@Zek Did you read my post? I specifically stated I understood there were issues with the polling industry in general, but I was focusing on IPSOS because I have experience as a contractor for them on the mystery shopping side. I thought someone here may have some insight on how things work in their polling research division. I'm certainly not loosing sleep over it. This is a discussion forum and I'm here to discuss.
@Shop-et-al I agree to an extent. Does that extend to mystery shopping? Are well approaching shopping with some sort of bias? Maybe we had a bad personal experience in the past? Maybe we are angry at the MSC for screwing us over, so we return the favor? Bias isn't always intentional. A lot of bias is simply rooted in believing something, then looking for the results that confirm it. It is much easier to confirm our beliefs than to change them.
@gene - That's my point. SHOULD they be trusted. Most people who trust them, have no idea how they handle other aspects of their business. I certainly didn't until I viewed copies of finalized reports I had completed which represented things that simply were not true and did not represent my work - yet it was my report.
You can throw it all away. When things break, things shatter. Keep it written on your face, the little details matter.