How we select, screen and train our mystery shoppers
Selection of Shoppers
AQ takes great care in selecting and screening our shoppers to ensure that they match your customer profile. We keep records of all of our mystery shoppers and have them sign confidentiality, quality and integrity agreements for every job, every time.
We have mystery shoppers to match any kind of requirement, for any business or industry. Our skilled and experienced shoppers can perform basic and straight-out observational reporting while maintaining a scenario, or review specific facets of your operations. We send frequent travelers to assess flight services or duty free stores, businessmen to assess hotels or private banking branches, high-end consumers to assess luxury brands or automotive branches, or families to assess entertainment parks, retail outlets and restaurants. The diversity of our clients means that we maintain and manage a very large pool of qualified and dedicated shoppers.
Mystery shopper training
Each client and program is different. As a result, so is our training for shoppers. As a minimum, all our mystery shoppers must do the following:
- Study a detailed briefing manual that has been developed specifically for your program.
- Pass an online ‘comprehension’ test, which is tailored to your program.
- Attend a face-to-face training at one of our offices or attend a one-on-one phone and web briefing.
We make sure our shoppers know you before they start working with you. Not only must they be familiar with the survey and the scenario, but also with your company and the program’s objectives.
Debriefing sessions
Our trained specialists will assess your retail performance and provide you with constructive and actionable feedback through their mystery reports. Maintaining neutrality, they consciously and critically observe your front line, backed by their extensive consumer experience in relevant industries.
A debriefing by our specialists is essentially a focused session for you to ask them more in-depth questions about your brand, your retail performance or even plans for the future. Guided by our senior managers, the session provides you with further insights from a group of professional consumers and observers.
