ATLANTA, GA - The concept of the hired anonymous
shopper taken on to test the quality and services of a
business is age-old, but the applications are as modern
as they come. Any business could stand to benefit from
the view through their customer's eyes, and as customer
service becomes an increasingly important means for all
lodging segments to distinguish themselves, franchised
brands are finally taking to the notion guest
evaluation.
A perfect example of this - U.S. Franchised Systems'
(USFS), the parent company of Microtel Inns and Suites,
Hawthorn Suites and Best Inns Suites - implementation of
a "Mystery Shopper" component as part of its
new quality assurance program, unveiled last week at the
company's annual conference.
"A lot of hotels use mystery shoppers, but
franchises usually have their own inspectors," said
Leven. "There are know other franchise brands, to
my knowledge, that have something like the mystery
shopper."
A "Mystery Shopper," who will provide an
overall assessment of the hotel's accommodations and
service, will periodically evaluate all hotels. The
assessment will be compiled from observations by the
shopper from the moment they make their reservation to
the last second before they walk out of the lobby doors.
"As our brands grow and the travelers become
more discriminating in their lodging choices, it is
important that we provide the most effective process to
continue to maintain a consistent level of product and
quality service," said Roy Flora, USFS Senior VP of
Operations.
The "Mystery Shoppers" will focus on issues
that are easily overlooked by quality inspectors due to
the anonymity that comes with the guest perspective.
Reservations, check-in and check-out, and billing are
key matters, as opposed to looking at specific hotel
rules, according to Leven.
"It eliminates relationships between the quality
inspectors and the hotel, and keeps it anonymous,"
said Leven.
Brand reaction was positive with some minor concerns,
according to Leven.
"Hawthorn asked if they could buy more
inspections, more times a year. Microtel was concerned
about still having a staff of quality inspectors because
they were so helpful with suggestions," said Leven.
"There will still be a staff of quality inspectors
who will be able to go out and fix any problems."
USFS has hired an outside company to supply the
"Mystery Shopper," and plans to test the
concept over the course of this year, when it will
unleash more than 1,000 "Mystery Shoppers"
into its brand hotels.
"We'd like it to go forever, but we're testing
it to see whether it works," said Leven.
Returning results of 20 to 30 mystery shopper test
runs before last weekend's announcement came back as
expected. There were, simply, some topics that were not
being picked up the quality inspectors.
"The three ways [the results] are coming back is
the front desk, reservations, check-in and check-out -
these are areas we need improvement in," said Leven.
"Areas we knew were good and being picked up by the
inspectors were furnishings, light fixtures, safety and
general conditions and repairs."
In addition to the "Mystery Shopper," USFS'
new quality assurance program has scrapped it old
traditional checklist and replaced it with a
user-friendly questionnaire that allows for anonymous
evaluation. The questionnaire will rate the hotel in its
execution of service, standards, amenities, staff
interactions, and product presentation levels from a
guest perspective.
"Our goal is to get the information and set our
training against our problems," said Leven.
