Having a successful restaurant hinges on customer experience, satisfaction, and loyalty. In today’s competitive food service industry, reviews are crucial—if a customer leaves unhappy, they’re unlikely to return and might spread their dissatisfaction to friends, family, or even online.

At Shoppers Confidential, we tailor restaurant mystery shopping programs to meet your specific needs. Whether you need insights on service quality, compliance with regulations, or ways to improve customer satisfaction, our services provide you with actionable data. In addition to restaurant secret shopping, we also offer customer service satisfaction surveys that can be administered through a table kiosk, tablet, QR code, or survey link. Results are available in real-time and can be delivered directly to your smartphone or tablet.

Why Choose Shoppers Confidential for Restaurant Mystery Shopping?

Our experienced restaurant mystery shoppers provide valuable insights into the day-to-day operations of your establishment. We help you understand what’s really happening on the floor by evaluating your staff’s adherence to processes, service quality, and customer engagement. By identifying areas for improvement, we create actionable plans for training and boosting customer satisfaction.

Proud Member of Restaurants Canada

 

Shoppers Confidential is proud to be a member of Restaurants Canada, a national non-profit association aimed at representing Canada’s Food Service Industry. This organization serves Canada’s foodservice industry by providing support and resources to restaurants and food establishments across the country.

Members include independent restaurant owners, food trucks, national restaurant chains, hotels, convenience stores, and more. As proud members, Shoppers Confidential has acquired extensive knowledge of the Canadian foodservice industry and can pass on this expertise to our clients through professional mystery shopping services designed specifically for restaurants and bars in Canada.

What Restaurants Gain from Our Mystery Shopping Programs:

Improve Customer Satisfaction:
Understand the behaviors that drive customer satisfaction in your restaurant and optimize the overall dining experience.

Company-wide Service Standards:
Ensure consistent customer service is implemented across all branches of your restaurant.

Actionable Data:
Gain insights into customer experiences through detailed reports, charts, and real-time feedback.

Identify Training Gaps:
Pinpoint areas where employee training needs improvement to boost service standards.

Increase Customer Retention:
Develop programs that encourage customer loyalty, ensuring repeat business and positive reviews.

Custom Tailored Programs:
Develop a mystery shopping program that fits your restaurant’s specific needs and goals.

Compliance and Integrity Programs

In the restaurant industry, especially when selling alcohol or tobacco, ensuring compliance with local regulations is crucial. Our Compliance Program ensures that your staff is following identification and age-verification protocols properly. Mystery shoppers will evaluate how well your team is adhering to laws, offering peace of mind for restaurant owners and managers.

We also offer an Integrity Program to help address concerns about employee honesty and theft. From monitoring server and bartender behavior to identifying shrinkage issues, we work with you to develop a solution that protects your business.

Customer Satisfaction Surveys & Comment Cards

Encouraging feedback from your customers is one of the most effective ways to understand their experience and improve your restaurant’s operations. Shoppers Confidential offers online comment cards and customer satisfaction surveys that provide valuable feedback on everything from food quality to service experience. Whether through a QR code, tablet, or kiosk, gathering feedback is simple, and the data is delivered to you in real-time.

Offering incentives for feedback can greatly increase response rates, giving you a deeper understanding of how customers perceive your restaurant. This information is essential for making improvements, maintaining high standards, and addressing any issues before they impact your reputation.

Key Restaurant Mystery Shopping Services

1. Customer Sales & Service Audits

Our certified restaurant mystery shoppers visit your establishment under the guise of regular customers. They report on every aspect of their experience, from the greeting at the door to food quality, service speed, and interactions with staff. This audit offers an objective and accurate view of your business from the customer’s perspective, helping you maintain or improve service standards.

2. Competitor Intelligence Program

Stay ahead of your competitors with our Competitor Intelligence Program. We send mystery shoppers to rival restaurants to evaluate their service, pricing, and overall customer experience. This allows you to benchmark your performance and stay one step ahead in the competitive restaurant industry.

3. Compliance Program

Our Compliance Program ensures that your restaurant staff follows legal requirements when selling alcohol or tobacco products. Mystery shoppers of legal age but appearing younger will attempt to make purchases, reporting whether the proper identification checks are conducted. This service provides peace of mind that your team is following local and federal regulations.

4. Decoy Agent Shops

An excellent choice for restaurants that serve alcohol, our Decoy Agent Shops take compliance a step further. In this program, an agent (of legal age) and a decoy (a minor) visit your establishment together. The agent orders an age-restricted product, followed by the decoy, to evaluate if your staff is serving minors when accompanied by someone of legal age. This ensures that your employees are complying with age-verification laws.

5. Telephone (Customer Care) Evaluations

First impressions matter, and in many cases, the first interaction with your restaurant happens over the phone. Our Telephone Evaluations ensure that your staff is treating inbound calls with professionalism, courtesy, and sales skills. We assess phone manners and help ensure that every phone interaction leaves a positive impression.

6. Employee Rewards Program

Boost morale and service standards with our Employee Rewards Program. After a mystery shopping visit, employees who excel in customer service and adherence to company standards can be rewarded, either immediately or at a later date. This program encourages staff to consistently deliver high-quality service.

7. Employee Satisfaction Surveys

Your employees are the backbone of your restaurant, and their feedback can provide critical insights into operations. Our Employee Satisfaction Surveys help you understand how your team feels about their work environment, allowing you to address concerns and make improvements that enhance both employee morale and service quality.

8. Website Evaluations

Your restaurant’s website plays a crucial role in attracting customers. Our Website Evaluations assess every aspect of your site, from navigation and ease of use to online ordering and reservations. We help you optimize your website to enhance the customer experience and drive more business.

9. Voice of the Customer Program

Our Voice of the Customer Program provides valuable insights into how your customers perceive your restaurant. This program gathers feedback directly from customers in your establishment, giving you the tools to address any issues, improve satisfaction, and build stronger relationships with your clientele.

10. Social Reputation Management

Managing your online reputation is easier with Shoppers Confidential’s Social Reputation Management. This service correlates customer reviews and feedback with mystery shopping results, providing a complete view of how your restaurant is performing. Our all-in-one portal allows you to respond to online reviews, reward top-performing staff, and implement improvement strategies across multiple locations.

At Shoppers Confidential, we understand the unique challenges that restaurant owners face in delivering exceptional service while staying compliant with industry regulations. Our comprehensive mystery shopping and compliance programs are designed to help you monitor staff performance, enhance customer satisfaction, and protect your business.