Mystery customer research: some key points

The time it takes to complete a mystery customer exercise should reflect a normal transaction.
You cannot record without permission therefore you must not record competitors.

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MRS Guidelines on Mystery Customer Research: (PDF 215KB, PDF Help)
(Word format, 143KB)
Published March 2003

See also:

Code of Conduct
Frequently asked questions on the Research Governance Framework for research in health and social care
Guidelines and standards from other organisations

Interviewers: some key points

You MUST make clear that:

Interviewers must make clear that co-operation is entirely voluntary.
Respondents can withdraw at any stage.
All or any part of the information about respondents must be destroyed at once if they ask for this to be done.

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The Responsibilities of Interviewers (PDF 60KB, PDF Help)
(Word format, 93KB)
Updated November 2005

Code of Practice for Conducting Market Research in Town Centres (PDF 148KB, PDF Help)
(Word format, 117KB)
Published December 2002

See also:

Code of Conduct
Frequently asked questions on the Research Governance Framework for research in health and social care
Draft Health and Safety Guidelines for Face to Face Interviewers (PDF 24KB, PDF Help), published by the Interviewer Quality Control Scheme (IQCS)
The Food Standards Agency issues best practice guidelines on conducting food and drink product testing (www.food.gov.uk/cleanup).
Guidelines and standards from other organisations

MRS Regulations for Use of Predictive Diallers

On 1 March 2006 Ofcom issued a new Statement of Policy on the persistent misuse of an electronic communications network or electronic communications service. This Statement is designed, in part, to address the problem of silent calls. To help members abide by this new statement, MRS has released Regulations for Use of Predictive Diallers (updated from the previous MRS document on this subject). These revised MRS Regulations are binding on all MRS members and MRS Company Partners.

The MRS Regulations apply where there is the possibility of generating a silent or abandoned call. Where there is no possibility of generating such calls, the package of measures outlined does not apply.

The Ofcom Statement uses the phrases "predictive dialler" (see introduction on website and section 1 of the statement) and "automated calling system"(see section 6 of the statement). The MRS Regulations use the phrase “predictive dialler” defined as any equipment capable of dialling a telephone number prior to a live operator being available to exclusively handle the call.

Ofcom has not outlined a transition period for the implementation of the new Statement of Policy. Call centres that may generate silent calls should implement the package of measures outlined as soon as possible.