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Department stores hire mystery shoppers. Restaurant chains bring in undercover diners to rate their food and service. Churches enlist Thomas Harrison, a former pastor from Tulsa, Okla., and a professional mystery worshipper.

Harrison — a meticulous inspector who often uses the phrase "I was horrified" to register his disapproval of dust bunnies and rude congregants — poses as a first-time churchgoer and covertly evaluates everything from the cleanliness of the bathrooms to the strength of the sermon.

This summer, Harrison scoured a megachurch in Cedar Hill, Texas, and jotted down a laundry list of imperfections: a water stain on the ceiling, a "stuffy odor" in the children's area, a stray plastic bucket under the bathroom sink and a sullen greeter who failed to say good morning before the worship service.

Harrison belongs to a new breed of church consultants aiming to equip pastors with modern marketing practices. Pastors say mystery worshippers offer insight into how newcomers judge churches — critical at a time when mainline denominations continue to shed members and nearly half of American adults switch religious affiliations.

In an increasingly diverse and fluid religious landscape, churches competing for souls are turning to corporate marketing strategies such as focus groups, customer-satisfaction surveys and product giveaways.

At least half a dozen consulting companies have introduced secret-church-shopper services in recent years. The A Group, a Brentwood, Tenn., marketing firm for churches and faith-based groups, now conducts mystery-worshipper surveys at 15 to 20 churches a year, up from a handful five years ago.

Church marketing company Real Church Solutions in Corona, Calif., introduced mystery-worshipper services five years ago. "First-time guests, they don't come with mercy, they come with judgment," says the company's president, Chris Sonksen. "They're looking for a reason to leave."

Some secular secret-shopping firms are seeking a toehold in the religious marketplace as well. Customer First, a national company has sent undercover worshippers to 20 churches in the last three years. Earlier this year, Guest Check, which specializes in hotels, spas, restaurants and golf courses, launched a pilot program for churches. It has dispatched shoppers to Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist and Unitarian congregations in Colorado.

The rise of these services has been buoyed by the growth of the secret-shopper industry. There are roughly 1 million secret shoppers in the U.S., according to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association.

Secret-shopper firms have expanded their reach in recent years from restaurants and stores to hospitals and public-transport systems. Churches eager to adopt cutting-edge business practices have emerged as the latest market willing to pay for blunt advice. The cost can range from $150 for a one-time visit to $1,500 to $2,500 for multiple visits and a detailed report.

So far, secret-shopper services mainly target Christian churches, where declining "brand loyalty" among worshippers has become a common motif. A 2008 survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which drew from interviews with more than 35,000 people, found that 44 percent of American adults have switched religious affiliations. Church leaders say they're seeking new ways to assess their services and evaluate everything from the style of music to how comfortable the pews are as they court fickle churchgoers.

Harrison, 51, a former Assemblies of God minister who launched his secret-shopper service in 2006, charges about $1,500 plus travel expenses for a site inspection, worship-service evaluation and detailed report. He's inspected more than a dozen Protestant churches ranging in size from 50 to 5,000 members. He's yet to give his highest rating — five stars.

His critiques can be bruising. "Thomas hits you with the faded stripes in the parking lot," says Stan Toler, pastor of Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City, who hires a secret shopper every quarter. "If you've got cobwebs, if you've got ceiling panels that leak, he's going to find it."

Some theologians warn that mystery-worshipper services will drive "spiritual consumerism." Evaluating churches as if they were hotels might encourage people to choose their church not according to its theology but based on which has the best lattes or day care, says Paul Metzger, professor of theology at Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Ore.

"We tend to look for religion or spirituality that will give us what we want, when we want it," Metzger says. "There's a pressure for the church to be something that the church is not."