Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

It seems that all mystery shopping companies claim to be the best, what really makes you different?

The essential difference is one of consistency and quality. For shoppers wishing to conduct written work for us, we have a stringent and demanding recruitment procedure. and a constant review process whereby every written report submitted by the shopper goes through the hands of a third party editor who ensures that the report is written and scored fairly and objectively.

What do you charge?

Whilst we aim to provide a premium service, our charges are very competitive and can often compete with the low price high volume 'tick list' style operators. Our policy on pricing is to be as open and transparent as possible.

How long does it take to get a programme up and running?

We normally try our best to accommodate any urgent requests and can generally start making store visits two weeks after finalising a new agreement depending on programme content and schedule.

We currently have a written mystery shopping programme. We can see the benefits of video but we have some serious reservations, what do you suggest?

Video is not for everyone but in the vast majority of scenarios, it can make significant and positive contribution to the clients business. We have worked with many clients who have entered the video market very tentatively and we have provided guidance (and direct input) in areas such as;

How can I be sure that mystery shopping is a good investment?

We have been involved in numerous studies where mystery shopping results have been tracked alongside KPI's such as Average Transaction Value, Customer Conversion Rates, Sales Targets, etc. All go to prove that staff who score well in a mystery shopping study are more profitable to your business.

How can I become a video mystery shopper?

If you have your own covert equipment we would be interested to talk to you and see examples of your work. However, most of our video mystery shoppers are recruited from our own team of written shoppers and in this instance, we provide all the training and equipment.

I already carry out mystery shopping for several other companies, why are you asking me to go through this demanding recruitment process?

There are lots of different mystery shopping companies out there and each fills a need within the market place. We have very high expectations of our shoppers and require you to provide a much higher level of detail than a typical MSP. It is therefore only sensible to check that your approach to the work and reporting style is in-line with our expectations and with those of our clients.

I have registered on your on-line system but my account is deactivated - why's that?

Your account will be manually activated when you have been through the full recruitment process.

Why do you pay more per assignment than most other MSP's?

Our reports are more in-depth and sometimes the visit brief can be complex. We expect a lot from our shoppers but we also remunerate fairly.

Why don't you operate an on-line job board like most MSP's?

We are always keen to ensure that we get the right shopper into the right stores and therefore our approach provides us with more control over the allocation process.