When was the last time you hired a mystery shopper to evaluate your business?

 Did you say never? Or perhaps you are thinking yours is not the type of business to use a mystery shopper. Sorry but every business owner or manager needs to know how their business appears to customers and prospects. The best way to find out is to ask someone who you trust and will be honest with you to make a purchase.

 Mystery shoppers are not just suitable for restaurants and shops. You do care about the experience your customers have when they purchase from you don’t you?

 It is all too easy to feel that our business provides an excellent service (almost every business owner makes that claim) but when was the last time you purchased anything from yourself and made a complaint? When was the last time you took a close look at your business through the eyes of a customer or prospective customer?

 Phone a friend now and ask him or her to make a purchase from your business and then make a complaint about the product or service.

 You want to know how your receptionist deals with the call and how promptly. What is the service of your sales department like and how quickly do they respond. How do your customer service people treat customers who complain?

 Once you get the answers back from your friend – and make it clear you want honest answers – then act to make the improvements that are undoubtedly necessary.

 Have a GREAT Day!

Stuart Lockley

I have no idea where I obtained this story from so i give my thanks to whoever I need to thank. Also this story may in fact be apocryphal but if that is in fact the case i make no apologies because it is a story well worth reading with an important message. Please enjoy.

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the president of Harvard’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Cambridge.

 She frowned. “We want to see the president,” the man said softly. “He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped. “We’ll wait,” the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away.

 They didn’t. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. “Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they’ll leave,” she told him. And he sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn’t have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus.”

 The president wasn’t touched, he was shocked. “Madam,” he said gruffly. “We can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery”. “Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly. “We don’t want to erect a statue.

 We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard.” For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. And the lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don’t we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. And Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, travelling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

 ”You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.” Malcolm Forbes

 How do you apply the message of this story in your life and business? You never know how the most apparently insignificant events and people can have a lasting influence on your business and life.

 Try treating everyone as if they were important.

 Have a GREAT Day!

Stuart Lockley