TULSA, Okla. -- If the covert portion of this year’s study were weighted more or equal to the revealed audit, another chain may have won, says Cameron Watt of Intouch Insight. Certainly, Tulsa, Okla.-based QuikTrip would have been in the running; it far outpaced the crowd to top the covert part of the study.
QuikTrip staff trounced the competition in a majority of the customer-service-related questions, including courteous cashiers, well-groomed cashiers, expressing gratitude or sincere thanks, making customers feel valued, and customers recommending stores to friends.
“It’s impressive,” says Mike Thornbrugh, manager of public and government affairs for the 765-store chain. “We measure ourselves based on what the customers are telling us, but at the same time, there are others who may look at us differently, and we can see things to improve upon.”
Part of QuikTrip’s success is in finding the employees who fit into the company’s culture, Thornbrugh says. “What you see on a daily basis at QuikTrip is someone who’s outgoing, smart, someone who’s high-energy,” he says. “They’re moving in perpetual motion, dealing with every issue imaginable and making it look easy.”
- QuikTrip’s “covert audit” score was 95.7%, No. 1 in the study. The average was 89.8%.
- QuikTrip earned a winning score of 98.5% for people who would recommend the chain to friends. The average was 90.6%.
Click here to read the complete mystery shop report.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.