I just completed my second video shop yesterday and I'm hooked. The report was a piece of cake.

It is addictive

James, didn't I warn you? hehe!

I've done four now but wouldn't say I was hooked yet. I still get a fair bit of anxiety...

I've done 300 and still get stage fright

I'm intrigued, but don't know enough about how to get started. I'm worried about spending lots of money on the equipment and then messing up and not getting paid. How much does the equipment cost?

Somewhere between $425 and $500 per camera.

Phoebe,
Do as James did and use equipment supplied by the MSC to learn the ropes and decide if this is really for you.

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Phoebe,
> Do as James did and use equipment supplied by the
> MSC to learn the ropes and decide if this is
> really for you.


James, are you allowed to say the name of the msc?

Since video is a category with many clients, there is absolutely no problems with naming names. EPMS will loan equipment and train shoppers. There are others so James may have gone through a different MSC.

Melinda Brody also loans equipment and offers fantastic training!!

My first shop was with SCM, and I'm so grateful for a mentor's assistance here which made the shop much easier. The second one was with Shadow Agency.

Which company is it that has the PV500 at a special price?

MCP; here's the link: [www.measurecp.com]

How often do you have a problem with the video and end up not getting paid for the shop? That has always been my big fear.

DRJ, it happens, but not often. The pay is worth the risk to me. I find the less I worry, the fewer issues I have.

Thanks Angela

angela12 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MCP; here's the link:
> [www.measurecp.com]

More often than not, non-payment is a direct result of operator error, failure to follow the script or blowing the scenario and a few are equipment failure.

Once my audio did not come through on one shop despite being there on the previous and all the ones to follow.

Twice my battery died. The first was early on and I didn't know the battery meter on my extended pack could not be trusted or that a partial charge just won't cut it. The next time I was on a 20 route shop. When leaving one city I turned off the recording and completely forgot to turn off the camera. Two minutes into a shop in the next city the battery died.

The PV-500 equipment is very, very reliable. It's the videographers who forget to turn things on or off that screw things up. But, you will only make each mistake once!

I think the reason I'm liking the video shops is that assuming you follow the script and everything is working, there is very little wiggle room for a client to not accept a shop, although in all fairness, I've never had that happen.

I also see it as a possible addition to my photography business for lawyers, etc. so there is a synergy.

video shops are great for those that shop single party states...

the best part about video is for now there wont be the amount of
shoppers available that "regular" shops have. Could you picture
a company like mf or cori's regular pool of shoppers doing them?

It would be a nightmare...


However.....................

Google Glass will change all that. Everyone will have 'video' capability
built into their glasses and while intially it will be pricey at between 500-1000
when it debuts later this year in a consumer version, it will drop in price.

It will make doing video shops so much easier

Actually it will not necessarily make doing video shops any easier. There has been some experimenting with glasses and body mounted cameras are proving to be easier. The reason is we can react and look at whatever a target is demonstrating while keeping them framed.

Naturally as the video side of the industry grows there will be more shoppers, but there will also be more clients. Just like other equipment, there will be some shoppers who want to make the investment and others who do not. The price of the equipment will help to keep video shops paying a bit more. After all, who is going to spend several hundred dollars on a camera only to earn it back $5 at a time

There certainly more opportunities in one party states, but if a client really wants to embrace having their employees video shopped, they will take the steps to include it as a condition of employment.

Google Glass will solve the limitations that old glasses tech had...

I still estimate 18-24 months before it becomes mainstream
since first consumer generation will not be out until later this year

Lisa, if the battery dies, they won't pay for the shop?

tech, answer this question. Regardless of the technology, how will you look at something else while keeping the target framed?

Sunny, it depends on the client, the MSC and at what point it gives out. Once when I only lost about five minutes of a shop the MSC allowed a detailed narrative about the missing portion. I know of another occasion where a shopper lost less about 2 minutes at the end and it was rejected. The occasion where my battery died at the beginning of a new car shop could have gone either way. The MSC needed it as a video, but also would have to find someone else who could get to the location for the reshop. If they had not been able to find another shopper, I would have been allowed to submit it as a written shop at the reduced rate which would have been half as much as the video.

The glasses have the ability to see around them so even
if you move it will still capture everything and
stitch the video together on it's own. Turning your
head it will still capture them. You choose what you
want it to focus on and it will follow that object
around keeping it in focus.

Here's my story on video....right out of the gate, I totally screwed up 2 of my first 3 shops. Ironically enough, the first one was perfect. The second one, I filmed the ceiling and the third I had a great shop, but overwrote the stupid video when I uploaded it on FileZilla (a commonly used method of uploading videos to MSC's). However, almost 100 shops later, I have messed up only 2 and those were because I left out a part of the scenario I was to follow, not equipment related. Once your rig is set up to your comfort, just go with it. At that point, it is too late to worry about it once you step foot out of your vehicle anyways. The worst thing that is going to happen is that the shop will not be counted. The best thing that will happen is that you will likely NEVER repeat the same mistake twice. I think all video shoppers have tales of failed equipment or scenarios. It is just part of it. I suppose the part that stings the most is knowing you just blew $70-$100 (or more) instead of $10-$15. Just recently, I scaled back and even questioned if ai wanted to keep video shopping for a few weeks because my confidence was shaken over being spotted as a shopper. After talking with the company, I learned that I was not identified as a video shopper, just a shopper in general. That being said, I am working on my 9th video shop this week. Take that Mr. Shopper Spotter!

I've only seen 1 video shop offered in Canada (specifically in the Prairies). Has any Canadian experienced these and are they available? Please PM me any information if you're willing to share.

Thanks

@techman I actually met with a scheduler at an MSC that specializes in video shopping and she mentioned that although she uses the glasses from time to time, there is some wiring that goes into the DVR. She has the benefit of having long hair to obscure the wiring, of which I do not share the same benefit due to genetics.

With that said, does the model of your glasses have this same kind of wiring? I don't see how you can obscure this hinderance without being spotted, particularly on video scenarios where you are traveling in a car (test drive, new home shop, apartment, etc). Can you shed some light on the possible wiring or is it in an older model of glasses?

Eric, the glasses i'm referring to are not publicly available yet.
They are wireless. Their primary purpose is not for mystery shopping,
but they can(and will) be used in that application. They are being
made by google and they will have a public version of it released by the
end of the year, and for those that wear glasses, will have a version to
work with your prescriptions. These will become as common as other
tech gear that people bring. It will bring all your info directly in front
of you. No need to pull your phone out etc, you will see text msgs
right in front of you...be able to record whenever you want etc
It's very advanced and you will see a near production version shown
at google's i/o conference in May.

That is why I said it will probably take 18-24 months before it is used
in the industry widespread. You will not just be wearing these when
you do shops, these are designed to be worn all the time, effortlessly

I had 2 unusual assignments in Feb. that were written, but I was given the option of employing video. The condition, though, was that the client reserved the right to reject what I had captured and I would then be required to submit a report. As the pay was identical, I decided to not accept that condition. My reasons were:

1-As a written job, it was a known factor, as composition is an easy task for me, BUT, only if it isn't repetitious.
2-There wasn't a need to upload large files, which can be problematic.
3-I didn't need to spend time preparing my PV-500 for the work.
4-I didn't need to disassemble, wash, dry and then reassemble my shirt/wiring/camera/
5-There wasn't any possibility of an equipment malfunction.
6-I couldn't incorrectly shoot the target.

When paid the same amount of fee, I'll write and eliminate possible technical problems and time consuming tasks for any assignment. If, though, the above work had paid me an additional acceptable sum, then I surely would have arrived wired.