Manager of Town Centre Venue Takes Top Spot for Customer Service

RACHEL Terry, manager of The Citadel Hall in Chippenham is celebrating after scoring 100% in a secret customer service survey.

Chippenham Business Improvement District (BID) sent out mystery shoppers to 85 premises in the town centre to test the way they treated customers over a range of areas including venue appearance, staff image, product and pricing, initial contact, service, sales, overall impression and local knowledge.

The mystery shopper spoke to Citadel Hall manager Rachel Terry about having a family party at the venue several weeks ago and – unbeknown to Rachel - tested her knowledge about the town. 

The shopper’s report said: “I asked where was best to grab some food. She said the Rivo Lounge was great for fresh sandwiches and did really good chips which she thought were delicious. She also recommended The Garden who were open later and where I could grab a beer or a glass of wine alongside hot food.

“She was friendly and smiled a lot during our interaction. She made me feel completely at home and seemed keen to offer solutions and be helpful throughout our interaction.”

Rachel has been running her venue hire business at The Citadel Hall for five and a half years. She has a broad range of experience in event organisation, from children’s parties, business workshops to belly dancing shows.

She said: “It was absolutely amazing to find out I’d scored 100 per cent. It was a complete surprise when they told me because I didn’t actually realise I was involved in the mystery shopping exercise. 

“I think the key to good customer service is caring about your customers and looking after them. I try to do everything to make it easy and enjoyable for them so when they leave they feel they’ve had a good time, been given great service and they want to come back.”

Kathryn Crosweller, from Chippenham BID, oversaw the survey, whose aim was to help small and independent businesses identify areas for improvement and celebrate their successes.

She said: “The fact that we only had seven that scored 100% means that Rachel did really, really well to stand out above and beyond the others. We did the survey last year too but The Citadel Hall didn’t take part then, so to come straight in at 100% is excellent.”

The 85 premises, who all agreed to take part in the mystery shopping exercise, were visited anonymously between January and February this year. More surveys are planned for the future.

The team of mystery shoppers came from an independent company called Store Checkers UK to ensure the survey was standardised and gave fair results.

The Citadel Hall, in Bath Road, was built in 1903 and was once home to the Salvation Army. In its time it has housed a number of businesses, including the Tourist Information Centre.

It is now available to hire for a variety of functions and events. For more information, visit the citadelhall.co.uk.

To find out more about Chippenham BID, visit chippenhamconnected.com