Want to learn how Intouch Insight’s mystery shopping services gave Alpaca Chicken the information it needed to effectively coach restaurant staff and boost QA scores?
Dive into the full story by watching the video below, or keep reading to discover more details.
About Alpaca Chicken
Alpaca Peruvian Charcoal Chicken is a fast-growing chain of 17 restaurants and counting in North Carolina. Pairing a signature rotisserie chicken with traditional South American sides, Alpaca Chicken aims to create a warm, welcoming experience that exceeds customer expectations for dine-in and takeout meals.
The Challenge: Maintaining Genuine Service at Scale
Alpaca Chicken is a family business that aims to make every customer feel like they’re part of the family.
That’s hard to do as a fast-growing chain with 17 existing locations and more on the way. Since the leadership team can’t physically visit every restaurant every day, they rely on other methods to ensure their high standard and brand voice remain consistent.
Previously, the brand relied on internal networks of friends and family to conduct mystery shops. While well- intentioned, staff often recognized the shoppers, leading to an inflated sense of performance that didn’t always reflect the daily reality of a typical guest.
“We weren’t able to see the true customer experience, so we couldn’t take mystery shops and use it for training purposes. At the same time, it was hard to give feedback to our leadership team. There was no documentation, no way to show what was happening.” — Jordan Taylor, Director of Training, Alpaca Chicken.
Without truly objective data, Director of Training Jordan Taylor couldn’t create effective programs to improve service, and the team couldn’t replicate their signature family-style hospitality with total confidence across every new location.
The Solution: Visual Evidence of the Customer Experience
Alpaca Chicken needed clear, measurable data on the customer experience at every location. They needed specific details, like:
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Are guests greeted properly?
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Is something broken or out of service?
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How quickly does the line move?
To get actionable feedback on these and other questions, Alpaca Chicken decided to elevate their mystery shopping program with Intouch Insight.
Their customized video mystery shopping program gives the leadership team data that’s often hard to quantify. Video footage adds an extra layer of insight and context by displaying elements of the customer experience in real time, such as a table left uncleared for too long or the emotional tone and attitude of a staff interaction.
“Intouch Insight’s video mystery shopping was the best option for us, because it enabled us to see everything from the customer’s point of view.” — Jordan Taylor, Director of Training, Alpaca Chicken.
Apart from the additional visual evidence, Alpaca Chicken staff didn’t recognize the Intouch Insight mystery shoppers, so they received an authentic experience and could deliver meaningful QA scores. Not only were the scores less biased, but they were rooted in the company’s deep understanding of industry standards.
“Video mystery shops give us more information,” Taylor said. “We get gaugeable metrics we can use in training and development, and we can modify the questions and scoring if we want to focus on a certain subject for a month, like upselling.”
Detailed information about each restaurant visit appears in Intouch Insight’s IntouchCXTM platform, making it easy for the training and development team to review independently. Then, they can use that data to tailor coaching strategies using concrete examples. Restaurant managers can also view their scores and compare the feedback to objective measures, increasing their ability for self-improvement.
Meanwhile, the relationship on the backend is just as valuable as the service they provide.
“Not only are Intouch Insight good people, they help us grow. They’re easy to work with, and quick to adjust anytime we have a concern,” Taylor said.
The Result: Stronger QA Scores
Alpaca Chicken sees its operations differently now, and so do restaurant managers. While managers were initially nervous about video recordings, they’re now enthusiastic about the mystery shopping program and the path to improvement it offers.
“Restaurant managers realize this helps them grow their business. They’re excited to see their scores, and because they don’t know who the mystery shopper is, that pushes us to be better for every single guest,” Taylor said.
The work is paying off. In just a few months, Alpaca Chicken improved its QA scores by about 10 percentage points, now consistently scoring around 85% and above.
“After several months of working with Intouch Insight, we’re pushing our QA scores higher and higher. Without video mystery shops, we wouldn’t be able to push ourselves to that next level.” — Jordan Taylor, Director of Training, Alpaca Chicken.
With Intouch Insight as a trusted partner, Alpaca Chicken now has the clarity and consistency needed in their training to ensure that every guest receives the genuine “family” hospitality that helps them eat happy.
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Sarah Beckett
Sarah Beckett : December 12, 2025
