• Mystery Shopping your Customer Experience

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    Updated: 15th April, 2025 | Created: 6th December, 2021
    Proinsight Staff Chloe

    Chloe Kinch

    Director of Client Success | Proinsight Mystery Shopping

    Mystery Shopping Your Franchise Business

     

    When wanting to expand their business, it isn’t uncommon for people to consider franchising. The whole concept of franchising has become increasingly popular over the last few decades and there are thousands of franchise businesses across various industries these days. However, becoming a franchisor does come with its challenges.

     

    Having multiple franchisees that market your products and/or services can sometimes have a negative impact on your brand, and you will need to keep a careful eye on each individual franchise. As a franchisor, using mystery shopping services can be incredibly advantageous, regardless of how many franchises your business is made up of. Below we have looked into some of the main reasons why you should consider mystery shopping your franchise business.

     

    Ensure all franchisees deliver the same customer experience

     

    When purchasing a franchise of your business, there are a number of strict guidelines and rules that individual franchisees must follow, however, when working from afar it can be difficult to make sure that they are continuing to maintain your brand consistency. Enlisting the help of a mystery shopping agency can help you to ensure that all franchisees are delivering the same outstanding customer experience to your brand’s customers.

     

    Whether they visit a franchise whilst conducting face-to-face mystery shopping or interact with a franchise online whilst carrying out social media mystery shopping, mystery shoppers can provide you with an invaluable insight into what each franchise is doing well at and what needs improving. Working with an experienced agency can help you to feel more in control of your franchise business and prevent any concerns relating to customer satisfaction.

     

    Prevent one franchise from tainting your brand name

     

    Every franchise that makes up your franchise business will influence people’s thoughts and opinions about your brand. For this reason, it is essential to ensure that all franchisees are meeting the same high standards and that one individual franchise isn’t tainting the overall reputation of your brand. Thankfully, mystery shopping services can help you to do so, enabling you to get under the skin of each and every franchise.

     

    Even though you aren’t running all of your franchises yourself, mystery shopping provides you with the opportunity to keep an eye on how every franchise is operating. Mystery shopping services can highlight issues that you might not know about and enable you to put new guidelines in place to improve things such as customer service and user experience across the board. Reputational risks will be greatly reduced when working with a mystery shopper.

     

    Enhance customer satisfaction at all franchises

     

    Providing a unique customer experience is key to the success of any business and when you own a franchise business it is essential to ensure that all of your customers feel valued. Building an emotional connection with your customers, no matter which franchise they interact with, will help to ensure that you’re not just attracting new customers, but that you’re retaining them too and not losing them to your competitors.

     

    Working with a mystery shopping agency will help you to implement changes that will go on to improve the whole franchise business. You can ensure that all of your franchises are standing out from the crowd and that you’re providing the meaningful interactions customers demand from brands nowadays. Staying relevant and competitive in a saturated market can be made much easier when using a range of different mystery shopping services.

     

    Using mystery shopping services

     

    Although mystery shopping is commonly used by independent and non-franchised businesses, it is fair to say that the services mystery shopping agencies provide can be incredibly beneficial for franchise businesses too. Working alongside experienced mystery shoppers is undeniably worthwhile looking into in more detail and you will likely be surprised by just how much of a difference mystery shopping services can make to the overall success of your business.

     

    To find out more about working with a mystery shopping agency and the different services available to your franchise business, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Proinsight today. We work alongside a number of different types of businesses from a range of industry sectors and we will gladly take the time to discuss our mystery shopping services with you in more detail. When you’re wanting to take your franchise business to the next level, there is arguably no better mystery shopping agency to turn to than Proinsight.


    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!