Back in November I nervously entered an awards scheme which would judge Fish & Chip shops across the country and provide an award for those judged to be among the to 50 throughout the UK. I was nervous about entering as I had only been running the shop for a little over 18 months, and although I pride myself on attention to detail and customer service, I didn’t know how I would fare against the rest of the industry.
The judging was carried out by sending a mystery shopper into the shop to judge us on 45 aspects of the business across 10 categories ranging from the quality of the food to the service and even the accessibility of the shop!
I am incredibly proud to announce that we received the feedback form with our certificate today, and not only are we well within the top 50 shops in the UK, we achieved an overall score of 98%, and are the only shop in Bradford that achieved the standard! Given that only 4 shops across the UK achieved 100%, I am extremely proud of our result!
Coincidentally, the mystery shopper visited the shop on Saturday the 7th January, and working that day with me was Rebecca Davidson, who had only been with us a few months herself, so I am very impressed with the feedback relating to the service the shopper received.
Some of the comments in the report are:
First Impressions – It was very clean and the surfaces and floors were clear and tidy. It is a really noticeable place with a big vivid sign, it’s also accessible and has high standards of cleanliness.
Service – This was great I could see the cooking process as the fish is cooked to order but I liked that the counter is set in front of the fryers so you can see the food being made. I could tell that the staff enjoyed what they were doing and had pride in this.
Consumption – The food was in trays and wrapped in paper which kept the food warm. It was more than 10 minutes before I arrived home and the food was still hot.
The Batter/Fish – The fish was really tasty. The batter was perfectly done. There was a good sized portion of fish.
The Chips – The chips were really nice. They were crispy, golden on the outside and well done in the middle. Some of the best I have tried.
Payment – The staff were really friendly and attentive and this was a pleasant experience with great food.
Obviously we didn’t achieve 100%, so we still have room to improve, and there were some comments we will be taking action on in the near future to improve even more. The 2 areas we lost points for were:
Service – There was no sign identifying what cooking oil was used.
Staff – Staff were not wearing name badges.
Additionally they suggested that we promote our loyalty card more, advertise a ‘dish of the day’ if we have one, and reduce the charge for card payments.
Overall I am very proud of everything we have achieved in such a short time, and fully intend to maintain and improve on the high standards we are already providing.
A full copy of the report is available here (I am more than happy to let everyone read the details!)