Is anyone going to this Mystery Shopping conference in June ?
Has anyone attended this in the past that might share information ie was it worth going to to meet company reps in person and get certified in certain shops ?

I was thinking about going, but not sure. Any thoughts and comments from past attendees would be appreciated.

Hard pass.

The MSPA is, IMO, worthless for shoppers.
They exist primarily to advocate for the companies.
Their “certifications” are a joke, and together with their expensive classes only serve to separate shoppers from their money.

A little history on the MSPA:
1. They never used to allow shoppers to attend their conferences. It was strictly for the MSPs (Mystery Shop Providers.)
2. After the industry began to change, and there were fewer companies attending, the MSPA decided to allow shoppers to register and attend. HOWEVER, they segregated the “MSP hotel” and the “Shoppers’ hotel.” The MSP people had nice, 4.5-star lodgings. The plebes had a 2.5-star dump several blocks away.
3. Doing a Google search here on the topic of the MSPA conferences will yield you a treasure trove of useful insights from shoppers who have had massive regrets after paying good money for registering and attending the pay-per-seat breakout sessions.

Edit to add:
- You can learn more by simply spending a few hours a week here on the forum searching the threads for information on mystery shopping best practices.
- You can do more for your mystery shopping overall presence and reputation by carefully reading the shopping instructions, turning in assignments on time, and being a good communicator.

Bottom Line: At the MSPA’s “Shopperfest,” the MSPs aren’t really interested in meeting the shoppers. They are there to have cocktails and schmooze with each other. But there are a lot of mystery shoppers out there, and the MSPA sees us as a source of income, now that the post-Covid pool of MSPs is dramatically reduced.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/08/2023 01:33PM by ColoKate63.

I have learned far more from personal experience and this forum for FREE. Especially, the extra shop and audit details others have shared that help one understand the full picture on certain shops, when the guidelines do not cover it. And I am happy to share those things that I have discovered and learned as well.

If any lady shoppers are going and you have an insatiable, undeniable, lifelong fascination with overweight guys who are at best average looking and boring....then heck yes I'm going.

Sorry babybooey, I'm not going.

I have been to Pittsburgh once in my life and not really looking for a reason to go back...

@sestrahelena wrote:

Sorry babybooey, I'm not going.

It's an even numbered month so I'll be showering to. Your loss kiddo.

Well said!

Well said.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

Hard pass.

The MSPA is, IMO, worthless for shoppers.
They exist primarily to advocate for the companies.
Their “certifications” are a joke, and together with their expensive classes only serve to separate shoppers from their money.

A little history on the MSPA:
1. They never used to allow shoppers to attend their conferences. It was strictly for the MSPs (Mystery Shop Providers.)
2. After the industry began to change, and there were fewer companies attending, the MSPA decided to allow shoppers to register and attend. HOWEVER, they segregated the “MSP hotel” and the “Shoppers’ hotel.” The MSP people had nice, 4.5-star lodgings. The plebes had a 2.5-star dump several blocks away.
3. Doing a Google search here on the topic of the MSPA conferences will yield you a treasure trove of useful insights from shoppers who have had massive regrets after paying good money for registering and attending the pay-per-seat breakout sessions.

Edit to add:
- You can learn more by simply spending a few hours a week here on the forum searching the threads for information on mystery shopping best practices.
- You can do more for your mystery shopping overall presence and reputation by carefully reading the shopping instructions, turning in assignments on time, and being a good communicator.

Bottom Line: At the MSPA’s “Shopperfest,” the MSPs aren’t really interested in meeting the shoppers. They are there to have cocktails and schmooze with each other. But there are a lot of mystery shoppers out there, and the MSPA sees us as a source of income, now that the post-Covid pool of MSPs is dramatically reduced.