A Closer Look
A Closer Look is a US-based customer experience research firm that helps multi-location businesses measure and improve service quality through mystery shopping, SMS-based real-time feedback, competitive intelligence, and internal audit solutions across restaurant, retail, senior living, hospitality, and entertainment verticals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersCumming, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What A Closer Look does
A Closer Look (ACL) is a US-based customer experience research firm that helps multi-location businesses identify and address service quality and operational gaps through mystery shopping, SMS-based real-time customer feedback, competitive intelligence, internal audit support, and qualitative research. Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, ACL operates a network of over 160,000 independent mystery shoppers across the United States and serves more than 2,000 clients across five primary verticals: restaurant and QSR, retail, senior living, hotel and hospitality, and entertainment. The company is privately held as a Georgia LLC and is led by CEO and co-owner Chris Gillen.
ACL's product suite is anchored by five integrated solutions. Mystery Shopping connects brands with independent evaluators for unbiased operational and service assessments. The Customer Ambassador Program (CAP), launched in 2021, is an SMS-based platform that captures real-time customer feedback within 60 seconds of interaction without requiring app downloads, and has won a 2023 Stevie Bronze Award and Best in Tech Award. Market Care (launched 2020) provides on-demand competitive intelligence specifically for the senior living vertical. Oversight360 (launched 2020) streamlines internal audit management for multi-location brands, and Focused Feedback Studies delivers qualitative research on customer pain points. The technology backbone is the proprietary Clarity platform for scheduling, assignment management, and report submission, paired with cloud-based real-time dashboards; ACL processed approximately 60,000 mystery shops in 2024.
ACL generates revenue primarily through B2B subscription and license fees for its mystery shopping, CAP, Market Care, and Oversight360 programs, supplemented by per-survey fees and pass-through reimbursements for mystery shopper expenses. Distribution is direct enterprise sales targeting multi-location brands via a consultative motion, complemented by self-service shopper onboarding through Clarity. Notable enterprise customers include Jersey Mike's Subs, Build-A-Bear, Hilton Management Services, Sunrise Senior Living, MBK Senior Living, Floor & Decor, and Goodwill Industries affiliates. Operational footprint is US-only, with no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or institutional investment.
A Closer Look firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- A Closer Look
- Legal name
- A Closer Look, LLC
- Website
- https://a-closer-look.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- A Closer Look is a US-based customer experience research firm that helps multi-location businesses measure and improve service quality through mystery shopping, SMS-based real-time feedback, competitive intelligence, and internal audit solutions across restaurant, retail, senior living, hospitality, and entertainment verticals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
A Closer Look industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Customer Experience Measurement Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services (CRAOAOAI)
Keywords
Where A Closer Look is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cumming
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
A Closer Look business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Mystery Shopping Services: B2B service where businesses pay license fees for mystery shopping programs. Clients receive customized evaluation criteria, access to 160,000+ independent shoppers, and comprehensive CX reports with trend analysis and actionable recommendations.
- Customer Ambassador Program (CAP): SMS-based real-time feedback platform subscription for capturing customer insights from all visitors, not just purchasers. Revenue from platform licensing and per-survey fees.
- Market Care: Competitive intelligence subscription service for senior living industry providing ongoing market analysis and competitor insights.
- Mystery Shopper Reimbursement Processing: Company processes reimbursements for mystery shoppers' costs of visiting designated sites, with costs passed through to clients.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
A Closer Look product offering
Product offeringCore offering
A Closer Look designs and runs customer experience measurement programs for multi-location brands, delivering Mystery Shopping via a 160,000+ independent shopper network, the SMS-based Customer Ambassador Program (CAP) for real-time feedback, Market Care competitive intelligence for senior living, Oversight360 internal audit tools, and Focused Feedback Studies. Clients subscribe to these programs and access insights through the proprietary Clarity cloud platform with real-time dashboards.
Product overview
A Closer Look is a customer experience (CX) and market research company offering a suite of five integrated solutions. The core offerings include Mystery Shopping (connecting brands with 160,000+ independent shoppers), Customer Ambassador Program (CAP - SMS-based real-time feedback), Market Care (competitive intelligence for senior living), Oversight360 (internal audit management), and Focused Feedback Studies (qualitative research). These solutions work together to provide comprehensive customer experience insights through a combination of mystery evaluation, real-time customer feedback, competitive analysis, and audit services across multiple industries including restaurant, retail, senior living, hospitality, and entertainment.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Oversight360: Internal audit efficiency solution that increases the efficiency and reduces the cost of internal audits.
- Market Care
- Customer Ambassador Program (CAP)
- Focused Feedback Studies
Products and services
- Mystery Shopping Connects brands with 160,000+ independent shoppers across the United States to gather unbiased feedback on customer experience, service quality, and operational compliance through undercover evaluations, delivered to enterprise multi-location clients.
- Customer Ambassador Program (CAP) SMS-based real-time survey tool that lets customers provide feedback within 60 seconds of interaction without requiring app downloads, with cloud-based dashboard access and marketing opt-in capabilities for enterprise clients.
- Market Care Competitive intelligence solution for the senior living industry that delivers instant, on-demand data about competitors to drive strategic growth and save sales time for multi-site senior living operators.
- Oversight360 Internal audit management solution that increases efficiency and reduces costs by streamlining oversight processes across multiple locations for multi-location businesses.
- Focused Feedback Studies
Quantifiable outcome
- Goodwill San Antonio revenue increased by 15% through Customer Ambassador Program
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use A Closer Look
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
A Closer Look technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
A Closer Look partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- MSPA AmericasminorActive membership in Mystery Shopping Providers Association, the industry trade organization for mystery shopping companies.
- Texas Restaurant AssociationcorePartnership with Texas Restaurant Association and Dallas College to launch Health & Hygiene Training Certification Program aimed at boosting customer confidence in restaurant safety post-COVID-19. ACL provided certification program development and implementation support.
- Dallas CollegecoreJoint partnership with Texas Restaurant Association to deliver Health & Hygiene Training Certification Program through Dallas College educational infrastructure.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
A Closer Look competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- BestMark: BestMark is one of the largest mystery shopping and CX measurement providers in North America, offering both in-person mystery shops and real-time customer feedback programs. It directly competes with A Closer Look across multi-location enterprise clients in restaurant, retail, and hospitality verticals.
- Market Force Information (now CXC Group): Market Force / CXC Group provides mystery shopping, customer experience measurement, and competitive intelligence for multi-location businesses globally. It is a direct competitor in CX measurement and feedback services with comparable enterprise customer profiles.
- MaritzCX: MaritzCX is a dedicated customer experience research and consulting firm offering mystery shopping, CX surveys, and analytics. It competes head-to-head with A Closer Look in measuring and improving CX for enterprise, multi-location customers.
- Intouch Insight: Intouch Insight provides customer experience measurement solutions including mystery shopping, mobile audit, and customer survey programs for multi-location operators. It is a direct peer with overlapping product offerings in mystery shopping and real-time feedback.
- BARE International: BARE International is a global mystery shopping and customer experience research firm serving hospitality, retail, and senior living clients. It is a direct competitor in mystery shopping programs with comparable enterprise focus.
- Reality Based Group: Reality Based Group is a customer experience measurement and mystery shopping firm focused on restaurants and hospitality. It overlaps directly with A Closer Look's mystery shopping and CAP-style real-time feedback offerings.
- Customer Impact: Customer Impact is a mystery shopping and CX measurement company serving multi-location restaurant and retail brands. It is a direct peer in the same product category with similar sales motion and customer base.
Broad incumbents
- Ipsos: Ipsos is a global market research and CX analytics firm offering customer experience measurement, mystery shopping, and brand tracking. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities but operates at much larger scale and across many industries beyond ACL's core verticals.
- NielsenIQ: NielsenIQ provides consumer and retail measurement, shopper insights, and customer experience analytics at global scale. It is a broad incumbent in shopper insights and CX data, relevant as a larger-scale competitor for ACL's Market Care and category insight work.
Emerging players
- Medallia: Medallia is a leading enterprise experience management platform offering real-time customer feedback, text analytics, and CX dashboards. It is an emerging-tech peer that competes with ACL's CAP/Oversight360 cloud feedback and analytics capabilities, particularly with multi-location enterprise customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
A Closer Look social profiles
Digital presenceA Closer Look financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
A Closer Look leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
A Closer Look funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
A Closer Look M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about A Closer Look
What does A Closer Look do?
A Closer Look designs and runs customer experience measurement programs for multi-location brands, delivering Mystery Shopping via a 160,000+ independent shopper network, the SMS-based Customer Ambassador Program (CAP) for real-time feedback, Market Care competitive intelligence for senior living, Oversight360 internal audit tools, and Focused Feedback Studies. Clients subscribe to these programs and access insights through the proprietary Clarity cloud platform with real-time dashboards.
Is A Closer Look a public or private company?
A Closer Look is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was A Closer Look founded?
A Closer Look was founded in 1994. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is A Closer Look based?
A Closer Look is headquartered in Cumming, United States, in the North America region.
How does A Closer Look make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Mystery Shopping Services are the primary driver. The others are customer Ambassador Program (CAP), market Care and mystery Shopper Reimbursement Processing.
Who are A Closer Look's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are BestMark, Market Force Information (now CXC Group), MaritzCX, Intouch Insight, BARE International, Reality Based Group and Customer Impact. Broad incumbents are Ipsos and NielsenIQ. Medallia is listed as an emerging player.
Does A Closer Look have an API?
No public API is recorded for A Closer Look.
What industry is A Closer Look in?
A Closer Look's product category is Customer Experience Measurement Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAOAOAI, Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services.