Does the Community Enhance Visitor Experience?
How would a tourism company research if the community enhances visitor experience in a particular area?
This tourism organization approached Confero with a concern. They worried that employees at the area’s restaurants, stores, lodging, and attractions were not suggesting other things to do in the area when asked by a guest. Worse, they feared that responses at times could include comments that there was nothing to do. The businesses needed to promote each other to ensure guests would return. The tourism center needed objective evaluations. That would enable them to present the data at meetings and use it for training purposes. They wanted mystery shoppers to assess knowledge of the area. Additionally, they wanted to assess customer service. When conducting the mystery shops were they given a greeting, friendliness, staff knowledge and the offer of a pleasant closing.
Confero Guides New to Mystery Shop Organization for Optimum Results
The organization was new to mystery shopping. So, Confero’s project manager guided the center as they designed the project. Particularly, sharing the importance of using appropriate questions to include, clear wording and other areas to consider during the visits. Essentially, the tourism organization wanted to know “Does the Community Enhance Visitor Experience?”
The result was customized mystery shopper surveys for hotels, restaurants, retail stores and attractions. Shoppers reported on experiences of browsing a retail store, dining in, exploring an attraction and inquiring about a hotel, with all asking, “What else would you recommend to do in the area?”
Mystery Shop Results Informs of Opportunities to Improve
The mystery shop results confirmed that in over 30% of the shops, the associate did not knowledgeably answer the question about other activities to do in the area. It pinpointed which location’s associates did not do well so that the company could re-train them. In the meantime, positive answers from knowledgeable associates could serve as training examples for new employees.
Confero’s reporting allowed the tourism center to break down the information by geographic area and type of shop in order to dig deeper into the results. The result was a clearer picture of how associates promote their own region. The takeaway was refreshed training. It was designed to increase associate confidence and ease when answering questions about what else to do in the area. That way, the community would enhance visitors’ experiences.
Learn about other ways Confero has helped businesses and organizations.
