Secret Customer Visits That Reveal What Real Shoppers See
When customers walk through your door, do they see what your team thinks they see? A secret customer visit answers that question with evidence, not opinion.
Through Customers Eyes deploys trained secret customers across Australia. We visit your stores, restaurants, dealerships and clinics the way a real buyer would. We follow the same path, ask the same questions, weigh up the same alternatives. Then we tell you exactly what happened, what worked, and what cost you a sale.
Founded in Perth in 2012, we have run secret customer programmes for retail chains, hospitality groups, automotive dealerships and franchise networks. Our reports land within 14 days. Every finding is paired with an action your team can take this week.
What a secret customer visit actually involves
- 90 second arrival score (sights, sounds, smells, signage)
- Greeting timing + first-impression behavioural rubric
- Product or service knowledge probe (3 to 5 scenario questions)
- Buy-signal recognition + handling
- Close attempt + objection handling
- Departure + follow-up assessment
- Post-visit photo + audio evidence (with consent)
- Same-day field report + 14 day written deliverable
Why secret customer beats internal review
Secret customer programmes we run
Vertical | Typical scope | Cadence
quarterly
Monthly
Quarterly
Annual + spot-check
Half-yearly
Mission Brief , what happens first
The first 30 minutes are free. We listen to what you suspect is happening, look at your numbers, and tell you whether secret customer visits will actually surface what you need.
Frequently asked questions
How is secret customer different from mystery shopping?
They are the same thing. “Secret customer” is the term most Australian businesses use; “mystery shopper” is the industry term. Through Customers Eyes uses both. Your customers do not care which label we use; they care that we represent them honestly.
How much does a secret customer programme cost?
Single visits start at A$295 ex GST per site. Quarterly programmes for multi-site operators are quoted per scope. Book a Mission Brief for a tailored number.
Do I find out who the secret customer was?
No. Anonymity is the point. You receive the report, photos with faces obscured, and recommended actions. The secret customer stays secret.
How fast do reports land?
Same day field report; 14 day written deliverable with actions and benchmarks.
Can secret customer be done online?
Yes. We run online enquiry and live-chat audits identically to in-person visits.
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.