Shortly after I started MSing last fall I got a little pocket recorder at Costco. This was prior to getting my pen recorder that a friend gave me. My practice is to use both of them, each as a backup for the other in case of some failure. I put the pen recorder in my shirt or vest pocket and the other one in the cell phone pouch of my purse. I like using both because while the pen picks sound up better, I can listen to the other one on the road and SEE my timings on the display so I can fill out my reports on the spot; the pen has to be hooked to the computer.

Well a couple months ago I discovered I couldn't "play" the pocket recorder any more. It would record fine, and if I copied the files to the computer they would play, but I couldn't hear anything from the recorder itself. I tried earphones in case the speaker had gone out but I couldn't hear through them either. So I've continued to use it as a backup but it's been frustrating not being able to listen to it while I was trying to do my notes right after a shop.

I realized today that I probably could take it back to Costco and exchange it.

Anyway, I'm getting ready to go eat some uncharacteristically bad fast food that someone bribed me to do for $20 and again I tested the recorder to see if it had magically fixed itself since the last time I tried it. I thought I'd try one more time with earphones and grabbed a brand-new set of earbuds that came with the new Ipod I got a couple months ago. Still nothing.

I found myself looking once again to try to find the volume control knob on the stupid thing and still couldn't find one. But while handling the thing I bumped one of the buttons on the front and heard a faint hum through the earbuds. I looked down at the display and saw that the volume indicator was on the display -- and the indicator was WAAAYYYYY over to the left.

Duh........

Somehow I had managed to turn the volume all the way down, all the way to "off", and THAT was why I haven't been able to hear anything out of the stupid thing for the last two months.


I think until I learn to operate a little audio recorder I won't have a prayer of being able to pull off a video shop.


Boy do I feel stupid!!!! But not as stupid as I would have if I'd actually taken it back to Costco and told them it stopped playing and they pushed the CLEARLY MARKED up and down buttons and made noise come out of it.....

I know exactly what you mean about feeling stupid. I am still learning how to use my phone after two years. A couple of weeks ago my camera died and I had to finish a couple of shops using my phone camera. Spent all weekend trying to figure out how to get the pics from the phone to the camera without having to email each one of the 50somethings individually.

Oh, let's not even talk about phones... I still throw mine into voice mail while trying to answer it about a fourth of the time and I've been trying to figure out how to turn off the "notification" sound ever since I set it up with a "bubbles" sound the day I got it. People think I have a fish tank in my pocket when that thing tries to tell me I have an email.....

And the only way I know to get pics off it is by email. Some say you can use a USB cord with some of them but I haven't tried that yet. The other thing I need to try is taking out the SD card, putting it in the little adapter, and seeing if I can get them straight off the SD card like I do with my camera's card.

Well, here's a big thing about the difference between "traditional" shop schedulers and video shop schedulers. When you are doing video and your equipment does not seem to be working, you call your scheduler who is ready and waiting to help you trouble shoot the problem. The "care and feeding of video shoppers" is an art that is essentially alien to traditional shop schedulers. Most of us who do video will actually interview a new (to us) company and/or scheduler, to ascertain the level of video shopping and technical experience of the scheduler WITH whom we are to work. And, the operative word here is "with," not "for." Video shopping requires teamwork. Every experienced video scheduler has had exactly the type of "brain freeze" that OP describes, and will be neither surprised not disconcerted when the shopper calls and they discover that, somehow the audio level has gotten turned down to zero. In the rare event that one's video scheduler is not available within about 30 minutes, most video shoppers are on VSN [www.videoshoppingnetwork.org], and a quick post there will bring many supportive suggestions from fellow shoppers and even the senior staff/schedulers of video companies that are actually competitors of the one whose scheduler has not yet replied.

Finally, SABOTS (Sisters and Brothers of the Traveling Shirt) often also have the cell phone numbers of several other video shoppers on speed dial, and get technical assistance, trouble shooting and moral support from video buddies across the country. We ALL know that the video gods are a playful lot, who might just sneak up and cause our poor minds (or less frequently the equipment) to miss the obvious. No on thinks the less of you for having been trick by these imps in our world!

So, when something goes wrong, as it will, I know that my video work will have a whole support system that just does not exist in traditional MS. And, I need hardly add that this forum and its comtributors is the only thing in the MS industry that comes anywhere close to providing the support for traditional shoppers that video shoppers and schedulers provide for one another.

Well, that makes me feel a little better (and a tad less stupid). I was hoping to start venturing into video shopping later this year. Nice to know there is support out there for it.

Thanks!

Absolutely. BUT, be wary of signing up with MSCs that are just starting out to do video shopping, even if they have decades of "traditional" MS experience. Several have loaned equipment to newbie shoppers, with no training, no support, and just let them "sink or swim." Look to the seven companies that sponsor VSN, plus the video division of EPMS of good support and training on their loaned equipment, and be wary of venturing to other video companies until you have gained the experience and confidence to ask them to demonstrate that THEY know what they are doing. I know that sounds a bit odd, but several MSCs that are just getting into video will find it hard to recruit experienced videographers simply because the MSC and its schedulers don't seem to know what they are doing!

Finally, you know that regulars here who video shop, and there are quite a few, will provide help when you decide to try this out.

In addition to the sage advice above, you should know that the video equipment is a lot more user friendly than those recorders.

One of my MSC's has a bunch of dental shops around here for $200 that got my attention. But I want to feel a little more confident in my overall shopping skills and will probably want to play with wearing the camera on a regular shop so I get comfortable with it and know I'm using it right. I'll have more shopping time available in the summer when school is out (I sub teach) so that's my goal, to start in June.

I appreciate all the tips and will certainly be appreciative of any guidance when I take that first plunge into video shopping. I think I'm going to start with doing one of these time share shops where you do the audio recordings first, which will force me to be more aware of what I myself am doing or saying that might be picked up and recorded, before I go for the camera work.

Unfortunately, I tend to talk to myself a lot and I probably need to break that habit.

LOL. I talk to myself. I was wondering recently if I ever do it while on camera.

When you do start with video, you might try to do a type of shop you do already. Or do a dry run.

I started video shopping with new home shops.I was so nervous for my first one. Afterwards, I called my scheduler and told her I totally botched it. Turns out, it was actually fine.

Before my next shop, I went to some random community and "did a shop" so I wouldn't be so I wouldn't be so nervous the next time. It helped a lot.

New homes is one of the harder video shops you can get. The dry run was a great idea. I did one before a car dealership route even though my comfort level with them was good. The equipment makes everyone so nervous in the beginning that having a shop you are otherwise comfortable with can reduce the overall stress. Prior to video, I was completing audio recorded shops on a regular basis. They were a great stepping stone since the cost of the recorder is a tenth that of a video rig.

I haven't ever done a dealership shop. I am thinking about signing up for a written one, to get a feel for them before trying to get started doing the video shops. It is much less embarrassing to mess up when it isn't recorded. The video MSC's for the most part are much more understanding of these things though, than most traditional MSC's.

itsasecret Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shortly after I started MSing last fall I got a
> little pocket recorder at Costco. This was prior
> to getting my pen recorder that a friend gave me.
> My practice is to use both of them, each as a
> backup for the other in case of some failure. I
> put the pen recorder in my shirt or vest pocket
> and the other one in the cell phone pouch of my
> purse. I like using both because while the pen
> picks sound up better, I can listen to the other
> one on the road and SEE my timings on the display
> so I can fill out my reports on the spot; the pen
> has to be hooked to the computer.
>
> Well a couple months ago I discovered I couldn't
> "play" the pocket recorder any more. It would
> record fine, and if I copied the files to the
> computer they would play, but I couldn't hear
> anything from the recorder itself. I tried
> earphones in case the speaker had gone out but I
> couldn't hear through them either. So I've
> continued to use it as a backup but it's been
> frustrating not being able to listen to it while I
> was trying to do my notes right after a shop.
>
> I realized today that I probably could take it
> back to Costco and exchange it.
>
> Anyway, I'm getting ready to go eat some
> uncharacteristically bad fast food that someone
> bribed me to do for $20 and again I tested the
> recorder to see if it had magically fixed itself
> since the last time I tried it. I thought I'd try
> one more time with earphones and grabbed a
> brand-new set of earbuds that came with the new
> Ipod I got a couple months ago. Still nothing.
>
> I found myself looking once again to try to find
> the volume control knob on the stupid thing and
> still couldn't find one. But while handling the
> thing I bumped one of the buttons on the front and
> heard a faint hum through the earbuds. I looked
> down at the display and saw that the volume
> indicator was on the display -- and the indicator
> was WAAAYYYYY over to the left.
>
> Duh........
>
> Somehow I had managed to turn the volume all the
> way down, all the way to "off", and THAT was why I
> haven't been able to hear anything out of the
> stupid thing for the last two months.
>
>
> I think until I learn to operate a little audio
> recorder I won't have a prayer of being able to
> pull off a video shop.
>
>
> Boy do I feel stupid!!!! But not as stupid as I
> would have if I'd actually taken it back to Costco
> and told them it stopped playing and they pushed
> the CLEARLY MARKED up and down buttons and made
> noise come out of it.....

Don't feel bad or alone. I used to sell audio and video equipment. People would call saying, "I have a problem. My stereo won't go on." We would call this a SOM-severe operator malfunction. And then we would go to the list. Is it plugged in? Is the power button on? Is the speaker button pushed in? And so on. this happens all the time. And the video shopping is great. It's not that hard to operate the equipment. Try it out!

I agree with Wales...sign up with one of the video shopping companies. My first video shop was with a traditional company that loaned me the equipment and I was left to sink or swim. Fortunately I received help from experienced video shoppers and actually managed a good recording.

No need to stop talking to yourself when you video shop. We all do that! Just limit that to before the "Hello" and after the "Good-bye" of the shop. Even when the sales rep leaves you alone during a shop, not good to talk to yourself, whether it is a recorded shop or not. You never know when the walls may have ears!

On video it often helps to talk to yourself as you drive up to the site, with equipment that is already recording. You have to introduce the shop, "Hello, this is Wales. Today is April Fool's Day, 2014. It is 13:02 PM. The driveway at this model home is strewn with pockmarks that look like a battle took place here. The rose bushes are dead. As I am leaving the car, the time is -----" On departure, you may want to add the following, "Leaving at 14:32 PM. Agent was wearing purple caften, pink shoes, and had red hair and green eyes. Although I could not get it on camera, his computer was tuned to a porn site. Also, the model home smelled strongly of cigar smoke."

After you have done 2-4 video shops in a row, you will find yourself leaving a traditional shop muttering just such things, and then be surprised when you get home and realize that your notes were not recorded.

I always do the standard intro and exit, but have never dictated notes. That's a great idea.

I want to meet that salesman who was wearing a purple caftan and pink shoes while smoking a cigar and watching porn Was his red hair in a bouffant?

Lisa, check out the intro to that shop, lol.

You got me