So I've applied more than once to this company regarding shop opportunities and have even sent multiple inquiries to "contact said MSC" without a reply. I see that they have quite a few opportunities popping up both within my coverage area as well as regions that I frequently route shop (to which I mentioned in the application). If the Advanced Feedback recruiters still have a need for shoppers as evidenced by their many postings on job boards, why do I seem to be ignored?

Do I have to do the Harlem Shake via Skype message to get a recruiter/scheduler's attention nowadays? What gives, Advanced Feedback, Inc?

If I Skype with you, will you do the Harlem Shake?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/17/2013 01:11AM by CAscotch.

Eric in Tampa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So I've applied more than once to this company
> regarding shop opportunities and have even sent
> multiple inquiries to "contact said MSC" without a
> reply. I see that they have quite a few
> opportunities popping up both within my coverage
> area as well as regions that I frequently route
> shop (to which I mentioned in the application). If
> the Advanced Feedback recruiters still have a need
> for shoppers as evidenced by their many postings
> on job boards, why do I seem to be ignored?
>
> Do I have to do the Harlem Shake via Skype message
> to get a recruiter/scheduler's attention nowadays?
> What gives, Advanced Feedback, Inc?

You are not the only one they are ignoring. :-(

Ditto. Nada.

you have to wait until they send you the info on
the check they will send you and how much you
get to keep and the rest you send back

I haven't heard anything either but to be fair I just applied yesterday. I wish they had a job board or some way to see what it is they have exactly.

Liz

I have not heard from them yet either even though I have never applied with them. I'm sure they have heard of me.

I've done work for them. You won't get any emails from them until they have a shop they want to schedule you for. I only do one shop for them and they only email me about it once every couple months. They don't have a job board so it's up to them when they want to offer you something.

Hello Shoppers,

Thank you for all of your feedback! We wanted to let you know that we've read your concerns, and will be changing our registration process to help clarify our scheduling protocol.

GraceR is correct, at this time we do not have a job board, which means that each account manager must personally screen shoppers in our database and contact them directly to offer shop assignments as they are available. We do not have an automated program, and unfortunately we are unable to personally respond to every shopper application. As with any MSC, registration does not guarantee you will receive an assignment, as there are many factors in choosing a shopper.

There are 4 reasons we may have not contacted you for shops after registering:

1 - You live more than 20-30 minutes away from the shop location (this radius is referring to Onsite shops, not video), or other shoppers live closer than you or already have a route planned that includes where we need video shops in.
We do specify in our ads which cities we are scheduling shops in, and preference is given to those living closest to the shop. In our experience, the more convenient the shop is for the shopper, the lower the chance of a no-show or last-minute cancellation. For video, we give preference to those either local to where the route is (either in-state or a neighboring state), or who already have a route planned that will include driving by an area where we have video shops. The less travel costs, the better for everyone!

2 - Other shoppers in your area scored higher than you on the shopper registration quiz.
When screening for shops, we first look at location, then compare how shoppers scored on the registration quiz. Often, there are multiple shoppers registered in the area we are scheduling, so we will contact the highest-scoring shoppers first.

3 - You do not fit the shopper demographic specified by the client.
In order to create realistic shopper scenarios, many of our clients indicate a shopper demographic for their shops to match their typical clientele. Most of the time, we select shoppers based on age (to match typical clientele for the location being shopped), and sometimes we are limited by gender requirements as well.

4 - You fit all of the criteria above, but so did another shopper and they registered before you.
After all of the above criteria are checked, we contact shoppers in the order that they registered - and it's possible the shop was offered to someone that registered a few minutes or days before you. Sometimes, it's as simple as that.

In response to your feedback, we have re-evaluated our registration process and will be adding better explanations of what to expect after a shopper completes registration, including a way to find out how you scored. We hope to have a job board feature eventually, but for now direct email is the best way for us to make sure the most qualified shopper for each specific assignment is given priority.

Eric in Tampa - in your case, the ad you responded to was for a route outside of your area. We had other qualified video shoppers register that were closer to the route at the time, plus the client preferred a female shopper for that particular shop scenario. We receive many responses to our video routes, and unfortunately we are unable to respond to each one directly. We are working on ways to make this possible in the near future, though!

We appreciate and respect the opinions of shoppers in this forum, and will continue to work on finding ways to improve our registration process. Most importantly, we wanted you all to know you are not being ignored!! Sometimes, another shopper is just a better fit for whatever reason.

Warm Regards,

Juliet Dirlam
Onsite Accounts Manager
Advanced Feedback, Inc

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2013 08:54PM by AdvancedFeedbackInc.

Shoppers within such a limited radius are given first priority? How in the world do you get video shops scheduled? I am the only certified video shopper with my own equipment within at least a 250 mile radius or more.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shoppers within such a limited radius are given
> first priority? How in the world do you get video
> shops scheduled? I am the only certified video
> shopper with my own equipment within at least a
> 250 mile radius or more.

Hello Lisa -

My apologies, I should have been more clear. The 20-30 mile radius I referred to was for onsite shops, not video!! I'll adjust how I worded that - Video shops are a very different thing, you are correct!

Warm Regards,

Juliet Dirlam
Onsite Accounts Manager
Advanced Feedback, Inc

Thanks for clarifying and I completed my registration shortly after seeing an opportunity in Missouri. I can also tell you Eric, the original poster, is a video shopper as well

techman01 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> you have to wait until they send you the info on
> the check they will send you and how much you
> get to keep and the rest you send back


This is NOT true, Advanced Feedback Inc. will never request money from you or send you a check up front. The only checks we send are for payments AFTER the shop is complete and this is only if you do not have a Paypal account.

It is a scam if you recieve a check stating it's from Advanced Feedback, Inc before performing a job for us. We will also never have you send money back. If anyone is receiving these requests, please do NOT accept the checks and report it to us right away!

Michella Dresselhuys
Account Manager
Advanced Feedback, Inc.
michella@advancedfeedback.com

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2013 01:09AM by AdvancedFeedbackInc.

There are a growing number of video shoppers who regularly travel all over the country. We send emails to our regular companies to let them know that we are traveling through certain areas or we post on VSN.

Some of us have experience going back into the 90s. It is frustrating to not know who to let know or a way to see where you are looking for shoppers.

Another "Road Warrior" video shopper checking in to sa that I travel extensively for both video and traditional shops.

OK, I need to chime in here....

To date, I've done 96 shops, all video, for Advanced Feedback.

I got those shops because I answered their ad on this forum, sent in the requested test video, filled out the quiz and application, had the MSPA and Undercover Essentials training, had two PV-500 rigs, and was able to leave for a 4,500 mile, 5-state route within 72 hours. They had a client who needed shops done quickly, and I was able to pack up my SUV and leave for 12 days on the road in a flash. Although I didn't ask about it, I probably fit the target demographic as well.

I was worried that I was taking a big chance on an unknown, untested company. But I did a little sleuthing and found that AF had a good background in call center mystery shopping. And I was paid 48 hours by PayPal after my first set of uploads, and then regularly thereafter. They took great care to ensure that mutual respect and trust was established between us, and I did my best to uphold my end of it as well.

Anyway...

I was paid every cent owed to me, fees plus travel expenses, within 30 days of my final upload. Most of my money was paid within 10 days of upload.

I found them a highly professional, interesting and dynamic company to work for. Communication with them was excellent, and I look forward to working with them on more projects in the future.

I'm going to be in Atlanta next week for the IMSC, if you have any more questions about AF, come find me and we can chat. I will be giving two talks at IMSC: one on voice recognition software, and another on portable electronics for mystery shopping.

BTW, Carrie Porhammer at UE gave me some pre-route invaluable coaching, and I highly recommend her course(s).

And, I would say: ignore some of the gossip, negativity and know-it-all attitudes you see at times, and Just Do It. After a little background checking, that is.


Katrina

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2013 03:33AM by ColoKate63.

LisaSTL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shoppers within such a limited radius are given
> first priority? How in the world do you get video
> shops scheduled? I am the only certified video
> shopper with my own equipment within at least a
> 250 mile radius or more.


I know this is an older thread but I was wondering how do you know that you are the only video shopper within a certain radius? I'm sure that all video shoppers are not members of this forum. Or is there a master list somewhere? Just curious.

I took Carrie's UE workshop in June 2013 at the end of the Atlanta conference but I never got any certification number or certificate. I have also never received any offers from the reps that were at the conference. Did I get lost while Carrie dissolved her training company?

Here's a link to the early July 2013 discussion about the dissolution of Carrie's company:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

I seem to remember more discussion that this, but this is the only one that stuck in my mind so was easy to find. You must have been her last training class.

S2L, I knew because the only way shops were filled was either through equipment being loaned or another shopper traveling through the area. Just because video shoppers are not here does not mean some of us are not known to each other. For a long time most video shops were scheduled through a limited amount of MSCs and schedulers.