mystery-shopping-servicesAirport leaders are increasingly challenged to improve their operations and meet passenger demands for price, service, experience and quality.  This challenge has fueled a hunger for customer data and feedback so organizations can better target their efforts.  A multi-pronged approach is recommended to capture a clear picture of customer behaviors, perceptions and experiences. Of the various methods to retrieve this information, mystery shopping services are a crucial component. 
Mystery shopping services are especially useful in the competitive airport environment.

Mystery shoppers pose as real customers (or passengers, patients, members, guests, students, etc.) of the client organization.  Mystery shoppers are instructed to perform specific tasks designed to generate a typical customer experience.  Very rarely are mystery shoppers asked to give their opinion as in a survey situation.  Mystery shoppers are simply asked to convey exactly what happened during their engagement at a retail location, casual dine, fast food, restaurant, TSA, etc. for example.  This objective information can then be used in several ways to improve the customer experience.

3 benefits of using mystery shops to improve your passenger experience:

  • Airport Trending: Generally, a client organization will request several mystery shops to be performed at each of their locations on a recurring basis.  These mystery shop results are then rolled up to better identify potential trending across business units, geographic locations, etc.  
  • Process Effectiveness: Mystery shopping forms are customizable for each client’s needs.  This means that each client can measure their customer’s experience against company/airport standards and practices. Organizations can clearly glean information on the effectiveness of their processes and procedures based on mystery shopper feedback.
  • Performance Improvement: Mystery shopping services are extremely beneficial in employee performance improvement efforts. Mystery shopper services help reinforce performance standards while feedback from mystery shops provide actionable information to help employees improve their performance, and their managers hold them accountable.


All in all, mystery shopping services are a valuable addition to organization improvement programs. For more information on what your organization should consider while searching for a mystery shopping company, download CSE’s brief "5 Best Practices For Choosing a Mystery Shopping Services Provider" here: