Be a Franchise "Secret Shopper"

One of a series of Buy-a-Franchise articles

Published: Jan 24, 2008

You have found what you think is a perfect franchise opportunity. You have done as much homework as you can think of. You have enlisted the help of others. Yet something is still missing.

You haven’t talked with any existing franchisees. Sure, the franchisor has provided you with a list of franchisees that they recommend that you to talk to as a reference. They also probably display one or more testimonials on their web site from “Golden” franchisees. But think about it. Why would a franchisor steer you to these franchisees? Do you suppose it is because these happy franchisees will give the franchisor a good referral? Of course they will. If they didn’t they surely would not be on the franchisor’s preferred list.

Now I want you to think back to all of the new employees that you have hired over the years. Remember what it is like to call on a personal or business reference that was provided by the prospective employee? I will bet that you have never received a bad reference now have you? Is this any different than what the franchisor is trying to do to you? Is this what you want? Are you looking for a “canned” answer? Or would you want a real objective viewpoint?

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What I want you to do is to talk to any existing franchisees that the franchisor does not recommend. Now, please understand that just because a franchisee is not on the franchisors recommended list does not mean that the franchisee will bad mouth the franchisor. Most likely they will still give the franchisor a good recommendation. But what if they didn’t? That would sure tell you a lot now wouldn’t it.

A lot depends on the franchise opportunity. Do they have existing franchise operations in your area? If not, then you are probably limited to making some phone calls, although making a long drive or jumping on a plane is not unreasonable. However, if they do have existing franchise operations nearby, I would strongly recommend that you personally visit as many operations that you can. I especially like the thought of making any visits unannounced. If you think about it, if someone knows that you are coming to visit their operation, they would probably take extra care in making sure that they are prepared. For example, let’s say that the franchise opportunity is a restaurant. You have contacted them and they have asked you to visit when it is convenient for them. Maybe the franchisee will take extra care that the restaurant is clean and presentable. They will probably ask you to come during non peak hours. My recommendation to you is to do the exact opposite.

Many large corporations hire “secret shoppers” to go under cover to shop their own stores as well as their competitor’s stores. They do this in order to receive valuable feedback from a customer’s point of view. This creates a valuable source of information which enables the company to make adjustments. I would recommend that you do the same.

Visit the franchisee unannounced. Be a “secret shopper”. Go during their peak hours of operation. Get a feel for their volume of traffic. See how their traffic flows. See how their employees react under stress. Absorb how customers react to the busy times. Buy their products or utilize their services yourself. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer, as you are one. Take mental notes and as soon as you have left the premises formulate your thoughts and write them down.

Of course you will also want to talk with the franchise owner. That is step number two. You will probably not be able to do so during peak hours. You may have to wait some time or more likely you will have to make an appointment to return at another time. This is fine, as it will give you time to prepare a set of questions based on your recent customer experience.

In my next article, “17 Questions to Ask Existing Franchisees”, I will go into more detail about other questions that you want to ask in addition to those formulated in your recent shopping experience. Happy shopping!

Author Information

Barry Jark

Vice President - Operations at B-Source.com. Barry had experience in management, operations and finance as a bank president before joining the lively group at B-Source

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