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MSPA Silver Certification Eliminated

May 15, 2016 02:13AM
It appears that the MSPA has done away with Silver Certification. It no longer appears in my profile even though I paid and qualified for that certification last fall. Have all you Silver Certified MSPA members lost this credential? Was any MSPA Silver Certified member advised of this loss? I have sent requests for information to MSPA and will post their response(s). I am also asking for a refund of the certification fee.
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More About Certification
May 15, 2016 02:41AM
MSPA's website indicates that it has renamed Silver Certificate to 'Intro to Mystery Shopping Certificate.'
[www.mspa-na.org]
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May 17, 2016 01:59AM
It was changed about a year or so ago. It still shows on all my MSC profiles but I have been doing this long enough that my reputation supersedes the certification.
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May 17, 2016 02:50AM
Guess they collected all the $ they think they could from that certification. New one in the queue?

Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
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May 17, 2016 05:27AM
Rousseau

Are you saying that the current FREE Intro to Mystery Shopping is the very same as the $25 Silver Certification I paid to earn in November of 2015. So far, no MSC has asked if I was "INTRO" certified. They are still asking if I am MSPA Silver or Gold certified. Matter of fact, last weekend one MSC's application would not accept my MSPA Silver certification number. It's thought that MSPA's Silver elimination might be the cause. SASSIE is having to enter my number manually.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2016 05:28AM by sdbens2.
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May 17, 2016 05:33AM
Sybil2

The Silver certification was still available at the end of November 2015 when I paid my $25.

It's great that you have a good reputation. You must have settled in with a group of MSC's that keep you as busy as you want to be while offering shops with fees and reimbursements that are acceptable to you.

Other shoppers are probably trying to get to the same position. To do so, I believe many count on demonstrating to new MSC's that they are willing to take an extra step or two to become more proficient shoppers. The fact that most MSC's inquire if a potential new shopper is MSPA Silver or Gold certified probably creates the impression that certification is a desirable credential to have.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2016 05:50AM by sdbens2.
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May 18, 2016 01:27AM
Shopmetrics new revisions, presented at this month's IMSC Shopper Conference in Indiana, will permit a long list of certifications to be entered, not just the MSPA Certifications (old or new). The presentation made it clear that MSCs using Shopmetrics supported this improvement because it is to their advantage to be able to see the shopper's complete "resume" in order to better understand what the shopper has done in the way of "continuing education." We can hope that the Sassie platform will soon be modernized (in many ways) and that this will include space for all certifications that the MSCs want to see.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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May 18, 2016 10:45AM
walesmaven

Good decision by Shopmetrics in my opinion. Thanks for the information.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2016 10:46AM by sdbens2.
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