What is the value of having an MSPA certification?

Either Silver or Gold or whatever else that company offers.

Thoughts, folks?

Thanks as always,

Brian

This has been discussed repeatedly, with no real resolution, since we all have different ideas. Do a search for Certification, MSPA, Gold, and Silver, and you can read what everyone thinks.

AustinMom Wrote:
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> This has been discussed repeatedly, with no real
> resolution, since we all have different ideas. Do
> a search for Certification, MSPA, Gold, and
> Silver, and you can read what everyone thinks.

Thanks for the reply, AustinMom

I have been shopping for 8 years. I am Silver Certified. I am not sure if it matters or not. I request a bonus on lots of shops and usually get the bonus. I also score mostly 10s. I think if you have a good rapport with the MSC and scheduler that would be enough. I just haven't gotten around to the Gold. I get emails from companies that I don't belong to. Does any one know for sure? I also take all the certifications required with some of the MSC's.

Some people think it makes a difference, some don't. Seems to me it's a small enough price for the Silver that if it makes any difference at all, it's worth getting. (For $20, one additional shop you wouldn't have otherwise gotten pays for the fee.) Some schedulers have stated that they give preference to certified shoppers when more than one shopper is asking for the job. I believe I did one job once where being Silver certified was a requirement.

The thing is, unless you can compare notes with someone, you'll never really know what shops you weren't seeing before you got certified to be able to tell if it matters or not. I consider it similar to getting a college degree. It might open doors to opportunities and land you a high-paying job. It shows you're a serious shopper trying to make a living at this, not someone who just shops to fill spare time or get the occasional free dinner with hubby. On the other hand, someone without a college degree but who has good connections could do just as well as the graduate, and a seasoned shopper with a great reputation will probably do as well without a certificate. But both of them have to do the work to keep the job.

Your answer will vary widely, especially between shoppers who are and are not certified.

Agent 99 Wrote:
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> Some people think it makes a difference, some
> don't. Seems to me it's a small enough price for
> the Silver that if it makes any difference at all,
> it's worth getting. (For $20, one additional shop
> you wouldn't have otherwise gotten pays for the
> fee.) Some schedulers have stated that they give
> preference to certified shoppers when more than
> one shopper is asking for the job. I believe I
> did one job once where being Silver certified was
> a requirement.
>
> The thing is, unless you can compare notes with
> someone, you'll never really know what shops you
> weren't seeing before you got certified to be able
> to tell if it matters or not. I consider it
> similar to getting a college degree. It might
> open doors to opportunities and land you a
> high-paying job. It shows you're a serious
> shopper trying to make a living at this, not
> someone who just shops to fill spare time or get
> the occasional free dinner with hubby. On the
> other hand, someone without a college degree but
> who has good connections could do just as well as
> the graduate, and a seasoned shopper with a great
> reputation will probably do as well without a
> certificate. But both of them have to do the work
> to keep the job.


You just talked me into getting Silver Certified. Thank you! If it helps me get jobs shoppers without it are competing for, it's worth $20 and the time involved to get the certification.

These days you need to have a college degree to do the same job you did your whole life without one if you start looking for a new job in the same field! One of the reasons I'm a mystery shopper today, although I do not make a living from it and probably never will.

People with degrees are working at McDonald's and other fast food restaurants today, just to have a job. Nothing is how it used to be, thanks to the recession and greed of corporations.

I recently ordered the Gold CD's but it's been two weeks and they haven't arrived yet. Just sent them a message about it. I'm a bit disgusted that it's taking so long. I got an email saying they got my money and I could check the status of my order by signing in but all that shows is that they got the $75 payment. I can't find any sign of the order itself, let alone what its "status" might be.

I've had silver for a couple of years and I'm one of the ones who believes I started seeing higher priced shops on some MSC's right after I entered the code number on my profiles.

Thanks all for the input.

Brian

I have had the "gold" CD's sitting on my desk for about a year. Just cannot muster up the energy to watch them. I am silver certified - don't really know if it made that much of a difference but it was only $20 and very easy to do.

does it cost to have the mspa certification
and how do you get the certfication thanks

Yes there is a cost. Go to the MSPA website (mysteryshop.org) and look for "certification."

I, too, have the Gold and did the first 2 modules but am trying to muster up the energy to deal with the third module. My problem is that I think the third module is a very poor video recording so I think I will have to watch it several times in order to do the assignment.

Here's something I've never seen before:

Pay is $40 plus bonuses
Rules for the bonuses are outlined in the Guidelines
-$7 for a 12 hour turnaround time
-$5 for MSPA GOLD Shoppers <================


Not going to say who the company is, but I found it interesting that at least one MSC is willing to pay more for credentials.

Mea culpa; I was wrong about details of the changes concerning Siler and Gold Certification. Edited to clarify. My original statement, shown below in brackets, was incorrect. A colleague sent me the following email:
" I saw your post on Mystery Shop forum and wanted to give you clarification on what the MSPA president said so you are giving accurate information.

"Silver testing has gone away (and one day gold will be phased out as well) and being replaced by education modules. Silver and gold members will have grandfathered status in the new structure, so you will not lose the value of what you have already invested in. You can find the intro course which is FREE to members after you log in here (all on the member page): [mspana.ps.membersuite.com];
--

[At the IMSC conference we were told that MSPA is totally phasing out their support and recognition of the gold and silver certifications. Even current holders' certs will not be recognized or supported by them. ] This bracketed statement was my error.

What follows is the remainder of my original post:
Looks like they want to launch some training modules, each of which will have a seperate fee to attend on line.

Funny, IMSC members ($50 per year) have access to free online training and a job board where any MSC that fails to pay shoppers will not be permitted to post, once nonpayment has been reported. Where do you think MSPA got their new training ideas? AND, when will they follow suit and disallow posting jobs on their site when an MSC is in arrears on shopper payments?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2014 03:25PM by walesmaven.

if I will get more shops in my area with Gold Certification I will do it tomorrow..but regardless of certifications..nothing changes..so I decided to get Silver and have it for 5 years without going up...

I'm confused.... how was MSPA "supporting" them in the first place? I thought it was just documentation of the shopper having passed a test and given a number that verified back to a database that yes, the shopper did indeed have the certification. Are they taking down the database, so MSCs won't be able to verify the numbers any more?

They're still taking money for the tests, which sounds a bit fraudulent if they're planning to eliminate the program and will be abandoning the people who got the certs in the first place.

MSPA "supported" the certifications by making it possible for member MSCs to verify that a shopper was certified. They will probably take down the data base that verifies our certification codes.

I'd sure like to know what they think they will accomplish by basically betraying everyone who ever got a certification in the past.

I recently ordered the Gold, was told it would be shipping "in a few weeks" (after it had already been over 2 weeks since I paid) and I told them to cancel the order and refund the charge after I read what you wrote.

This is just plain wrong to still be taking money from people for it if they're about to render the certifications worthless. If I don't get confirmation of the cancellation by Monday, I'll do a chargeback on the credit card (if I can remember which one I charged it on).

They want to roll out a pay-to-play set of training modules that they think will be more profitable for them. Same reason that they suddenly decided to invite shoppers to a "fest."

Why would I turn for training to an organization that lobbies for the interests of the MSCs, regardless of the impacts on shoppers?

What would "shopper member status" with MSPA do for me? Sorry; no sale.

wales the very group that tells you to watch out for
scams....is scamming shoppers right before their eyes.

Typical of those type of schemes....acting under
the guise of being legitimate.

BTW, I have been gold certified since 2005. So, it is not just a matter of being against certification.

Techman,I assume you refer to MSPA?

I have edited my original post about changes to certifications, but will also post here what a colleague sent to me to correct my error. I apologize for the error about grandfathering of current certifications. My opinion of the change to paid training modules is not altered by the fact that "shopper members" get the first such module for free.

Correction is as folows:

I saw your post on Mystery Shop forum and wanted to give you clarification on what the MSPA president said so you are giving accurate information.

"Silver testing has gone away (and one day gold will be phased out as well) and being replaced by education modules. Silver and gold members will have grandfathered status in the new structure, so you will not lose the value of what you have already invested in. You can find the intro course which is FREE to members after you log in here (all on the member page): [mspana.ps.membersuite.com];
--

Maybe I'll let the order stand then, but I'm still more than annoyed that it is taking five weeks or more to get the DVD's and they don't bother to tell you this when you order. Most online orders ship within a few days. If they were out of stock or backordered, I should have been told that within a week of my order, not reluctantly after I inquired two weeks later. (They never did explain why the order doesn't even show up on my account so I can check the status; the receipt was there but no pending order.) I'm not impressed with how they're handling these issues at all.

One way the Gold can help me in the future, lol: Have it mentioned in my obituary so all my friends who are still alive will be amazed since they had no clue (I hope.) that I was a mystery shopper.

I had intended to get the Gold. The cost is a little high if I am just testing to see if I get better/more work. I think the Silver helped. Mystery shopping is not my main source of income but it has been.

It would be nice if I got better paying shops now, but I have pulled in geographically. The only time I take a mystery shop in a nearby county is when I have another paying reason to go there with my other job. I have lots of work with limited time to fit in a distant mystery shop unless I get some mileage, too. Considering that MSC's can refuse our good work, it does make other similarly-paying work a lot easier by comparison. We have to like mystery shopping to stay with it. We are always trying for a goal on a shop but sometimes not reaching it through no or little fault of our own. (A recent upset with a long-time company is making me negative.)

I agree that the educational modules will probably be more costly. Maybe there will be modules on each type of mystery shopping like those annoying tests that some of the MSC's have. Then we would have to pay for each one.

On July 27 I paid $20.00 (via credit card) then took and passed the quiz for Silver Certification. After completing everything the website didn't give me any kind of certification number so I could not enter a certification number into any of the MSC's websites that ask for that number. I have sent numerous emails to MSPA asking for my certification number but the emails keep getting "bounced back" and it is verrrry frustrating. Does anyone out there have any suggestions?

Thanks.

I went to the website and found a "contact us" thing and asked about my recent issue and I got a reasonably prompt email reply. I replied to the reply to my web inquiry and that went through because it had come from a person, not an automatic system. I also got a reply to my reply.

So I'd try that because an inquiry through their website isn't going to bounce back because it's not an email.

parkcitybrian Wrote:
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> On July 27 I paid $20.00 (via credit card) then
> took and passed the quiz for Silver Certification.
> After completing everything the website didn't
> give me any kind of certification number so I
> could not enter a certification number into any of
> the MSC's websites that ask for that number. I
> have sent numerous emails to MSPA asking for my
> certification number but the emails keep getting
> "bounced back" and it is verrrry frustrating. Does
> anyone out there have any suggestions?
>
> Thanks.

Will try that, dspeakes,

Thanks

I have gotten more higher paying shop offers since being Silver Certified. It has definitely been worth the $20 fee. Getting video certified was where the real money started to come. The equipment paid for itself in the first few shops. Gold? I am thinking about it but not sure yet.....