This month, Ethos Consultancy’s team of mystery shoppers went undercover at four restaurants from Dubai’s huge portfolio of Italian outlets, to find out whether service was bellissima or orribile

This month:

The chosen Italian restaurants were:

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• Bice, Hilton Jumeirah
• Il Rustico, Rydges Plaza Dubai
• Frankie’s Italian Bar and Grill,
Al Fattan Marine Towers
• Certo, Radisson Blu Hotel,
Dubai Media City


THE WHAT:

Caterer Middle East has partnered up with customer service experts Ethos Consultancy to highlight F&B service standards at outlets across the UAE. Each month, we’ll reveal mystery shoppers’ assessments of four different F&B outlets, to explore what these venues are doing right and what could be improved.

THE WHY:

This isn’t about catching F&B outlets with their trousers down: by measuring performance and providing expert advice on areas for improvement, we want to help better these operations — and the industry in general.

THE HOW:

Ethos Consultancy’s trained mystery shoppers are given a specific selection of outlets. Each shopper visits their assigned restaurant and dines as usual. Within 24 hours of every experience, each shopper fills out an online report, providing Ethos consultants with the information they require to offer constructive advice.

Each mystery shopper is instructed to look out for the following:

Appearance
• Did the outlet appear clean and tidy?
• Were menus clear and easy to follow?

Sales and service
• The greeting received from staff
• The appearance of staff
• Time taken to be served
• Did the waiter ask questions to establish the customer’s preferences and needs?
• Was the waiter knowledgeable about the items on offer?
• If an item was not available, did the waiter provide other helpful suggestions?
• Did the waiter attempt to up- or cross-sell by suggesting complementary items?

Overall Experience
• Would your experience encourage you to visit this outlet again?
• Did you leave the outlet with a positive impression of the venue?
• Would you recommend this outlet to friends, family or colleagues?
• What could have been done to better your entire experience?

The expert analysis:
Antipasti, bread, pizza or pasta anyone? We think it’s safe to assume there are more than a few of you reading this who either work at or frequently enjoy dining out at one of Dubai’s many Italian restaurants.

We really are spoilt for choice, so how does one make a decision when it comes to the perfect Italiano experience?

As consultants advising clients on how to improve their customers’ complete dining experience, it all comes down to five key factors: food, beverage, service, location and atmosphere. Our shoppers set out on their visits taking all these factors into consideration.

With only 10% separating first and fourth place, the competition was tight. Our ‘Italian Stallion’ restaurant of choice was BiCE at Hilton Jumeirah, which earned top place with 89%. This hidden treasure is not visible from the front of the hotel, but once your inside soaking up the atmosphere, with the wooden floor boards, traditional fixtures and attractive wall hangings, you know you’re in for an authentic Italian treat.

Il Rustico at Rydges Plaza Dubai wasn’t far behind, scoring 82%, followed very closely by Frankie’s Italian Bar and Grill at Al Fattan Marine Towers with 80%, and finally Certo at Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Media City with a commendable 79%.

All of our top three restaurants scored 100% for both cleanliness and the overall experience category.

Certo lost points in both these areas for two reasons: firstly because one of our shoppers reported their table wasn’t kept impeccable and presentable at all times and secondly, one of our shoppers said they would not be recommending Certo based on their dining experience.

This shopper was very satisfied with the staff’s efforts to be friendly and meet their needs, but their ultimate decision not to recommend was because they were disappointed with the quality and taste of the food served.

What could have been done better?

• Only a quarter of our shoppers had restaurant managers approach their table to enquire about their experience. This is a shame, from a service perspective, but more importantly this means a missed opportunity to gather valuable face-to-face feedback.

Having said that, Certo and Frankie’s managers were praised for the interest they took in their customers’ feedback.

During service, every table should be visited by a manager or senior staff member, with feedback being documented and reviewed on a daily basis. All of last month’s Michelin-star chef restaurants scored top marks for managers taking the time to speak to our shoppers and ask about their experience.

• A few of our shoppers had tremendous trouble understanding the reservations desk customer service representative over the telephone. Some shoppers had to ask the staff member to repeat their sentence two to three times before it was understood.

Phone etiquette is a vital customer service tool, as phone bookings are still the most popular method of making a reservation. Remember: first impressions last.

ABOUT ETHOS CONSULTANCY

Originating in the UK in 1995, Ethos Consultancy relocated to Dubai in 2003, where a team of five has grown to 50 — with an Abu Dhabi office opening in 2008. Our consultants have come from some of the most mature customer service markets in the world, ensuring experience and best practice in everything we do.

Ethos prides itself on being at the forefront of online customer service solutions and was awarded Most Innovative Small Business in the UAE at the 2008 Lloyds TSB Small Business Awards.

Through years of experience, Ethos has developed a variety of services to help clients understand how their business is performing. Our solutions include mystery shopping, satisfaction surveys and a range of benchmarking services. Once clients have a clear understanding of how they are performing, we help them improve via training, consulting and implementation of The International Customer Service Standard.