@CoatClosetCommando wrote:

While it seems like the average age of the conference participants may be around mid-50s to early 60s, it was nice to see some younger faces from the midwest. They were a little weird, but fun to talk to. If this was a small sample of the mystery shop industry, then I may enjoy it for a while to supplement my income and try new things.

What made the "younger faces...a little weird?"

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2016 11:52AM by Sybil2.

There is so much gold in this post.

Thank you!

I use my cell phone all the time to take notes, do Google searches on a related topic or bookmark a website that the speaker is referencing in their presentation. I am not watching crazy cat videos while attending a conference. Some attendees of the IMSC conferences do not have to pay; their fees are comped.

Pen and paper are old school. There is nothing wrong with that for some people just like there is nothing wrong with using technology for other people.

I'm fairly certain I use my cell pretty constantly at both conferences I've been to. Sometimes to take notes, sometimes to check the schedule, sometimes to randomly surf the web during incredibly boring speakers like @walesmaven

I made a point of introducing myself to and engaging as many shoppers as I could during the break times. I especially sought out younger shoppers and found them very responsive when asked about their impressions of specific workshops and presentations.

In addition, they were full of questions that indicated that they were serious about ramping up their shopping skills. They kept me, and other presenters, busy answering questioning at breaks and well into the evenings. We were answering questions in the bar, in the restrooms, as we walked between venues before the first session of the day and heading back to the hotel (1/4 to 1/2 mile of hallways!). I got ambushed when getting coffee at 6:30 AM!

I was on the same plane returning home with several shoppers and we were holding a mini workshop in the airport waiting area. Then I sat with a scheduler and a very experienced shopper on the plane and learned all about the shop that they were doing; that's right, doing at that moment. One of the legs of my homebound journey had three veteran and well known shoppers doing MS evaluations of the flight. I learned a ton of new stuff in the 47 minutes from Louisville to where we all had to change planes and in the two hour layover that we shared at that airport!

Seriously, everyone who spoke was exhilarated by the responsiveness and thirst (for information, folks, not for wine) of the shoppers. The MSCs in attendance had a field day recruiting experienced shoppers of all ages. The folks from Shopmetrics were over the moon about the feedback they got when they asked for add-ons that shoppers wanted in their new system release. This was one intense group folks!!!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2016 10:38AM by walesmaven.

I think I am considered in the middle of young and old at early 40's! I was at the conference and took notes on my phone, looked up companies and speakers that were presenting, installed the shop-it app as it was suggested during one of the sessions and installed one of the presenters specific app used specifically for shopping their clients.

The cost of the conference itself was not bad but transportation and lodging was the bulk of the expense for me. I got a lot out of the time and made some excellent contacts of shoppers of varying experience levels, along with great organizational contacts.

Some participants were in the middle, at the end or soon to begin a route. I know many of us had recently submitted reports. Shoppers are frequently in contact with schedulers and editors. Some of the participants were editors/schedulers too and may have needed to help a shopper. I don't feel there was much disruption with this practice and we were reminded to step outside if we needed to take calls that needed attention.

Oh. I have emailed schedulers who were on the other side of the room during conferences lol.

@bgriffin wrote:

I'm fairly certain I use my cell pretty constantly at both conferences I've been to. Sometimes to take notes, sometimes to check the schedule, sometimes to randomly surf the web during incredibly boring speakers like @walesmaven

If you make a meme of walesmaven with a a cat's head speaking, it makes the conference much more interesting!

Sounds like there are quite a few younger weird shoppers out. Let's throw in some tats, piercings and purple hair with cells phone at the ready. Younger weird shoppers unite!

Just their way of hiding in plain sight, which they do quite well.

@walesmaven, who? The cats or the young weird shoppers?

The young shoppers who would go quite unnoticed among their peers.

@CoatClosetCommando wrote:

The younger shoppers that I saw seemed to be more engaged on their cell phones than actively listening to the host of speakers that the conference offered. I was surprised, considering how much money some of these young folk put up for attending the IMSC. Not all of the younger shoppers that I saw did this, but to each is own? It must be a sign of the times. I hope that they got theyre monies worth.

One of the representatives from an MSC (not an editor, but in management) typically sat at one of the "shopper tables", rather than their MSC table. I'm sure they were extremely busy with various goings-on at their MSC, which required their attention.

Like many who mystery shop, I do it part-time outside of my full-time job. And like others, my job doesn't allow me to simply unplug from the world and disappear for a period of time, and required my occasional checking-in on things.

In general, people you will find at a conference are typically self-selected to be those who take it seriously. If they take it seriously enough to spend the money and devote the time to attend, they likely have the maturity and sense to be able to make a sound choice in choosing to mentally break away from the current focus because they have other important things they need to also focus on, or they don't find it to be something in particular that they need to hear or learn about.

@Sybil2 wrote:

If you make a meme of walesmaven with a a cat's head speaking, it makes the conference much more interesting!

I don't think @walesmaven needs the help

I didn't notice Servanne drinking Redbull!

Wales (oracle lol) it was nice to meet you and glad I got to share some wine with you that last night at the restaurant. Bgriff sorry you didn't make it this time maybe I'll get to meet you in Vegas next year. I was also sorry Lisa couldn't come. I brought a few bottles of my husband's red wine that I ended up drinking alone!

Coatcloset: everything is expensive at a casino. Buy your cigarettes offsite.

Hey Coat, did you actually go by the sponsors (MSCs) tables and gather cards, flyers, network, etc.? If you had, you would have found that it's Melinda, as in "Melinda Brody and Company" and Kathy Hart from Clear Evaluations--more than just speakers and/or trainers. Doling out that much money on a conference and not going by to personally interact with the MSCs seems like you may not have been utilizing all of the resources available to you and getting your money's worth...just sayin'.

@walesmaven wrote:

One of the legs of my homebound journey had three veteran and well known shoppers doing MS evaluations of the flight

Those are mystery shopped too?

@CoatClosetCommando wrote:

Her assistant (a lady that had a thick european accent like Dutch or French) kept everyone smiling and had everyone's attention to the speakers and topic with her quips. I think that she drinks a lot of Red Bull, but she is approachable.

I am glad you had a positive experience, but I am dying over here! LOL!

OK, so I am indeed French, but is my accent really that thick? I don't hear it! Haha!

Also, I do not drink Red Bull! LOL! That's just who I am... all the time... without any kind of stimulants...

Hahahahaha!!!!! My goodness we had a blast! I just wish I knew who you guys were. You know, in case I did something compromising! ;-)

Servanne, you were funny and charming, and easily understood. Both Dutch and French accents are indeed charming, but yours is not thick.

I was fortunate to also attend the conference as a relative newbie. Kudos to Pam and the IMSC for putting on a great conference. I got so much out of it my head is still spinning.

I picked up so many tidbits it is hard to say which is the most valuable. It was fantastic being able to network with all the MSC owners/representatives and experience shoppers.

Wow! Obviously I met more folks from these forums than I knew!

Servanne, you have a lovely, but unidentifiable, inflection, but no discernible accent.

Everyone I met at IMSC was just wonderful! Including Servanne and her fantastic personality. Why didn't I see this thread sooner??

@walesmaven wrote:

Wow! Obviously I met more folks from these forums than I knew!

Servanne, you have a lovely, but unidentifiable, inflection, but no discernible accent.

Like Servanne, I don't have an accent either.......

Actually, Servanne has a Minnesota accent.

Maybe the people on their phones were mystery shopping the conference facility.

Thanks for taking the time to type up your impressions, @CoatClosetCommando. I have yet to make it to a mystery shopping conference and you inspired me to work harder to make it happen.

Funny. I think Servanne has a lovely, albeit light, French accent. On the other hand it is almost impossible to understand a damn thing bgriffin says through that heavy drawl.