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Meet The Leadership of BES, Learn the Wealth of Experience They Offer

5 Reasons You Should Choose Business Evaluation Services To Help Your Business Achieve 5-Star Ratings

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We’ve Been In Your Position

The Business Evaluation Services leadership team comprises the founders of some of North America’s most respected customer service evaluation firms—Business Evaluation Services, BMA, and Customer 1st. Together, they bring extensive expertise in building and maintaining strong service cultures for owners and managers across sectors including hospitality, retail, big box, banking, electronics, e-commerce, manufacturing, resort lines, casinos, and more.

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Proven Leaders in Guest Service Measurement and Service Culture Development

We provide a comprehensive suite of services designed to boost sales and cultivate a 5-star service culture, including mystery shopping, guest satisfaction measurement, competitive price analysis, customer service training, industry-wide compliance audits, and strategic Customer Experience Management consulting. Our team helps you develop and implement a sustainable strategy that delivers a direct return on investment.

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More Than 1,000,000 Experienced Mystery Shoppers

With a network of over 1,000,000 experienced mystery shoppers, carefully selected and deployed via our robust web platform, we can serve any location across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and nearly anywhere else globally.

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A Dedicated Business Evaluations Services Team Member for Every Client

A dedicated Account Executive, Data Specialist, and Project Manager work together to tailor a questionnaire, design your service culture enhancement program, and ensure that data is actionable, accurate, and presented in customized reports—all delivered with the utmost integrity and security.

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24/7 Insights Into the Latest Trends and Perceptions Shaping Your Brand

Executive summary reports, real-time data, graphical analyses, audio files, and more are accessible through a streamlined, easy-to-navigate Client Dashboard. View graphs, charts, rankings, and detailed, question-by-question raw data from mystery shops, audits, and other evaluation tools all conveniently and securely accessible from a single source.

The Leadership Team

Charles Stiles Charles Stiles CEO of Business Evaluation Services Charles Stiles began his entrepreneurial journey by owning, managing, and expanding a series of retail gourmet food and gift stores known for delivering world-class customer service. This early success laid the foundation for the launch of one of the most respected and comprehensive mystery shopping and business evaluation companies, operating across North America, South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia since 1996. Fueled by a deep commitment to excellence, Charles has cultivated long-standing partnerships with some of the world’s most iconic and widely recognized brands. His dedication to customer service excellence has played a pivotal role in shaping the customer experience landscape. As the host of Food Network’s Mystery Diners , Charles has helped spotlight the crucial role customer service plays in a business's success. His visibility on national television, along with his frequent keynote appearances, has made him a trusted voice in customer service and organizational culture development. Charles has been a proud member of the Mystery Shopper Professionals Association (MSPA) since 2001. Over the past 12+ years, he has actively served on the board of directors, including roles as President of MSPA Americas and President of MSPA Global. His volunteer leadership and committee work have significantly contributed to advancing the mystery shopping industry worldwide. In 2025, inspired by his global travels and a deep appreciation for exceptional coffee, Charles founded Charles Stiles Coffee , a premium line of 100% organic, farm-to-table coffee blends. This brand reflects his passion for quality and his experiences sampling coffees and visiting cafes during his time as the host of Mystery Diners. To explore this exciting new venture, visit www.charlesstiles.coffee .
Carl Phillips Carl Phillips Founder of Customer 1st Carl Phillips, founder and CEO of Customer 1st, is well known as one of the “fathers” of the mystery shopping industry and nationally as a speaker and trainer on a wide range of customer service and brand protection topics. He launched Customer 1st in 1996, after twenty-six years of successfully exceeding sales goals with his first-generation mystery shopping techniques as a manager of department stores across the country. Customer 1st grew into an international mystery shopping company with an impressive list of clients across every industry from retail clothing and restaurants to banking, auto-motive, and new home construction, such as Sketchers, Subway Marketing Group, and Calvin Klein Furniture. Carl is a charter member of the Mystery Shopper Providers Association (MSPA). He held MSPA Executive Board positions for seven years and spearheaded the development of professionalism standards for all mystery shoppers.
Nina Layva Nina Leyva Operations Manager Nina is the Operations Manager of Mystery Shopper Services. Nina has been a loyal team member since the year 2000. Initially, Nina began working for BES on a part-time basis in our call center. Because of her work ethic and ability to learn quickly, Nina became the full-time call center supervisor. Through the years Nina has worked her way up in key management positions in all departments of the company. In 2014 Nina was promoted to the operations manager for all three divisions of Business Evaluation Services. (MSS, BMA, and Customer 1st) In her role, Nina provides administrative support and supervision to the entire MSS team and has become an integral part of the company’s overall success. When not working, Nina enjoys spending time with her family, music, and traveling.
Theresa Wilson Theresa Wilson Quality Control Department Team Supervisor Theresa is currently the Quality Control Manager for all divisions of BES including MSS, BMA and Customer 1st. Theresa began working for BES in 2001 as a receptionist, and has worked her way up through all divisions of the company. Her love of reading, and her passion for accuracy led to her current position as the managing supervisor for the quality control division. Her job duties include overseeing her editing team and ensuring each mystery shop report that is received is thoroughly checked for accuracy, content, and grammar before being sent to the clients, as well as assisting other team leaders in other departments when needed.
Emma Valdivieso Emma Valdivieso A/R A/P Accounting Department Team Supervisor Emma was born and raised on the beautiful coast of Central California. She studied at California Polytechnic State University in SLO where she received her BA in English and minored in Accounting. Her goal was to become a teacher but was quickly placed in a bookkeeping position where she found the culture of numbers much more fascinating. Emma came to BES in December of 2009 where she started out as scheduler and editor, working her way through the whole process of the mystery shopping business, to eventually become the Accounting Manager. In her free time Emma loves to help her community through several charities. She is the President of the Five Cities Dog Park Association, volunteers for a Feral Feline Program, is on the planning committee for the Annual Pismo Beach Turkey Trot whose proceeds fund the SLO County Food Bank, and finally is the CEO of SLO County Golden Retrievers, a non-profit 501c3. Much of her charity work is done with a very understanding husband and three Golden Retrievers in tow. When she has a moment to herself, she shares it with her horse.
Jared Duke Jared Duke Lead Project Coordinator Jared joined the Mystery Shopper Services team in September 2013, and worked in our Quality Control department before transitioning to Project Coordinator in June 2015. In February 2020, Jared was promoted to Lead Project Coordinator, where he currently coordinates mystery shopping, internal audit, voice of the guest, and social media tracking initiatives for clients in a wide range of industries, as well as overseeing the successful operation of the entire Project Coordination team. He currently holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from California State University, Bakersfield, and previously worked in non-profit marketing before joining our team.
Michael Ginnetti Michael Ginnetti Project Coordinator

With multiple years of experience, I have built a diverse background, having worked as a store manager at Mrs. Fields and Ben & Jerry's, as well as a supervisor at J.C. Penney, Piercing Pagoda, and Starbucks. I also served as an Assistant Branch Manager specializing in government compliance at PNC Bank and as a Project Manager at AvSight Aviation Software. My expertise spans project management, client relations, team leadership, and sales and marketing strategy. Notable achievements include receiving J.C. Penney customer service awards, earning the title of Starbucks Coffee Master, and being recognized as a PNC Bank Market All-Star for highest sales performance.

My current key responsibilities included planning and executing weekly scan shops, acting as a liaison between shoppers and clients to meet quotas, and facilitating shopper training classes.

Professional Background: Store manager at Mrs. Fields and Ben and Jerry's. Supervisor at J.C.Penney, Piercing Pagoda and Starbucks. Assistant Branch Manager/Government compliance at PNC Bank, Project Manager at AvSight Aviation Software.

Key Responsibilities: Planning and executing weekly scan shops. Liaison between shoppers and client to achieve weekly quotas, facilitating weekly shopper training classes.

Skills and Expertise: Project management, client relations, team leadership, sales and marketing strategy.

Achievements: J.C. Penney customer service awards, Starbuck's coffee master, PNC Bank market all stars award for highest sales.

Years of Experience: 2 Years

Kim Shively Kim Shively Project Coordinator

Before coming to BES, I worked in the School of Business at Boise State University where I worked under the Associate Dean of the school. During my 3 years at Boise State, I played a key role in managing projects for the Associate Dean of the college. Some of my responsibilities included: Supporting faculty and staff to improve student learning and online COBE hiring processes. Coordinated hiring committees to ensure they were compliant with applicable hiring laws as well as managed the contracts and budget committees for all future hiring projects.

As the Project Manager, my job is to ensure that everything runs smoothly when it comes to communicating regularly with clients. As the Project Manager, I am responsible for managing resources, assigning tasks, and managing timelines. I also manage qualified independent contractors based on their strengths and skills and implement existing project goals and strategies that align with business objectives.

Skills and Expertise Designing and delivering best hiring practices, and client engagement experiences. 4+ years of professional experience in managing projects. Over 10 years of customer service experience.

Achievements I have my Master’s degree in Educational Technology with a graduate certificate in Technology Integration. I also have 10 years of professional experience in a variety of different areas such as human resources, technology integration, project management, strategic planning, customer service and more.

Years of Experience I have been with BES as a Project Manager for almost 2 years, but have had over 4 years of professional project management experience.

Testimonials

Cornerstone Education Group has only been a client of BES for a few months. In that short period of time they have helped us uncover opportunities in our training process as well as giving us direct customer insight, rather than assuming the customer’s perspective. Jennifer, the account manager for our project, is very knowledgeable and more than willing to help. I greatly value the partnership we have developed with BES. Josh Britton Cornerstone Education Group
Carolina Bank can't fix a problem, if we don't know one exists. Business Evaluation Services help us know what we don't know. We want our employees to explain mobile banking benefits, how to utilize the features effectively, and generally walk them through the process. We use Business Evaluation Services data to coach to that type of service. Phil Sizemore Senior Vice President Carolina Bank
We’ve been utilizing Business Evaluation Services for a number of years and have them to be a great partner. The feedback has been valuable in providing genuine feedback on our Call Center and Consultation experience. When we do have questions, the team at Business Evaluation Services is quick to respond. Melissa Hair Club for Men and Women
It was a pleasure having Business Evaluation Services organize our mystery shops. We learned a lot from the mystery shops and they were responsive to any questions that we had through out the process. I plan on doing mystery shops regularly with Business Evaluation Services. This was our first time doing anything like this and it is a valuable tool for training and growth. Thank you! Shana del Castillo Growing Room Child Development
Utilizing a mystery shop program has allowed us to measure successes and offer detailed feedback on how to improve our skills. The staff at Business Evaluation Services is also top notch. I am consistently impressed by their proactive communication, quick responses, and attention to detail. Thank you! Jami Spears Training and Improvement Specialist Wilco
The team at Business Evaluation Services has completely updated our mystery shopping services. The online portal makes it easy for our entire team to view the responses real time. The BES team is extremely helpful in making any changes to the criteria for the shops. The cherry on top is the ease of coordinating the shops. From start to finish, Business Evaluation Services make it easy and better yet, the information is useful. Jessica Rabe Boot Hill Casino