Mystery Shoppers: The Smartest Investment You’re Not Making

iclimbiconsult
May 17
2 min read

Every climbing wall operator knows the feeling. You walk the floor, chat to the team, scan the rota, tweak the signage… and still feel something’s off. But what is it?

Often, what’s missing is perspective. Not your team’s view. Not your own. But the raw, unfiltered view of the people who matter most - your customers.

That’s where mystery shoppers come in.

Used widely across the leisure, hospitality, and retail sectors, mystery shoppers are one of the most powerful, cost-effective tools for commercial improvement. Yet in climbing, their use remains frustratingly rare.

Beyond Compliance: What Great Operators Want to Know

This isn’t about catching staff out. It’s about insight. Mystery shoppers answer the real questions that keep commercial operators awake at night:

Is our new starter delivering the induction the way we think they are?
Do our off-peak users feel seen, supported, and valued or ignored?
Is our customer journey smooth from first click to final climb?
Where are we leaking repeat visits and don’t even realise it?

Unlike internal reviews or audits, mystery shopping delivers feedback outside the organisational bubble. It cuts through the polite nods and team loyalty. It gives you the truth delivered with objectivity, industry context, and (crucially) zero baggage. Furthermore, it is

the feedback received not from the "survivors" of your system but those that havent made it through your process'.

Lessons from the Best: QUEST, Michelin and the Value of Anonymity

In other service-focused sectors, independent assessments aren’t just helpful, they’re essential.

Take QUEST, used in leisure centres nationwide to drive continuous improvement. Or the Michelin Guide, where anonymous visits shape global reputations. In both cases, the model is the same: remove bias, observe reality, and feed it back in a way that improves both product and culture.

Climbing walls are no different. In fact, the blend of technical complexity, staff discretion, and customer unpredictability makes them ideal environments for this kind of honest, ground-level evaluation.

From Insight to Action: Commercial Impact

When used consistently, mystery shopper feedback can shape:

Staff training – based on real, not assumed, customer interactions.
Product development – fixing gaps that frustrate or confuse users.
Customer journey - making sure it is as smooth and productive as it can be.
Customer loyalty – identifying the moments that convert or repel.
Brand positioning – aligning what you say you offer with what’s actually experienced.

In other words: they’re not just about service quality - they’re a growth tool.

Don’t Wait for Accreditation to Tell You What’s Working

With the ABC now positioning itself as an accrediting body, the industry is edging towards more formal benchmarks. But smart operators have always looked beyond tick-box compliance and asked the deeper questions: Are we actually delivering? Are we genuinely improving?

Mystery shoppers offer those answers, quietly, efficiently, and with more impact than a dozen policy reviews.

So before you invest in another system, form, or framework, ask yourself: when was the last time you saw your centre the way a new customer does?

If you’re ready to bridge that gap, let’s talk.

Mystery shopping could be the smartest investment you make this year.

📩 Contact me or visit climbingindustryconsulting.com