The German Institute for Service Quality in Hamburg sends hidden testers into retail chains to rate the advice they receive. For a study of furniture stores published in May 2026, testers made 140 visits to 14 chains. The criteria included advisory competence. The institute praised das Fachpersonal in der Beratung, the trained staff, for answers that were always correct, easy to understand and friendly. The criticism was also plain: Über ein Drittel der Bedarfsanalysen fällt zu oberflächlich aus. More than a third of the needs analyses were too superficial.