The Decoy Method Deep Dive

Wondering How?

Your team will speak freely around me. Your customers will give me the unfiltered truth. Your processes will reveal their real weaknesses when I'm actually using them day-to-day.

Your only responsibility: Don't trust anyone with this decoy approach. The moment your team knows I'm a consultant, the real insights disappear.

Perfect for:

• Businesses with 5+ employees where internal dynamics matter

• Companies losing money but can't figure out where

• Teams that might not be completely honest with management

• Business owners who suspect problems but need proof

Call Centres: Where Small Frictions Leak Big Money

I often find great people working inside clunky systems. Promotions happen fast, training time is tight, feedback loops stall, and IT backlogs slow everyone down. None of that means “bad managers” it means the setup needs support.

What usually shows up

• New starters are keen, but onboarding is rushed and knowledge lives in people’s heads, not in playbooks.

• Team leads want to help, but don’t have a simple coaching framework or time blocked to do it.

• Systems/processes add clicks and wait time; issues are reported but disappear into an IT queue.

• Customer updates aren’t flowing to the front line, so advisors can’t set clear expectations.

• The floor feels unapproachable at busy times, so small issues snowball into churn and rework.

• Lead with an Honesty Policy always first and you will be surprised how fast a turnaround this helps the overall position.

• Lets be honest - Not all managers can lead - stuck with how to stop long time dedicated staff making the decisions with a fear of them leaving. I can help.

The real cost

Higher AHT and repeat contacts, refunds/gestures, overtime, social media noise, and avoidable staff turnover. It’s rarely one person - it’s the machine.

What I do (quietly and quickly)

• Shadow calls, mystery-shop, review tickets/QA, and map the end-to-end journey.

• Surface training gaps, SOP holes and system bottlenecks with evidence.

• New Hire, that's me, for however long it will take. Factory, Call Centre, Shop, Franchises - I can blend in and play the part.

• Build a 3-tier action plan:

  • Quick wins: call flows, macros/templates, knowledge base fixes, “when to escalate” rules.

  • Near-term : New-starter playbook, team-lead coaching cadence, floor-walk routines, QA that coaches (not catches).

  • Investments: the few IT/process changes that unlock the most time and CSAT.

How I report

No gossip. No naming-and-shaming. You get patterns, numbers and fixes you can action: what to stop, start, standardise—and the business case behind each.

Recent example: uncovered onboarding gaps + clunky knowledge search driving repeat contacts and 40% turnover. Introduced a 10-day ramp plan, searchable KB, and weekly coaching huddles. Result: lower repeat contacts, faster handling, happier team.

Note: If you need private-investigator drama, I’m not your person. I fix systems so good people can do great work.

Think this is your world? Let’s talk through your setup and design a right-sized audit for your team.

"Nicola in 1 day could tell me some of my issues and how to resolve, that I didn't even know was a problem, as it doesn't happen at the store while I'm visiting.

She is worth her weight in gold, someone that's worked in the real world really does get it. She is a breath of fresh air and so passionate she really made me feel like I had someone to talk to and help."

Thank you

Lisa M. Coffee & Vintage