything is stripped away. Walk the customer journey from start to finish to ensure all trace of Halloween is gone so that you can move onto your next seasonal event.