• Mystery Shopping your Customer Experience

    • 0
    Shopping basket
    Updated: 15th April, 2025 | Created: 16th December, 2021
    Proinsight Staff Chloe

    Chloe Kinch

    Director of Client Success | Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    Why Mystery Shopping Is NOT Dying A Death

     

    There are lots of different tools available to use when businesses are looking to gain more of an insight into what their customers really want. Traditionally, businesses would use market research and research programmes can help them to develop an understanding of their USPs and drive strategic decisions for future growth. Alongside market research, lots of businesses would also use mystery shopping services to improve their business for their customers.

     

    Over the past couple of years, many have started to explore ‘live customer feedback’ too and this has become such a popular way to measure customer experience that some are even starting to question whether mystery shopping is actually relevant anymore. Whilst there are undeniable benefits to receiving feedback from customers, businesses still need mystery shopping services and they shouldn’t be substituted for live customer feedback.

     

    What is mystery shopping?

     

    Mystery shopping involves a mystery shopper interacting with a business and providing feedback on their first-hand experience. There are lots of types of mystery shopping, from face-to-face mystery shopping to online mystery shopping and telephone mystery shopping, and these are all equally as useful to businesses. Mystery shopping is still considered to be one of the best ways to truly understand the customer experience in real-time and it enables you to see what’s really happening in your business from an objective and unbiased point of view.

     

    What is live customer feedback?

     

    Live customer feedback involves asking for feedback from customers after they have interacted with your business. There are many different ways to receive customer feedback, including; customer surveys, feedback forms, reviews and testimonials, and they will all be asking customers to provide an insight into their experience of a business. Whilst providing feedback, customers will express their thoughts, feelings and perceptions of a business as a whole.

     

    Why does mystery shopping remain to be so important?

     

    Although lots of businesses are considering substituting mystery shopping for live customer feedback, these are actually two very different tools that shouldn’t be used interchangeably. Commonly, customer feedback will just provide you with the personal opinions of your customers and this can be incredibly helpful, but mystery shopping can offer so much more than information about how customers feel about your business.

     

    Mystery shopping provides a deeper dive into your business and it will enable you to understand what customers usually experience when interacting with you. Getting an insight into your customer journey from the perspective of a typical customer is undeniably useful, and it will enable you to make any required changes to improve your overall customer experience, ensuring it is meeting pre-defined standards exactly as intended.

     

    Not to mention, mystery shopping presents you with information about your employees and the customer service they provide to your customers too. A mystery shopper can give you eye-opening information about how much your team really knows about your business and your products/services. Using this information you can then provide additional training when required, which can, in turn, improve customer satisfaction. By regularly arranging mystery shops, you can continue to monitor the quality of your customer service too.

     

    The accurate and deep understanding you gain whilst conducting mystery shops will help you to ensure you’re excelling in all areas and that certain aspects of your business aren’t letting you down. Mystery shopping offers an all-inclusive insight rather than just the thoughts of previous customers and it is one of the most useful ways to understand how well your business is operating thanks to the honest and objective feedback provided by expert mystery shoppers.

     

    Finding a mystery shopping agency to work with

     

    All in all, it goes without saying that although live customer feedback is something that all businesses should be paying attention to, this feedback shouldn’t be replacing mystery shopping altogether. There are a number of advantages to using mystery shopping services that simply can’t be overlooked and all businesses should continue to use these services alongside listening to live customer feedback.

     

    If you would like to find out more about mystery shopping agencies, feel free to get in touch with our expert team here at Proinsight. We know that customers interact with businesses in a variety of ways, so we provide a comprehensive portfolio of mystery shopping services to businesses. We also know that every business is unique and therefore we create bespoke packages for our clients, ensuring their individual needs are being met. We look forward to hearing from you and helping you to reap the many benefits associated with mystery shopping.


    David Hopkins

    David Hopkins

    Managing Director at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    David has a long history in the business of doing good business. In 2008, he co-founded Proleisure, a leisure consulting company, where he identified a growing need for deeper customer insights across the industry. This led to the launch of Proinsight Mystery Shopping in 2014, with a vision to provide businesses with the valuable data needed to enhance customer experience.

    Now, as we approach our 10th year, Proinsight has become a leading provider of specialist mystery shopping, auditing, and research programs, serving a diverse range of sectors across the UK including real estate, fitness, retail, hospitality, and so many more. We remain committed to helping our clients achieve excellence and drive meaningful improvements in their businesses.

    David is deeply committed to enhancing customer service across all industries. His passion lies in providing valuable mystery shopping insights that empower clients to take actionable steps towards improvement. By delivering these insights directly, David helps businesses create effective strategies to elevate their customer experience and drive meaningful change.


    Chloe Kinch

    Chloe Kinch

    Director of Client Success at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    Chloe joined Proinsight Mystery Shopping as an Account Manager in 2017. Prior to her role at Proinsight, she served as National Sales Manager at Parkwood Leisure, where she gained extensive experience in exceeding customer expectations and developed a deep understanding of the leisure industry.

    Chloe quickly advanced within Proinsight, progressing from Account Manager in 2017 to Head of Client Success in 2020, and ultimately to Director of Client Success and shareholder in 2022. In her current role, she leads client relationships with prestigious brands such as David Lloyd, Dyson, and Apple. Chloe is responsible for designing bespoke mystery shopping programs tailored to each client's specific needs, aimed at enhancing customer service and optimising sales processes across various industries, including real estate, hospitality, retail, leisure, and more.


    Lucy Winn

    Lucy Winn

    Brand and Communications Manager at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    After graduating with a degree in Marketing from the University of Westminster, Lucy successfully grew and scaled her own e-commerce womenswear clothing business over a span of four years, expanding into international retail markets including Japan, the US, and France. With extensive expertise in brand development and digital communications, Lucy has driven commercial growth through strategic initiatives like influencer marketing, digital campaign management, and both online and offline retail expansion.

    In July 2024, she joined Proinsight Mystery Shopping as Brand and Communications Manager, where she leads the strategy and management of all digital platforms, including the website and social media, with a focus on driving shopper sign-ups and generating client leads. Additionally, she oversees event management for both internal company days and major external summits like Connect CX. At these events, we emphasise the critical importance of exceptional customer service across various industries, positioning it as a cornerstone of a brand’s overall UX strategy.


    Robert Brocklesby

    Robert Brocklesby

    Senior Client Success Manager

    Robert is a Senior Client Success Manager at Proinsight, bringing over 20 years of consultancy and industry experience in customer service measurement and development. Throughout his career, he has led numerous high-impact projects for well-known clients across the UK, spanning a wide range of sectors. His work has consistently driven significant improvements in customer experience and contributed to sustainable, profitable growth.

    Robert recognises that each client is unique. He designs tailored Mystery Shopping programmes to monitor, enhance, and elevate the customer journey, aligning with each organisation’s specific goals. In addition to his consultancy work, Robert is a qualified teacher and regularly delivers customer service workshops. These sessions focus on identifying key strengths and uncovering areas for development, empowering frontline teams to drive continuous improvement.


    Deborah Jones

    Deborah Jones

    Senior Client Success Manager at Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    Debs has spent the last 25 years working in the health and fitness, hospitality, leisure, and childcare industries, holding senior management and consultancy roles. She has also enjoyed some backpacking and travel adventures along the way! In her spare time, she loves all things health and wellness, spending time with friends and family, and hiking with her lovely dog!