Mystery Shoppers To Enhance 2024 Hajj Pilgrims’ Experience

Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Performance Measurement (ADAA) employed mystery shoppers to enhance the overall experience of pilgrims performing the 2024 Hajj.

Through the mystery shoppers, the Saudi government aimed to evaluate the services of 46 government entities as well as the satisfaction levels of both local and international Hajj pilgrims.

The mystery shoppers were tasked to rate the quality and performance of these public services.

Their ratings and observations will help assess the services provided to pilgrims from the acquisition of Hajj permits, quality of roads and land travel, trains, air transport services, airports, holy sites, to the performance of Hajj rituals, as well as places of accommodation.

Mystery shoppers to improve services

ADAA adopted a slightly different evaluation approach in March 2024 to improve the experience of Umrah pilgrims and travelers.

To facilitate the assessment, ADAA made use of not just mystery shoppers, but electronic surveys, and field surveys, with a focus on the basic standards of service delivery on e-services for Umrah pilgrims.

The criteria included the readiness of the service location, clarity of steps, performance of employees, speed of service, among others.

According to ADAA Director General Eng. Rashid bin Abdullah Al-Qaood, assessing the satisfaction levels of Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque, Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, was the leadership’s priority to render top-notch services throughout all facilities.

Apart from the Prophet’s Mosque, Al-Qaood also added that the places of interest specifically targeted for evaluation were the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, the Grand Mosque, and the holy sites.

The evaluation of pilgrim services is a priority initiative that the ADAA embarks on each year during the season of Ramadan to improve service quality.

Boosting efficiency

It is not the first time that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has tapped into the services of mystery shoppers to evaluate the quality and performance of certain public entities or facilities.

In 2023, the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) activated mystery shopping to help with the fair and efficient enforcement of its intellectual property rights system.

The mystery shoppers provided the SAIP team with information to help them perform more efficiently, control violations, and target specific sectors and regions.

Improving compliance services

In 2021, meanwhile, mystery shopping was used by the ADAA to improve and develop government services and gauge individuals’ satisfaction.

In particular, the program measured the compliance services of call centers, electronic communication channels, and websites to ensure that these met the highest standards.

The mystery shoppers had to secretly visit government agencies using both online and in-person means.
They also had to evaluate the service of those with low satisfaction rates and complaints.

Once the mystery shoppers assess their scope of work, they must set potential evaluation methods like asking questions about particular services or requesting one.

They were also involved in data processing, posting of the results, and comparing these to quality standards.