The Mystery Shopper Framework

One of the most important factors in success, particularly in a market context where competition is fierce, is the caliber of the customer experience. Thus, one of the operational areas that firms should enhance is customer service (Sturman, Corgel and Verma 2011, p.12). One method for gauging the effectiveness of customer service is mystery shopping. For instance, SERQUAL is utilized as a mystery shopping tool to measure the gap between customers’ expectations and perceptions (Shahin and Samea 2010, p.1). A mystery shopper thus conducts a research to collect information regarding services and the nature of the business in which they shop (Lai and Chang 2013, p.54). The management uses the mystery shopping process to assess the daily operations and processes. Presented in this paper is a mystery shopper framework to evaluate the quality of customer service at Goa Indian restaurant in Sunderland.

The Framework

The mystery shopper (patron) should visit the Goa Indian restaurant in Sunderland and assess the quality of the services that are provided in the restaurant. The mystery patron should evaluate the restaurant on items such as the state of the restaurant, staff, service, meals and miscellaneous. Likert scales are used in the presented framework with the mystery using a scale of one to five to rate the various conditions. One being the lowest score (show of dissatisfaction) and five being the highest rating (satisfaction) (Barua 2013, p.35). Scores from all the items under assessment are then summed and percentage rating of the restaurant calculated out of the maximum possible scores. Likert scales have been chosen as the basis for data collection in this framework due to their ability to quantify subjective information such as cleanliness of the restaurant and friendliness of the staff among others (Hammill and Fojo 2013, p.514). It should, however, be noted that tool has various cons such as the results can be skewed should the respondent decide to remain neutral in most tested scenarios. The framework further provides an opportunity for the secret patron to comment on the various issues being assessed (Nardi 2015, p.15). The instrument should be based on the evaluation of the state of the restaurant against the customer’s expectations as well as the standards or specifications as stipulated by the various regulatory authorities or management.

The Scale

According to Liu et al. (2014, p.53), an effective scale provides internal validity and consistency in the model that is being applied. Strongly agree in the present model is accorded the highest rating of five. In assigning a strongly agree score to an element it shows that the customer’s expectations are meet beyond any reasonable doubt. On the other strongly disagree scores the lowest ratings on the scale with such ratings indicating the customer’s expectations are not met with several gaps that should be filled in case the business wants to improve its services. The agree scale is in the middle representing and may be used to say that the condition being is fair and deserves an average score.

Restaurant

Information should be collected regarding the state or appearance of the restaurant (Lee 2016, p.2). The physical condition of the restaurant contributes to customer satisfaction while ensuring that health standards for food preparation, service and consumption adhere. The state of the restaurant should also be appealing to potential customers from the outside. Customer’s comfort is largely influenced by the restaurant’s ambiance and therefore should also be assessed (Tsaur, Luoh, and Syue 2015, p.115). The scale below should be used in assessing the restaurant.

1

2

3

4

5

Goa Indian Score

The restaurant is attractive from the outside

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

4

The restaurant is attractive from the inside

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

All the elements of the restaurant clean

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

4

The ambiance of the restaurant is perfect

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

3

Your overall feeling about the state of the restaurant

Needs Improvement

Good

Excellent

5

Total Score

21

Meal

The quality of food offered in a restaurant is critical in the determination of the customer satisfaction (Kim, Youn, and Rao 2017, p.129). After all a patron visits to satisfy not only their hunger and cravings but also to experiment with types of food from different parts of the world. Excellent food quality will keep the customer coming back over and over again while poor food is one of the ways losing clients to rival businesses. The quality of the food should meet the customer’s expectations by being of the desired temperature. The level of freshness also affects the quality. In rating the overall opinion, the mystery patron should take into consideration whether the food was freshly prepared or one is being served from the previous day’s leftovers. The utensils should be clean and of appropriate use. The server must provide the necessary cutlery such as forks, knives, and spoons as they may be needed. It is at the patron’s discretion to choose the piece of cutlery he or she wants to use. The time taken for the order to be delivered is also a crucial indicator for an efficient service delivery. The menu should meet the customer’s expectations in the sense that the food availability should contain what the customer would have loved to eat at that particular time as well as being of appropriate price according to the standards (Fakih et al., 2016, p.71). The mystery shopper should observe the demeanor of the server to note whether the server would welcome him or her to come again for the meal. The following scale can be used with the comment section also existing for the shopper to write down their overall feelings about the

1

2

3

4

5

Goa Indian Score

The menu selection met your expectations

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

3

The meal arrived as you ordered

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The food was served in clean and appropriate utensils

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

4

The food was well cooked according to your expectation

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

3

There were no foreign objects in the food such as human hair, insects, and leaves

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The server invited you to come again after the meal

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

1

The menu item was of good value according to the price indicated

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

3

Your overall opinion about the quality of the food served

Needs Improvement

Good

Excellent

4

Total Score

28

The Staff

The restaurant’s employees have the greatest on customer’s satisfaction and service delivery (Wilder, Collier and Barnes 2014, p.446). The behavior and the attitude of the staff will make the patron like or dislike immensely a particular restaurant. A mystery shopper should be keen to evaluate how the members of staff such as waiters and waitresses handle them and other customers (Su and Tsai 2014, p.268). The aim of assessing the staff is to evaluate the level of friendliness, helpfulness and the general efficiency of the workers. It is not only the physical interaction between the customers and the employees that are important but also how the staff is treating online customers as well as the patrons who are making phone calls to enquire about the services; make complaints or compliments or to make orders. Assessing of the employees is also to determine the level of professionalism in the conduct of the restaurant. Chen and Barrows (2015, p.12280) further indicates that evaluating the employee’s assists in assessing the achievement of the set objects of the firm.

1

2

3

4

5

Goa Indian Score

You were promptly greeted by the host/hostess

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

4

You were warmly welcomed to the restaurant

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The greeting was friendly and professional

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

You were seated promptly and comfortably

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

4

If not seated promptly the staff assured you of immediate help

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

3

The server was knowledgeable about the menu selection and offering

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The server suggested a beverage or an appetizer

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The server’s appearance was appropriate to the nature of the restaurant

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The server checked with you in the course of the meal

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

4

The server brought the food in a timely manner

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The plates were cleared promptly

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly disagree

3

The staff informed you about the booking process as well as other online services offered by the restaurant.

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

1

The server informed me of a procedure to be used in case of making calls to make a booking or making inquiries

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

The restaurant informed of some of the activities that I could be interested in the city

Strongly disagree

Agree

Strongly agree

5

What is your overall opinion of the workers at the restaurant

Needs work

Average

Excellent

4

Total Score

63

Computing the Overall Rating of the Restaurant

While the individual scores of the indexes are crucial management process improvement, the overall score can be used to compare the performance among industry members (Kovács, Carroll and Lehman 2013, p. 459). The present framework computes the overall rating by finding the total score as a percentage of the maximum possible score. The maximum score from the three scales is 140 while the total score obtained from assessing Goa Indian restaurant is 112. The rating for the Goa Indian can, therefore, be computed as 112/140*100 and is 80%.

Conclusion

Customer satisfaction is one of the key determinants to the success of any organization. Efforts should thus be made to ensure that customer’s loyalty is earned by all means. Mystery shopping is gaining popularity for its ability to assess an organization to handle its customers as well as increasing the efficiency of its operations. The mystery shopper framework provided in the present utilizes a model that is aimed at assessing the quality of customer service at Goa India restaurant.

Bibliography

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