In this month’s Industry Insight, Audra Lamoon, Chief Happiness Officer of Livewire Performance Consultants, explains that sustainable success for developers depends on offering an elite customer experience from day one.
Neglecting customer experience in retail developments leads to financial losses, frustrated tenants and declining foot traffic. One-third of customers leave after a bad experience, costing businesses $75bn annually. Without proactive training and mystery shopping, service gaps become PR disasters.
Developers who fail to budget for service training risk creating soulless, failing spaces instead of thriving destinations. Long-term success in retail and leisure properties isn’t just about location, architecture or amenities – it’s about delivering an elite customer experience. Visitors, tenants and employees expect exceptional service.
The Business Case for Hospitality Onboarding & Training
Too often, training is an afterthought – addressed only when complaints arise. Developers must budget for hospitality training from the start:
- Consistent service boosts revenue – Studies show that 86 per cent of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience (PWC).
- Poor service leads to significant losses – Research indicates that US businesses lose $75bn annually due to poor customer service (NewVoiceMedia).
- Retention is more cost-effective than acquisition – Increasing customer retention rates by just five per cent can increase profits by 25 per cent to 95 per cent (Harvard Business Review).
- Engaged employees deliver better experiences – Companies that excel in customer experience have 1.5 times more engaged employees (Forrester).
Experiential Mystery Shopping: Intelligence That Drives Improvement
Experiential mystery shopping uncovers service gaps beyond basic customer interactions, evaluating employee engagement and frontline performance. Employees who feel valued become Brand Ambassadors, reinforcing customer experience and reducing costly staff churn. This intelligence provides data on:
- How frontline and third-party partners engage guests.
- Where service breakdowns occur.
- Opportunities for enhanced engagement and personalisation.
Why Third-Party Partners Hold the Brand in their Hands
Assuming only direct employees need training is a critical mistake. Third-party partners – security, housekeeping, valet, concierge and parking attendants – are the first and last points of contact. Their service can make or break a property’s reputation. Developers must embed customer experience training across all teams for consistency.
Tailored Service Standards: A Blueprint for Success
Without defined service standards, properties risk chaotic, inconsistent experiences. A clear service blueprint ensures:
- Consistent customer interactions.
- Clear employee expectations, boosting engagement
- Fewer negative reviews and complaints.
A Formula for Customer Experience Success
Developers, operators and investors must approach customer experience with a structured, evolutionary mindset:
- Recruitment – Hire for attitude, train for skill. Prioritise employees with a hospitality mindset.
- Onboarding – Immerse new hires and partners in the brand’s service ethos BEFORE day one.
- Training – Deliver customised, interactive learning – live and online – to instil core service principles. Include your retailers for consistency!
- Measuring – Conduct experiential mystery shopping to assess strengths and areas for improvement.
- Observing – Monitor service interactions in real time to ensure consistency.
- Refining & Evolving – Use insights from training and mystery shopping to continuously elevate the experience.
Proactive Investment: The Livewire Advantage
Rather than retrofitting generic learning solutions, developers should partner with companies like Livewire to first conduct mystery shopping and then create a tailored training program based on real insights. This ensures that training aligns with the property’s vision, values and service standards – if such standards even exist yet! Many properties operate without them, creating disjointed experiences that frustrate customers and tenants alike.
Don’t Forget the Tenants & Store Owners
A development’s success depends not only on management but also on the tenants and store owners. Their service expectations should match or even exceed the property’s overall customer experience vision. Including them in training initiatives fosters alignment, ensuring a seamless guest experience across all touchpoints.
Conclusion: Build Customer Experience into the Budget from Day One
Great customer experience is not a luxury – it’s a necessity for sustainable success in retail and leisure developments. Budgeting for hospitality onboarding, experiential mystery shopping and continuous training is an investment, not an expense. Developers who embed this from the start will see increased loyalty, enhanced reputation and ultimately, stronger financial performance.
The question isn’t can you afford to invest in elite customer experience? It’s can you afford not to?
For developers, owner-operators and investors looking to transform their properties into icons of exceptional service, start with experiential mystery shopping and build a tailored training programme that drives excellence
