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Sensors Quality Management Inc. (SQM)was founded in 1993 and has been and industry leader gaining recognition from many newspapers, articles and blogs. SQM has been featured on some of the most influential news sources around the world such as:

 

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Brand Inspectors Aim To Maintain Integrity Of Product And Design

Featured on Runway Girl Network - May 24, 2018, Marisa Garciashutterstock 36410020

With billions invested in airline branding programs, getting a return in customer satisfaction and brand reputation is critical. Checking that the performance of products and services lives up to expectations is as important as quality control in manufacturing, but more difficult to do.

Relying on passenger surveys, crew reports or interval maintenance inspections is helpful, but these results may be not paint a complete picture for program managers. Independent field inspectors can offer more detailed metrics.

As David Lipton, president and co-founder of Toronto-based Sensors Quality Management (SQM) says, the concept of “mystery shoppers” judging the product satisfaction and service of personnel at restaurants, hotels and retail outlets has a long history, though he finds the label itself outdated and prefers the more descriptive “brand experience inspectors”.

Lipton’s thousands of inspectors are helping travel brands maintain their standards and reputations. Inspectors are sent out into the field after undergoing SQM training on inspection practices as well as separate instruction on the particular requirements of the brand they will measure.

“We put together detailed inspection instructions,” Lipton says. “These instructions are available in a password-protected section of our website. They can be a combination of prompt material or photographs. Things like images of seatbacks, meal trays. They could also be written.”

To avoid bias in metrics, SQM uses checklists that can be answered objectively – “yes” or “no” or “not applicable”. “Was the safety guide in the seatback? Yes, or no,” Lipton explains. Inspectors are also encouraged to provide additional information where it might be needed to clarify their findings, but the company does not use sliding scales. “We take the grey area out of it … We don’t rank things on a scale because what is a ‘2’ to me might be an ‘8’ to you,” Lipton explains.

Importantly, SQM inspectors do not know the weight of the factors they measure in the overall score for the brand. Only SQM and the brand know that. Reports are checked by SQM in-house quality teams to ensure the completeness of information before any results are published to the client through the SQM client portal.

“We have a very robust online reporting system. Authorized users have access to individual inspections, as well as a plethora of statistics, which are typically posted online within three business days of an inspection,” Lipton says.

To protect anonymity of the programs, Lipton has asked that Runway Girl Network keep his client list anonymous, though it includes major airline brands in Europe and North America. SQM also assists global hotel chains, train companies and even bus services.

SQM metrics have proven useful to brands over the years in fine-tuning their product and addressing issues that pop up. Demand is high enough that the company is actively recruiting travelers to grow its base of inspectors. The attraction for would-be inspectors is that they can fly where they want to fly for less, in exchange for field work. For airlines, the benefit is avoiding field inspection costs and only having to cover airfare.

While inspection results have fallen under the job scope of program managers and station managers over the years, the usefulness of the metrics is now getting attention in the C-Suite, Lipton says.

“What we are finding now is that there is a trend where the CFOs and people in risk management are leading the charge, because ultimately they are the ones responsible [for evaluating the effectiveness of the investment],” Lipton says. “We also recently added an element where we handle the distribution of the data throughout the organization, acting as an outside consultant.”

While SQM’s ratings won’t result in a plaque with stars on it to post on the wall or to include in marketing campaigns, they can identify recurring component or service failures early on, allowing airlines to address these faults before they lead to public complaints or pricey write-offs.


The Worst Valentine's Day Gift is No Gift At All: Survey

Top 5 Worst Valentine's Day Gifts

Featured on 660 News - February 12, 2016, Kaitlin Lee

They say it's the thought that counts, so it's not surprising that the worst Valentine's Day gift is nothing at all.

  • 49% of the women asked in a survey by Sensors Quality Management said being forgotten took the cake.
  • 18% were unimpressed with candy or food, and six percent said clothes.
  • 3% had the pleasure of breaking up on February 14.
  • Some more unusual answers for bad gifts included: a knife, having their taxes paid, and a disease.


  1. Canadians asks Supermarkets to Leave Christmas Decor Down until Remembrance Day
  2. Tight Budgets Affect Americans on Independence Day
  3. Canadians Oppose Christmas Decorations put up Before Remembrance Day
  4. Want to Save 50% of the Cost of Your Next Flight?
  5. Canadians Say Holiday Festivities Should Start After Remembrance Day
  6. Evaluate It!! Save as You Move
  7. Evaluate It: The Best Way to Travel
  8. Save money while shopping
  9. Go Undercover for Free Travel
  10. Mystery Shopping: Reimburse 50% of Your Airfare with Evaluate It by SQM
  11. Earn up to 50% Off Your Flights and Hotels as a Mystery Shopper
  12. Can You Really Travel For Free On A Secret Shoppers Program
  13. Here’s How You Can Earn 50% off Flights by Mystery Shopping
  14. Helping Hotels for Free...And There Isn't a Catch!
  15. SOLVE THE MYSTERY (SHOPPING) AND MAKE THE CUSTOMERS HAPPY - Mystery shopping maximizes your investment in employee training and development
  16. SQM BRINGS MYSTERY SHOPPING TO SMALL BUSINESSES - Canadian firm's online system makes mystery shopping affordable for SMBs
  17. The Brand is King..Are you a worthy subject?
  18. Building Your Brand – Customer feedback is essential to establishing and maintaining standards
  19. Workplace trust: Taking mystery out of mystery shopping – The Experts Say…
  20. Shining a Light On Mystery Shopping
  21. Undercover shopper
  22. Front Line Intelligence
  23. Secret Snoops
  24. Sleuthing the Aisles
  25. Spies in the Aisles
  26. Under-cover Consumer
  27. Mystery Shopper Means Business
  28. Spies For Hire Wage War On Tipsy Tables, Filthy Toilets
  29. Shopping Pays the Bills
  30. Growing Potential
  31. Undercover Customer
  32. Mystery Shopping
  33. May We Suggest…
  34. Don't Train in Vain
  35. Free Perking
  36. Competitive Analysis
  37. Forces deterring enlistment
  38. Hi-Tech Feedback
  39. Shopping Cares
  40. Tracking Slack Service
  41. Mystery shopping: Billion dollar industry keeps retailers in check
  42. Seize the Oppurtunity
  43. Circle of Satisfaction
  44. Cash News
  45. Drunk-driving views blurred
  46. Survey Says...
  47. Mystery Shoppers
  48. An Air of Mystery
  49. Building a Better Team
  50. Shedding Light on a Mystery
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