Wait, can you really do mystery shopping ... on yourself?

Why independent customer insight matters in real estate.

A couple of months ago I was kicking off a customer insight project with a client. I suggested we explore some mystery shopping of all their receptions and he said, “No, we already do that.”

Curious, and totally nosey about the competition, I asked, “Who does it?”

“Oh, the front of house company does it by themselves.”

“Oh, you mean they hire an independent company to do it?”

“No, I believe one of the managers pops around and scores it"

Full disclosure: my company sells mystery shopping programmes to real estate clients.

But guys, I was floored.

As a property manager, can you really do mystery shopping on yourself?

I realise this is a serious moment of shots being fired, but I'm always surprised when a client asks the same people responsible for delivering a service to assess the quality of that service. Surely that's like marking your own homework?

Now I need to be clear. I'm not suggesting the company is dishonest or that it would deliberately manipulate the results. No, no, no, that isn't my argument. Most front of house and property management teams I meet care deeply about the service they deliver. They work incredibly hard, build genuine relationships with customers and genuinely want the buildings they manage to be successful.

The problem is when you're too close to the work, it removes a degree of objectivity

Imagine you've spent the last year renovating your house. You've emptied your savings account, spent weekends arguing with builders and made hundreds of decisions about things you never imagined you'd care about.

When the work is finally finished, a friend comes round for dinner and tells you the hallway feels dark, the kitchen is cramped and one of the doors doesn't close properly.

You probably don't disagree with them. Instead, you explain. The staircase couldn't be moved without doubling the budget. The kitchen had to stay where it was because of the plumbing. Replacing the door would've delayed the project by another six weeks.

None of those explanations are dishonest. But they explain why you see the house differently. You see the compromises, the difficult decisions and all the effort that went into finishing it. Your friend just sees the house.

The same thing happens in customer insight

A property management team knows why the lifts were unreliable, why the air conditioning took weeks to repair and which supplier let everyone down. The customer doesn't experience any of that context. They experience a broken lift and an office that's too hot.

When the property team hears a complaint, it also hears the explanation. Yes, but the contractor let us down. Yes, but the landlord wouldn't approve the budget.

Those explanations may be completely reasonable, but customer insight isn't there to establish whether the property team had good reasons. It's there to understand what the customer actually experienced.

That's why I care so much about methodology

Customer insight isn't simply asking people what they think. Someone decides who gets invited, which questions are asked and how the findings are interpreted. Every one of those decisions can influence the results.

The danger isn't necessarily deliberate manipulation. It's that perfectly decent people interpret evidence through the lens of everything they already know. You can produce an impressive report full of charts, dashboards and recommendations while simply confirming what you already believed.

The person asking the question changes the answer

If my property manager asks me what I think of the building, I'm not simply answering a question. I'm managing a relationship. I know I'll probably see them next week. I might soften my criticism because I don't want to embarrass someone who's genuinely trying.

An independent researcher removes some of that pressure. Customers can speak more freely without worrying about making their next interaction awkward.

Independent research isn't about mistrusting the people delivering the service. It's about creating the conditions for your customers to tell you the truth

Ironically, good property managers should welcome independent insight. If customers love their service, independent evidence carries far more weight than an internal assessment. And if problems are caused by the landlord, the building or a lack of investment, independent research can make that clear too.

Good research doesn't exist to catch people out. It exists to give everyone an honest picture of what's working and what needs to improve. So before you decide which survey platform to use, how many interviews to conduct or which dashboard you want to report the results, I'd start somewhere much simpler

Who's asking the questions?

Because the answer to that question shapes every answer that follows.

This is what we do

At RealService, we design and deliver independent tenant experience surveys, customer interviews and mystery shopping programmes for real estate clients. If you're planning a new programme or questioning whether your current approach is giving you the full picture, come and speak to me. We'd love to help.