Liverpool’s businesses have been celebrated for their customer service at the annual Mystery Shop Awards.

Organised by Liverpool BID Company, the annual awards is now in its 12th year. A record-breaking 604 businesses were mystery shopped, from coffee shops to opticians, national retailers to independent restaurants.

Recognising businesses across Independent and National Retailers, Accommodation, Hospitality, Leisure and Service Providers, the awards reflect a continued commitment to providing the famous Liverpool warm welcome.

The Mystery Shops are managed by Storecheckers. City centre businesses are visited and marked against a list of criteria to see how well they’re performing. The average approval rating in the city was 82%. 41 businesses achieved 100%. The winners and runners up each achieved over 95% approval.

Results are based on businesses that achieved the highest score with a runner-up.

Winners included Chicken George, the popular butcher in St Johns as Independent Retailer, The Cavern Club in the Hospitality Pub & Bar category, Panoramic 34 in the Hospitality Restaurant and Hospitality category and Mattas International Foods in the As Voted by You, social media competition. Best Newcomer went to L’Aperitivo on Bold Street.

Independent Retailer
Winner Chicken George (butchers in St Johns)
Runner Up Wongs Jeweller

Culture Venue
Winner Royal Court Liverpool
Runner-up St George’s Hall

Hospitality: Pub & Bar
Winner The Cavern Club
Runner-up Coopers

Hospitality: Restaurants and Hospitality
Winner Panoramic 34
Runner-up Tapas Revolution

Hospitality: Quick Service
Winner Upper Crust
Runner-up Costa Coffee (Ranelagh Street)

Best Serviced Accommodation
Winner Quest Liverpool
Runner-up Stalybridge Suites

Best Hotel
Travelodge on Strand Street
Runner-up Central Station Hotel.

Best Leisure Business
Winner Cashino
Runner-up Betfred (Ranelagh Street)

Service Provider
Winner Batty and Dexter Opticians
Runner-up RUSH

Best Newcomer
Winner L’Aperitivo
Runner-up Cheers Big Ears

As Voted By You – Social Media Competition
Winner Matta’s International Foods
Runner-up Ranelagh’s Tavern

This year, the awards for best national retailer were divided into; Fashion and Footwear; Health, Beauty and Jewellery; Home, Lifestyle and Tech; Supermarket and Quick Service.

National Retailer in Fashion & Footwear
Winner Kurt Geiger in Whitechapel
Runner-up Pavers of York.

Health, Beauty and Jewellery
Winner The Perfume Shop (St Johns)
Runner-up T-Nutrition.

Home, Lifestyle and Tech
Winner is Wilkinson Cameras
Runner-up o2

Supermarket and Quick Service
Winner is Sainsburys Local on Castle Street
Runner-up is Tesco Express on Skelhorne Street.

Four businesses were highly commended as Green Champions. They were LUSH, LEAF, St Johns Shopping Centre and Hotel Indigo.

Jennina O’Neill, Chair of the Retail & Leisure BID says,

“A huge congratulations to our city centre businesses who have shown incredible strength and determination in the face of what continues to be a challenging time. These results truly show the commitment to customer service and delivering that warm welcome is a s strong as ever. As we head into Q4 and the crucial Christmas season, we can expect that enthusiasm for friendliness and service to continue.

Liverpool city centre has shown its resilience this year and these results show that businesses are committed to maintaining their high standards of customer service.”

If your business has been mystery shopped in this years’ Mystery Shop Awards, there is still time to book in for a 1-2-1 feedback session with Storecheckers where you will be able to go through your results. Find out more here.

Take a look at the pictures of the top performing businesses below: