Created in the spring of 2002 to fulfill a need for an on-line mystery shopping service, Phantom Shoppers emerged onto the mystery shopping stage as an innovative business consulting firm with firm roots of superb customer service. Founded by Brian D. Howard, an experienced front-of-the-house manager, and soonafter strengthened by the back-of-the-house talents of P. Grant Portier, Phantom Shoppers quickly became recognized as a leader in the service evaluation industry. As classmates who attended the world's premier hospitality program at the Cornell University Hotel School, the two received cutting-edge training in the hospitality industry. Within their first year in business, Phantom Shoppers began to work with such names as Joe's Stone Crab, Cafe Iguana, Bonefish Creek, and Ovations Food Services to name a few. Since then, their client list has greatly expanded, and the list of services they provide has lengthened to include training programs, background checks, online camera surveillance systems, and online customer feedback websites. Phantom Shoppers showcases SASSIE (Scheduler and Shopper Survey Internet Engine) as the world's premier on-line mystery shopping program. A few client examples are listed below: