Mystery-shopping company looks to double staff

Ever go into a restaurant and wonder how long it's going to take the waiter to bring you a menu and glass of water? Or check into a hotel and have to call the main desk for towels?

These are typical customer experiences observed by Las Vegas-based QSI Services, a licensed mystery shopping company that's looking to hire 150 part-time positions.

Mystery shopping reports are invaluable tools to help businesses capture real-time analytics ranging from profit and loss margins to casino regulatory compliance, said Alex Silva, human resources manager for QSI.

"Companies hire us to ensure their standards are being met," said Silva, who has been in the business for nine years. "We're looking for certain practices and behaviors. We go to restaurants and hotels, oil changes, dentists ... it runs the gamut."

Silva said he has gone into Strip hotels where the host recommended a restaurant off the property. That's bad business, he said.

QSI employs about 200 mystery shoppers in Las Vegas. They are paid a flat fee for each assignment, ranging from $10 for something as simple as a phone call inquiry to $100 for an evaluation of hotel guest services.

"We're basically looking to double our staff because we have an increased load, which means the economy has turned around," Silva said. "They're coming from everywhere - new home sales, apartment rentals, banking, new clients coming on board."

Assignments dried up in Las Vegas when the economy tanked. Businesses cut back on expenses that couldn't be easily justified in terms of numbers, he said.

The hospitality industry in particular witnessed a deterioration in service. Guest services carries so much weight in a hotel's financial performance that it supersedes price promotions, Silva said.

"You had fewer people doing more work and their attitudes changed. Hotel workers weren't doing their jobs effectively," Silva said.

Mystery shoppers must obtain a Nevada work permit to work for QSI, which is licensed by the Private Investigators Licensing Board. The cost is about $100.

They usually start with easy assignments such as fast-food restaurants or grocery stores where they have fewer interactions and observations to report, Silva said.

As they get comfortable with the writing involved in the job, they graduate to the next level such as overnight hotel stays. Part of Silva's responsibility is recruiting and training staff.

QSI offers a wide range of evaluations to meet the client's goals, he said. In 2009, the company expanded its services to include nightclub and topless pool undercover audits.

Silva said a lot of mystery shopper assignments are scams. For example, shoppers are asked to evaluate a Western Union branch or other cash-handling business. They're sent a cashier's check - sometimes for thousands of dollars - to be deposited into their personal bank account. They're then asked to return all but maybe $300 for their work. Weeks later, the check turns out to be fraudulent, and the bank wants all of the money paid back, he said.

Applications are available online at www.qsispecialists.com.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.