Mystery shopping is a process by which a company measures its own quality of sales and service, job performance or regulatory compliance by having a researcher pose as a customer and report their experience.
Mystery shoppers typically mirror common consumer behaviors to test the consistency of the habits deemed important to a specific brand or industry.
Mystery shoppers interact with and report on a wide range of businesses and services, including gas stations, automotive dealerships, transportation services, real estate and property management firms, movie theaters, health and fitness clubs, insurance products, roadside assistance, health care products and providers for both humans and pets, assisted living facilities, and funeral homes.
A study by a U.S. firm found more than 55% of hospital chief executive officers surveyed in 2005 had "some compensation at risk," based on patient satisfaction, up from only 8% to 20% a dozen years ago.
[6] Mystery shopping organizations advise that their research should only be used for employee incentive programs and that punishment or firing is an inappropriate use of mystery-shopper data.
One method for promoting such quality improvement is through the use of secret shopper 'patients' who have been appropriately trained to provide feedback about physician performance in the clinical setting.
[11] The UK government's Crown Commercial Service operated a mystery shopper scheme from February 2011 to November 2018, whose remit was to provide a route for suppliers to raise concerns about public procurement practice in England.
[16] Also in the UK, mystery shopping is increasingly used by local authorities, and other non-profit organizations such as housing associations and churches, to provide feedback on user satisfaction.