So, Can We Talk about MSPA Gold Certification...?

Are people who've taken this test, especially recently, allowed to answer this question? I think it's time to take the plunge and become Gold Certified, but money is a huge issue right now, even just a matter of $100-$200. Are the questions so very difficult that it is almost essential to acquire the DVD set, or have any of you paid for the test and passed with just a certain amount of shopping experience behind you? I am sure that I can get at least the majority of the ethical and procedural questions right, having been a regular shopper for about a year and a half now, but I don't know how strict the scoring is & am most likely not going to be able to answer questions like, "Who started such and such a company, and when?" or, "In such and such a state, which of these cannot be done during a mystery shop?"

Does it sound like I would probably pass, or do I really need the DVDs/courses?

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By paying the $75 to take the test you get the DVDs necessary to pass the test. I'm not sure where the mention of $100-$200 comes in. The DVDs include a seminar like portion that probably would be useful in passing the first portion of the test (I didn't bother watching). Then there are some mystery shopping sample videos where you are given the chance to answer some basic questions on your observations of the first shop and write a sample report about the second shop video.

The benefit to me has been that msc's come looking for me. Frequently. I've never had to "sign up with all 200 companies at the bottom of the page and fwiw I think that is just bad advice. It's $75 bucks. If it lands you one good job it is paid for. For life.

~
up, up, down, down, left, right,left,right, B,A, start.

I never bothered to get gold certified and msc's come looking for me too. I'm not at all convinced that gold certification makes any difference and I have more work than I can handle without it.

I am only silver-certified and the MSCs come looking for me also. At this time in my MS'ing life, I do not feel that gold certification is necessary since my calendar is always booked and I have to turn down schedulers. I am almost completely booked through the end of July; the first two weeks of August are already booked.

Reliabilty and high-quality work are always going to be the determining factors in your success, not the certification, but it does look good in the signature line of an email. Yesterday I emailed a scheduler directly to ask for a high-paying job, and got it. I've only done one other job for this MSC before, so even though it was a 10, I haven't built up a solid relationship with them. Maybe the "Gold-certified MSPA member" line under my name helped; I don't know. I agree with Michael C in that if it does get you one job that you wouldn't have landed otherwise, it's worth it--but I think it's GOOD advice to sign up with as many MSCs as possible.

To answer your question, OP, I think you'll be fine. The test was harder than I thought it would be, because I was expecting a cakewalk, but it doesn't have any really obscure questions. I passed it on the first try and they don't tell you your grade. As was pointed out earlier, though, it's not a question of whether or not to get the DVD course because the DVDs ARE the course.

"The future ain't what it used to be." --Yogi Berra

Save your money

I had tons of shops/lots of calls and THEN signed for silver. I found it is not the silver or the gold that the scheduler seeks, but rather a good, dependable shopper!

An added question to this topic - is it worth it to sign up for an MSPA membership ($25 on the North American site)? I'm a brand new MS, looking to get a good start. I tried searching the sites (global and na) to find out the costs and effort involved in silver and gold but I can't seem to find the right page without being asked to sign up for a membership. I called and left a message, but maybe I could save a bit of time trying to find out by asking the experts here! What is the difference in cost for silver and gold and where do I go to sign up if I'm interested (I may not be after reading some of these postings)?

Also (and please forgive me if this question needs to be its own topic), how would you suggest I get a rating with jobslinger/Sassie? I'm not getting the jobs I'm applying for so far, but I feel as though it is because I'm in that "have to have experience to get a job, but have to have a job to get experience" loop. Thanks for your input!

You may get better results if you post your second question in the New Mystery Shoppers area of the forum.

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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So, Can We Talk about MSPA Gold Certification...?

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