I think it will be cheaper for me to simply go to the Universal Sheraton, open a tab at at the bar and invite all the MS reps to come join me. 1 shopper + ??? tipsy MSPA members.

If fact, I'm realizing what an excellent idea that is the more I think about it. If any LA based shoppers want to join me and split the bill, let me know.

@dcrector ; Hey Doug, can you add to the CXE2 agenda a MSF sponsored bar social hour around 9 PM on the 14th?

Last year they held it within 8 miles of where I live. I wanted to join and attend the shop classes and was told that unless I bought the entire package I could not attend.

In hindsight, I should have just went to the bar at the hotel wearing a custom polo shirt saying "Mystery Shopper".

I spoke with Bare Intl and they swore to me that as a sponsor, theyt would not make a local pay for the confrence to take the classes last year.

They blew it for me when they rejected me. I can leave the MSPA cert area blank and any shopping app worth it's salt will have a writing example and a questionnaire that will determine if your a real shopper or not. Watching some old CD's and taking a ridiculous test does not make a shopper of any value.

A valuable shopper has a keen eye and can articulate what is failing in the business, and put it in the report. I have had several companies change the operating procedures at a later shop based on my reports. This tells me that the shopping program at that company is working.

Then there are other companies and locations that I can pull up the previous visit from FOUR months earlier and reword the same issue. No fix and they don't care.

I noticed yesterday on the info page for the Shopperfest that they have added an option to attend the reception only for $50:

[www.mspa-na.org]

I agree with scanman1 that the certifications really don't hold much weight with any companies I like to work with. I don't think the event is really going to be any great opportunity for me to prove myself. It's a party. An opportunity to put a face to a name in some instances. An opportunity for the attending companies to potentially recruit some new shoppers, and to ensure that the baseline shoppers have some of the basic skills required for shops.

My interest in speaking with MSPA reps is not so much about getting assignments anyway. It's about changing the dynamic of shopper interactions. In my experience, that's probably best discussed one-on-one anyway...

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I noticed yesterday on the info page for the Shopperfest that they have added an option to attend the reception only for $50:

[www.mspa-na.org]

I agree with scanman1 that the certifications really don't hold much weight with any companies I like to work with. I don't think the event is really going to be any great opportunity for me to prove myself. It's a party. An opportunity to put a face to a name in some instances. An opportunity for the attending companies to potentially recruit some new shoppers, and to ensure that the baseline shoppers have some of the basic skills required for shops.

My interest in speaking with MSPA reps is not so much about getting assignments anyway. It's about changing the dynamic of shopper interactions. In my experience, that's probably best discussed one-on-one anyway...

Steve says, "Jump." MSPA says, "How high?"

Nice work buddy.

I'm still staying at the hotel. Free with points. Free breakfast. Free manager's cocktails.
No report to write. No dishes to wash. No kids to yell at. Not seeing a downside yet...

Who's going? I'm in.

Wish I was!

I'm going. Just landed at John Wayne and will head to the hotel after grabbing lunch.

I'll be at the manager's happy hour for sure.

See you tonight! I landed at SNA at 10pm last night. Traffic was horrible to ES.

See you tonight...what's with the weather here? Landslide?

@cubbiecat wrote:

See you tonight...what's with the weather here? Landslide?

It's the beginning of El Niño, apparently...

Looking for reports from those who attended. So, how many shoppers were in attendance at the sessions not open to the public? How were the presentations? Any discussions of the sorts of tough questions that have been batted around on the forums?

Inquiring minds want to know!

@walesmaven wrote:

Looking for reports from those who attended. So, how many shoppers were in attendance at the sessions not open to the public? How were the presentations? Any discussions of the sorts of tough questions that have been batted around on the forums?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Totally worth it for me.
Saw lots of old friends, made some new ones.
Got a bunch of stuff lined up now. New "off-the-board" work for me. Booking flights this morning. OMG. It's insane....
Great access to MSP's. They had a nice presentation that had most of us in tears on Saturday.
I know for sure that I have ZERO interest in being a video shopper. (It's not for everyone, obviously.)
Maybe 75 shoppers in attendance? Less for the "open to the public" session. Not a lot of new shoppers, mostly experienced shoppers. Plus, a lot of people got delayed on Friday due to the landslides coming down from Northern CA.

I don't know what tough questions you needed answered? I wish I knew in advance. I'd have asked for you.

I only went for 2 days, as I had work that I needed to get done.

There are some new certifications, that I plan on doing online.

I only attended the opening night events but here's my take on it.....

A. It's really tough to get a quorum of shoppers or MS industry representatives anywhere. We are very spread out, have varied interests, varied levels of experience and each has a unique financial relationship with the industry. While there may be moments to open up a discussion about issues in the industry at an event like this, I don't think that the particularly tough questions can be fully addressed with only a limited number of attendees who each have their own items they want to address.

B. I do think it makes a difference to meet in person if you want to cut through the obvious divide that exists between MSCs and hopers. I did have some good candid discussions with past, current and future heads of the MSPA. Hopefully that will lead to future discussions that are positive. I think that the MSPA board definitely will have a tendency to attend and respond better at one of their own events, and probably one that was more focused on MSCs rather than shoppers. While MSCs will have somewhat varied interests, experiences and finances, shoppers really are all over the place and the focus at any shopper event may be too diverse.

C. This discussion board is a really good barometer for discerning the varied opinions, statuses and desires of shoppers. Some like the MSPA. Some some hate it. Some want education. Some want to socialize. Some don't drink much (and I thank those members for their leftover drink tickets) and others...how can I put it nicely...function better with a drink in their hand. Some just want to make money and others want to travel the world. The one thing that seems to bring most shoppers together, however, is a line for a buffet.

D. I was amazed at how many experienced shoppers and MSCs did take the time to travel across the country and pay to attend an event that potentially could bring limited benefit to them. It was great to catch up with old faces and meet some new ones. I hope everyone that attended was able to take away something positive from the event. in my opinion, the only way that any shopper/MSC event will ever gain the required momentum to make a larger impact on the industry will be when the sponsors find a way to make it more affordable for everyone; Both the attendees and the presenters! When most MSCs will tell you hey have a database of over 100,000 shoppers, having <0.1% of those shoppers and less than 10% of the MSPA membership attend an event for the industry does not give me the impression that it's making a large impact. Market it better and find a way to offer a free buffet for attendees, and it might just gain the critical mass that's needed. Shoppers love a "free" meal!

E. SoCalMama is a whiskey snob! I mean, it's a good thing to be demanding in your choice of beverage, but I would have pegged her as more of a vodka or tequila drinker from our discussions

We have had nothing but positive feedback. I will say we did meet our expectations for shopper attendance and would have exceeded that if it were not for the landslides since we had shoppers driving down from up north.
Next year's Shopperfest will be in May/June of 2016. We will be announcing soon the dates and location.
Hopefully those who are skeptics will join us in 2016.

@dcrector wrote:

I will say we did meet our expectations for shopper attendance and would have exceeded that if it were not for the landslides since we had shoppers driving down from up north.

Well, I would like to see the bar raised on expectations for attendance in the future. If you can get more shoppers there, you can also attract more MSCs that are on the fence about attending.

Outside of the event not being not marketed well to new shoppers, I think the location was also also problematic. There is a proliferation of shoppers in the greater Los Angeles area that don't really want to deal with driving to Anaheim on a Friday night, and public transit to the location was not the most convenient. On top of the landslide issue, it was also far from airports, train stations and such.

Perhaps Doug can offer an explanation, but I don't understand why the event was not held in Universal City, where the CXE3 conference took place. That location is MUCH more convenient to get to, offers entertainment options that would encourage attendance, and has a ton of dining options on site, as well as numerous hotels. Considering the fact that so few attendees were from the immediate area, any savings in pricing for rooms or conference space was probably overshadowed by transportation costs. I can also think of about a dozen locations in Universal CityWalk alone that are mystery shopped, so it would have opened more penitential for crossover with clients that could have attended or presented.

I have to give props to Doug that he was able to tie in one of his clients to the event. I think more items like that in the future would be good for increasing attendance as well.

We learn. The reason we were not in Universal City was the cost. We wanted to make it affordable to shoppers and being in Orange County we had a draw from San Diego. I am already getting emails from shoppers who wanted to attend but couldn't but say they will be at the next one.
We will not be holding the conference in conjunction with CXE3 next year.

Everyone liked the programs that were presented and the fact they did not have to pick and choose what session they wanted to go to (except for Shopper U on Sunday). We had a captive audience for all sessions and everyone had a great time.

The main thing, for those who attended, is to fill out the survey forms because that is how we develop the programs. This is for you the shoppers.

@dcrector wrote:

The reason we were not in Universal City was the cost. We wanted to make it affordable to shoppers and being in Orange County we had a draw from San Diego.

Understood that cost is an issue. Convenience may override that at a certain point, though. You may want to consider creating a survey for all possible attendees, rather than just the ones that attended, where shoppers could vote on a preferred location for future events. I didn't speak with everyone but a large amount of those that I did speak with with flew in, and those from San Diego that I met were staying in the hotel, so positioning it near or at the airport may have saved some travelers more money that a more expensive room or higher conference fees would have cost.

Las Vegas is location where many shoppers have access to free or discounted hotel room and conference space is extremely affordable. With many of the presenters having come from there and that being location which draws interest, it should definitely be in consideration for the future.

If I can offer any other recommendation to the MSPA for making these these events more successful in the future, it's to engage us in a conversation here and on the other social MS sites for input about the conferences. I know that the MSPA prefers their own platform for addressing shoppers, but let's face it; You already have the attention of the shoppers that are MSPA members. If this is truly for ALL shoppers, then engage us in a conversation about it here also. Solicit our input leave us feeling invited and involved. It doesn't have to be a debate. Just post the information or survey and engage us in a professional discussion, like we have here.

I would also say that when it comes to conference planning, you also have a unique resource with shoppers that has been underutilized IMHO. As a hotel shopper, I regularly submit RFPs to hotels and conference centers (The very conference area where the CXE3 was held is one that I evaluate regularly), and probably have just as good of an idea of costs in event planning than many event planners, and certainly more that most MSC owners. Many of us our hospitality experts, so why to put up a thread and solicit suggestions for areas and options to make it an affordable conference in the future?

Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno, Houston, Dallas, Austin, and Phoenix are all appealing and cheap for flights.

I'd do Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh if you want East Coast.

I'm a vodka snob (Belvedere please) and tequila snob (Casa Azul por favor) too.
Whatever nasty well whiskey they had was not going to cut it. Barf.
I'll drink wine until it runs out....

Did any companies besides these 7 have reps there?
QSI
HS Brands
Alta 360
Elite Shopper Force
Coast to Coast Scheduling
Customer Impact
NWLPC

The MSPA site listed 10 MSC sponsors, but I hear that only these 7 actually sent reps. Sure would be glad to hear that there were others present.

@walesmaven wrote:

Did any companies besides these 7 have reps there?
QSI
HS Brands
Alta 360
Elite Shopper Force
Coast to Coast Scheduling
Customer Impact
NWLPC

The MSPA site listed 10 MSC sponsors, but I hear that only these 7 actually sent reps. Sure would be glad to hear that there were others present.

You could ask Pam. She was there.

All of the sponsors for the event were represented as far as I know. If someone missed the DSG table at the reception, there are probably not a very observant mystery shopper...

When you start interacting and working with companies like Coast to Coast or QSI, you also are opening yourself up to many more MSCs as well. I actually received an offer from Coast to Coast this morning that was sent out to Shopperfest attendees in my area.

Jason Bare of BARE was there. He's a doll.

Agree about Jason, but Adrienne is the "doll." Rich is with his MSP (I don't know if he made it public yet, so I will not name it.) Hmm...how did I missed talking to "Mama" and Steve?

Wow! I am in Indianapolis and have not gone to these since Las Vegas, California, etc. was too far away. I would love to go to the Indy one and will be looking for more info on this one. Plus if they have it downtown, I can park at my full time job's parking lot (for free) and walk over. The only paid parking in Indy is downtown.

It is the IMSC conference that will be in Indy in spring 2016, so it will not show up if you search MSPA. Watch for further announcements abut the IMSC conferences. It will have FREE video training.