Canadian Preliminary Insights: Golf Visitor Experience Mystery Shopping Audit

Foreword

As a global leader in the provision of customer service analysis and education services; 59club’s Mystery Shopper Program, Customer Satisfaction Surveys and Employee Training Services deliver insights and resources to support golf clubs & hospitality providers to improve and maintain their sales & service levels, in turn increasing customer satisfaction, revenue, and profits.

Having opened in early summer 2022 and serving Canada’s major markets, 59club’s performance management solutions are now being rolled out from coast to coast.

Since the official launch, 59club delivered a series of mystery shopper audits for eager club managers across Canada, that measured the ‘Golf Visitor Experience’, subsequently providing educational support while facilitating growth amongst its newly affiliated properties.

Meet Ryan Tracy, With over 20 years of experience as a PGA of Canada professional, as a GM, COO, Teaching Pro, Professor and Entrepreneur, I'm proud to bring 59club to Canada! It gives me great satisfaction to serve my former colleagues, seeing them now become clients, and giving them tools to make their job just a little bit easier. Let's go!

Initial CX Insights

We have created a very simple Customer Experience (CX) Insights report, that provides a snapshot into the headline level data collected during the Golf Visitor Experience audits in the region.

TEE TIME RESERVATION

ARRIVAL & CHECK IN EXPERIENCE

BOOKING CONFIRMATION

GOLF SHOP RETAIL ENQUIRY PRACTICE FACILITIES

LOCKER ROOMS

ON-COURSE SERVICES

GOLF COURSE PRESENTATION & AMENITIES

FOOD & BEVERAGE

CUSTOMER SERVICE TRACKER

Golf clubs who engage in the mystery shopper program receive full access to 59club’s industry leading sales & customer service analysis.

The report analyzes over 250 objective data points, that measure every customer encounter, from the initial Tee Time Reservation, right through to the post golf Food & Beverage Experience.

The audit also collects data within the Customer Service Tracker, that monitors a Net Promoter Score (a score that analyzes a visitor's probability of making a return visit or recommending the venue to others).

The following analysis of the data collected during the preliminary audits provides insight into how golf clubs in the region are performing in areas such as Staff Engagement, Service Offering, Sales & Upselling Aptitude, and Facility Management.

The report compares the Canadian Golf Clubs’ customer service levels & sales aptitude to the best performers within the region, complete with a global benchmark that represents the finest service providers within the Mystery 59club’s Global data is representative of all affiliated properties spanning the UK, Europe, United States, Canada, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia & New Zealand.

The Canadian Average represents a combined score of all mystery shopper measurements experienced during the preliminary free trial offering in the region.

The Canadian Podium Average is a combined score of the Top 3 performing venues within the region across the overall audit.

The Global Podium Average is a combined score of the Top 3 performing venues spanning all 59club territories, representing the CX benchmark of excellence.

Comparing clubs and managers who have just started with 59club, to facilities and operators who have spent nearly two decades learning, growing and adapting with 59club is sure to create a gap in our customer service benchmarks. This is normal and expected.

Early 59club adopters in Canada, however, are already starting to see significant improvement, and it’s only a matter of time before clubs in those regions begin to show up on 59club global podiums.

Staff Engagement

When it comes to analyzing staff engagement during the tee time reservation, on arrival, at check-in for golf, and various encounters with the on-course service team and the F&B department, the audit measures;

The initial greeting and conversation, the appearance of the staff member, the standard of welcome offered, and the body language demonstratedincluding elements such as; smile, eye contact, willingness to approach the customer and the level of helpfulness afforded.

while the very best performers in Canada, who contribute to the region's ‘podium’ average are currently 10 percentage points behind the global podium performers.

Service Offering

Within the audit, service offering considers all things operational – on and off the golf course, in the restaurant and across all communal areas – it is the epitome of staff delivering memorable guest experiences; ensuring that Analysing the provision of arrival information, giving directions to key facilities, obtaining contact details; as well as retail basics such as - stock levels & merchandise presentation.

And, out on the course, elements such as the F&B offerings, the presence of the ranger, the management of speed of play, along with information provided by the starter/pro team - including pin positions, yardage markers, on-course maintenance, and general etiquette.

Delving into the dashboard, the data shows a large disparity of 26 percentage points between the regions average in comparison to 59club’s global podium performers. Meanwhile 18 points stand between Canada’s average and the best service providers in the region’s.

Sales Aptitude

techniques used, and the opportunities that are lost - during the call to reserve the tee time, within the booking confirmation, and subsequently on arrival, within the golf shop, on-course services and F&B sales all come into play.

So, if we took the basics like upselling F&B, practice area usage and hire items during the reservation call, or the willingness to promote drinks and confectionary items alone; the revenue that is going unsold is something that engaged clubs will be able to pinpoint and calculate, as they work within the dashboard to perfect their sales aptitude and service levels, upskilling staff with the education lessons that are built into the results platform.

Lingering on retail for a moment, more complex sales analysis within the audit also considers the response to a product enquiry, with the audit measuring the employee's product knowledge, their ability to extract the customers' needs, while recommending appropriate items - all the while linking the features & benefits of the product to the needs of the customer.

Other sales tactics detail the ability to upsell appropriate / paired items, as well as determining the effect the employee has on the overall purchasing decision.

Canada’s best performers find themselves 17 percentage points behind 59club’s global podium for sales aptitude, with the Canadian average currently lingering around 31 points behind the best performers around the globe.

Facility Management

Facility Management takes into consideration everything from cleanliness, litter, directional signage, and presentation from the very first impressions on arrival at the golf course, locker rooms, golf shop, practice area, on-course

The audit helps to set standards and monitor performance, with objective criteria and unbiased feedback supporting the team to appreciate the consumers impression of the venue.

The analysis shows that Canada’s best performers are only 2% behind the global leaders from a facility management perspective. However the regional average is currently sitting 18 percentage points behind 59club’s podium performers.

Facilitating Growth

The initial audits have given those involved an objective insight into 59club’s proven strategy to measure & improve customer service levels, with the ability to make customer experience comparisons to the best performing venues, chosen competitors, and the industry average - here in Canada, and across the wider global golf & hospitality landscape.

The regions early adopters are already working fast at closing the margins, exploiting the opportunity to grow customer satisfaction levels & sales performance.

It’s only a matter of time before they begin to challenge some of the greatest names in the world of golf, striving to deliver the finest customer experiences, including 59club’s award winning annual performers, and those recognised for the highest long-serving standards of customer service excellence.

REALISE THE OPPORTUNITY

The industry’s leading Customer Service Analysts & Training Provider

From pay & play and private member clubs, to large scale resorts, 59club’s proven strategy supports clients across the Golf, Leisure, Spa, F&B, Retail and Hospitality industry.

Mystery Shopping

Our fully trained mystery shopping team use the latest technology to capture real time images and gather measurable data across every touch point.

Satisfaction Surveys

Intelligent software and industry specific survey templates evaluate customer & employee satisfaction levels.

Training & Education

Tailored to your venue’s specific needs, our training resources will address any weaknesses in performance, and realign in-house standards.

Upskill your workforce

Measure in-house standards

Elevate customer acquisition

Improve satisfaction levels

Analyse industry comparable data

Uplift profits

Reward Excellence

The building blocks to your success

We measure your customer experience and sales aptitude. We train your team to elevate performance levels.

And reward elite performers for achieving customer service excellence.

Our regional teams will offer a level of support that is unrivalled in the industry.

Trusted by

59club’s expertise, information & staff training have become mainstays of our business.

This allows us to deliver a consistently high level of customer service across our entire group operation.

59club created the visibility into our sales organization that we have been wanting for a long time.

We now have a consistent training program for all new hires, and the vision to focus our retraining efforts.

Working with 59club has given us new insight into elements of our operation that were otherwise undetected.

The consistency of the reporting helps us draw patterns, digging into select areas of improvement while elevating our member interactions and guest experiences.

MICHAEL

CHRIS MAY CEO, Dubai Golf Group Emirates Golf Club, Dubai Creek & Jumeirah Golf Estates

VIC ALIPRANDO VP of Business Development PGA Tour - Golf Course Properties

HORSLEY General Manager Donalda Club