My son Grant took me out to breakfast at IHOP this weekend (the day they had to fly back to Camp Pendleton). I noticed the waitress wasn't taking our order by memory like she usually does, so I asked her why. She told us it's because they've gotten in trouble with secret shoppers who've come in and complained that their order wasn't just right. So, thus, the pen and paper.

I, of course, asked a lot more questions about the secret shopper program and then explained to her that I thought it would be cool for churches. Because churches can think they're friendly, for example, but someone from the outside could help them see if that's really true.

While I thought of what a great service this would be to churches, Grant explained to me that I really shouldn't blurt out stuff like that to people. She was interested, I told him. He said, no, she was just interested in her tip. Oh well!

What do you think? Would churches open themselves up to the scrutiny of a secret shopper to get better at meeting people's needs?