Secret View Client Day 2024 recap

Like previous editions, we were once again welcomed at the atmospheric Pathé Tuschinski in Amsterdam. A full cinema hall of our clients, partners, and employees enjoyed an afternoon filled with inspiration, featuring speakers from De Beren, Gall & Gall, and De Pizzabakkers. Additionally, we presented our latest features, a mystery shopper app, and the completely renewed Secret View dashboard for the first time!

From student room to leading global platform  

As usual, Niek Koning, founder of Secret View, kicked off the Client Day. The fifth Client Day and nearly the tenth year since Secret View’s inception was a great opportunity to reflect.  

Niek: “What once started in an 11m² student room has grown into a company with 30 employees, a global community of over 65,000 mystery shoppers, and a beautiful office in Arnhem. It all comes together in a fantastic online platform that connects everything. This is something we at Secret View don’t often take time to reflect on, as we’re mostly focused on what’s coming. However, the addition of 40 new Enterprise clients, a spot in the MT/Sprout SaaS100, and becoming an FD Gazelle since the 2023 Client Day confirms we’re on the right track.”

Over the past twelve months, a lot has also changed within Secret View and the platform:

Survey tooling  

Previously, questionnaires were developed through Excel. With the introduction of our survey tool, that has become unnecessary. Now, the entire questionnaire is created within the platform, and the client can watch and provide direct feedback.   

Mystery shopper reputation  

A good reputation has become even more important for our mystery shoppers. With each task completed, shoppers build their reputation within our community. Our Approvers check the results for quality, reliability, and language. The higher the rating, the better the chance the mystery shopper will be selected for future tasks.

Insights  

Not immediately visible to clients, but incredibly valuable. We’ve worked hard to improve insights into key research statistics, such as intrinsic sign-ups, quality checks, and completion rates. This provides our Operations department with more metrics to monitor and ensure the progress and quality of the research.

New website  

Sharp-eyed readers may have already noticed that Secret View has a new website! The old one was about four years old and no longer reflected what Secret View stands for. Time for an update!  

Experience of the Month  

Each month, we complete thousands of mystery shopping assignments. Some of these experiences are extraordinary. We see them, the client sees them, but no one else does. Therefore, we love to highlight the store teams that achieve these great results and give them the recognition they deserve.

New services from Secret View  

Another reason for a new website is the expansion of Secret View’s services. In addition to customer experience research, we now offer internal audits and polling. Additionally, the do-it-yourself solution for small businesses has also been launched.   

Internal Audits  

This service was presented at the 2023 Client Day, and the first clients are already using it. It’s the same powerful technology and user-friendly dashboard but entirely tailored to internal audits.  

Polling  

Sometimes, you just need quick answers or want to gauge something among a large group of people without setting up a full customer experience study. That’s what polling is for. The question appears in the platform, among all other tasks, and our community answers your questions in no time. This way, you can quickly gather input from our community.

Small Business  

We are often approached by retail and hospitality entrepreneurs who are very interested in mystery shopping but don’t quite fit into our Enterprise model. That’s why we’ve now built a do-it-yourself solution for small business. Retailers or hospitality entrepreneurs with one to seven locations can now set up their own research within our online platform.   

De Pizzabakkers, Lex Leurs  

Next, Lex Leurs, Concept Manager at De Pizzabakkers, took over the microphone from Niek. Last year, Lex was in the audience as a potential client at the Client Day, and he started working with Secret View afterwards. In his role, Lex is responsible for the entire concept, from the tableware to the products of De Pizzabakkers.   

The chain started as a hobby project of four friends. They envisioned a pizza restaurant where you could enjoy a good pizza with a nice glass of bubbly. There is now a franchise formula with 33 restaurants and three to-go locations.

Lex: “Hospitality is paramount at De Pizzabakkers. Whether you’re quickly picking up a pizza or out for the evening, everyone should feel seen. But how do you measure that? Our entrepreneurs spend a lot of time in the restaurants, there are online reviews, and guest conversations, but that doesn’t give a complete picture. After discussions with the entrepreneurs and a pilot, we started monthly customer experience research via Secret View. Successfully, as a to-go location recently won an Experience of the Month award!”

“Anyone can ask questions, but conducting good research is a different story. Together with Secret View experts, we created the questionnaire, which is based on the guest journey of De Pizzabakkers visitors.” Lex then gave insight into how they use tags to compare different categories. Tags like ‘upsell’ or ‘dolci’ (dessert) can be compared.

But data alone isn’t enough, Lex said. “You also need to draw conclusions from it. With the tags and location filters, we can see exactly who needs what. Then it’s a matter of training, training, and more training. This happens through e-learnings and on-the-job training. The great thing about Secret View’s customer experience research is that you can immediately measure results and see improvements.”

“The hospitality industry is largely driven by instinct, but you need to back it up with data and continuously improve,” said Lex.

Gall & Gall, Luz van Deemter and Chantal Odie  

Since 1884, Gall & Gall has stood for good enjoyment. Times have changed considerably since the first store opened, but ensuring customers are well and expertly served remains timeless.

Luz van Deemter is an Implementation Specialist and has been involved with customer experience research from the beginning: “At Gall & Gall, store teams are often small, and people frequently work alone. Direct coaching from more experienced colleagues is therefore less common. This makes Secret View’s customer experience research even more valuable.”

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. The research shows what’s going well and what needs to improve per location. The customer journey is central to this. The initial questionnaire was very organization-centric, measuring everything. Since then, it’s been adjusted, shortened, and focused more on the customer.”

Chantal, HR Project Manager, added: “As Luz mentioned, store teams are small, with many employees working eight to twelve-hour contracts per week. Turnover is also high, which makes training challenging.”

That’s why a learning platform was developed, where everyone at Gall & Gall is trained in ‘WOW service’. Chantal: “We use the results from the Secret View research as input for the modules. Additionally, the data from Secret View helps us determine which modules to highlight at each location. This way, we can tailor training to where it’s needed. The modules are very short, one to two minutes long, so employees can be trained even during their shifts, even if they’re working alone. All videos feature our own employees as the stars.”

“The platform also shows who has completed which module, and training can be pushed if the customer experience research shows that certain aspects need attention. This way, Gall & Gall moves from measuring to improving.”

De Beren, Emma Vos  

How do you ensure the ultimate Beren experience? That was the challenging question the Dutch restaurant chain brought to Secret View. After 40 years, there are now 50 De Beren restaurants across the Netherlands, and they continue to grow. However, the Beren experience must remain consistent. That’s why the chain conducts monthly research to continuously gather feedback from its guests.

Emma: “One of the main reasons we chose Secret View was the local communities of mystery shoppers they work with. This way, you get feedback from real guests, from the local area. De Beren strives for loyal, returning visitors.”

Emma is a big fan of the ‘Voice of Customer’, a component of customer experience research where mystery shoppers share their tips and compliments with a location. “These tips and compliments provide a clear picture of the mystery shoppers’ experiences.”

As Optimization Coach, Emma is also closely involved with training: “The data from the research provides the tools for training. De Beren offers many choices, so the staff needs to be well-prepared to handle that. How do you upsell? Or encourage tipping? With the research results, we can now focus on specific locations and employees.”

De Beren is also one of the first clients to use Secret View’s internal audit tool. Emma is very positive about it: “We use internal audits to ensure consistency across the brand. I complete the questionnaire entirely on my phone. It’s quite a detailed questionnaire, covering everything from refrigeration units to marketing displays. A great feature is that I can save my answers along the way and only see the score after submitting the completed questionnaire.”

De Beren has now been using Secret View’s customer experience research and internal audits for a year. “In the future, we plan to focus even more on improving guest experience, operational efficiency, and rolling out to the entire chain, including delivery locations. All to make the ultimate Beren experience felt everywhere!”

Dashboard rebuild and mystery shopper app  

Niek concluded the day by announcing the new dashboard, with many AI functionalities and an app for our mystery shopper community. You can read all about it in this article.