02 Sep Magical Mystery Shopping Tour

The team at Wine Tourism Australia believes there’s no mystery to providing a world-class cellar door experience. Let them take you on a ‘Magical Mystery Tour’

AS PUBLISHED IN WBM NOV/DEC 2019

WORDS ROBIN SHAW AND TRACI AYRIS

Mystery shopping is a well-utilized tool within the hospitality and retail sectors and is a popular program among US wineries. Cellar Door Evaluations, as we call them, provide management teams with a comprehensive, independent overview of their cellar door operations through the eyes of a visitor, albeit one trained in the fine art of mystery shopping.

Traci Ayris is our lead ‘shopper’ with the enviable task of training others and undertaking many of the visits herself, incognito within a team of course. Here’s her personal experience of visiting cellar doors (with a well-hidden agenda) for programs conducted over the last 12 months in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, and Western Australia.

“Make sure you drop in again soon!” Sharon handed me my Shiraz/Zinfandel two-pack and waved me out the door. I left with wine, an image of her beaming smile and a recommendation for the best macchiato in the region, and there’s every chance I’ll return and recommend Sharon and her brand to friends.

No, this wasn’t a relaxing day tasting the wine in a notable Australian wine region: I was on a mission!

Why mystery shop a cellar door?

Perhaps the question should be, ‘How well are you converting visitors to customers and brand advocates on a consistent basis?’ In other words, are you missing out on sales and referrals due to sub-standard service delivery and poor sales skills among your teams? Most owners and managers don’t really know – they assume things are okay because the weekends are busy and the till is ticking over. However, on closer inspection, many will concede that transaction values and overall sales actually dip during busy periods when over-worked staff fail to engage effectively. Furthermore, it’s almost impossible for management to objectively assess the performance of their frontline staff on a daily basis unless they are actively working the floor. But you can’t be there all the time…

There’s a lot more to mystery shopping cellar doors than people think. We’re trained to note the nuances and spot the omissions. We’re not evaluating the quality of your wine – we’re evaluating your brand’s visitor experience. Just as you wouldn’t like to see your wine sitting forlornly on a retailer’s shelf, ignored by uninformed salespeople, likewise you don’t want to see it presented to visitors by a disengaged staff member. Yet that’s what we often encounter at cellar doors: friendly staff who lack the ability to build rapport, deliver an exceptional experience, and engage in effective relationship selling.

And it’s not necessarily their fault. We’ve observed staff members trying to serve visitors who are standing five-deep at the bar. Under these circumstances, it’s almost impossible for staff to engage purposefully, and it creates a highly stressful working environment for even the most skilled and well-meaning staff.

Research tells us that modern travelers of all age groups and walks of life are seeking memorable experiences – which many choose to share widely on social media and review platforms for the world to see. This factor alone puts pressure on winery owners to deliver consistently high levels of service. And that’s why I am on a mission: a mission to ensure that no wine tourist looking for a great experience is ever disappointed again. No small task, but eminently achievable, if our results are anything to go by.

So why are many winery owners and managers missing the point?

The answer is simple: they are too close to their own businesses. One person’s opinion is simply that – an opinion. The collective opinion of three well-trained teams, however, forms the basis of an independent evaluation which can be assessed against industry best-practice benchmarks that provide motivation for continual improvement.

Many cellar doors are rising to the challenge by curating experiences and training staff to deliver something noteworthy and memorable, however, others could be doing much better. Managers tell us their staff are amazing – they’re friendly, have a WSET diploma and really know their stuff. And that may well be true, but it doesn’t guarantee a great visitor experience, because just being friendly and knowing about wine doesn’t produce raving brand advocates or sell more products.

As a mystery shopper, I’m filing information as soon as I pass through your gates. I’m looking at the signage, gardens, landscaping, and figuring out where to park. Once inside, I’m waiting for a welcome, checking out supporting collateral, seeking your brand story, noting the presentation and knowledge of your staff and, of course, enjoying some drops of your finest while evaluating the tasting experience itself. I’ll consider whether the temperature and décor reach industry benchmark for suitable ambiance, check the cleanliness of your restrooms, and eavesdrop on nearby conversations between your staff and other customers. As a new visitor to your region, I’ll be seeking some advice on where else to go and waiting to see if my host can turn a tasting experience into a sale. As more families make the choice to travel to wine destinations, I’ll also be looking for child-friendly elements and possible hazards.

Other factors we consider include the venue’s capacity to cater for groups, accessibility for mobility-impaired visitors, capability to cater for high-end/international wine consumers, and even free guest WiFi for the happy-snapping-sharing crowd. More than 70 factors will be evaluated by the time I get back to my car, and I’m not even carrying a clipboard.

It’s fair to say there have been some memorable moments in my journey so far as a cellar door mystery shopper. Here are a few examples:

The Good

• A seated tasting in a tiny cellar door where I was hosted by the winemaker and treated to some very different wines (with full explanation) and some chocolate shards along with my fortifieds.
• The host who insisted (after delivering a wonderful tasting experience) that we “absolutely have to visit the local market just down the road.” We did and it was amazing.
• The host who brought out a back vintage premium wine (not on the list) to “add a little extra” to our current vintage tasting.
• The impromptu tour of the winery, as things were quiet, and we were clearly profiled as wine-interested consumers.

The Bad

• A freezing cellar door (“Can’t put on the gas because it costs too much”) where the host “had no idea” about the wine characteristics because he “gave up drinking years ago.”
• The lovely cellar door with the not-so-lovely host who completely avoided eye contact for more than a minute before grudgingly inviting us to “either have a taste or take a walk around.”
• Ruining a perfectly good pair of shoes after stumbling through mud and potholes to reach a cellar door entrance.
• Discovering filthy restrooms when you’re the first customer of the day.

The Ugly

• “If ya want, just pour it in the sink when ya finished.” So a sink is a spittoon?
• Being told that we “ought to know that the difference between Italian and French sparkling wines is the yeast.” Why ought we know?
• The embarrassment of hearing, “Oh well, I guess it’s lunchtime somewhere in Australia, hang on I’ll be with you in a moment” when we arrived at the advertised opening hour of 10 am. Am I a lush? Well, quite possibly…

It’s clear from these observations that the most important factor in the tasting experience is the people, who literally make or break it. Poor experiences tend to reflect either a poor internal culture, untrained staff, or both. Occasionally design and comfort issues are contributory factors.

The reward for effort in being a mystery shopper is when winery owners embrace the constructive commentary in their evaluation report and, even better, immediately take steps to implement suggestions and upskill their staff.

So how well do you think your cellar door experience would rate against global best-practice benchmarks? As with most things in life, there’s only one way to find out.

Wine Tourism Australia offers comprehensive Cellar Door Performance Improvement programs for wineries and regions comprising workshops, mystery shopping, 1:1 consultation, and direct training. Book a free half-hour online consultation to discuss the best program mix for your enterprise or region with Robin. Get in contact via email robin@winetourismaustralia.com.au or call 0419 033 868. Wine Tourism Australia is a proud recipient of the 2019 Wine Industry Impact Award for Tourism.