Mystery calls

Where guests are lost before the visit

A guest wants a table for six on Friday. They call, hear it ring, then message and get a reply two hours later, after booking elsewhere. That guest never appears in the room, and the loss shows nowhere in the manager's reports. A mystery call shows exactly this stretch: from first contact to a confirmed booking.

The audit follows the same rules as a visit. First a 30-40 minute briefing: which channels you use, who answers on each shift, whether the host has a script. Then a checklist where every item has a wording, a weight and clear answer options.

What we check

The call

• How many rings before an answer, and how long the hold lasts if the guest is asked to wait.
• Does the staff member name the venue and themselves, how does the greeting sound.
• Does the host grasp the request first time and ask follow-ups: the occasion, children, table wishes.
• Can they answer simple questions: is there parking, when does the kitchen close, can guests bring their own cake.

Messages

• How soon the first reply comes in a messenger or DMs, and at what times of day the guest goes unanswered.
• Does a person reply to the point or send a template that misses the question.
• Do chat and phone answers match.

The booking

• Is an alternative offered if the time is taken: another hour, another room, a waiting list.
• Are terms stated: how long the table is held, any service charge or fees for extras.
• Are the guest's name and contact taken.

Confirmation

• Does a confirmation arrive, and in what form.
• Does the venue contact the guest the day before or on the day.
• Is the booking remembered on arrival: if the audit includes a visit, the mystery guest notes whether the table was waiting.

How we document the conversation

Evidence for a mystery call: the time of the call or message, the reply time, the wait and the staff member's wording, which the mystery guest writes down right after the conversation. For chats, each message's time and text are kept exactly as the guest received them. A methodologist checks the report before it is sent; any item can be challenged, and the methodologist reviews it against this evidence.

Different shifts, different answers

By day an experienced host answers, in the evening a waiter picks up between two tables, and at weekends messages are read by whoever has a minute. To the guest it is one restaurant, and they make no allowance for how busy it is. So we spread contacts over the days and hours that matter to you: weekday noon, Friday evening, Saturday morning before brunch, late evening at a hotel. This shows which shift loses bookings most and why: nobody at the phone, no access to the floor plan or no answer to a simple parking question.

Scenarios

What you receive

• A report within 72 hours of the last contact in the scenario.
• A timeline: when the guest called or wrote, when they got a reply, how long they waited.
• Staff wording and chat texts.
• Checklist section scores and the methodologist's comments.

Mystery calls are often ordered with a mystery guest visit to show the whole path from first call to goodbye. If there is no host script, one can be written as part of a service standard, and a digital audit checks the venue's details on maps and social media.

Frequently asked questions