Mystery shopping

Airport and Airline Mystery Shopping in Oman

The passenger journey scored stage by stage, from check in and security to boarding, cabin service and baggage.

In short

What is airport and airline mystery shopping, and does QGM run it in Oman?

Airport and airline mystery shopping assesses the passenger journey using trained assessors who travel or move through the terminal as ordinary passengers and score each stage against the published standard. Quantum Gulf Marketing covers this in Oman, including Muscat and Salalah, across check in, security experience, wayfinding, terminal retail and food and beverage, lounges, boarding, cabin service and arrival. Airports are unusual in that no single operator controls the whole journey, so the most useful programmes score each responsible party separately while still reporting the passenger's single overall experience.

Stages
Check in, security, wayfinding, retail and F&B, lounge, boarding, arrival
Scored separately
Airline, airport operator, and each concession
Locations
Muscat and Salalah, plus regional airports
Languages
Arabic and English
What gets scored

The journey, stage by stage.

01
Check inQueue time, agent conduct, baggage handling accuracy
02
Security experienceTimed, and scored on clarity of instruction
03
WayfindingA timed defined route, logging every stop and question
04
Terminal retailConcession service, pricing accuracy, availability
05
Food and beverageService, quality and value against the airport standard
06
LoungeAccess process, facilities and staffing against the promise
07
Boarding and cabinGate process, cabin service, crew interaction
08
Arrival and baggageImmigration flow and baggage delivery timing
How a programme runs

Four stages, every time.

Stage 01

Build the scenario

Your published standard becomes a scenario a shopper can follow and an assessor can score without interpreting it.

Stage 02

Brief and calibrate

Shoppers are briefed and calibrated against worked examples, so two shoppers scoring the same visit reach the same number.

Stage 03

Field the wave

Visits spread across days, hours and locations to your quota, with evidence captured at the time rather than reconstructed later.

Stage 04

Validate and report

Every questionnaire checked before it enters the dataset, then league tables plus the dimension detail that shows what to fix.

Questions

Common questions

What is airport mystery shopping?
A programme of assessed journeys through an airport or airline touchpoint, scored against the published service standard: check in, security queue experience, wayfinding, retail and food and beverage, lounge, boarding and arrival.
Can you cover Muscat and Salalah?
Yes. Both are within our standard coverage, and the seasonal difference at Salalah is worth designing for rather than averaging away.
Do assessors actually fly?
For an end to end journey assessment, yes, where the scenario requires it. Landside and terminal assessments can be run without a ticket.
Can you assess concessions as well as the airline?
Yes. Retail, food and beverage and duty free concessions are frequently where the passenger's overall impression is formed, and they are scored separately.
Is wayfinding measurable?
Yes, by timing a defined route and recording every point where the assessor had to stop, backtrack or ask, which is far more useful than an opinion about signage.
Can this run in Arabic and English?
Yes, and it should, because the passenger mix is mixed.
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