Mystery visit reveals pubs could offer warmer welcome

Pubs need to step up their aftercare service and the way they welcome customers, a new mystery visit report has revealed.

Mystery visit specialists Retail Eyes has exclusively shared details of its Inndicator Report with The Publican​.

The exhaustive survey involved visits to 500 managed pub and bar venues and the results provide top tips for licensees across the sector.

Of the 500 venues visited at the end of last year only two per cent achieved the perfect score of 100 per cent from mystery visitors. And only 40 per cent of the visitors said they would be very likely to return again - possibly indicating an overall void in service and satisfaction.

One key area for improvement highlighted in the report was the aftercare service - with only 54 per cent of customers being asked if everything was OK with their meals.

And only 50 per cent of visitors were asked if they wanted anything else after they had finished their meals, such as tea or coffee.

There was also room for improvement regarding welcomes to venues with one in six customers saying they were not greeted in a friendly manner.

Tim Ogle, chief executive of Retail Eyes, said: "Warm friendly welcomes set the tone for the customer's experience and especially at a time when customers are becoming more discerning in their choices of where to spend.

"Pubs must make every effort to make their customers feel welcome - after all, there is still a lot of hot competition in the market place."

On a positive note not being served in turn is a rare problem and was only reported by 10 per cent of visitors.

Tim added: "The Inndicator report strongly shows that any operators who provide consistently superior service and customer experience could increase their market share."

How Inndicator is compiled

The Inndicator is a quarterly study based on 500 mystery visits to venues run by operators including Bay Restaurant Group, Fullers, Whitbread, Marstons, Greene King, TCG, Orchid, M&B, Spirit, JD Wetherspoon and Town and City.

Mystery visitors grade pubs through a combination of their own impressions and by speaking to customers.

For further information and to find out how to get the full report visit www.inndicator.co.uk​