Mystery Shopping: What Do Mystery Shopping and Dancing with the Stars Have in Common?
When the results come in from your latest round of mystery shops, some of your employees are going to feel like the latest contestants who won Dancing with the Stars. Others…not so much. Ok, I am officially busted. You now know that I am a huge Dancing with the Stars fan. I am a devotee of the beautiful costumes, fabulous music, and very talented professionals who coach the celebrity contestants to become the best dancers they can possibly be. But the thing I am impressed with the most are the professional judges who rate each routine. They love lavishing praise, (and as managers and supervisors, don’t we all?). But when it comes to rating those dancers who are clearly not going to seeing the mirror ball trophy anytime soon, you can actually see how difficult it is for them. I think it’s the same for us as managers when it comes to meeting with our staff and sharing the results of the latest round of mystery shops. It’s easy to share the news when it’s good and much more difficult when improvement is necessary.
Here are some things to think about as you approach these employee meetings.
- Think of the data contained in the mystery shopping reports as the starting point of a conversation. The data allows you to approach staff performance problems from a third party perspective.
- Lavish praise where employees have done well just like the judges. Be specific with the things you know the staff is doing well and spend time coaching your staff on how to improve. The mystery shopping reports will give you specific examples to cite.
- Give you staff specific things to work on until the next round of shops. This is what the judges do on Dancing with the Stars. They tell the competing couples what they want to see the following week in the way of improvement. It helps to know what your coach or the judge expects.
Are there any tips you care to share when it comes to having those tough discussions with an employee?
As you’re enjoying the next season of Dancing with the Stars, take a tip from their panel of judges and add some new techniques as you coach your staff on their way to delivering the ultimate customer experience.
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