Mirror, Mirror

/in /by

It is very difficult to see your business from the eyes of your prospective and current customers.

The person who …

  • loves your salon and staffers.
  • loves sun bed tanning as much for the relaxation as the tan.
  • left another salon because they were treated poorly and came to your salon hoping for better.
  • knows little to nothing about tanning.
  • who has a fear of spray tanning.
  • with a very tight budget.
  • who just wants to try spray tanning to see if they like it.
  • asks for a 1 week extension on the 3 tan package they purchased.
  • gets intimidated and/or turned off by the ‘hard sell’.

The secret shopper concept is valuable, and can identify what is going very right and what needs to change. See how a company used secret shopper to win a new client.

Years ago, there was an ad agency called ABM.
They were a smaller agency, competing against the big guys.
They were pitching to win the British Railway account.
On the day of the pitch the top management of British Rail visited ABM.
They walked into the reception area and it was deserted.
The Chairman checked his watch, they were on time.
He looked around, no one.
Just a very scruffy reception area.
Crumpled newspapers, litter, cushions with holes.
This looked like there like the worst ad agency they had visited.
Eventually a scruffy woman appeared and sat behind the desk.
She ignored them and started rummaging in a drawer.
The Chairman coughed.
She ignored him.
He coughed again.
Nothing.
He said, “Excuse me, we’re here to see …”
The woman said, “Be with you in a minute love.”
He said, “But we have an appointment …”
She said, “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
The chairman said, “This is outrageous. We been waiting 15 minutes.”
The woman said “Can’t help that love.”
The chairman said “Right that’s it, we’re leaving.”
And the top management of British Rail started to walk out.
At that moment a door opened and the ad agency’s Creative Director stepped out.
He’d been watching everything.
He shook the chairman’s hand warmly.
He said, “Gentlemen, you’ve just experienced what the public’s impression of British Rail is.”

By Dave Trott