While the majority of the restaurant and bar mystery shops we conduct are traditional in the sense that you are simply monitoring the customer service of the server or bartender you happen to come into contact with, we do conduct some shops that require you to monitor a specific target. While these shops are not as common, our clients need them from time to time, and it is essential to understand why they are being conducted and how to properly perform them.
If a client is concerned about the behavior of one of their staff members, they will request a target shop.
Target Shops Ensure Proper Monitoring of Money and Product Handling
Most often, these shops are targeting employees who the client suspects of theft, over-pouring of drinks, or just general disobedience about the rules and policies in place within their business. For bar shops specifically, clients use target shops as a tool to monitor the cash and product handling practices of their bartenders, as they need to verify that drinks are being poured within their restaurant standards, that drinks are being rung in correctly, and that all cash handling is appropriately being managed.
Target Shops Help to Train and Manage Employees
For target shops focused on the service staff, our clients use these reports for specific training and ongoing development of their team. If they receive a traditional shop report one month that reflects many areas of opportunity for a specific server, they may ask to have that server shopped again the following month. They want to ensure that the feedback they received was acknowledged and understood and the specific server has taken their actionable items and improved in those areas. It is an excellent way for our clients to directly follow up to ensure their staff is being properly trained and managed.
Avoid Setting Off Any Red Flags
As a mystery shopper, it can be challenging to go into these target scenarios as we understand that asking for a specific server may shoot off somewhat of a red flag. However, it is not uncommon for you to request a particular server as you can indicate that you had the server before, and they did a great job, or that a friend recently visited the establishment and had that server. It may seem unnatural to make this kind of request, but the reality is that our clients expect us to conduct these shops, and they understand that the scenario may be a little awkward.
Hit Your Deadlines and Return Feedback ASAP
Target shops will always occur on a specific day, during a very specific time period. This is to ensure that you are shopping at the location when the target is scheduled to work. It is important that all deadlines are hit, but especially in these situations where we have a very small time window to execute these shops. There is a high sense of urgency with these shops, as our clients need this important feedback as soon as possible.
Contact Us for More Information!
While target shops are very specific and require a little more work from the shopper’s end, we do compensate shoppers more for these shops, given the added instruction and certain timeframes. If you see an available target shop on our job board and are hesitant for any reason, please let us know, and we will walk you through the best way to go about conducting these shops. For more information on how to become one of our nationwide mystery shoppers, contact us today!