Public Transport: The Role of Mystery Shopping in Investment Decisions
Alan WilsonUniversity of Strathclyde andJustin GutmannLondon Transport
Introduction
In the UK, mystery shopping research is used extensively by organisations in financial services, retailing, motor dealerships, hotels and catering, passenger transportation, public utilities and government departments. The provision of mystery shopping services is a major industry with between 20 and 30 million being spent on the technique in the UK during 1996 (Wilson 1998).
The research technique, a form of participant observation, uses researchers to act as customers or potential customers to monitor service delivery...