Client FAQs

We’ve been providing valuable feedback to our clients since 1991.

For starters, we have a long list of satisfied clients; many of them have been with us since our inception in 1991. Besides that, we’re experienced, knowledgeable, ethical, and creative. Every program is customized to meet the needs of the individual client, and we’re known for the personal attention we provide. Our user-friendly software provides a robust assortment of comprehensive reports. Beyond Hello is an active member of the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association), BBB OnLine (Better Business Bureau), the NRF (National Retail Federation), and the ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers).

In addition to mystery shopping, we offer other effective measurement tools to help you better understand your business, including customer satisfaction surveys, merchandising audits, employee satisfaction surveys, telephone service evaluations, website evaluations, selling skills evaluations, customer service training and testing, data hosting, and video mystery shops.

Most of our work deals with “business to customer” interactions, but we’re not limited to any particular industry. We’re best known for our work with national specialty and luxury retail and vision-related projects, but we also have extensive experience with shopping malls, restaurants, car dealerships, clinics, franchise partnerships, and a variety of other unique businesses.

Yes, we do. We have a large database of shoppers, with access to shoppers all around the world.

Every client works with an experienced Client Services Coordinator who is your main contact all the way from the initial project development stage to answering questions about completed evaluations.

A great addition to any mystery shopping program is a customer satisfaction survey (results collected online or by phone). A mystery shopping evaluation reveals compliance concerns, detects specific training points, and identifies individual performance excellence; a customer satisfaction survey helps you understand the impact your efforts have on the customer. They provide two very different types of measurements.

Customer satisfaction surveys are a great way to measure customer reaction, but they don’t provide the details needed to identify training issues for continuous improvement or specific behaviors for performance recognition. A mystery shop is a clear snapshot that helps bring focus to what’s actually occurring at your location. A mystery shopping program will help you identify sales and customer contact opportunities.

Contact us by phone or email. We’ll answer all your questions and prepare a proposal for you to consider. Depending on the complexity of your project, we can usually get a program started within 30 days.

We request a one-year agreement to clearly define your needs and our responsibilities; however, services may be canceled at any time with a 60-day notice.

That’s up to you and your budget, but the more often you collect data, the easier it is to spot trends and react to them in a timely manner. We recommend at least once per quarter, or once per month for more targeted or focused projects.

The price varies depending on the degree of difficulty and length of time involved for the shopper. For example, if your project includes a product purchase and a second visit to return the product, the cost for the project will be higher than a simple single visit without a purchase. The cost may also vary depending on your need for custom reporting or if your project includes very specific time or shopper demographic constraints. We will be happy to provide you with a specific proposal if you contact our office.

We’ll guide you through the development process by starting with a basic evaluation form for your business sector and then customizing it according to your specific needs.

We’ll work closely with you to develop an effective measurement tool based on the objectives of the program or your critical training points.

Yes; some of our clients want comparative data from their competition to help identify strengths and opportunities.

Many of our mystery shoppers register after visiting our website. Another great source is through our Shopper Referral Bonus Program, which encourages already successful shoppers to recommend recruits. In addition, since our mystery shoppers are independent contractors, we recruit all the time through sources popular with freelancers.

Clear project specifications are provided with every assignment. We provide written feedback and an evaluation rating to shoppers after every visit, which promotes continuous improvement. Shopper training is available from the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Providers Association) and we encourage shoppers to invest in it.

We have a large database of registered shoppers who are notified of upcoming projects. We select the most qualified individual who has applied for your project and who meets your required criteria.

We rotate shoppers to ensure they aren’t identified by your staff. We will work with you to determine an appropriate rotation rate based on your environment.

Every evaluation is reviewed and proofread by two members of our outstanding in-house Quality Assurance Team before being released to clients. We make sure all evaluations are complete and without contradiction before you use your valuable time to review them.

Individual evaluations and a robust assortment of data reports are available online 24/7. You can set different access levels for different positions within your organization.

You can contact your Client Services Coordinator with any questions you have about completed evaluations, and we will follow through to an agreed upon resolution.

Your Client Services Coordinator will help you select the best reports to meet your needs, and will provide personal instruction or a webinar for your group.

We recommend that results be shared and discussed, as employees typically pay attention to what management pays attention to.  Provide follow-up training on areas with a lower score. We also encourage using the results to celebrate excellent performance, which is a great motivator.  The evaluations have a much greater effect when presented in a constructive rather than destructive context.

The mystery shopping program will be much better received if you conduct an official program “launch” that spells out the objectives and expectations. Since the goal should be improved performance, and since employees typically are most likely to embody behaviors that will be observed or measured, it’s in everyone’s best interests to “advertise” the new program. An official launch provides an opportunity to review performance expectations and standards and gives everyone a chance to excel.