Undercover Customer Investigations

Uncover the truth of your customers’ experiences: Improve your bottom line

You know your customers’ experiences needs improvement somewhere. But you can’t quite put your finger on it. Our Undercover Customers sleuth out the truth so you can fine-tune your business and transform your customers into a potent (and cost-free) sales force.

Book a Mission Brief to begin

“With utmost sincerity I can recommend their services”

— John Hughes, John Hughes Group

“An enormously valuable service that our sales team will use to perfect our sales process”

— Nikki Green, Trevors Carpets

When it comes to their reputation, most businesses are operating in the dark

Sure, your customers might give you a pass for decent customer service. But their overall experience — from their very first interaction to their 100th visit to your store — is what will have them raving about your business, promoting it better than any paid advertisement could.

The thing is, very few business owners have a clear insight into their customers’ experiences. They aren’t sure if their customers are singing their praise or whispering warnings to their friends and family.

Without clarity on this, it’s hard to know what needs fixing and where you might find opportunities for growth. And this can cost you big in the long run.

Little to no loyalty

If the overall experience you offer isn’t impressing your customers, it’s unlikely they’ll spend much money and even less likely they’ll come back — especially in a saturated market. In industries where repeat customers are the lifeblood of business, this can spell disaster.

Crippling reviews

These days, people want to choose between 4.9 and 5-star solutions. And unfortunately, a few bad reviews can significantly impact your rating. Also, customers usually only leave reviews when they’re extremely satisfied or extremely dissatisfied, meaning they aren’t the best source of feedback.

Ineffective training

If you aren’t clued in on the factors that indicate the quality of your customers’ experiences, your customer service training might target the wrong skills. This isn’t just a waste of time and money; it also impacts staff performance and sales.

The bottom line

Ultimately though, without the inside scoop on how people feel about your business, it’s hard to realign or improve your customers’ experiences. And that’s a one-way street to a damaged reputation, reduced sales, and a diminished bottom line.

The first step is to crack the case on your customers’ experiences

It’s no use stabbing in the dark. Engage our covert team of Undercover Customers and we’ll sleuth out the truth of your customers’ experiences, ensuring you’ve got all the evidence you need to:

Improve your customer service training and staff performance

Leverage the individual skillsets of your valued employees

Add attractive touchpoints that enrich your customers’ experiences

Convert browsers into buyers who become lifelong loyal customers

Earn more 5-star reviews and strengthen your brand image

Hear the voices of your silent customers who don’t leave reviews

Increase brand awareness organically and save on marketing

Seize growth opportunities and improve your bottom line

Our 3-stage Undercover Customer Investigation

Stage 1

Mission Brief

Book a free 30-minute Mission Brief to clue us in on the specifics of your business. We’ll then formulate a tailored mission plan that factors in your processes, challenges, and goals.

Stage 2

The Mission

With the mission approved, we’ll deploy our Undercover Customers to look at your business, gathering both objective and subjective data. (You’ll never even know we’re there.)

Stage 3

Intelligence Report

When our Undercover Customers get back to HQ, we’ll combine their findings in an easy-to-read Intelligence Report. We’ll then reinforce the report with powerful visuals and actionable insights, before delivering it securely to you.

Tailored, easy-to-read report

Powerful charts and graphs

Practical, actionable insights

Mission outcomes: Real results from undercover operations

View all case studies

“An incredible understanding of excellent customer service”

— BRENDAN REED, SUBARU

Testimonials

Anne and her team are very professional and provide a detailed market research report for a very fair price. We have used them on multiple occasions and will again, recommended Christian Ford - Ford and Doonan Air Conditioning
Anne is extremely professional, her knowledge and understanding of the keys to excellent customer service are incredible. From our first meeting, I found Anne to be very approachable and provided some great advice in regards to conducting mystery shops.The mystery shops were carried out professionally and the reporting provided was excellent.
I was fortunate enough to meet Anne on LinkedIn. We arranged a meeting which resulted in us engaging Thru Customers Eyes to conduct an undercover customer experience campaign for some of our dealerships. This was to anonymously assess the experience our customers receive when they decide to do business in our dealerships. The service has been amazing from start to finish. Their comprehensive, professional, easy to read and understand reports along with charts giving an immediate insight to the undercover customer's experience, allowed us to see what is working very well and what may need to be worked on. Being extremely impressed with the quality and service, I highly recommend Anne and her team particularly to other dealerships, and any other business who depends on their staff to make their business a success. I am also proud to be able to support another local family owned Business.
We recently had Anne & her team do a mystery shop for us. She discussed the project with us beforehand & sent a very thorough report afterwards with the results.We will certainly be using her again in the future. Paul McClaren Mail Box Etc. Australia
We have been using “Through Customers Eyes” to do mystery shopping for our sales departments for a number of months and I am pleased to place on record that we have found their service to be completely acceptable in terms of their method of shopping, the information and feedback we receive and the overall professionalism of Anne Venaille’s organisation.With the utmost sincerity I can recommend her services to others.
I have been extremely impressed with the service, reporting and feedback of the undercover shopping campaign carried out for my stores by Thru' Customers Eyes. Their shoppers are thorough, professional and spot on with their shops. The process was flawlessly executed and results were reported in an objective, consistent, professional, informative un-debatable manner, and discrepancies were virtually non-existent. By identifying areas for improvement, they have supplied us with an enormously valuable tool that our sales team will use in perfecting the sales process. Our strengths and weaknesses have been pinpointed, providing us with the opportunity to keep on improving our operation.They have done a great job. Their feedback and unbiased reports are looked upon as an educational necessity and Thru' Customers Eyes is a company I can highly recommend.
I approached Through Customers Eyes because my client was needing mystery shopping / secret shopper services to assess the businesses in their shopping centres around Western Australia. Through Customers Eyes fitted the bill perfectly and came highly recommended from a trusted colleague.Through Customers Eyes helped me by providing undercover customer visits to over 160 sites from Pinjarra up to Broome and throughout the Perth Metropolitan Area.The results have been insightful. In some cases, businesses within the centres had either excellent result in terms of their service and customers experiences, but there were those who were average and several who gave very poor service and customer experiences. This has allowed us to act to directly assist those businesses with their issues and improve revenues, which in turn improved the stability of the return on their asset investment.One thing I liked was their easy to read, very visual reports which immediately facilitated identifying who or what was doing well and who or what was not. Reports were always conducted and delivered promptly, and I did not have to request for submissions.I found the experience of working with Through Customers Eyes easy, the information extracted insightful in terms of customer care and how several businesses probably need customer service or other training if they want to be a success.I would recommend Through Customers Eyes to people who need
- valuable information about how the business or staff interaction is with their customers,
- to know if their customers are receiving amazing service,
- to know if their staff are converting browsers into buyers,
- to understand if they are maximising the sales potential of every customer, i.e., upselling/cross selling,
- to be sure that procedures and processes are being followed,
- to know if something is not going the way it should, but are not sure what it is, and
- to boost their bottom line.
We engaged Through Customers Eyes to see what was happening in our outlets. What we received was extremely insightful, very helpful and we were happy with what they did for us.
Being in the IT support industry I thought that getting competitor pricing would be very difficult for someone not in the industry. Not so, a blink of an eye and Anne has produced exactly what I needed and given a thorough and professional report. Don’t hesitate, call Anne now.
WOW ? I have so much to say about Anne Venaille and her amazing service I’m not sure where to begin… I could go on about her thoroughness and attention to detail; her willingness to put her body in the line of fire; her verbal and written communication skills; her commitment to getting the job done in a timely manner; the richness and depth of her experience and understanding of what kind of information would make a difference to my business… oh! I just did… Anne offers an extraordinary insight “Thru Customers Eyes” into where your business stands against your competitors. Engaging Anne in doing hands on market research for my business is one of the best business decisions and investments I’ve made to date! Thank you Anne!
Anne was wonderful as she took time to truly understand my business and processes. The competitor analysis presented was thorough, informative and worth every bit. Knowing what my competitors are doing or 'not doing' is helping me to provide a better service to my clients. Would highly recommend Anne's professionalism.
We engaged the services of Though Customer Eyes to assist us in understanding the impact a product we carry has on the market and to determine whether to continue to offer it. The report we received far exceeded what we thought was going to be the case and provided some extremely valuable insights. We would recommend Anne and her team without hesitation.
Anne contacted me at a time I was looking to improve the consistency and quality of our member experience. Whilst somewhat different to the normal customer experience, Anne was able to adapt her training to suit the needs of the group and generated some worthwhile discussion across participants in both workshops.Anne was able to add context to the learning materials and her knowledge and ability to think on her feet were evident during the sessions. This, along with Anne's calm and composed delivery, provides me with the confidence to recommend her to businesses looking for ideas and assistance to deal with difficult customers.
I have known Anne for several years in varying roles and each time, I have been impressed by Anne's work ethic, enthusiasm and ability to deliver as promised. I recommend Anne to anyone that is looking for an engaged and passionate individual, with great integrity. She is very friendly, approachable and does what she says she will do in a timely, efficient and organised way. Her success is driven by a very high work ethic and is underpinned by her bubbling personality & glowing demeanour. I have no hesitation in recommending Anne.
Anne provides such a valuable service to Perth business and government sectors. Knowing your staff and how they are representing your business is crucial these days. A bad review online can cripple a small business and Anne's service helps businesses to reduce the risks of that happening. Definitely worth talking to Anne if you are worried about how your business may been seen by your customers!

Schedule your free 30-minute Mission Brief

Knowing your customers’ experiences inside and out, you can fine-tune your business, transform your customers into a potent (and cost-free) sales force,
and improve your bottom line.

All successful undercover operations begin with a Mission Brief. Book yours now.

Top Secret

Hiring our Undercover Customers to investigate your own business gives you the insights you need to improve your customers’ experiences and bottom line.

But if you want to understand your competitive advantage so you can leverage it for growth, it might require a covert operation “behind enemy lines.”

During the Mission Brief, we can explore how our in-depth Competitor Investigations will reveal exactly what your competitors are up to and allow you to focus more intensely on the parts of your business that help you stand out in a crowd.

Who are we anyway?

If we told you, we’d have to kill you.
Just kidding. (Or are we?)

Through Customers Eyes was founded on one core tenet held by our Chief Undercover Officer, Mrs V:

That exceptional customers’ experiences isn’t just a nice thing to have; it’s the backbone of every successful business.

This is why we specialise in gathering the voices of the silent customers who can make or break your business.

Think of us as your eyes in the shadows, seeing what you don’t see — and providing the evidence and targeted insights you need to not only meet but exceed your customers’ expectations.

FAQs

  • Do you only work with Australian businesses?

    Out of our HQ in Perth, we work with businesses all throughout Australia. We do not operate overseas — at least not yet.

  • How much does it cost? And how long does it take?

    The price of our investigations is determined on a case-by-case basis. This is because our services are highly personalised. As for how long our investigations take, there are a range of factors to consider, but we have Undercover Customers everywhere, and we can handle complex jobs — Australia-wide — in surprisingly short timeframes.

  • What, exactly, is the difference between customer service and customers’ experiences?

    Customer service is how your employees treat your customers — how friendly and helpful they are. Customer service falls under the umbrella of customers’ experiences, which we define as the way in which your customers’ experience your business at every touch point: from their very first interaction to their 100th visit to your store. The quality of their experience depends on how they feel when they first walk in the door — the lighting, the scents, the volume of the music. It depends on the way in which your products are arranged and decorated on your shelves. The flowers on the hotel duvet. The thank-you package in the mail. The six-month check-in to make sure you’re still 100% satisfied. It comes down to all the seemingly minor things that combine, ideally, to create a one-of-a-kind experience your customers will rave about.

  • What types of businesses do you work with?

    We work with businesses of all shapes and sizes. Fitness centres, pharmacies, dealerships, carpet stores — the list goes on. The businesses that will get the most out of our services, however, are the ones with multiple touchpoints, as every touchpoint provides an opportunity to enhance their customers’ experiences.

  • Isn’t using Undercover Customers kind of deceptive?

    A simulated customer interaction will never be accurate to the reality of your customer experience. With Undercover Customers, it’s as real as it gets. You’ll learn exactly how your staff and customers behave when you’re not there. Without these insights, you might not notice the cracks that could eventually sink your business. On the other side of the coin, you might miss opportunities that could take your business to a whole new level. Speaking from experience, any discomfort you might have regarding the “deceptive nature” of Undercover Customers is ultimately negligible when you consider the benefits. Afterall, it is predominantly to gain insights and identifying the areas that are working and those that are not, so that improvements can be made and if necessary, targeted training conducted.

  • How is an Undercover Customer different from a mystery customer or mystery shopper?

    Mystery customers (or mystery shoppers) and Undercover Customers are, in many ways, the same. The difference is that we’re meticulous when it comes to recruiting Undercover Customers, ensuring they’re capable of gathering high-quality intel without blowing their cover. Overall, the quality of our reports depends on the quality of our Undercover Customers. This is not to be compromised!

  • What kinds of objective and subjective data do your Undercover Customers gather?

    The data we collect largely depends on the nature of your business. But to provide an example, if you owned a cafe, one objective data point our Undercover Customers would collect is the time they had to wait for a coffee. Conversely, one subjective data point they’d collect is the coffee’s taste.

  • Do you offer ongoing investigations to track progress?

    Suppose you want to reassess your customer experience after implementing our suggested improvements. In that case, we can absolutely do another investigation or even a series of them — until your business is firmly on track.

  • Do you offer customer service training?

    If we believe that customer service training would bring incredible value to your business, we’ll be sure to make that recommendation in the Intelligence Report. If we’re personally suited to delivering the training, we’ll present our services as an option.