Old Bell scores top marks in mystery visit
July 7, 2014
The Old Bell on Bell Street has scored 100% in its latest mystery customer visit – one of only three out of Brakspear’s 130 pubs to achieve top marks in the four years that the scheme has been running. Even more impressively, the licensee, Rob Hooton, took the pub on just six months ago.
The mystery visits are conducted across all Brakspear pubs twice a year. Customers answer more than 100 questions covering all aspects of hospitality, from cleanliness and service to marketing and merchandising.
The mystery visitor had nothing but praise for the Old Bell, reporting on “warm and welcoming staff creating a great atmosphere”, “an excellent pint of Brakspear Bitter” and “interior decor with a fresh, clean feel and perfectly suited to the traditional pub.” They added, “The Old Bell will now be my first choice pub for a drink in Henley.”
Brakspear chief executive Tom Davies said, “It’s a real achievement to be mystery visited without dropping a single point. Rob has clearly managed to instil the highest standards in all aspects of the Old Bell in his short time there and he and his team should be very proud of their score.”
Rob Hooton said, “We’re very pleased with this score, especially as so few other pubs have managed it over the years. I have a great staff team here, so it was good to see the comments about friendly, attentive service in the mystery visitor’s report. We’ll keep doing what we’ve been doing and hope to get 100% next time.”
Janet Wood, founder of Henley-based company The Silent Customer, which conducts all Brakspear’s mystery customer visits, said, “Scoring 100% on our detailed questionnaires is, intentionally, very difficult. We’ve developed the questions recently to test how pubs are marketing themselves, which is where many of them fall down, but Rob is clearly doing a great job in encouraging customers into the pub, including using Facebook and Twitter. Once they’re in the pub, the fantastic service and atmosphere make sure they want to come back.”
She added, “We specialise in customer feedback for tenanted pubs and of the 400+ pubs that we assess every year only three have achieved 100% in the five years that The Silent Customer has been running, and all have been Brakspear pubs.”
Brakspear introduced mystery visits in 2010. The average customer service satisfaction score has risen by 10% in the four years since launch.
The Old Bell is Henley’s oldest surviving building. Tenant Rob Hooton offers a regular programme of events, which have recently included live music by John James Newton, a Thai Hut Tuesday and an Authentic Curry Extravaganza. Find out more atwww.theoldbell.biz
Above images shows (l-r) Rob Hooton, tenant of the Old Bell, with Janet Wood of The Silent Customer