Smartphone recommendation for $16?

I’m thinking about tackling some of these, but I’m wary because of past experiences being so negative, like being required to wait up to 35 minutes to be helped and then not being paid even though I waited the entire 35 minutes.

Have you done them? Difficulty on a scale of 1-5? Time consuming? Questionnaire difficulty; again on a scale of 1-5? Time in store? Any helpful hints?

I really don’t want to do them, but they are the only local shops that don’t require out of pocket expense, and I’m more than moderately desperate, so….any help/info deeply appreciated! (And I’m not in your area, unless you’re close to Eureka, CA- - and if you are, let’s meet for coffee!).

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There are different types of shops for different clients. I'll do the Samsung shops (start out at $16), but I avoid the Google shops (start out at an insulting $12) like the plague - those are the ones with a whole pile of stupid narratives. The Samsung reports are easy - it's all pick boxes unless there's something weird you need to explain.

Make sure to use Timestamp Camera (or something similar) for all the pictures, and if the address it populates isn't the exact address of the store, leave a note about it in the form so it doesn't come back to you.

Some shops only require two pictures, some require three or more; you'll soon figure out which ones are which. The Samsung appliance and TV shops are easy as well but may require slightly different photos (such as price tags, displays, etc.)

Edited to add: if you want to make it easy on yourself, try to select the same scenario/product across as many shops as possible. It's easy to get confused when you've got a mix of different phone models along with tablets, earbuds, front-load washers, top-load washers, etc.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/10/2024 03:45AM by drdoggie00.
Hmm... haven't heard from our favorite cell phone shopper in a while. I thought he would have chimed in by now.
@Mellifluy wrote:

Hmm... haven't heard from our favorite cell phone shopper in a while. I thought he would have chimed in by now.
He's busy figuring out how to deduct all those lost $16 payments from his taxes as "Shopper Depreciation."

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown
To avoid the wait, if I was in that area anyway, I preferred to look to see how many people were inside and then self-assign on the spot.
@bluenyc wrote:

To avoid the wait, if I was in that area anyway, I preferred to look to see how many people were inside and then self-assign on the spot.

Kind of like the cable company shops. I always set an appointment online. Last one I did I was called right after I hit enter signing in.
Not going to recommend any shops, but I will tell you how I do it and why. I do NOT do AT&T shops, not for any amount of money because I used to do the AT&T audits. I will do some of the smaller brands, like Cricket, T-Mobile and such as a new customer, but I haven't in a long time. I will pick up a Verizon corporate store shop, never an "approved retailer." And I carefully choose which shops, I don't do any scenarios that involve iPhones or Apple products, because I'm a terrible liar and I severely dislike Apple products in all of their forms. Since I am a Verizon customer, I don't do new customer scenarios, because they ping your phone and look for you in their system when you arrive (I have been greeted at the door by my name). I do upgrade and adding a line shops for mid-tier and premium Android devices, especially tablets, because it's getting close to time to upgrade my tablet (it is 4 years old and there are several newer updated versions of it now).

Does that help?
I just don't like taking a selfy outside of the store. When I have to with Shell, I use the AI tool on my phone to remove my face.
@KingDouglasTheGreat wrote:

I just don't like taking a selfy outside of the store. When I have to with Shell, I use the AI tool on my phone to remove my face.

Why the extra step? Just take the pic of your torso with vest. Upload. Done.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2024 11:43AM by sestrahelena.
Cease, I am aware I have not directly responded to your query.

IF you ever have the opportunity to select Cricket compliance audits, do not hesitate. I have been paid from $20 to $55 and with but two exceptions, the prep, travel, visit and report have totaled less than an hour. The exceptions were MY choice to remain in the store.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2024 01:06PM by shopperbob.
@shopperbob wrote:

Cease, I am aware I have not directly responded to your query.

IF you ever have the opportunity to select Cricket compliance audits, do not hesitate. I have been paid from $20 to $55 and with but two exceptions, the prep, travel, visit and report have totaled less than an hour. The exceptions were MY choice to remain in the store.

Strangely, I picked up one of those last month. After reading the guidelines, I emailed the scheduler and cancelled. Reminded me too much of the AT&T “review” (different MSC, who insisted on not calling it an audit) that was a time-consuming nightmare. I would not touch one of those again for less than $100. And even though it’s two different MSCs, the guidelines were too close to identical to be coincidental.
Cease, the Cricket audits are not like the ATT audits at all. They are easy and quick. Keep it in mind for next time.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain
@ceasesmith wrote:

@shopperbob wrote:

Cease, I am aware I have not directly responded to your query.

IF you ever have the opportunity to select Cricket compliance audits, do not hesitate. I have been paid from $20 to $55 and with but two exceptions, the prep, travel, visit and report have totaled less than an hour. The exceptions were MY choice to remain in the store.

Strangely, I picked up one of those last month. After reading the guidelines, I emailed the scheduler and cancelled. Reminded me too much of the AT&T “review” (different MSC, who insisted on not calling it an audit) that was a time-consuming nightmare. I would not touch one of those again for less than $100. And even though it’s two different MSCs, the guidelines were too close to identical to be coincidental.
They're night and day apart, cease. You're missing out on easy "shooting fish in a barrel" money. The Cricket audits are taking a few pictures of the Apple display and promo materials for the phone payment plan, then asking an employee a handful of questions. The employee has notes/job aids, and they frequently read the answer back word for word. It's not uncommon to be in and out in under 20 minutes.

Money doesn't get much easier.

Edited to add: Cricket is a subsidiary of AT&T (uses their network); hence the same verbiage calling it a review, not an audit.

If your path dictates you walk through hell, do it as though you own the place. -unknown


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/12/2024 05:07PM by drdoggie00.
I do both the AT&T and Cricket reviews. They are not the same at all. It should be impossible for the employee to fail the Cricket review since it is an open book and they can even phone a friend. Some of the answers are 2 paragraphs long. A few photos are needed. Generally, they take me about 15 minutes each.

I don't mind the AT&T reviews, but they take longer. Some of the wording is odd, and some responses remind me of "yes, we have no bananas, we have no bananas today."
@ceasesmith wrote:

@shopperbob wrote:

Cease, I am aware I have not directly responded to your query.

IF you ever have the opportunity to select Cricket compliance audits, do not hesitate. I have been paid from $20 to $55 and with but two exceptions, the prep, travel, visit and report have totaled less than an hour. The exceptions were MY choice to remain in the store.

Strangely, I picked up one of those last month. After reading the guidelines, I emailed the scheduler and cancelled. Reminded me too much of the AT&T “review” (different MSC, who insisted on not calling it an audit) that was a time-consuming nightmare. I would not touch one of those again for less than $100. And even though it’s two different MSCs, the guidelines were too close to identical to be coincidental.

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
These are really easy to do. Really easy and quick form to fill out. I will do a bunch that are all the same area, one right after the other. I schedule them out the last available day - with these you can do them any day between the start date and the last day. If a store is too crowded I come back another day and if I can’t it just comes off the shop log and there is no penalty. I only do the smartphone ones not the earbuds or watches as it would seem weird to go into a phone store just for those and to inquire about Samsung ones when I have an iPhone.
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