I’m pretty sure everybody played shopping in their childhood. I myself certainly enjoyed it: I had a cash register, some toy money, I drew price labels, even had my shop’s name; my family and my dolls were the customers and I sold as many things as I could. When my little brother became older, he joined me and I finally could play the part of the customer (until then, nobody had been allowed to play the part
We’ve only just seemed to have got rid of all Christmas trees & decorations, our stomachs have finally recovered from the end/beginning-of-year celebrities, we’ve never seen the bottom of our wallets this close by after all the end-of-year shopping followed by possible winter
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/02/shutterstock_502740160_Edited.jpg6071199onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2017-02-14 12:46:082022-08-15 13:02:08Valentine’s Day Fun Facts
Curiosity makes you grow, it makes you smarter – we hear that a lot. Actually it is one of the strongest driving forces of humanity. We are curious from the day we are born; we want to understand the things around us. Read more
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/02/shutterstock_198169034_resized.jpg4731199onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2017-02-09 08:57:152022-08-15 13:02:09Curiosity makes you grow
As you know, mystery shopping is always a bit of an adventure. You are required to play the role of a customer with a specific scenario, pretend to be interested in something you might never want to buy in your real life, and you have to invent an entire background story for your request… It’s a challenge, no doubt.
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/02/shutterstock_308710538-Copy.jpg36485472onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2017-02-02 09:57:362022-08-15 13:02:09Sales periods: Shop hard, with some vengeance.
Someone once said, “Study the past if you would define the future”, (that would be Confucius) and it was one such sentiment that spurred me on to do this particular blog post. A short while ago I sat down to chat with President and Co-Founder Mike Bare, about BARE International’s past, present and future…
[spacer height=”20px”]
Richard:I’d like to begin by asking about where the idea for the company came from, and how you managed to forge it into a national (then global) business.
Mike Bare: Coming from fifteen years of being in the restaurant business it was a natural extension, since I personally have a zero tolerance of inefficiency occurring in any business environment (or personally), so it was a matter of how can we recreate the wheel. The company I worked for were probably one of the most significant innovators of full service restaurant mystery shopping in the early 80’s, and as a regional director for this chain we were always scoring 100%. The reason we always scored 100% is because we always knew who our evaluators were! So when I called corporate office one day to ask if they could change our evaluators, they told me that, #1 I always got 100% scores, why did I care? And #2 that it was none of my business, that they had the programme under control and how dare I. So I took to heart their comment that it was none of my business and created my own.
From there, how did you expand it to a national as opposed to a regional business?
MB: With ten dollars for some business cards and a used IBM Selectric typewriter that my wife had, who happened to be pregnant at the time, in the basement of our house we typed out and printed some forms. As I was very active in the restaurant industry in the Washington DC market (a significant market for hospitality restaurants), I spoke to the association about the opportunity to conduct customer research in a way that would really objectively document the customer’s service experience, and because I had the respect of my peers in the industry, many gave us the opportunity to do that. We signed our first client, a small local restaurant that thirty years later is still a valued client, and shortly after began to do business with many more. Through these association meetings and word of mouth (as there was no social media at the time) people began to speak of the value of the information we provided: while we had projected maybe within five years we would be in ten different states, within our first eighteen months of business we were nationwide.
As the business grew, did you see imitators or competitors grow around you?
MB: Well we were one of the first companies in this space; as I travelled the country (in the US), I began to stop and visit some of our competitors, some of whom would talk to me and invite me into their offices, and others who wouldn’t care to respond to my calls. We began to understand that there was a significant base of companies that were growing in our industry. Simultaneously ESOMAR, the largest market research society in the world, had guidelines very specific to the fact that mystery customer research was of limited value, that it was not a credible way of information gathering, and many other archaic perspectives (this was an organisation dating back to 1949).
So they weren’t a fan; myself and another gentleman went to their corporate offices in 1997 to try to explain the validity of our industry, to say that there was a significant growing evolution as it related to the nature of mystery customer research (mystery shopping as it was called back then). Basically they invited us out the door, so we left and decided to start our own association. In 1998 we had our first meeting in Florida, when over 70 companies came and we all collectively agreed that there was great value in establishing an association for our industry to credentialize it. So we did, and it’s grown to over 150 members in the United States today, Europe has over 200 member companies, and Asia-Pacific has about 50 members.
So competition becomes cooperation?
MB: Right, I like to think of it as forward-thinking. There are competitors who incorporate different aspects of the base services of mystery shopping into consulting, into training and many other avenues, so each has its own particular nuance. Some companies just for the medical areas, others do it for banking, others do it only for automotive, so there are ”specialist” companies, and then there are general companies – BARE’s the largest privately held company in the world in terms of doing this.
You mentioned the IBM Selectric typewriter – how important is technology to BARE International, and in terms of innovation where do you see the next 30 years?
MB: The reality was that the progress of the reports coming in every day was a slow process: we would send the forms by mail to people that we spoke with and then we would wait …wait… wait for the forms to come back to us (it was always the most exciting part of the day to go to the post office box and see what reports had actually arrived versus those that were lost in the mail). Next came the fax machine with the little rolls of paper that you would pay the Earth for, and then obviously with the advent of the internet things began to progress much more speedily and much more efficiently. These days the next incarnation of what we’re about is mobile technology which allows people, with simpler questions and simpler reports (5 to 10 questions), to be able to generate the results instantaneously to the client. Without a doubt technology has broadened the scope of our client base too; instead of needing to travel and perform on-site or in-store, they can send emails and complete assignments from the comfort of their own home (much like the advent of online shopping). As for what the next incarnation of that is, a virtual reality of our experience or exposure – I couldn’t say.
Four years ago the Budapest office grew from the 40m2 room with a total of five employees to the eight-storey building we’re sitting in now. When I joined it was very much “Welcome to the BARE Family” – how do you balance being a growing global business with the close-knit culture that is felt here?
MB: We’re only as good as our people: by getting our employees involved in understanding what we do and how we do it, and not just being told to perform tasks. It’s difficult to keep our fingers on the pulses as we once did personally, but by respecting their contribution to our business as we grow, through having a low hierarchical structure (in terms of not having fifteen people between me and the people that make a difference), and by the good fortune of having the next generation involvement through our son Jason {Global Business Development Manager} in the business, it allows us to continue to evolve what we do on an ongoing basis.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
MB: (laughs) The wisdom of Solomon; in decision making, that there needs to be, as I alluded to, other people involved in the decisions. When you’re a young entrepreneur, in terms of making things happen you have burden of everything on your shoulders, but as your business grows, involving and respecting the input from others. Certainly those that you want around you should always be smarter than you so that they can contribute and help your business evolve. We have a very entrepreneurial environment and, you know, we desire creative input from everybody- we have a mantra within our business: “What we did yesterday we shouldn’t be doing today, and won’t be doing tomorrow”. What that communicates is that change is the only constant, so whether it be through the people, whether or through the processes, or through our client base, we’re always excited about what we can do differently for the future.
You’re in Budapest now, with the next stops being India then China – for anyone thinking of becoming an evaluator for BARE International, what would you say to them having spent so much time in this industry?
MB: Well the first thing I would say would be our web address (www.bareinternational.com); the second thing I would say is that it’s not a matter of making a lot of money in terms of doing this, but it’s a matter of a heartfelt desire to help make a difference. It’s really easy to complain: it’s much more significant to objectively contribute in such a way that the opinions and the way things are phrased will be respected and appreciated in terms of evolving a business environment.
Author: Richard
Richard is a real community builder, involved in various activities within the office, helps charities and has a degree in filmmaking and screenwriting. He’s a ”Creative”, interested in telling stories, making connections and helping generate ideas. An avid reader, he is passionate about gaming, food (don’t feed him after midnight) and history. He has plans for the future, and you -the one reading this sentence- are part of them.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”20″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/01/BARE_resized.jpg8001200onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2017-01-12 07:47:572022-08-15 13:02:10Victory; a Matter of Staying Power
Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you try you can never fulfil your New Year’s resolutions? Even though you were very committed and that it wasn’t just the champagne and high-spirits that made you over-promise on yourself?
It is 2017. How did this happen? Time is running really fast, and I’m sure it is not only me who tried to use the Christmas period to reflect on the events and happenings of last year. This is also a great time to decide on new challenges or fulfil long desired dreams. But as most of us just can’t keep those promises, have you ever wondered why this is? Let’s uncover some possible obstacles in a way of your New Year’s resolutions:
Too big goals: there is nothing wrong with big goals, but if you want for instance change your life from one day to another then it sure will not work out. However planning and timing are the keys in this case.
Give yourself time to sit down and think about your goal
Write down what you want to reach. Do you want to lose weight? Learn new skills? Advance in your career? Buy a flat? Good, now you see it.
Add to this list what do you need to do to reach it, like do sports, change the diet, research the opportunities according to your needs, etc.
Now you have the steps, give them the timeframes and try to keep them. Every small achievement will make you proud and happy that you indeed can do it and get closer to your goal day-by-day.
Note: reaching milestones can also provide a great occasion to celebrate them.
No commitment: it’s very hard to reach something without thinking about it seriously, isn’t it? I usually made this mistake in the past as well (especially with smoking). Yeah, I know: bad habit, right? I always decided I will stop smoking from the 1st of January… of course it didn’t work out like that, so last time I decided “alright I will quit smoking during this year”. As time passed I gave more and more thoughts to this. Suddenly the cigarettes didn’t feel like the right thing and for 6 month now, I’m free from smoking and all the better for it.
No confidence: changes can be fascinating and interesting as well as frightening and very hard; in this case you can always ask for support from your family and friends. Trust in your judgment and ask for their support, you will surely succeed.
If your goal happens to be reaching the top of mystery evaluators, then here is an example of how to become an exceptional one:
Mystery shopping goals for 2017 – how to earn more extra money?
January – let’s see which projects are suitable for you
Get to know most of the projects while doing them – one at a time
You can earn up to €100 extra
February
Increase the number of the best projects done by 1
March
Increase the number of the best suitable projects by as many as you can fit into your daily shopping and free time if you want to evaluate more shops
April
Try to keep the mystery visits’ numbers, so the extra income will come for sure
Or engage more with these projects and increase the numbers even more
After so many years of trying and not reaching my goals, finally I’m really happy because I could keep my last year’s resolution. You know when you just want to make a small change in your life and you don’t even realise that that small something is the one that will change a lot in your life. Oh, and what was it? A simple thing really: no day can go by without having a good laugh. Of course there are some days that are harder than others because life isn’t exactly how we want it to be, but one can always try.
I even wrote it on my small mirror with permanent marker, so whenever I look at it I will remember this. Now let’s see: what’s your New Year’s resolution?
Author: Anita @AnitaKocsis910
Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work
at the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves doing yoga,
travelling and reading. Her love for the automotive industry came
from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s
degree in International Economics and Business.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”20″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/12/sparks-407702_Edited.jpg8481488onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2017-01-05 04:00:022022-08-15 13:02:10Why most of your New Year’s resolutions fail?
It’s that time of the year again when we can stuff ourselves with food without feeling ashamed, drink that amazing Glühwein at the local Christmas market, make a snowman (if weather allows), decorate that tree and go Christmas shopping for gifts for your beloved one’s.
As fun as it sounds or is supposed to be, this period is not as great for everyone, and some might even prefer to call it “Stressmas” rather than “Christmas”. Stress in the kitchen when the turkey is burnt (again), anger when your tipsy uncle asks you once more why you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend yet, waiting in queues in overly busy supermarkets and stores, complete ignorance over what gift to buy for your friends and family…
In order to avoid the end-of-year rush and madness, perhaps we can consider some alternatives
1. Start your shopping early in the year. When you come across something you consider really nice for that particular person, just buy it there at the spot, even if it’s only March. You will be thankful later in the year that’s at least one less gift to buy. This might also allow to buy products at a discount, which will rarely be the case in December!
2. Try to convince your family to draw names so you have to buy only 1 gift, instead of having to buy something for each and every one of them. This also will allow you to focus on searching 1 really nice gift for that one person, rather than buying random stuff for all.
3. Stick to the budget… or more importantly: it’s not the more expensive the gift, the happier the receiver will be. Try to be original! If you’d still like some extra cash or get reimbursed for some gifts, you can of course always consider to do some mystery evaluations too!
4. Go against mainstream consumerism: give fair trade or second hand items, consider creating a gift yourself (like knitting a scarf, baking chocolate chip cookies or making a photo album) or even donate to charity in the name of a loved one! After all, Christmas is all about spending quality time with your loved ones and we should be grateful for what we have.
5. Just order in or get it catered! I’m sure your family and friends will not judge you on your cooking abilities, but will appreciate the hospitality and coziness.
6. It’s always easier said than done, but the Christmas season is a good time to start thinking about helping other people. This can be providing food or toys for families who need them, participate in one of the Christmas charity programs (use google and you will be surprised by the possibilities in your own area) or simply pay a visit to that old lady in your street…
7. Also for New Year’s Eve you can consider staying at home rather than going out to a fancy place where entrance tickets are expensive, you have to queue for forty minutes to go the toilet and ordering drinks at the bar is a nightmare! Host a private party, make it a BYOA affair (Bring Your Own Appetizer/Alcohol) and why not have a winter barbecue this year? You can also ask your guests to write down predictions for the New Year, and during dinner you can take turns reading predictions and guessing who wrote them – which might be truly hilarious as you’ll be surprised how difficult it is to guess which person they were coming from!
Let’s forget about words like “obligation” and “comparison”, and enjoy this period of the year. Happy holidays everyone!
Author: Annelore
Annelore has been an employee of Bare International since September 2011 and is based in the Antwerp Office. She has a Master’s degree in English & Spanish literature & linguistics and a Master’s in Management. She likes discovering new places, travelling, reading and going out with friends to enjoy some very good (Belgian) beers.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”9″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Call Centers are a tricky topic when it comes to customer services. We have all had the opportunity to experience their effectiveness or inefficacy, and some of us have even encountered the opposite side and had a job as a call center representative. [spacer height=”20px”]
Those who worked in this field know how hard this job can be. The customers are fighting their way to through the IVR (Interactive Voice Response -the actual menu- its purpose is to direct the customer to the right person) so they can find a real person who is competent and is able to solve their problems, ask their questions. As customers we can be inpatient, angry, frustrated, so the representative must not only perform professionalism, efficacy and promptness, but enthusiasm, politeness, positivity, and most importantly honesty.[spacer height=”40px”]
That’s where mystery shopping comes in! Some call centers have their own monitoring system with mentors and colleagues who are experts in this field so they can help improve the service. But for those companies who would like to build up a more neutral and comprehensive picture about the quality of their call center services, the obvious choice is a mystery shopping service. They know it can be more effective and genuine when mystery shoppers do this, because mystery shoppers are always closer to the target audience of the company, and the way of their work is much more spontaneous and lifelike than an internal monitoring system.[spacer height=”20px”]
The so-called Front Office is the most important part for any service-provider company, because it’s where the company meets the customers: through the employees, and also the customers see the business through the customer service center representatives. That’s why it is vital to pay close attention to the customer service.
[spacer height=”20px”] Simply put, there are 5 main pillars of an efficient call center, so either as a customer, or a representative of a call center, here is what you should pay attention to:
IVR : is it clear, fast, and concise? How long have you been waiting?
Call Center Representative : is he or she polite, kind, a professional, helpful? Was he or she able to solve your problem? If not, what did he or she do?
How many times have you been put on hold? And how long?
How long was the call in total? Was the length appropriate according to the problem?
What opportunities do you have for giving a about the phone call service? How it seems, does the company take it seriously?
Author: Adrienne
Adrienne is a guest bloggerof BARE International. She is interested in many things: from playing music, riding horses, to reading ancient texts in their originally written languages. Basically she never gets bored.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”9″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
[spacer height=”10px”]Everybody loves mystery shopping, so why wouldn’t the world’s most famous “Consulting Detective” like to indulge in the occasional mystery visit once in a while? Lately a team of Oxford scholars have done research into the private life of Sherlock Holmes and discovered that he’s one of the most avid evaluators we work with. And, unsurprisingly, also one of the very best. What would Sherlock’s comments look like after visiting an apparel store in Baker Street, for instance?
[spacer height=”10px”]“When Watson and I entered the store we weren’t immediately greeted, even though there were at least three salespersons present. Two of them were sorting clothes and I noticed at once how they had been having words earlier today, as they were never really looking each other straight in the eye, avoiding as much contact as would professionally be allowed. They couldn’t have fallen out on the work floor, as the third salesperson, a redhead, seemed to be in a sincerely good mood. So either they are carpooling or they live together, but not as a couple. As for the former I could see that even at his still rather young age he was already disappointed in what life had had in store for him, resigned to the downward trajectory in both career and private life. I also sensed that his uncle, who was a stockbroker’s clerk, had died from an unsurprising coronary attack recently.
[spacer height=”10px”]The client who was helped out by the third salesperson would have rather been helped by a different salesperson, as she was manipulating the shopping bag of a different store in mild frustration. I think it must be a cocktail of the exaggerated cheerfulness of the salesperson combined with his, admittedly, rather annoying high-pitched voice.
As soon as she had left, the red-headed salesperson expediently approached and greeted us in an extremely happy and friendly manner. He was wearing a very clean uniform despite the fact that his unkempt fingernails betrayed a below average standard of personal hygiene. I noticed, on the upper surface of the tip of each finger, very small pieces of clay had collected, which lead me to deduce that he was a sculptor of sorts in his free time. It is without a doubt his preferred hobby as it was exactly the type of expensive quality clay that is used by sculptors, rather than the common putty of children’s playthings. I can remember the distinct texture of the clay now.
[spacer height=”10px”]He asked us what kind of apparel we were looking for and I congratulated him with his birthday and asked him if last night’s party had been nice. He seemed to be slightly taken aback by the fact that I knew about this but he tried not to let on that there was anything unusual, which was the correct attitude, because there really wasn’t anything surprising about it. Anyone could see that the silver blazer he was wearing was brand new and smelled of a newly received perfume, which also explains the faint stain I could clearly distinguish. It was simplicity itself. The second stain was left by a type of chocolate cake that people only sell on the occasion of a birthday. I do believe they call them birthday cakes.
[spacer height=”10px”]The salesperson began offering me some types of jeans, and I was a bit astonished that he hadn’t immediately noticed that I was in want of a dark pair of jeans, of a speckled brand. Nonetheless, he found the perfect pair of trousers for me, which I immediately tried on in the fitting room. There was no one else present at that time, but there must have been, undoubtedly, a 43 year old recently divorced woman right before me, about 16 and a half minutes earlier. Come to think of it, we must have crossed her on the way to the store. I clearly remember her now. She had a twisted lip and she didn’t look very pleased either. Earlier, when I quickly observed her when passing by, I thought she was annoyed by something someone had said a few minutes earlier, but now it was by then obvious that she most dissatisfied with her purchase and was seriously considering going back to the store and making use of the return policy – a conclusion which was most elementary.
[spacer height=”10px”]I was readily assisted by the salesperson and both Watson and I quite convincingly felt like illustrious clients. I would gladly return to this store, and so would Watson, who seemed to be really interested in a dark blue sweater he had found in the store.”
Author: Gert
Gert’ specialties are any coffee-related projects as well as reports in Dutch, French and English. In his free time he writes novels, plays and poems, and performs spoken word all over Flanders and the Netherlands. He also loves travelling, listening to music and going to concerts. He has a Master in Applied Linguistics and one in Modern Literature.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”20″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/12/sherlock-holmes-931897_edited.jpg5771495onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2016-12-01 15:26:092022-08-15 13:01:26Elementary mystery shopping with Sherlock Holmes
It all started in September. I arrived to this beautiful country when the weather was still nice. The air was rich with autumn scents – by the way it was the exact same feeling as it supposed to be according to my Hungarian standards. This means nice and warm sunshine during the day, colour changing leaves, crispy air in the mornings, and so on. It was beautiful, and just the way I like it. For the whole week.
On top of that, everybody was kind and nice, in the shops as well! What to say, I was impressed, how everybody spoke English, how everybody was able to be nice, friendly and professional at the same time. What to say, this treatment fulfilled my checklist for an outstanding customer service, absolutely:
Smile from afar – I know: you, me, we are all only humans with our fluctuating moods and sometimes it is really hard to do our job with a smile on our faces. But it’s worth the effort. I have not one, but several shop assistants working in nearby stores who I started to like during the years. We shared smiles, then longer greetings, and after that our thoughts and dreams and we even started to share stories from our life.
Clean shop – oh, yes, there isn’t a worst thing when you enter the shop and it looks like a battlefield.
Help me, I’m lost! – Without the shop assistant’s help I would never have found my non-allergic bread.
Don’t make me think – well, this is just like the previous one. When I’m shopping, I’m more or less on autopilot, so it can be really problematic, if I start circling in the shop and not finding the desired products. In this case either I gave up or sought for help. Once I even asked a stranger – who, according to me, looked like an employee of the supermarket – where I could find my favourite chocolate. The poor victim looked so dumbfounded, I felt really terrible after it, because I judged him by his clothes. Lesson learned.
Respect me – even if I’m a foreigner or worst, a tourist.
Try to understand my needs – listen carefully, with the intent to understand the others is one of the greatest gifts ever.
No hurry, let me breathe and take my time – give me space to feel comfortable while I’m deciding what I want to buy. I really liked that. But when I needed them, the staff was always nearby.
Give me some extra tips – I’d love to hear about the latest discounts and the best offers – who wouldn’t?
Conclusion: if you want to lose customers, don’t follow the Dutch example.
Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work, she loves doing yoga, dancing, running, travelling and reading – which is why she often wonders how would it be possible to fit one or two more hobbies into her schedule. Her love for the automotive industry came from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s degree in International Economics and Business.
[spacer height=”10px”]
Interested in becoming an Automotive Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”9″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Automotive community We Are Cars?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
https://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/10/IMG_20160918_184217_edited.jpg5831500onimodhttps://www.bareinternational.eu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/05/BARE-ISO-Badge-2023-1.pngonimod2016-10-20 09:14:522022-08-15 13:01:27Don’t follow the Dutch example if you want to lose customers
Shopping interactions
I’m pretty sure everybody played shopping in their childhood. I myself certainly enjoyed it: I had a cash register, some toy money, I drew price labels, even had my shop’s name; my family and my dolls were the customers and I sold as many things as I could. When my little brother became older, he joined me and I finally could play the part of the customer (until then, nobody had been allowed to play the part
Read more
Valentine’s Day Fun Facts
We’ve only just seemed to have got rid of all Christmas trees & decorations, our stomachs have finally recovered from the end/beginning-of-year celebrities, we’ve never seen the bottom of our wallets this close by after all the end-of-year shopping followed by possible winter
Read more
Curiosity makes you grow
Curiosity makes you grow, it makes you smarter – we hear that a lot. Actually it is one of the strongest driving forces of humanity. We are curious from the day we are born; we want to understand the things around us. Read more
Sales periods: Shop hard, with some vengeance.
As you know, mystery shopping is always a bit of an adventure. You are required to play the role of a customer with a specific scenario, pretend to be interested in something you might never want to buy in your real life, and you have to invent an entire background story for your request… It’s a challenge, no doubt.
Read more
Victory; a Matter of Staying Power
[spacer height=”20px”]
Someone once said, “Study the past if you would define the future”, (that would be Confucius) and it was one such sentiment that spurred me on to do this particular blog post.
A short while ago I sat down to chat with President and Co-Founder Mike Bare, about BARE International’s past, present and future…
[spacer height=”20px”]
Richard: I’d like to begin by asking about where the idea for the company came from, and how you managed to forge it into a national (then global) business.
From there, how did you expand it to a national as opposed to a regional business?
MB: With ten dollars for some business cards and a used IBM Selectric typewriter that my wife had, who happened to be pregnant at the time, in the basement of our house we typed out and printed some forms. As I was very active in the restaurant industry in the Washington DC market (a significant market for hospitality restaurants), I spoke to the association about the opportunity to conduct customer research in a way that would really objectively document the customer’s service experience, and because I had the respect of my peers in the industry, many gave us the opportunity to do that. We signed our first client, a small local restaurant that thirty years later is still a valued client, and shortly after began to do business with many more. Through these association meetings and word of mouth (as there was no social media at the time) people began to speak of the value of the information we provided: while we had projected maybe within five years we would be in ten different states, within our first eighteen months of business we were nationwide.
As the business grew, did you see imitators or competitors grow around you?
MB: Well we were one of the first companies in this space; as I travelled the country (in the US), I began to stop and visit some of our competitors, some of whom would talk to me and invite me into their offices, and others who wouldn’t care to respond to my calls. We began to understand that there was a significant base of companies that were growing in our industry. Simultaneously ESOMAR, the largest market research society in the world, had guidelines very specific to the fact that mystery customer research was of limited value, that it was not a credible way of information gathering, and many other archaic perspectives (this was an organisation dating back to 1949).
So they weren’t a fan; myself and another gentleman went to their corporate offices in 1997 to try to explain the validity of our industry, to say that there was a significant growing evolution as it related to the nature of mystery customer research (mystery shopping as it was called back then). Basically they invited us out the door, so we left and decided to start our own association. In 1998 we had our first meeting in Florida, when over 70 companies came and we all collectively agreed that there was great value in establishing an association for our industry to credentialize it. So we did, and it’s grown to over 150 members in the United States today, Europe has over 200 member companies, and Asia-Pacific has about 50 members.
So competition becomes cooperation?
MB: Right, I like to think of it as forward-thinking. There are competitors who incorporate different aspects of the base services of mystery shopping into consulting, into training and many other avenues, so each has its own particular nuance. Some companies just for the medical areas, others do it for banking, others do it only for automotive, so there are ”specialist” companies, and then there are general companies – BARE’s the largest privately held company in the world in terms of doing this.
You mentioned the IBM Selectric typewriter – how important is technology to BARE International, and in terms of innovation where do you see the next 30 years?
MB: The reality was that the progress of the reports coming in every day was a slow process: we would send the forms by mail to people that we spoke with and then we would wait …wait… wait for the forms to come back to us (it was always the most exciting part of the day to go to the post office box and see what reports had actually arrived versus those that were lost in the mail). Next came the fax machine with the little rolls of paper that you would pay the Earth for, and then obviously with the advent of the internet things began to progress much more speedily and much more efficiently. These days the next incarnation of what we’re about is mobile technology which allows people, with simpler questions and simpler reports (5 to 10 questions), to be able to generate the results instantaneously to the client. Without a doubt technology has broadened the scope of our client base too; instead of needing to travel and perform on-site or in-store, they can send emails and complete assignments from the comfort of their own home (much like the advent of online shopping). As for what the next incarnation of that is, a virtual reality of our experience or exposure – I couldn’t say.
Four years ago the Budapest office grew from the 40m2 room with a total of five employees to the eight-storey building we’re sitting in now. When I joined it was very much “Welcome to the BARE Family” – how do you balance being a growing global business with the close-knit culture that is felt here?
MB: We’re only as good as our people: by getting our employees involved in understanding what we do and how we do it, and not just being told to perform tasks. It’s difficult to keep our fingers on the pulses as we once did personally, but by respecting their contribution to our business as we grow, through having a low hierarchical structure (in terms of not having fifteen people between me and the people that make a difference), and by the good fortune of having the next generation involvement through our son Jason {Global Business Development Manager} in the business, it allows us to continue to evolve what we do on an ongoing basis.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
MB: (laughs) The wisdom of Solomon; in decision making, that there needs to be, as I alluded to, other people involved in the decisions. When you’re a young entrepreneur, in terms of making things happen you have burden of everything on your shoulders, but as your business grows, involving and respecting the input from others. Certainly those that you want around you should always be smarter than you so that they can contribute and help your business evolve. We have a very entrepreneurial environment and, you know, we desire creative input from everybody- we have a mantra within our business: “What we did yesterday we shouldn’t be doing today, and won’t be doing tomorrow”. What that communicates is that change is the only constant, so whether it be through the people, whether or through the processes, or through our client base, we’re always excited about what we can do differently for the future.
You’re in Budapest now, with the next stops being India then China – for anyone thinking of becoming an evaluator for BARE International, what would you say to them having spent so much time in this industry?
MB: Well the first thing I would say would be our web address (www.bareinternational.com); the second thing I would say is that it’s not a matter of making a lot of money in terms of doing this, but it’s a matter of a heartfelt desire to help make a difference. It’s really easy to complain: it’s much more significant to objectively contribute in such a way that the opinions and the way things are phrased will be respected and appreciated in terms of evolving a business environment.
Author: Richard
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”20″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
Why most of your New Year’s resolutions fail?
Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you try you can never fulfil your New Year’s resolutions? Even though you were very committed and that it wasn’t just the champagne and high-spirits that made you over-promise on yourself?
It is 2017. How did this happen? Time is running really fast, and I’m sure it is not only me who tried to use the Christmas period to reflect on the events and happenings of last year. This is also a great time to decide on new challenges or fulfil long desired dreams. But as most of us just can’t keep those promises, have you ever wondered why this is? Let’s uncover some possible obstacles in a way of your New Year’s resolutions:
If your goal happens to be reaching the top of mystery evaluators, then here is an example of how to become an exceptional one:
Mystery shopping goals for 2017 – how to earn more extra money?
January – let’s see which projects are suitable for you
Get to know most of the projects while doing them – one at a time
You can earn up to €100 extra
February
Increase the number of the best projects done by 1
March
Increase the number of the best suitable projects by as many as you can fit into your daily shopping and free time if you want to evaluate more shops
April
Try to keep the mystery visits’ numbers, so the extra income will come for sure
Or engage more with these projects and increase the numbers even more
After so many years of trying and not reaching my goals, finally I’m really happy because I could keep my last year’s resolution. You know when you just want to make a small change in your life and you don’t even realise that that small something is the one that will change a lot in your life. Oh, and what was it? A simple thing really: no day can go by without having a good laugh. Of course there are some days that are harder than others because life isn’t exactly how we want it to be, but one can always try.
I even wrote it on my small mirror with permanent marker, so whenever I look at it I will remember this. Now let’s see: what’s your New Year’s resolution?
Author: Anita @AnitaKocsis910
Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work
at the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves doing yoga,
travelling and reading. Her love for the automotive industry came
from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s
degree in International Economics and Business.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”20″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
Make Stressmas Christmas again!
It’s that time of the year again when we can stuff ourselves with food without feeling ashamed, drink that amazing Glühwein at the local Christmas market, make a snowman (if weather allows), decorate that tree and go Christmas shopping for gifts for your beloved one’s.
As fun as it sounds or is supposed to be, this period is not as great for everyone, and some might even prefer to call it “Stressmas” rather than “Christmas”. Stress in the kitchen when the turkey is burnt (again), anger when your tipsy uncle asks you once more why you don’t have a boyfriend/girlfriend yet, waiting in queues in overly busy supermarkets and stores, complete ignorance over what gift to buy for your friends and family…
In order to avoid the end-of-year rush and madness, perhaps we can consider some alternatives
1. Start your shopping early in the year. When you come across something you consider really nice for that particular person, just buy it there at the spot, even if it’s only March. You will be thankful later in the year that’s at least one less gift to buy. This might also allow to buy products at a discount, which will rarely be the case in December!
2. Try to convince your family to draw names so you have to buy only 1 gift, instead of having to buy something for each and every one of them. This also will allow you to focus on searching 1 really nice gift for that one person, rather than buying random stuff for all.
3. Stick to the budget… or more importantly: it’s not the more expensive the gift, the happier the receiver will be. Try to be original! If you’d still like some extra cash or get reimbursed for some gifts, you can of course always consider to do some mystery evaluations too!
4. Go against mainstream consumerism: give fair trade or second hand items, consider creating a gift yourself (like knitting a scarf, baking chocolate chip cookies or making a photo album) or even donate to charity in the name of a loved one! After all, Christmas is all about spending quality time with your loved ones and we should be grateful for what we have.
6. It’s always easier said than done, but the Christmas season is a good time to start thinking about helping other people. This can be providing food or toys for families who need them, participate in one of the Christmas charity programs (use google and you will be surprised by the possibilities in your own area) or simply pay a visit to that old lady in your street…
Let’s forget about words like “obligation” and “comparison”, and enjoy this period of the year.
Happy holidays everyone!
Author: Annelore
Annelore has been an employee of Bare International since September 2011 and is based in the Antwerp Office. She has a Master’s degree in English & Spanish literature & linguistics and a Master’s in Management. She likes discovering new places, travelling, reading and going out with friends to enjoy some very good (Belgian) beers.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”9″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
About Call Centers
Call Centers are a tricky topic when it comes to customer services. We have all had the opportunity to experience their effectiveness or inefficacy, and some of us have even encountered the opposite side and had a job as a call center representative. [spacer height=”20px”]
That’s where mystery shopping comes in!
Some call centers have their own monitoring system with mentors and colleagues who are experts in this field so they can help improve the service. But for those companies who would like to build up a more neutral and comprehensive picture about the quality of their call center services, the obvious choice is a mystery shopping service. They know it can be more effective and genuine when mystery shoppers do this, because mystery shoppers are always closer to the target audience of the company, and the way of their work is much more spontaneous and lifelike than an internal monitoring system.[spacer height=”20px”]
The so-called Front Office is the most important part for any service-provider company, because it’s where the company meets the customers: through the employees, and also the customers see the business through the customer service center representatives. That’s why it is vital to pay close attention to the customer service.
[spacer height=”20px”] Simply put, there are 5 main pillars of an efficient call center, so either as a customer, or a representative of a call center, here is what you should pay attention to:
Author: Adrienne
Adrienne is a guest blogger of BARE International. She is interested in many things: from playing music, riding horses, to reading ancient texts in their originally written languages. Basically she never gets bored.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”9″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
Elementary mystery shopping with Sherlock Holmes
[spacer height=”10px”]Everybody loves mystery shopping, so why wouldn’t the world’s most famous “Consulting Detective” like to indulge in the occasional mystery visit once in a while? Lately a team of Oxford scholars have done research into the private life of Sherlock Holmes and discovered that he’s one of the most avid evaluators we work with. And, unsurprisingly, also one of the very best. What would Sherlock’s comments look like after visiting an apparel store in Baker Street, for instance?
[spacer height=”10px”]“When Watson and I entered the store we weren’t immediately greeted, even though there were at least three salespersons present. Two of them were sorting clothes and I noticed at once how they had been having words earlier today, as they were never really looking each other straight in the eye, avoiding as much contact as would professionally be allowed. They couldn’t have fallen out on the work floor, as the third salesperson, a redhead, seemed to be in a sincerely good mood. So either they are carpooling or they live together, but not as a couple. As for the former I could see that even at his still rather young age he was already disappointed in what life had had in store for him, resigned to the downward trajectory in both career and private life. I also sensed that his uncle, who was a stockbroker’s clerk, had died from an unsurprising coronary attack recently.
[spacer height=”10px”]The client who was helped out by the third salesperson would have rather been helped by a different salesperson, as she was manipulating the shopping bag of a different store in mild frustration. I think it must be a cocktail of the exaggerated cheerfulness of the salesperson combined with his, admittedly, rather annoying high-pitched voice.
As soon as she had left, the red-headed salesperson expediently approached and greeted us in an extremely happy and friendly manner. He was wearing a very clean uniform despite the fact that his unkempt fingernails betrayed a below average standard of personal hygiene. I noticed, on the upper surface of the tip of each finger, very small pieces of clay had collected, which lead me to deduce that he was a sculptor of sorts in his free time. It is without a doubt his preferred hobby as it was exactly the type of expensive quality clay that is used by sculptors, rather than the common putty of children’s playthings. I can remember the distinct texture of the clay now.
[spacer height=”10px”]He asked us what kind of apparel we were looking for and I congratulated him with his birthday and asked him if last night’s party had been nice. He seemed to be slightly taken aback by the fact that I knew about this but he tried not to let on that there was anything unusual, which was the correct attitude, because there really wasn’t anything surprising about it. Anyone could see that the silver blazer he was wearing was brand new and smelled of a newly received perfume, which also explains the faint stain I could clearly distinguish. It was simplicity itself. The second stain was left by a type of chocolate cake that people only sell on the occasion of a birthday. I do believe they call them birthday cakes.
[spacer height=”10px”]The salesperson began offering me some types of jeans, and I was a bit astonished that he hadn’t immediately noticed that I was in want of a dark pair of jeans, of a speckled brand. Nonetheless, he found the perfect pair of trousers for me, which I immediately tried on in the fitting room. There was no one else present at that time, but there must have been, undoubtedly, a 43 year old recently divorced woman right before me, about 16 and a half minutes earlier. Come to think of it, we must have crossed her on the way to the store. I clearly remember her now. She had a twisted lip and she didn’t look very pleased either. Earlier, when I quickly observed her when passing by, I thought she was annoyed by something someone had said a few minutes earlier, but now it was by then obvious that she most dissatisfied with her purchase and was seriously considering going back to the store and making use of the return policy – a conclusion which was most elementary.
[spacer height=”10px”]I was readily assisted by the salesperson and both Watson and I quite convincingly felt like illustrious clients. I would gladly return to this store, and so would Watson, who seemed to be really interested in a dark blue sweater he had found in the store.”
Author: Gert
Gert’ specialties are any coffee-related projects as well as reports in Dutch, French and English. In his free time he writes novels, plays and poems, and performs spoken word all over Flanders and the Netherlands. He also loves travelling, listening to music and going to concerts. He has a Master in Applied Linguistics and one in Modern Literature.
Interested in becoming an Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”20″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Mystery Evaluator’s Community?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com
Don’t follow the Dutch example if you want to lose customers
It all started in September. I arrived to this beautiful country when the weather was still nice. The air was rich with autumn scents – by the way it was the exact same feeling as it supposed to be according to my Hungarian standards. This means nice and warm sunshine during the day, colour changing leaves, crispy air in the mornings, and so on. It was beautiful, and just the way I like it. For the whole week.
On top of that, everybody was kind and nice, in the shops as well! What to say, I was impressed, how everybody spoke English, how everybody was able to be nice, friendly and professional at the same time. What to say, this treatment fulfilled my checklist for an outstanding customer service, absolutely:
Conclusion: if you want to lose customers, don’t follow the Dutch example.
[spacer height=”10px”]
Author: Anita @AnitaKocsis910
Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work, she loves doing yoga, dancing, running, travelling and reading – which is why she often wonders how would it be possible to fit one or two more hobbies into her schedule. Her love for the automotive industry came from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s degree in International Economics and Business.
[spacer height=”10px”]
Interested in becoming an Automotive Evaluator with BARE International?
[maxbutton id=”9″]
Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Automotive community We Are Cars?
Apply to: akocsis@bareinternational.com