Big corporations hire Mystery Shoppers to test out their salespeople, their stores, and every other aspect of the purchasing process.

And every theater should too.

In case you’re wondering, a Mystery Shopper is a person that is hired to make a purchase at your organization, while undercover, and then reports back on every aspect of the process to the business owner.

And that data allows you to make the experience better for the next customer.

There are companies that provide Mystery Shoppers, and if you’re serious about your service, then you should look at hiring one (and considering some of the complaints I get in my inbox, Broadway should hire two).  But even if you can’t afford one of the pros, then send volunteers through your sales funnel, or better, do it yourself (I’ve been known to call my own Group Sales line, or the 800 # for The Awesome 80s Prom, to make sure my sales team is as top notch as I need them to be).

Of course, one of the interesting things about the Broadway sales process, is that the Producers of the shows, don’t hire the sales personnel or run the online platforms.  To put it another way . . . imagine that you run a restaurant, but your landlord provides the wait staff (Admittedly, your landlord does know a lot about the restaurant business).

But that shouldn’t stop Producers from testing every aspect of what a customer experiences when they are in the process of buying a ticket somehow. . . especially one that costs $135.

Some people I know don’t like to hire Mystery Shoppers, because they feel it’s “spying” on their employees.  Maybe it is.  But hey, we may produce plays but that doesn’t mean this is play-time.

In my opinion, all is fair in love and trying to build a better business.

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