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Mystery Shopping
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Mystery shopping is a tool used by market research companies to measure quality of retail service or gather specific information about products and services. Mystery shoppers posing as normal customers perform specific tasks—such as purchasing a product, asking questions, registering complaints or behaving in a certain way – and then provide detailed reports or feedback about their experiences.

 

In the UK, mystery shopping is increasingly used to provide feedback on customer services provided by local authorities and other non-profit organizations, such as housing associations.

 


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Mystery Shopping in Tower Hamlets - Case Study

Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust (THPCT) has adopted a Mystery Shopper approach as a means of evaluating sexual health services in the Borough. Mystery shoppers are paid to use services specifically for audit or evaluation purposes without disclosing their identity as evaluators. They visit sexual health services anonymously presenting a pre-specified scenario and provide detailed, constructive feedback on both clinical and non-clinical elements of service provision. The scenarios most commonly used are a request for:

  1. emergency hormonal contraception (EHC)
  2. an asymptomatic screen for sexually transmitted infections (STI)
  3. advice on contraception

In addition, a pregnancy test request (PT) can be added to any of the above

Mystery Shoppers are asked to present these requests in a straightforward manner in order to evaluate the response to a simple request rather than a complex or difficult problem.

8 different mystery shoppers (MS) presented at 4 sexual health clinics with one of four reasons for attendance (RFAs). Each mystery shopper presented anonymously and attended the clinic as if they were a standard patient.

Skills and Projects provided a web-based application that was used by the mystery shoppers to record details of each visit in a structured way.

We then produced a range of reports summarising the findings from their visits for different audiences. Using an online database provided a great platform for reporting accross the Borough as a whole and for drilling down to identify and explore specific issues

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