What Happens When You're Not Watching?
Are your employees following protocol? Is customer service meeting your standards? Are cash transactions handled securely? Our mystery shopping investigations go beyond basic surveys: trained investigators visit as ordinary customers and report exactly what they experienced.
Owners use mystery shopping when opening a new location, after customer complaints, when cash or register variances appear, when they need to confirm employees are checking IDs, or simply to see the business through a customer's eyes.
Retail Audits
Evaluating greeting, product knowledge, sales technique, wait times, and store cleanliness.
Compliance Testing
Checking whether employees follow ID-check, cash-handling, return, and safety procedures.
Competitor Comparison
Visiting competitors as an ordinary customer to compare publicly offered prices and service standards.
How a Mystery Shopping Program Works
Step 1
Free consultation
We learn what you want measured, your written policies, and which locations and shifts matter most.
Step 2
Build the scenario and checklist
We design realistic customer scenarios and a scoring checklist tied to your standards, so results are consistent from visit to visit.
Step 3
Shops
Investigators visit your Indiana locations as ordinary customers at the times you choose, and make purchases or returns when the scenario calls for it.
Step 4
Reporting and debrief
You receive a report for each visit and a summary that shows patterns across locations and shifts.
What You Receive
A written report for each shop with the date, time, employee descriptions, a scored checklist, receipts, and a narrative of the visit, plus photos where they can be taken lawfully. Multi-visit programs include a summary with trends and specific coaching points.
What's Legal in Indiana
Private investigator firms in Indiana are licensed under Indiana Code IC 25-30 by the Private Investigator and Security Guard Licensing Board. Our license is PI22500020, and you can confirm it on the Indiana license search. Mystery shops are conducted as ordinary customer visits, without misrepresenting ourselves as officials or entering non-public areas.
Age-verification shops use adult shoppers and test whether an ID is requested; we do not send minors to buy alcohol or tobacco, which is enforcement work for the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. Competitor visits are limited to what any customer can see and hear, never confidential information. We do not record private conversations we are not part of.
Who It's For
Retailers, restaurants, bars, convenience stores, auto dealers, banks and credit unions, franchise owners, and property managers in Southern Indiana and across the state.
See every town we list for Mystery Shopper
Related services: Business surveillance · Commercial fraud investigations · Background checks · Security risk assessments
Service areas: New Albany · Jeffersonville · Bloomington · Columbus · Indianapolis · Evansville · Private investigator in Southern Indiana · All service areas
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my employees know they are being shopped?
Not during the visit. Many businesses tell staff that mystery shopping is part of their quality program without saying when it will happen.
Can you check whether my staff is carding customers?
Yes, using adult shoppers to see whether employees ask for ID as your policy requires. We do not use minors for alcohol or tobacco purchases.
Do you shop locations outside Indiana?
Our shops are performed in Indiana. If you have locations in other states, tell us during the consultation and we will discuss the options honestly.
How often should we shop our locations?
It depends on what you are measuring. We recommend a schedule during the free consultation.
Request an Audit
Tell us which locations you want shopped and what matters most to you. Start with a free consultation. We'll give you a quote on that call once we understand what you need.
Cheshire Investigation Agency is licensed in Indiana (Private Investigator License #PI22500020), headquartered in Greenville, Indiana (Floyd County), and a member of INspi and NCISS. Call (812) 364-1466.