Thinking about starting video shopping.

I saw an article that James Bond wrote. Looked at the equipment. Just curious what is the going rate for beginners?

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Did you check the laws regarding recording for your state? You probably did....but just in case.....

My state does not allow this unless you have the other person's consent in writing ahead of time. Kind of negates the 'mystery' in the mystery shopping.
The MSC and client get permission in advance. Often it is part of an employment contract so while the targets are aware they will be recorded during their tenure they are not aware of the when.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Check out below, including the last chapter about the latest amendment to the law that covers conversations that are NOT considered private. Even if an employer has a signed consent in the employee's HR packet, they cannot tape without alerting the employee to the fact.

A company I worked for taped incoming CSR calls without the static announcement alerting parties that they were being recorded, and allowing them the option to decline the call. An employee sued after being receiving what he considered to be wrongful progressive discipline due to a monitored call. The court determined that, though he had signed a disclosure during his orientation, it was not 'reasonable' for him to anticipate when or if he was being recorded, and, therefore, he had a reasonable expectation of privacy during the phone call.

The company I worked for instituted a more comprehensive release form that was specific to events, and renewed with each event cycle afterwards. Additionally, they added a two way announcement that played at the beginning of each phone call alerting each party that they could be recorded. They ceased all video operations due to the difficulty providing those announcements randomly, and in person. It was a very costly lesson....and Illinois is not a place to take chances. It's a pretty liberal place.....

I'm not debating that there could be companies that have covered the bases, I'm just suggesting that you do your homework before taking part in any state. The OP could be personally liable for fines in Illinois, even if they acted in good faith with an MSC.

" Enacted in 1986, the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act prohibits the surreptitious interception of any wire, aural or electronic communications, with significant exceptions. In the 38 states that follow ECPA’s one-party consent exception, if any party to a recording consents to the recording, then the recording is legal. Illinois is considered an all-party consent state pursuant to the Illinois Eavesdropping Act that states that a person is eavesdropping in violation of the law when he “knowingly and intentionally uses an eavesdropping device for the purpose of hearing or recording all or any part of any conversation or intercepts, retains, or transcribes electronic communication unless he does so with the consent of all of the parties to such conversation or electronic communication…”

Two-Prong Analysis

In most of the all-party consent states, an employee has a cause of action to file suit against his employer if his intercepted conversation is considered private and one or more of the parties recorded in the intercepted conversations did not consent to the interception. However, Illinois is unique among the 12 all-party consent states since the 1994 amendment to the Illinois Eavesdropping Act extends the Act’s protections to conversations that the recorded parties did not consider private. The second prong of the analysis is the consent prong. If one or more parties to the intercepted conversations did not consent to its interception, then there is grounds for a suit against the party who recorded the conversation."
I am confused.

I thought the Video shops were sans audio (at least in All Party states) just for this reason.
No, all, or almost all, video shops have audio. That is why the MSCs insist that the employer have signed consent forms on file.

Also, about 2 years ago the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that those conversations that quilter references are NOT private. For a brief moment some thought that Illinois had become a one party consent state, BUT it turned out that the ruling was limited to that concept of what was to be considered private. I am sorry, but I do not have the reference to the legal case. I am not an attorney, but am tellinbg you what attornies who specialize in this field tell me. Audio recording with prior consent is still legal in Illinois.

Also, there are not 12 two party consent states currently. There are 14. For a list of 13, see [www.rcfp.org]

That site is maintained by attorneys for news reporters who must be very aware of audio recording laws. We add Delaware, just out of an abundance of caution, bringing the total to 14.

PLEASE, go to the New Mystery Shoppers area here and read the second topic on Audio and Video Recorded shops.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Getting back to the original question, the going rate for beginners for what? For shops or for equipment purchases? Equipment, depending on what level you're buying, $600-$800. As I said, it will vary depending on camera type, batteries purchased, etc.

Best advice is practice, practice, practice with the video equipment. I still occasionally have aiming problems, but getting better with them.

robinlinn1957 Wrote:
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> I saw an article that James Bond wrote. Looked at
> the equipment. Just curious what is the going rate
> for beginners?

.
Have PV-500 & willing to travel.
"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

"Somedays you're the pigeon, somedays you're the statue.” J. Andrew Taylor

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from him." Galileo Galilei
Like any other mystery shops, the base rates are the same regardless of your experience.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Lisa is correct. I would add that apartment shops tend to pay less than most video shops and may be the best place to start. In addition, starting by using equipment lent by the MSC will cost $10-15 per shop deducted from the fee.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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