Silver Certification
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Take the advice of other posters on this forum. Save your money ... silver certification won't buy you anything.
I'm interested in it for one company in particular that it would be well worth the $20. Either way I've already paid the fee, I just can't figure out how to actually take the test now.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
BG, did you pay the fee for the one year membership or did you actually get the Silver Certification? I think the one year membership is $20. If you get the Silver (which is also $20), the one year membership is free. There is a test and after taking and passing it, you get a printable certificate with a number on it. You will keep and enter that number on all the MSC sites when they ask if you have certification and they can verify that your number is valid. There is one MSC that has recently made a Silver Cert requirement for one client that I have shopped for a long time.
Yep. Did all of that. I just can't find the place to click to actually take the test. Not on the website. Not in the email. I signed up for 1 year for $20, went to the store, added the silver certification to my cart (it showed $0 price since I'm a member), checked out, got an email confirmation that I had purchased the silver certification test. No link. No place to actually take the test.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Have you gotten your new member e-mail yet? This is a little different than when I did mine in 2008 so I looked on the website and it says
"
Shopper Membership - If you would like to join MSPA-NA and become Silver Certified, Click Here, and the $20 fee includes Silver Certification and Shopper Membership in MSPA-NA. Shopper membership includes silver certification. Once you receive your new member email you may proceed to the shopper page of the website to begin the certification process."
I'm guessing they send you the link to the "course" and the test in the e-mail.
"
Shopper Membership - If you would like to join MSPA-NA and become Silver Certified, Click Here, and the $20 fee includes Silver Certification and Shopper Membership in MSPA-NA. Shopper membership includes silver certification. Once you receive your new member email you may proceed to the shopper page of the website to begin the certification process."
I'm guessing they send you the link to the "course" and the test in the e-mail.
That's what I would guess as well, but no link in any of the 4 emails they sent and no link on the page.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
bestofbothworlds Wrote:
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> Take the advice of other posters on this forum.
> Save your money ... silver certification won't buy
> you anything.
This is not the advice I posted. When I entered my silver and gold certifications, I was offered more
jobs immediately. I know it doesn't work for everyone that way, but it sure worked for me!
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> Take the advice of other posters on this forum.
> Save your money ... silver certification won't buy
> you anything.
This is not the advice I posted. When I entered my silver and gold certifications, I was offered more
jobs immediately. I know it doesn't work for everyone that way, but it sure worked for me!
*********************
I'm "Sandi" in the Middle!
I'm "Sandi" in the Middle!
It worked for me, too. Anyone who has all the work they can do waiting in their email every morning, no need to certify. I still look for work so I do everything I can to get it.
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
YAY! They sent me the link this morning and now I'm Silver Certified!
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
bgriffin Wrote:
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> YAY! They sent me the link this morning and now
> I'm Silver Certified!
Congrats! I have Silver Certification too, but honestly, being "certified" is not as important as your: great reports, dependability, ethics and relationship with your scheduler(s).
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> YAY! They sent me the link this morning and now
> I'm Silver Certified!
Congrats! I have Silver Certification too, but honestly, being "certified" is not as important as your: great reports, dependability, ethics and relationship with your scheduler(s).
YAY - you have convinced me to get certified. Are you going to do gold too?
Congrats. I don't know if Silver or gold makes a difference, but I totally agree with SunnyDays2 - Quality is more important than certification.
Any one with $20 and some common sense can get certified, but not everyone has great ethics and quality.
Any one with $20 and some common sense can get certified, but not everyone has great ethics and quality.
C
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"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind..." - Henry Ford
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"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind..." - Henry Ford
When I received my gold certification, I had to physically attend an all day seminar, and pass a test at the end. I did not learn anything that I did not already know. It was supposed to be a networking event with mystery shopping companies but only a few showed up. I thought it was a waste of my time.
There is one company that requires silver certification, so I am going to pay $20 and join for those specific shops. The MSPA website where I sign up to join has a box for: "Apply discount/promo code:_______" Anyone know of a discount/promo code? If not, I will pony up my $20 and join anyway.
Is it permissible to ask which companies give substantial benefits, or demand, the certification?
Ishmael, I'm silver and gold certified and I don't know who requires it and I don't know anyone who pays more. When I certified at each level, it seemed like more opened up to me and from time to time I get an email from a company I don't shop for offering me something because I'm certified. I wish now I'd collected all those emails so I could provide more certain information. The silver is inexpensive and easy. You might want to do that and see if you notice a difference in what comes to you. I noticed a difference on certifying silver, and I noticed another difference on certifying gold. I have a hunch that if you certify and there are a lot of certified shoppers around you, it might not make a great deal of difference. If you're in an outlying area without many certified shoppers, it could be a substantial difference. Certifying will not get you more work if you are not dependable and thorough. It will just open up more opportunities to prove yourself.
Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.
They really should make their website a little more clear. I also signed up for the certification - have wasted my time looking for where to take the test. Luckily I read this thread so I know that the link should be coming.
Got it - common sense test - I will see if this does make a difference. I am also doing the Gold one - anyone doing the video gold cert?
teriraia - Yes, I am working on the Gold. I've done and passed the first two modules. I have to do the video shop narrative to finish. I've been procrastinating (and doing some personal stuff) but hope to get back to it this weekend. I have a hearing problem and just from watching the first few seconds of the video shop I am afraid I might have trouble with it but I guess I will just have to watch it till I get it.
Can you just jump right into the gold or do you need to first get the silver? Also, which company is requirement this?
None of the MSCs "require" gold or silver certification. When completing the application for each MSC they may ask if you are MSPA certified and which certification you have along with your certification number.
Actually I ran across one MSC about 18 months ago that instituted a requirement for certification. I don't remember which one it was. I had completed video shops for them and they allowed me to use my video certification in place of the MSPA certification.
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.
"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.
Linda M - I had to get the silver first but bought them from MSPA at the same time. Now I am waiting for the link to take the Gold test. I don't know if it will make a difference.
This topic has been covered in many other threads but like I have said in the past, getting silver certified was a good decision for me. I started MS'ing at the end of August 2011; I was silver certified in January 2012. It was only $15.00 for me so earning just one extra job from it paid for itself. I work for some MSCs that offer shops to silver- and gold-certified shoppers first before opening it up to other shoppers.
So if a six-digit alphanumeric code and $15.00 (or maybe $20.00 now) will give you a leg up in this business, I say go for it. And the fee is tax-deductible. :-)
So if a six-digit alphanumeric code and $15.00 (or maybe $20.00 now) will give you a leg up in this business, I say go for it. And the fee is tax-deductible. :-)
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“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
“I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.”
~ Jimi Hendrix
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” ~ Mark Twain
“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
So bgriffin, in just two days, you will have been silver certified for three months. What differences have you seen? Would you say it was worth the twenty bucks?
Just wondering....
(heart)
Just wondering....
(heart)
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
stilllearning Wrote:
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> So bgriffin, in just two days, you will have been
> silver certified for three months. What
> differences have you seen? Would you say it was
> worth the twenty bucks?
>
> Just wondering....
>
> (heart)
This wasn't directed to me but I got silver certified not long after BGriffin. For me it has made a small difference with one company. The company states it notifies Silver and Gold shoppers first. Before becoming Silver I could never get the shops because they were taken. Since becoming Silver I have completed 3 shops for them. Although the fees weren't great with this company it was something I would have purchased anyway so getting reimbursed plus a fee was acceptable.
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> So bgriffin, in just two days, you will have been
> silver certified for three months. What
> differences have you seen? Would you say it was
> worth the twenty bucks?
>
> Just wondering....
>
> (heart)
This wasn't directed to me but I got silver certified not long after BGriffin. For me it has made a small difference with one company. The company states it notifies Silver and Gold shoppers first. Before becoming Silver I could never get the shops because they were taken. Since becoming Silver I have completed 3 shops for them. Although the fees weren't great with this company it was something I would have purchased anyway so getting reimbursed plus a fee was acceptable.
Was it worth the $20? Would you do it again?
(heart)
(heart)
I intend to live forever. So far, so good.
I've been Silver Certified since I started out in 2008 and have never noticed much difference. I have two family members (NON certified) who also shop, and I see exactly the same shops they do. Maybe Gold makes a bigger difference.
Having said that, recently, Reality Based (formerly Gamefilm), one of my favorites, has changed the requirements on one of my favorite clients. They now require at least Silver Certification for those shops. If I were not certified, I would probably have gotten certified in order to continue to do those shops. The number of shops I complete for that client varies monthly between 1 and 5, but after the first month, it would have been worth it to me simply for those shops. My non-certified family members can see those shops on the Job Board and they receive e-mail notifications for them, but they cannot accept them.
Having said that, recently, Reality Based (formerly Gamefilm), one of my favorites, has changed the requirements on one of my favorite clients. They now require at least Silver Certification for those shops. If I were not certified, I would probably have gotten certified in order to continue to do those shops. The number of shops I complete for that client varies monthly between 1 and 5, but after the first month, it would have been worth it to me simply for those shops. My non-certified family members can see those shops on the Job Board and they receive e-mail notifications for them, but they cannot accept them.
Definitely worth it for me. The MSC that gogo mentioned (I'm assuming it is the same one) has a client in my area with a single FF shop. It flies off the shelf so to speak and I didn't even know they had it before. I've done it twice in the last 3 months. I can attribute that directly to getting silver certified and being notified of the shop.
Edited to add: The cert cost me $20 and maybe 20 minutes of time. The shop pays $10 and it's at one of the 2 FF burger places that I actually enjoy eating at, so while it may not be a huge return on investment it has paid for itself.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2014 02:00AM by bgriffin.
Edited to add: The cert cost me $20 and maybe 20 minutes of time. The shop pays $10 and it's at one of the 2 FF burger places that I actually enjoy eating at, so while it may not be a huge return on investment it has paid for itself.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2014 02:00AM by bgriffin.
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