It’s true: knowing what your competition is doing is a great tool for improving your business. I’m not just talking about visiting their website or skimming their ads. That’s a good place to start, but digging deeper helps you see what’s working — and what isn’t — so you can improve your own operation. “Shopping” your competition means experiencing the property from a guest’s point of view, not an employee’s. It’s also important to shop yourself. Guest service is the key to success — and one of the few places you can truly stand out. Often, a guest will have an unpleasant experience and never mention it to a team member who could help. Instead, they’ll tell friends or post about it online.
One casino I worked at took guest service seriously. They developed a complete training program that every employee was required to complete. It took 18 months to complete the initial training. Moving forward, all new employees complete the training before they start their new jobs. They knew that if they invested in their best resource — their team members — the return on investment would be significantly higher. Richard Branson said it best: “If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your business.” We have no problem spending money on the latest technology, machines, apps, etc. But when it comes to our people, we go cheap. Then we wonder why revenue is down, turnover is high, and there’s a poor culture and a huge lack of employee buy-in.
In one important project this property invested in, they selected 25 of the best employees from all areas of the casino and gave them a collective mission: shop all the casinos in the area and report the findings. The executive team provided a basic outline of what they were looking for, a timeline, and — importantly — a substantial budget to support the project. That was all the direction the executive team gave. The committee was given the flexibility to determine the how, when, and where of the project.
The ultimate goal of this project was to improve our product. So, the committee chose to experience the other properties as customers — to see the properties as customers do: a true secret shopper experience. That meant we had to shut off the “I work in a casino” part of our brains. We were asked to look at all aspects, both good and bad, comparing all areas so we could see where our casino did well and where we could improve.
Before we hit the streets, we held several meetings to develop a collective strategy, which included breaking the large group into seven subcommittees to cover more territory quickly. We also developed a detailed checklist for reporting purposes. We needed each team’s report to be consistent so we could combine all findings for the executive team’s final report, as well as track all receipts needed for the final report and audit.
When shopping, you need to look at the whole guest experience, from the first contact through departure. No matter the size of the property, you can still use the same principles. With larger properties, you will have more opportunities to be “touched” by staff. Keep in mind, this is not an exercise in tearing down your competition. It is a way to improve the guest experience for your guests.
A few tips:
- This is a wonderful way to recognize and reward your best team members and include them in improving your guest service experience. In the example above, our budget covered everything we needed for the project — including gambling. By being very diligent about what was spent (and why), only a certain amount was earmarked for gambling. The executive team even decided that committee members could keep whatever was won during the project. Being part of a team like this gives your best employees a sense of ownership and pride in the process. They then become your leaders and teachers on the floor.
- Make sure there is a consistent, detailed way to evaluate each area. Consistent reporting helps the observations make sense. Your overall analysis will be clearer if everyone uses the same detailed checklist.
- Do not just observe — engage. It’s easy to sit back and watch, but to really experience what your guests are seeing, hearing, and feeling, you must engage. Talk with the staff, call the operator, and ask questions. Again: engage.
- Follow up. What will you do with this new knowledge? How can you use it to improve your product for your guests? After all, that was the goal.
For instance, empower your frontline employees to handle common issues so they can be resolved quickly.
- A front desk clerk should not have to call a supervisor for every little complaint. Create a dispute resolution program with clear recommendations and solutions starting from the first point of contact. For instance, let’s say a guest’s order wasn’t right in one of your restaurants. Give the waitstaff the power to comp it. While they’ll take the order back to be corrected (I hope!), it doesn’t change the fact that the guest still has to wait for the problem to be solved — so comp it.
- If a guest’s room isn’t ready, empower your front desk team to resolve it — offer a different room or a complimentary upgrade. You can also discount the room or provide a restaurant comp of the guest’s choice.
- In your shopping, did you have a wonderful experience with a department or team member? Well, give kudos for a job well done! If you catch someone doing something good, write a note and mention them by name.
And finally, one friction point that I still see consistently in my travels that needs to stop:
- Poor Wi‑Fi signal on site — we all have devices, and a weak signal is frustrating, especially when we’re paying added “fees” for our rooms. Not to mention the slowdown in service due to a lack of signal internally (players club, cage, etc.).
Takeaway: the best improvements come from seeing your business the way your guests do — from first contact to checkout.
Action: this week, pick one competitor (and your own property), walk the full guest journey with a checklist, and commit to fixing three friction points you can control — starting with the basics, like reliable on-site Wi‑Fi.
