Any idea if the July meeting will be held this year? In Pittsburgh last year many shoppers asked MSPA to release dates/city early so that those of us with children could make proper arrangements.

I tried contacting MSPA but didn't receive reply. Thanks!

From their homepage:
MSPA North America to Meet in Las Vegas
The 2009 MSPA N.A. Annual Conference will be held October 7-9, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. With $69 rooms(!) and an unparalleled program, this will be an event not to be missed.

Joan G. that is for the mystery shop companies and NOT for shopper's... "our" convention is held prior to theirs and ours is generally announced prior to theirs since it is earlier in the year!

That could be, but the same info regarding the shopper's conference was posted on volition by Lorri Kern (KSS and mspa board member). Perhaps they're planning to have the 2 conferences coincide to get more msp reps at the shopper's conference.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2009 04:26PM by JoanG.

I think I remember reading somewhere that for this year they were going to try to hold both at the same time. Maybe on V after last years conference.

Good memory Dee. A shopper posted that at last year's conference the mspa had mentioned combining the 2.

Thanks, I have sent Lorrie a message, will post info. when I have it - just hope with the economy we have a conference to attend ... last year's was fun!

Here is our answer, straight from a former Board Member of MSPA:

The MSPA has decided to discontinue all future shopper conferences due to lack of interest and low attendance by shoppers.

Oh goodie. It is cheaper to print more CDs to sell for $99 than to actually DO anything . . .

I would not have considered going anyway; it's pretty far down my list of important things to spend money on, especially since we have not had a family vacation in a long time.

I don't know how many shoppers go to these, but I do read that the ones that went thought it was valuable. I think this is just one more instance of a bad economy affecting businesses. But I also think it is yet another way the MSPA has shown that they are really only about the MSC's. They just want our money, they don't really want to help us or be bothered by us.

Someone said that less than 200 shoppers went to the one last year.

Last year's was poorly attended, I was one that attended - fun, met interesting people, learned quite a bit ... AND wrote it off on my taxes because it was "continuing education" for a business venture I file a tax return for.

The way it was handled (or rather NOT handled) says it all, MSPA is not interested in shoppers nor do they have our best interest at heart.

I was planning on attending this year for all of the reasons stated above, if you can write it off and get coverage on the "home front" ... why not???

I have always believed MSPA was created and is maintained for the MSPs not the shoppers............from us, they see cash flow for silver/gold and a means to get MSPs jobs scheduled. They don't jump in when a member MSP is stiffing shoppers on pay, etc. If economy is the reason, why are they having the other convention??? And yes, I believe the $99 gold DVD was put into place to eliminate the shopper conferences........that was decided before the economy got so bad............

Boycott gold certification for those who haven't gone that route ... attending the conference is worthwhile and dynamic. Last year they kept repeating "bad economy = better mystery shopping business" .... let me know when us shoppers see that happening!

Bet internal troubles brewing @ MSPA ....

Frankly, getting gold certification was not something that had even semi-seriously crossed my mind. With the economy in the situation it is in, Warren Buffett's quote, "It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked" is probably as applicable to mystery shopping as it is to the financial institutions which inspired it. Many companies will be doing whatever they need to in order to survive, many clients will be doing whatever they need to in order to survive and neither of these scenarios will make things easier for a professional association attempting to keep peace in the family. Since the MSPA has never been one to enhance the situation for shoppers, I don't sense that its death or survival is particularly relevant to me. And indeed if their perception is that a bad economy will make it better for mystery shopping they have little grip on reality.

c'est la vie - de nada - oh, well - no skin off my nose.

"Boycott gold certification for those who haven't gone that route ... attending the conference is worthwhile and dynamic" ??!! Have never paid to shop. If I lived a few miles from the conference and would not have to expend $$, I may go for the fun of it.

Unfortunately many Msing newcomers MSing get sucked into thinking gold cert. is ONLY way to obtain lucrative jobs ... they don't want to hear the concept of building a solid reputation, taking less desirable job to get noticed, forming relationship with schedulers -- THE ROUTE to go and don't cost a dime!

President of company that shops major east coast sporting goods store and movie theaters is the one who kept shouting loud and proud "impending poor economic outlook means more jobs with decent pay for shoppers", this was never challenged by other MSPA members.... must listen but keep your head on straight and take it for what it is worth.

I agree that a lot of newbies think they NEED to get certified to get shops.
I get emails from newbies daily asking me this.......along w/other questions.
I shopped a long time w/out any certification but did do the silver although it only prolly has given me an edge on a few shops. I never went the gold route as I have plenty of shops and don't see the advantage of gold.
Some swear by it..to each its own.

I only got silver as it was the only way to get a foot in the door to get one restaurant shop I wanted at one particular MSC. It worked, and I have more than made back that $15, but $99 for gold? Nope, not happening for me! I do know personally, through another shopper I know who has forwarded me some jobs when my hubby took the huge pay cut last Dec., that as a gold shopper she did see offers I did not from firms we were both registered with. Decent jobs, but not worth going that route, for me. I still think while the intention may have been right when the certification started out, that it is not worth much now. The solver I passed without reading the material. I hear the gold is common sense as well.

All in all most of us have gone "silver" for small money and worked to build our own reputation and savvy enough to register with 100+ firms.

Too bad we can't travel and have some fun when it basically is a free trip after claiming it on our MS taxes!

I, too, am silver certified. But, I won't seek gold certification either. I don't trust the MSPA anymore. They have lost all credibility with me. Their customer service is horrendous, at best. Several job postings are out of date. THe server has been down several times. And, another shopper I met has told me that she found out from an MSPA client that did attend the last conference for MS companies, that MSPA execs were badmouthing the mystery shoppers who attended their own conference as being !@#$#%%^^ pathetic losers. It may be heresay. But, I wouldn't put it past MSPA execs. After all, it takes a loser to know one. Fortunately, the laws of physics will prevail and negative behavior will be rewarded with negative profits, negative publicity, etc. Personally, I hope I get to meet the clowns who dared say such nonsense about mystery shoppers. I wonder if they would dare to say it to our faces?!

unitechpetro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I, too, am silver certified. But, I won't seek
> gold certification either. I don't trust the MSPA
> anymore. They have lost all credibility with me.
> Their customer service is horrendous, at best.
> Several job postings are out of date. THe server
> has been down several times. And, another shopper
> I met has told me that she found out from an MSPA
> client that did attend the last conference for MS
> companies, that MSPA execs were badmouthing the
> mystery shoppers who attended their own conference
> as being !@#$#%%^^ pathetic losers. It may be
> heresay. But, I wouldn't put it past MSPA execs.
> After all, it takes a loser to know one.
> Fortunately, the laws of physics will prevail and
> negative behavior will be rewarded with negative
> profits, negative publicity, etc. Personally, I
> hope I get to meet the clowns who dared say such
> nonsense about mystery shoppers. I wonder if they
> would dare to say it to our faces?!


You can't be serious. You come here, and in one day make 6 posts, all quite negative.


I have no particular love for the MSPA. I would hesitate to call their board "losers", though. What business it is that you have built in your life that is the equivalent of the business these people worked to build? Have you looked them up and read their backgrounds?

They may not care about the shopper, true. But are they "losers?" Not in my book. I would hate to see what would constitute a "winner" in your world. Does it involve suing people with or without merit, as I saw in another post where you state proudly that you have sued several companies?

Beyond that, you say they made fun of the shoppers as pathetic losers, and that "it takes one to know one." Now, you just put yourself in the same category. Not only have you trashed the MSPA board without any personal experience, just hearsay, but you have also, by how you phrased this, bashed some shoppers here who do attend those conventions (and have participated in conversations here for MUCH longer than you have.)

Have you ever heard of "lurking"? I would love to see you lurk and stop throwing your negativity around here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2009 01:04AM by dee shops.

Okay. Thanks! I hereby retract my above comment and respond with a more carefully thought-out reply.

You state: Beyond that, you say they made fun of the shoppers as pathetic losers, and that "it takes one to know one." Now, you just put yourself in the same category. Not only have you trashed the MSPA board without any personal experience, just hearsay, but you have also, by how you phrased this, bashed some shoppers here who do attend those conventions (and have participated in conversations here for MUCH longer than you have.)"

My reply: If you recall, I state in my post that Their customer service is horrendous, at best. Several job postings are out of date. THe server has been down several times. This is my own personal experience with them. Where in my comments do you infer that it wasn't personal experience?

Also, I invest my time pursuing and completing mystery shopping assignments. Therefore, I don't have a lot of time to be frequenting forums. The fact that other forum authors have been here longer doesn't weaken my credibility. I have performed over 300 mystery shopping assignments, just in the last year, alone.

I've done movie theatre audits, restaurants, banks, investment firms, technical colleges, online gaming, phone shops, arcades, etc. I'm registered with 100+ MSP's. Many have gone under for lack of profit, poor client management, not paying shoppers, etc. I just delete them from my database.

I haven't mentioned them, here, because they aren't worth the time it takes to write one sentence about my experience with them. But, the MSPA is supposed to be an association representing the interests and rights of mystery shoppers. Therefore, I expect more from the MSPA. The shopper I spoke to has, herself, been a mystery shopper for much longer than I have. She told me that she was a gold member of the MSPA.

The client who related the incident to her (mentioned above) became friends with her after it was determined (following several "revealed" shops) that the owner was personally observing the mystery shoppers assigned to her stores for compliance. And, apparently, that mystery shopper was hired directly by the owner to continue her "shopping" duties, as she is very discreet. No doubt, the owner was also very upset by the comments made to her at the MSPA convention she attended.

But, since I don't have proof that this really happened, I apologize if I stepped on any shoppers toes on this forum. Here's an idea: someone post a poll on this forum asking shoppers to rate (on a scale from 1 to 10) their overall satisfaction with the MSPA---assuming this is even allowed by the MSPA execs who apparently rule this kingdom...just kidding---LOL.

I also recently discovered, first-hand, that the owners of businesses that get shopped are notified about the shop, in advance. I know that this happens, as I have been approached by managers who were told of my visit, beforehand. Some of them wanted me to change specific parameters of my shop. Apparently, some mystery shopping company schedulers are not shy about sharing our info. with their clients. Good to know. In any event, when I met this other mystery shopper, she was no longer accepting assignments from the MSPA.

And, she was also disillusioned by her experiences with them. Plus, the money she felt she lost by becoming a gold-certified shopper never produced the return on investment touted on the MSPA's website. Nevertheless, she did finally get a permanent assignment with one company, who also no longer uses the MSPA.

If you spend enough time as a mystery shopper, you will undoubtedly meet other mystery shoppers. And, I doubt that all the experiences they relate to you will be positive. Hopefully, you won't bite their heads off if they dare to speak bad about an MSP who treated them badly.

And, if you weren't so defensive, you would realize that I DID mention said comments AS "hearsay." So, again, I ask, why are you being so defensive? I never said that MSPA shoppers were losers. Don't put words in my mouth. I only related what I was told. And, I acknowledged beforehand, that said comments were hearsay. What part of this don't you understand? In any event, I have been mystery shopping for a number of years, now. I've completed several assignments that I wouldn't have known about without the MSPA. They may be a good company.

But, my overall experience with them hasn't always been good. And, discussions with other shoppers online (and the one mystery shopper I met in person) has made me wonder if I should stay with them. Maybe YOUR experience with them has been wonderful. But, you seem intent on picking apart my posts instead of acknowledging room for the very real possibility that the MSPA is not our friends.

Nothing in the forum rules state that my posts all have to be positive, glowing praises of mystery shopping companies. If said rules did exist, this forum would become a ghost town, and lose all credibility.

By the way, if you're going to pick apart my comments, please be accurate when responding to my posts. I would show you the same courtesy, and expect similar consideration in return. Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2009 08:13AM by unitechpetro.

"But, the MSPA is supposed to be an association representing the interests and rights of mystery shoppers."

False. MSPA stands for Mystery Shopping PROVIDERS Association. They are a trade organization only.

Okay. Thanks. Still, that's not what their customer service agent told me when I called them prior to signing up. Nonetheless, my bad. I guess I'm to blame for accepting what someone tells me on blind faith. That's what I get for trusting what people tell me. That's okay. I guess I learned my lesson. owee...

what Joan said. I said it too. It was never about "us." It was always about them. They stick up for them. That doesn't make them "losers". I read your posts, and I am not impressed. You swear, you make aspersions, and you use hearsay. And you have been here ONE DAY. Most of us here have performed more MS assignments in the past year than you state you have. So why would we take you seriously? Pay your dues here. Don't come in blowing fire. Make nice. Say some good stuff. BE HUMAN, like your last two posts have been. Make friends.

unitechpetro - you're making quite an impression. How about something positive from you? With all those shops under your belt, you must have some good experiences, or you wouldn't keep at it.

Actually, I have several good experiences. Many HAVE been positive. But, the companies that I've had problems with are the same companies who rule the mystery shopper's kingdom. If you've been at this long enough, you already know this.

The great companies don't seem to last. If they treat their shoppers well, pay them decent wages, and manage their clients properly, they get bought out or crushed by the larger, more successful MSP's who pay their shoppers dirt, and treat everybody badly. I don't know why this is.

But, I once read a Harvard University class schedule that offered a class explaining the reasons why this happens. Unfortunately, I don't live near Cambridge, Massachusetts. And, the class wasn't being taught online.

I've seen books on this topic. It just proves my point, though: companies fare better if they are cold and heartless. I'm not the devil's advocate, just a realist who reads and studies company profiles so that I can manage my stock portfolio. I also day-trade, part-time.

If you do the research, and are honest with yourself, you will notice the trend I mention. There's plenty of good material on the subject. Yes. A number of companies have been busted for ethics violations.

But, for every company caught in the media limelight, thousands more exist that continue business as usual, while staying below the radar. MSP's are not immune to the temptations of greed and apathy.

I have worked for a few companies as a supervisor. If I was caught being nice to my employees, I was seen as weak, and reprimanded more than a few times. I was told that I was there to make a profit for the company, not to make friends for myself. Unfortunately, the world isn't made of candy canes and lollipops. There is no way to sugarcoat the realities of corporate politics.

If you play nice, you get squashed. Either your employees fear you, or they won't respect you. Profit is job one. I learned this the hard way, when I worked in outside sales. If I didn't produce, I was gone. You are only as good as your last sale. Even Harvard professors are required to get published. Anyway, just my two cents worth...

I hear what you are saying and it is definitely your opinion. There are a number of companies with whom I work that would hardly categorize as 'cold and heartless'. I find that when I do my job in an appropriate way I rarely have problems, even with those that have been bought out by the behemoths. Whether their employees are happy campers or not rarely becomes an issue. The issues arise most frequently when THEY have screwed up or I am asking for special exceptions. Most corporate cultures cannot own an error. It has always got to be someone else's responsibility/fault and this is true internationally. But then again we, as individuals, don't like to own an error either, so what is new?

I have been a supervisory person as well and have never gotten reprimanded for being nice to my employees. But then I never posed as a doormat either. You can 'understand' people to death and it leads to a burden on other employees for which you WILL get reprimanded. In a real sense, parenting prepared me for supervision and vice versa because clear limits with warm fuzzies inside the limits works like a charm.