The nice thing is, if people like this fool are the majority of our competition, we should do fine for a while.

@prince wrote:

Certain aspects of this work are tedious and there really is no shortcut. If you search by company name on this forum and read what people discuss about various companies you will get some idea about the type of clients they have. But that changes. Clients change companies. You can go to the company's website and see what they are advertising to clients, they mention the type of work they do. But I have seen a mention of a particular client on their promo page long after that client went to another mystery shopping company. It is almost less tedious to just sign up and check the job board from time to time until you get a feel for what they have in your area.

Type a good narrative and save it. It can be used in many of the applications.

Good luck to you

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

I understand that, truly I do. I'm trying to figure out something a bit more efficient. I HATE THE TEDIOUSNESS OF CERTAIN ASPECTS.

One of the reasons why this type of work appeals to me is the wandering around and talking to the various people in the shops I do. I have NEVER been a desk work type of person, because TIME STANDS STILL!

If my back wasn't toast, I'd still be doing more physical labor types of jobs. A lot of these can be very lucrative.

Thanks for the tip to do a pre-written narrative!!!! <--- THAT just saved me some time!!!!!! It had never dawned on me to do that.

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

Thanks for the tip to do a pre-written narrative!!!! <--- THAT just saved me some time!!!!!! It had never dawned on me to do that.

Not only did I write and save a narrative, I have two or three saved depending on what the MSC asks for. PLUS I wrote a macro that fills out most of the basic information for me. I'm typing on a small laptop, so any time I can cut down on the chance of a cursor wandering off or reduce my keystrokes, I'm for it!

However, I've only signed up with about 20 companies in the two weeks since I started. Because I don't live in a metropolitan area, shops are kinda far and few between, but I still manage to do 3 - 5 assignments per day on the days I do them (with a few singles thrown in when I have to be in the area anyway).

Delizzy (in the boonies)

I've signed up to quite a few so far, but I'm finding that my back can't handle wandering through malls or stores where I have to be on my feet past a point. I will do car dealerships occasionally because I sit a lot and can spread out doing the report over a few days. One day, I'll write out a couple of sample narratives. HA-HA! I should go into my files and copy the few 10's I've gotten from intellishops

PLUS, finding parking at a major mall can take forever, too.

My digestive tract isn't what it used to be either, so I have to be very careful with what I eat, making me very leery of restaurants. IF I visit friends, I usually wind up doing the cooking. I "think" that my sensitivities are additives. No More Junk food for me.

But on THAT plus side, I'm learning how to make tasty but healthier versions of all sorts of stuff, because I HATE feeling deprived. I think that a twinky would probably knot up my gut for hours, but I could probably down a gallon of hot sauce and be fine. Go figure.

the best research is our own research on who the best companies are to work for. I had an unpleasant experience with a company, that others have great relations with. That being said, we each must test the waters and see what works best for each of us. I also would recommend giving companies a few months to test the waters. When I started I would spend almost the same time shopping and driving as I did with the reports, but with time and training, reports and shops that took a long time are now enjoyable. As with anything, mystery shopping requires time and an investment. If the Shopper is willing to invest the time they will find the best fits for them.

You make me think of the very first joke my youngest son learned. "What did thegrape say when the elephant stepped on him? Nothing, he justmade a little whine."

@MDavisnowell wrote:

Bharri - How insulting. No loss, though. Other new shoppers will use what I've written.

You are absolutely correct. I am a new shopper who found a lot of value in your posts. I assume that negotiating is something that can be done after you have built a relationship with a company or a scheduler. There was a job that I was interested in, but I was unavailable on the day that they wanted it done. I sent an email to the scheduler and told her that if it hadn't been completed, I would gladly do it on the following day. She sent me a very nice note and assigned me the job. Maybe this was an example of newbie negotiating? I am glad that I took the time to send the scheduler a note.

Im reading thesr threads and Im now out of popcorn!
You seem to think there is such a thing as good money for easy shops. You seem to desire these!
News flash for all newbies, there is no such assignments for people who think easy and lazy are the defination of Mystry Shopping in the 21st Centry.
Those who make a living doing this share enough to get serious minded ppl started, after that its up to the Newbie to build the same relatiinships veterans have build with schedulers.
You will never see a post for the true $$ amount the MS companies are willing to pay. You have to prove your self and they will pay you more.
If a MS company declines a shop its because the client wont pay for the job. Read the guideline every time carfully. I have 6 years vested and today I had a shop declined because of a minor detail. Yes it pist me off, but it my own fault for not paying attention and performing my shop correctly.
Maybe our parents allowed us slack, a break, forgivness for mistakes, but life and finances do not love us like a parent does, there is no forginess when it comes to business!
So keep working with routine schedulers and prove your value and they will show you some more pay, but it takes 3-8 shops a day to earn what your seeking.
Jobslinger is free, in the recruiter there is a lot of companies......all with Sassie
Jobslinger application forwards some of your info to their applications.
Best wishes!
iiCyou

Well now, if you guys need some of the best here is the ones I have been doing lately and I made over $1700 in May completing assignments. I do have a full time job, so it was difficult but I wanted to see how much I could make in addition to working full time. My list is: Market Force, Intellishop, Second to None, Imyst, Coyle's Hospitality, Sinclair, About Face, Customer Impact, Ace and many others. If you do a Google search of Sassie Shop companies many will appear and you will be loaded with work very quickly. Hope this helps... As for the other guy trying to keep secrets well, he is just insecure and probably has no other source of income.

But no one is keeping secrets. All of the companies you listed are on the list of MS companies at the bottom of the page!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2015 02:29AM by kimmiemae.

Bharri, You're supposed to be a school teacher. Do you know the meaning of facetious and sarcastic? I really hope you don't teach the kids in my school district.

@Bharri333 wrote:

Jay, you're obviously one of the selfish ridiculous folks on here. Seriously......hiring you to give me a list of good companies? You're full of crap! Forget you and don't even bother posting on this board. I would think it is against forum rules to even try to solicit money from someone just to provide MSC information. Shame on you!!

When I started doing Mystery Shopping in 2002 there was no forum. I had to discover what the companies wanted from me in the reports I had to write. It took awhile. No one told me what were the best companies to shop for. As an independent contractor I had to learn and I am still learning. I was recently stiffed by a company after I spent 2 hours doing the shop in one place and then writing the report. The company asked for more information in the report and I do more work. I took me six hours to do everything. I will not tell you the name of the company as I will still do mystery shopping for them. Yes, I was angry about being stiffed. I will still probably wirte to MSPA - North America as the company does not play fair. The reviewer said she would look into into it. I still have no response. What I learned..never again will I do that kind of shop. Once you are a shopper it really gets in your blood. I need the extra money so I do mystery shopping. If you want favors from seasoned shoppers you will probably not get that. Go out and do the work, learn, make some money, have fun or you could simply leave the industry. Your choice???

Hi Mary,

Am I doing something wrong then? Or doing too much?
I took a job today for $20 with a $20 bonus b/c it was end of the month and needed done, otherwise this would be just a $20 job. It was a retail shop, must stay in the store min 10 mins. Must make a purchase, must use the dressing room, must get each associate's name that you interact with, must check 2 areas for a total of 2 items each, so 4 different items that is stocked in size 8.
Must ask someone about their garment recycling program. Must write a detailed response in each of the sections. The shop said tell a story from entering to leaving. Must take 2 photos, one of the entrace and one of the display window. It took me about 55 mins to write up the details and load the 2 photos and receipt in the system. Plus the 18 mins I stayed in the store.

I took it b/c I would probably keep the item I purchased ( I sometimes shop at this store anyhow) so not big deal, don't have to deal with the return and it was bonused at $20 otherwise, for $20 it is a lot of work. How long should a report for this type of shop take?

I am a fast typer about 70-80WPM and it still took me over 50 mins to do just the report let alone drive to the store and perform all the duties mentioned above.

Am I writing too much? I followed the directions and wrote a story like narrative to paint the picture... I wrote 801 words for this $20 shop. I did get a 9 on the shop not even a 10... This is my third shop this week since getting back into things. I'm hoping things will get faster and easier??

@MDavisnowell wrote:

Okay, I realize you didn't address me about this. However -- not meaning to be unkind but let's chat.

If a $20 to $25 shop takes hours to complete, you're not doing it right. I take issue with your statement the companies pay crap. What they pay is the amount required to get someone to take the shop. If no one takes it at base rate, the fee will be increased until someone does. At some point it will surpass crap and reach an acceptable level.

@Bharri333 wrote:

AF517....I don't see how how you can earn a living doing mystery shopping first of all. I have seen the job boards and these companies pay crap. The highest I see are maybe $20-$25 payment for a shop that could take hours to complete. You'll make more money working part time at a McDonalds. Most of these shops barely seem to pay enough to buy a beer. Lol.

Bharri,

I just got back into it and I have found a wealth of information just reading the new member area. In less than 2.5weeks weeks, I have signed up for over 31 companies, so no it won't take a year to sign up for all the companies on here. Out of those companies 3 don't have jobs in my State right now, 4 have not responded or automatically sent me a login / password. I have performed 4 jobs all this week, from 4 different companies, one more job this Sunday with a different company. A lot of the companies do have jobs in my area, but pay is too little or the job does not interest me.
I found a lot of the companies via jobslinger ( which I learned about here, and some other companies under the job board on this forum) and just while reading this post I signed up for Intouch, that is one of the 4 I'm waiting to hear from.

I was also in hopes of looking for that Favorite companies list but realized what I find as an ideal job some people would not so I don't think the regulars on here do not want to share, but it's totally to your preference. I personally do not like to eat fast food or burgers so even though I did sign up for MF I have not performed any of their jobs and there are a ton in my area. Some people might find those jobs easy and their favorite but I would not consider those jobs unless there was a huge bonus.

One of the jobs I performed this week paid $75 for an in home service evaluation. I did have to call and make an appointment document that call and write quite a bit of narrative and wait at home for the estimator to show up and show him what needed to be done. However, I did find that company on the job listing of this forum or jobslinger, that's how I signed up for that company. It was a service I was considering anyhow, so I applied for the job at $50 then when it was accepted the scheduler informed me that it was raised to $75! So the criteria is you must live in a list of zip codes and live in a house vs a condo or apt, so not everyone qualifies in the particular zip codes so even if I told you what company it is, it might not work...
That was a fairly decent $75 for maybe an hour of work.

As said previously, I did a retail job for $40 today, it wasn't the easiest shop, but worthwhile since I'm keeping the item. It was bonus’ed to be double the pay so I took it for $20 I probably would not have taken it. I also did a lunch shop that paid $0 but my guest and I could eat up to $150 including tax and tip. That is a very nice meal in a very nice restaurant that I have been to several times. When I found this shop I thought I hit the jackpot, since it's a restaurant that I like, but some people would prob not touch that shop since it doesn't pay and you have to spend about 1.5 hours in fancy restaurant and write a very detailed report, I wrote a report at 1466 words it took me almost 2+ hours to upload the multiple pictures of the food and drinks and receipt and refer to my notes to get the times accurate, to write the detailed report. Was it worth my time? If my shop gets rejected I'm out over $104, but I got to enjoy a very nice meal, which I probably would not have gone to, but heck I was excited for this shop!

If you are looking for easy high pay I would suggest you sign up for some focus groups, I did a focus group tonight for $200 that took 2 hours and the company even paid for my valet parking. I don't know where you live but I would google focus groups in your area and sign up for those. The thing is you must fit a set of demographics for whatever topic they are discussing, so it's hit and miss, but over the last 15 years I've done them routinely probably every 6 months or so sometimes more frequent. Sometimes I have to pick up items to try for a few weeks, sometimes it is going in to taste food or taste drinks, but basically just to provide your honest feedback openly in a group discussion... Most pay about $60-75 an hour. It's hard cash in your hand too, sometimes Visa or Amazon gift cards but mostly cash and they usually provide snacks too. I find focus groups to be the easiest way to earn money!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2015 03:10PM by aayaey.

@ iiCyou00, you stated, "If a MS company declines a shop its because the client wont pay for the job. Read the guideline every time carfully. I have 6 years vested and today I had a shop declined because of a minor detail. Yes it pist me off, but it my own fault for not paying attention and performing my shop correctly."

This irks me as does some of the other "you have absolutely NO real rights", clauses of the MS contracts. I don't think that anyone has the right to demand perfection from us, especially when you consider what we are doing. Why do all these ?PERFECT PEOPLE?, EVEN NEED US IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Now, I can do perfect, when I absolutely need to, in spurts, but on the flip side, I'd better see some stinking perfection coming back. Are these companies who wind up rejecting the reports firing ALL employees that might not have performed to the perfect level when we do a shop? HIGHLY DOUBTFUL. Because EMPLOYEES HAVE RIGHTS, that are not afforded to us.

It wouldn't kill the MS's to eat an occasional shop, and pay us for the effort. It wouldn't kill the given business either. I'm guessing that IF I shopped these people, I'd be finding some very intriguing areas that could most definitely be improved.

IF you can truly look at the entirety of what we do, YES, WE get exploited. It is what it is. It might work better, if the veterans here, could SEE the possibility that when a given poster is spewing vitriol, that there is emotional upset, going down, and that maybe, just maybe, some of the ruder responses from people who are upset, wind up being unconsciously solicited by holier than thou attitudes.

In the PERFECT business world, any form of judgments should be performance based, as opposed to building "relationships", because it seems to me that IF it takes relationships to guarantee decent pay, and decent acceptance rates or shop assignments, ...

... WELL, maybe this should be an area to improve, for the good of the business.

Is creating a dog eat dog atmosphere the very best way to achieve improvements? NO, IT'S NOT.

People, in general, NEED to feel like you have understood their emotional turmoil, FIRST, before they can move up to the next level. AND, as long as someone is running at the mouth, granted, not always in the most pleasant manner, you are being given the opportunity, TO PROGRESS, to that next level.

After wading through such an incoherent, rambling post, all I can really say is that if you expect an MSC to accept a report they can't use and pay you anyway, then they have every right to expect you to give them a report they can use and not pay you. Doesn't sound like the "perfect business world" to me.

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

This irks me as does some of the other "you have absolutely NO real rights", clauses of the MS contracts. I don't think that anyone has the right to demand perfection from us, especially when you consider what we are doing. Why do all these ?PERFECT PEOPLE?, EVEN NEED US IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Now, I can do perfect, when I absolutely need to, in spurts, but on the flip side, I'd better see some stinking perfection coming back. Are these companies who wind up rejecting the reports firing ALL employees that might not have performed to the perfect level when we do a shop? HIGHLY DOUBTFUL. Because EMPLOYEES HAVE RIGHTS, that are not afforded to us.

It wouldn't kill the MS's to eat an occasional shop, and pay us for the effort. It wouldn't kill the given business either. I'm guessing that IF I shopped these people, I'd be finding some very intriguing areas that could most definitely be improved.

People, in general, NEED to feel like you have understood their emotional turmoil, FIRST, before they can move up to the next level. AND, as long as someone is running at the mouth, granted, not always in the most pleasant manner, you are being given the opportunity, TO PROGRESS, to that next level.

I think the disconnect here is that you want all the benefits of being an employee, while taking the benefits of being an independent contractor. We are NOT employees.

If you can do perfect, when you absolutely need to, in spurts, then when you are spurting and doing perfect, you will be successful as an independent contrator. If you only do perfect in spurts, then you would be better suited to a regular job as a regular employee where you would be paid a regular salary that is not dependent on perfect work. With a regular job, you would be paid for assignments completed that were not perfect and the company would eat an occasional shop.

We are in business for ourselves. Mystery shopping companies do not owe us good customer service or recognition as employees. We are neither their customers nor their employees. The mystery shopping companies are our customers and we are providing a service to them. We get paid and build reputations for ourselves through perfect work. Working as an independent contractor is not for everyone. You may need to reconsider whether mystery shopping is a good fit for you.

I've been a forum member for a while but today I made my first post. I read and read and read and this forum has taught me how to be a good shopper.

Meaning no disrespect to anyone, some posters register and immediately post complaints about companies or whine about pay. Others don't understand the difference between being an employee and being an independent contract and it frustrates them. A lot of people seem to think the purpose of this forum is to vent and whine. I love reading the banter and interaction on the forum and I love how a lot of the more experienced posters spend so much time providing guidance and information. It's great training! It's very generous on the part of some of the posters. It amazes me when I see someone who doesn't appreciate what's offered and demands more.

To give a different perspective, maybe new posters should write less and read more. After reading and learning from the forum, they probably will not want to write some of the things they are posting.

Thank you to all the posters. I love this forum.

@aayaey wrote:

Hi Mary,

Am I doing something wrong then? Or doing too much?
.

[/quote][/quote]

I know you weren't addressing me. IMHO you are not doing anything wrong. If you do that same shop again, you will do the report faster. You will read the instructions before hand faster too. To make the trip more worthwhile try to find more shops to do on your way to that one or near by. Then you can end up with a great day's pay.

For me it's best not to do too many new (to me) in one day, or I will be frustrated doing the reports once I'm home. At the beginning I considered some of the work to be my training.

Keep doing what you are doing and good luck.

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

@ iiCyou00, you stated, "If a MS company declines a shop its because the client wont pay for the job. Read the guideline every time carfully. I have 6 years vested and today I had a shop declined because of a minor detail. Yes it pist me off, but it my own fault for not paying attention and performing my shop correctly."

This irks me as does some of the other "you have absolutely NO real rights", clauses of the MS contracts. I don't think that anyone has the right to demand perfection from us, especially when you consider what we are doing. Why do all these ?PERFECT PEOPLE?, EVEN NEED US IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Now, I can do perfect, when I absolutely need to, in spurts, but on the flip side, I'd better see some stinking perfection coming back. Are these companies who wind up rejecting the reports firing ALL employees that might not have performed to the perfect level when we do a shop? HIGHLY DOUBTFUL. Because EMPLOYEES HAVE RIGHTS, that are not afforded to us.

It wouldn't kill the MS's to eat an occasional shop, and pay us for the effort. It wouldn't kill the given business either. I'm guessing that IF I shopped these people, I'd be finding some very intriguing areas that could most definitely be improved.

IF you can truly look at the entirety of what we do, YES, WE get exploited. It is what it is. It might work better, if the veterans here, could SEE the possibility that when a given poster is spewing vitriol, that there is emotional upset, going down, and that maybe, just maybe, some of the ruder responses from people who are upset, wind up being unconsciously solicited by holier than thou attitudes.

In the PERFECT business world, any form of judgments should be performance based, as opposed to building "relationships", because it seems to me that IF it takes relationships to guarantee decent pay, and decent acceptance rates or shop assignments, ...

... WELL, maybe this should be an area to improve, for the good of the business.

Is creating a dog eat dog atmosphere the very best way to achieve improvements? NO, IT'S NOT.

People, in general, NEED to feel like you have understood their emotional turmoil, FIRST, before they can move up to the next level. AND, as long as someone is running at the mouth, granted, not always in the most pleasant manner, you are being given the opportunity, TO PROGRESS, to that next level.

Oh my, where to begin? Why don't you stop arguing for your limitations and start caring about doing good work as much as you care about getting away with half-assed work?

I don't want or need some MSC or scheduler to hold my hand. My work will speak for itself. I"m not being exploited. My dependability is my number one priority.

You state: "In the PERFECT business world, any form of judgments should be performance based, as opposed to building "relationships", because it seems to me that IF it takes relationships to guarantee decent pay, and decent acceptance rates or shop assignments, ..."

Do you really think that a relationship is going to help a shopper who isn't reliable? Wake up and smell the coffee. Judgments are completely performance based.

I really feel for schedulers that have to deal with people like you.

@roflwofl wrote:

To give a different perspective, maybe new posters should write less and read more. After reading and learning from the forum, they probably will not want to write some of the things they are posting.

Lately there seem to be a new batch of forum members who are indeed whining and complaining. They just need to have a pacifier jammed into their mouths. Then there are the "silver platter" new forum members. They are too lazy to get off their arse, roll up their sleeves and do a little dirty work. They expect everything to just be handed over to them on a silver platter. They may have a success here and there but their "gimme, gimme, gimme" attitude will soon crash and burn.

Come on, Sybil2. You know you got into mystery shopping so that you could deal with people's "emotional turmoil" over the internet. Right???

When it comes to MS'ing, there are no emotions. We are supposed to stay neutral at all times and just report the facts. If you want to have your emotions analyzed, go see a therapist.

I'm in roflwofl's camp. When I found this forum, I did a LOT of reading before I ever made an account, signed in, and opened my mouth. I should have made more use of this site in the early days when I was getting started... although there may have been some benefits to doing it on my own.
Anyway, hat tip to roflwofl. You... I like you.

To Bharri333:

We are Independent Contractors who pick and choose the jobs we take. Wedding Photographers, caterers, all kinds of 'careers' are working as Independent Contractors, they make a living doing IC work, pay their bills, pay taxes. We don't have to be on someone's payroll to actually consider Mystery Shopping a job or career. There are a lot of people out there who are professional Mystery Shoppers and do no other work other than IC work.

Remember how your Math teacher always wanted you to "show your work" on tests and homework? That's because he/she wanted to make sure you did the work yourself and not just putting down the answer that you copied off of your neighbor. We don't share our 'secrets' because you have to earn your stripes as a Mystery Shopper ALL BY YOURSELF! We all did the work and you have to do the work too.

Grow up and stop being lazy. Don't whine and accuse us of hiding things from you. Just buck up and do the work already. And stop your tiring rants, accusations and insults.

And, BTW... Yes, the most popular 15 MSC's are griped about a lot on this forum, and that's because they have a lot of shoppers and jobs to pick up. If you're super popular with a large group, then there will be times when someone has a complaint about a certain MSC. Those 15, although upset me sometimes, are also some of my favorites...

To Guanado and other mystery shoppers:

Complaining is a disease in this country. I was fortunate to learn about a book called " Living in a Complaint Free World". The author is Will Bowen who is a minister and lectures throughout this country. His book and the class I attended has changed my life. The book and kindle is available on Amazon.com
Complaining is like a rocking chair...it takes you nowhere. I learned long ago to complain up to the powers that be that can take care of most complaints. If you b....ch across the board you will get nowhere.
Mystery shopping is just another industry where one will find much complauining. Indepedent contractors are usually not paid well as the income is low. I have done part time retail in the past and was not treated well either.
For those that come on the forum to complain, and ask for hand out information without paying their dues should just GO AWAY. The fact that we professionals have to tell you to "play nice" is beyond my expectations of the forum.
As a seasoned professional, I am here to learn more from my other seasoned shoppers across the country.
Hopefully, the complainers will just Go Away. Go somewhere else to complain as that is what you will probably do anyhow.

Shopping in So Cal.

I would have to know exactly what is required for the narrative and I would have to see your narrative to know if you're writing too much. Your goal should be to write the shortest possible narrative providing all the information the client needs. Not one word more. Anything extra is so much trash they have to wade through.

If you saved the shop or your narrative, go back over it now and see if you can delete any part and still cover all required points.

Also, a comment about returns. If you are dealing with a reimbursed purchase (and I don't know that you are) you can sometimes get in trouble taking the item back for cash refund. I know you didn't take this item back, but your comments about not taking it back lead me to believe you see no problem with taking it back. That may or may not be true.

Repetition is your friend. You will write briefer and more comprehensive narratives as you gain experience. You will also become more and more effective on any given shop and scenario if you apply yourself to analyzing your own procedures.

@aayaey wrote:

Hi Mary,

Am I doing something wrong then? Or doing too much? . . . . .
It took me about 55 mins to write up the details and load the 2 photos and receipt in the system. Plus the 18 mins I stayed in the store.

I took it b/c I would probably keep the item I purchased ( I sometimes shop at this store anyhow) so not big deal, don't have to deal with the return and it was bonused at $20 otherwise, for $20 it is a lot of work. How long should a report for this type of shop take? . . . . .

Am I writing too much? I followed the directions and wrote a story like narrative to paint the picture... I wrote 801 words for this $20 shop. . . .

Mary Davis Nowell. Based close to Fort Worth. Shopping Interstate 20 east and west, Interstate 35 north and south.

Hi Mary,

It was a flat fee for the shop, no reimbursements, the guidelines said you can return same day if you wanted to... I'm actually already wearing the item today so was not planning on returning.

But I know other shops require a return this one did not just keep at your own expense, or sometimes the items are so expensive that I would feel like I don't want to keep the purchase even though a lot of shops say feel free to keep at your own expense...

Thanks for your tips!

Watching, I think what has to happen is that the person who has the emotional turmoil has to understand his or her own turmoil. It won't help him for me to understand it. He has to get a grip on the problem and get his emotions under control. Spewing does not make it better, spewing makes it worse. Feed anger and anger will eat you up.

As far as my being given the opportunity to progress to the next level, I don't know what the next level is but I sure don't want to go there with him. I don't feel holier than anybody but I want no part of someone else's stomping tantrum.

It's a misery (not mystery) to me why people come here to throw a fit. Most of us are, after all, trying to enjoy ourselves and share some fun experiences and help each other figure out what's going on in LaLa Land. It does not help to have people jump on this forum every day and birth a cow in the middle of the street regarding the last thing that didn't go their way.

I know you're real unhappy with the forum but it's unfair for you to blame the forum for the way things are in this business and you're taking out your frustration on us. We do not exploit you. If anyone exploits you, look in the mirror and take charge.

Things are, incidentally, not bad from my point of view. I hope tomorrow will be better for you. I hate it that you feel exploited, but if you are it's because you accept it. If I have learned anything to share with you it is that you absolutely cannot change this business. You have to take it as it is or not take it at all. It is not subject to reform.

@Watching the Wheels wrote:

People, in general, NEED to feel like you have understood their emotional turmoil, FIRST, before they can move up to the next level. AND, as long as someone is running at the mouth, granted, not always in the most pleasant manner, you are being given the opportunity, TO PROGRESS, to that next level.

Maybe your computer is the problem. Or the operator ?