Charles Stiles is the founder and president of Mystery
Shopper Services / Business Evaluation Services, a national mystery shopper
company, and the host of Food Network's Mystery Diners, the hidden-camera show
that exposes what goes on behind the scenes when employees assume no one is
watching. MD currently is in its’ 11th season and Charles has hosted
over 140 episodes all over the country.
Charles comes from a background of hard work and dedication. During high school, Charles worked as a busboy and prep cook and became a delivery driver after graduation. At one point Charles even held the tough job of an oil derrick hand on a drilling rig. Later on, Charles worked as the director of admissions for a trade school, where he developed a marketing plan that doubled the school's income. As a result, he decided to start his own company that specialized in marketing for trade schools.
Three years later, Charles' entrepreneurial spirit led him into a new career path. He purchased a chain store in a national mall from a bankruptcy sale. After making the store profitable again, he opened additional locations. Charles quickly realized that the best way to differentiate his stores from those of national competitors was to develop a consistent service culture that exceeded customer expectations. His first step was to train his employees in the importance of making the customer feel valued and welcomed in the store. To sustain this service culture, he put in place a regular monitoring of the customer experience to make sure that service was consistent whether or not a manager was present. Once local restaurants and retailers heard about what Charles was doing, they all wanted his help. Mystery Shopper Services grew out of this need for service evaluation, and Charles ended up selling off his retail stores to focus on his new company.
Charles comes from a background of hard work and dedication. During high school, Charles worked as a busboy and prep cook and became a delivery driver after graduation. At one point Charles even held the tough job of an oil derrick hand on a drilling rig. Later on, Charles worked as the director of admissions for a trade school, where he developed a marketing plan that doubled the school's income. As a result, he decided to start his own company that specialized in marketing for trade schools.
Three years later, Charles' entrepreneurial spirit led him into a new career path. He purchased a chain store in a national mall from a bankruptcy sale. After making the store profitable again, he opened additional locations. Charles quickly realized that the best way to differentiate his stores from those of national competitors was to develop a consistent service culture that exceeded customer expectations. His first step was to train his employees in the importance of making the customer feel valued and welcomed in the store. To sustain this service culture, he put in place a regular monitoring of the customer experience to make sure that service was consistent whether or not a manager was present. Once local restaurants and retailers heard about what Charles was doing, they all wanted his help. Mystery Shopper Services grew out of this need for service evaluation, and Charles ended up selling off his retail stores to focus on his new company.
MSS serves a number of industries, including restaurants,
retail and finance, among others. In 2011, MSS began working with Food Network
to produce the television show Mystery Diners. Charles takes great pride in
hosting the show and in helping employers, because it gives him the opportunity
to benefit businesses through his expertise in customer service. Charles
travels often around the country on speaking engagements about the value of
consistent customer service. He has made
numerous promotional television
appearances for the show on Fox and Friends, Fox News, CBS as well as
many radio and podcast interviews.
Website: www.MysteryShopperServices.com
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ImCharlesStiles