Conference "Consumer Trust" at SPbGASU
For 12 years, the Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering has been the competition's official professional partner. As Galina Tokunova, Dean of the SPbGASU Faculty of Economics and Management, noted, the university annually participates in both the expert council and the organizing committee of the event, making a significant contribution to improving the rules and principles. SPbGASU teachers help develop the evaluation criteria, review incoming proposals, and participate in updating the competition requirements to reflect trends in the construction industry.
One of the competition's key features is a multi-stage selection process, including online voting, expert company reviews, site visits, and a "Mystery Customer" survey. During this stage, students from the SPbGASU Faculty of Economics and Management, undergoing special training, act as mystery customers: they make test calls, visit the offices of developers, real estate companies, banks, and management companies, and evaluate the usability and accuracy of information presented on their websites.
Together with the competition organizers, the university developed a detailed questionnaire assessing companies' customer focus, quality of consultations, and adherence to ethical standards. Students complete it following their visits, providing analytical feedback on their scores.
"Over the years, we've become convinced that our students are the best prepared. They understand the specifics of the real estate market well and take a responsible approach to company valuations. The margin of error between students' results and those of professional experts is minimal, demonstrating the high level of their training," noted Galina Tokunova.
Participation in the "Consumer Trust" study is included in the "Marketing" discipline curriculum. Survey and observation results are used as practical training for the course, and the data obtained assist students in their term papers and research. In recent years, analytical papers and studies have been prepared based on the competition materials, focusing on the specifics of customer experience and methods for assessing companies' customer focus.
Participation in the competition gives students the opportunity to master methods for professionally assessing the quality of services, learn to identify correct and incorrect practices in the real estate market, and apply this knowledge in their future professional activities.
University faculty members serve on the competition's expert council. During this stage, they visit developers' sites to assess construction readiness, landscaping, the projects' compliance with stated requirements, and the level of communication with consumers. All collected data, including online voting and "mystery customer" results, is then compiled and discussed at a meeting of the expert council, after which the final rankings are compiled.
The competition organizers emphasize the importance of SPbGASU's participation: their long-standing collaboration confirms the quality of training for future specialists and the university's expertise. SPbGASU students have repeatedly demonstrated a deep understanding of the real estate market, and their participation helps the competition maintain high standards of objectivity.
"Consumer Trust" is a public competition in the real estate market of St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, held since 2008. In 2025, it will include three main stages: online voting (15 May – 31 August), a "mystery customer" survey and expert visits (September – October), and an expert council meeting (November). The winners will be announced by 31 December, and the awards ceremony will take place in February 2026.