The Remains of the Previous Customer Were on the Table, and Other Mystery Shopper Comments
February 2, 2011
Back in the 1980’s, one of our early mystery shopping clients was a McDonald’s franchisee. When our CEO, Elaine Buxton, met with him to discuss our quality review process, she explained that all reports would reflect the utmost professional language. She gave the example stating the review team would change a phrase like “She took her sweet time” to something more professional sounding, such as “She was slow in approaching the drive up window.” That wise client taught us an early and valuable lesson: don’t change the tone of what the shopper communicates in verbatim comments. As he so aptly put it, “I can picture exactly what happened when I read “she took her sweet time”, so keep those types of comments in, please. We learned a lot from that client, including how to guide a quality review team to strike a balance between flavor and tone, content and quality. Confero CEO Elaine Buxton Finishes Year as President of Industry Association MSPA
January 13, 2011
As 2010 came to a close, Elaine Buxton completed her term as President of the Mystery Shopping Providers’ Association (MSPA), North America. Elaine has been involved with MSPA since its beginning in 1998. Confero was a charter member of the organization.Family Dining Mystery Shops
November 18, 2010
Nations Restaurant News recently reported in the article, "Restaurants put Marketing Muscle behind Kids' menus," that families are returning to restaurants. This is good news for restaurants that focus on attracting the family dining segment. Whether they use an e-mail blast, radio ads, table tents or a combination of communication methods, restaurants benefit from a family strategy that allows them to bring in more customers and deliver a dining experience that encourages families to return.ABCs of an Effective Mystery Shopping Program
July 22, 2010
A: Allow time for consideration of mystery shop goals, survey question details and possible scenarios during the set up of a new mystery shopping program .B: Build on the information that you gain from your mystery shops so that you can improve and redirect your program periodically.
C: Customize your mystery shopper survey to reflect your firm’s unique service and sales priorities.
Back in the 1980’s, one of our early mystery shopping clients was a McDonald’s franchisee. When our CEO, Elaine Buxton, met with him to discuss our quality review process, she explained that all reports would reflect the utmost professional language. She gave the example stating the review team would change a phrase like “She took her sweet time” to something more professional sounding, such as “She was slow in approaching the drive up window.” That wise client taught us an early and valuable lesson: don’t change the tone of what the shopper communicates in verbatim comments. As he so aptly put it, “I can picture exactly what happened when I read “she took her sweet time”, so keep those types of comments in, please. We learned a lot from that client, including how to guide a quality review team to strike a balance between flavor and tone, content and quality. .jpg)
As 2010 came to a close, Elaine Buxton completed her term as President of the 
Nations Restaurant News recently reported in the article, "
A: Allow time for consideration of mystery shop goals, survey question details and possible scenarios during the set up of a new