How New Healthcare Laws May Impact Customer Dining Experiences
November 30, 2012What kind of an impact will the new health care laws have on customer dining out experiences?
As restaurants adjust to new laws on healthcare for employees who work more than 30 hours per week, managers will juggle employee schedules and budgets even more so than in the past. The restaurant industry's reliance on part time workers ensures that the industry will feel a big impact when the new law comes into play in 2014. Some restaurants, such as Darden Restaurants, whose concepts includes Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, will reassess the number of employees who will receive health benefits within the law and determine ways to manage the increased benefits costs . Other restaurants, such as Panera, say that for now, they have no plans to adjust employee hours because of the new law. Still others worry about the ability to afford good people in order to provide good service at their restaurants.
Several restaurants are preparing now. Darden Restaurants is currently testing the limiting of staff hours at some locations. No doubt, management will evaluate
Telephone Mystery Shopping: Four Reasons Why using a Call Center May Not Work
November 30, 2012Do you ever wonder about the best way to employ telephone mystery shopping? Should a call center place the calls, or should a variety of callers phone your locations? Companies who use traditional call centers to conduct telephone mystery shops may feel that quicker results and smaller fees prevail. Before you consider this strategy, think about the following pitfalls:
- Calls across the Board: Call center employees may make dozens of calls each day to many locations. When employees place many calls over a short time period, they may begin to sound scripted. The calls sometimes sound just like call center calls. With
Holiday Gatherings and Restaurant Alcohol Compliance
November 30, 2012Restaurant mystery shoppingand training efforts are even more important during the holidays, with busy employees facing the challenges of managing more customer traffic. With holiday celebrations for family and offices soon to be in full swing at restaurants across the nation, and alcohol often a big
“..So I Bagged Myself” and Other Funny Mystery Shopper Comments
November 29, 2012We are constantly reminded of why our quality assurance process is so valuable to our clients. Despite ever-smarter technology, there is no replacement for an actual review of a report before it’s released to our client. Spell check can’t and won’t uncover all errors!
In 2011, we posted an article highlighting some mystery shopper funnies that Confero’s team had encountered over the years. We were surprised at all the positive feedback from those who enjoyed reading them. Given its popularity, we decided to post more humorous quotes this month.
- “There were no baggers helping the cashier so I bagged myself”.
- “I ordered tuna and the server went into a drawer for it.”
Five Ideas to Energize your Onsite and Telephone Mystery Shopping Program
October 31, 2012Need a way to lift your mystery shopping efforts for the upcoming year? With year -end approaching, now is the perfect time to consider ways to revitalize your mystery shops. Here are five easy ways to make meaningful changes: