Using shops as marketing
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I agree 100%. I received as a mystery shop, an "offer" to try a certain product then write a POSITIVE review about the product on a web site. I would receive the product for free to try. All over the offer was the phrase upon posting of a positive review, I would then be paid $5.00. I read the reviews which had been posted previously about the product and they were consistently terrible. They could have saved time and postage by just requesting a positive posting about the product for $5.00. It was more like a campaign to make a pigs ear into a silk purse. Seemed a bit duplicitous to me. Now I read reviews with a real sharp eye.
I have thought the same thing so I avoid those types of shops. Unless my contract was up,and switching carriers would save me money, which has never happened.
For me this is a rare case where the reimbursement is not only something useful, it is for something I have been putting off getting for months now.
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
Some of these got up to $125 last quarter. I would guess the MSC is getting $200+ per. So what you're saying is that you believe the cell phone company is interested in shelling out $200 per new customer in order to gain a single customer in each store each quarter when in all likelihood each store averages 5-10 new ones PER DAY?
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
It happened in November about a week after I dropped my other phone and cracked the screen. It just happened it was with my carrier. I couldn't wait for the shops to get up to $125, so I did one for $75. It did pay an additional $50 for partial reimbursement of the device and a $3 followup survey.
The cost of acquiring a new cell phone customer is high. So is the profit margin. That is why Sprint and T-Mobile offer to pay penalties up to $650 if you will switch. I am not convinced that the mystery shops are really a back-door attempt to acquire customers, but it would probably make economic sense. I switched to using the cell phone kiosk in Costco as a result of mystery shopping. It was definitely win-win and I have taken co-workers into Costco to buy new phones as well.
@bgriffin wrote:
Some of these got up to $125 last quarter. I would guess the MSC is getting $200+ per. So what you're saying is that you believe the cell phone company is interested in shelling out $200 per new customer in order to gain a single customer in each store each quarter when in all likelihood each store averages 5-10 new ones PER DAY?
Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
Yes. My point was the cell phone company would not be interested in spending that much money to get what by their standards is a tiny fraction of a percentage of their new customers. One of the largest cos added 1.7 MILLION customers in q4 2015. If there were 5000 stores nationwide and each got a new customer from the shops where you sign up for new customers then that program would account for just about 1/3 of 1 percent of their new customers.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
Maybe if it accounted for 1/3 of their new customers they would be interested. 1/3 of 1% isn't a blip on the radar for them.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I agree. The economics area OK, but the number of new subscribers is a pittance.
@bgriffin wrote:
Maybe if it accounted for 1/3 of their new customers they would be interested. 1/3 of 1% isn't a blip on the radar for them.
Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
I've seen "open a new bank account" shops that, given the guidelines available, seemed more like marketing than an actual shop
Seems like a shopper is less inclined to think this way when it is something the shopper actually needs
Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.
@KevinE wrote:
I've seen "open a new bank account" shops that, given the guidelines available, seemed more like marketing than an actual shop
I have done an open a new account shop and then a week later, I did a close account shop at a different branch for the same MSC with the account I just opened. They were mostly interested in scanning in the forms to make certain that the latest contracts were used.
When I received my statement the next month, the account did not even show up as I opened and closed it within the same billing cycle.
I'm consider this shop because I'm going to buy a new phone anyway, and this is my current carrier. Since I'm going to buy a new phone anyway in the next few months, I'm thinking I should wait to see if it gets up to $125, then pull the trigger. $175 toward something I was going to buy anyway is a pretty good deal (especially if they categorize $50 as "reimbursement" which won't be taxable to me as income). I agree that anyone who wasn't already going to buy a new phone or service probably shouldn't do this shop, but I doubt the point of the shop is to lure in new customers for the reasons that @bgriffin lists.
Shopper in California's Bay Area
@JASFLALMT wrote:
It happened in November about a week after I dropped my other phone and cracked the screen. It just happened it was with my carrier. I couldn't wait for the shops to get up to $125, so I did one for $75. It did pay an additional $50 for partial reimbursement of the device and a $3 followup survey.
Thanks for posting this, it's nice to hear some feedback from someone who's done the shop.
Shopper in California's Bay Area
It actually worked out great, because I got an LG Vista, which has a very large screen for my old eyesight, LOL, and the price was only $374--considerably less money than some of the other phones. And it's a great phone! Takes nice photos, does everything that I need it to do.
Given that the reimbursement isn't completely covered, it might be that you could consider the shop fee as part of the reimbursement or figure out a way to make it not included in taxable income.
Bgriff was actually countering that the point of the shop was not to lure customers since we shoppers are such a tiny point on their radar.
Bgriff was actually countering that the point of the shop was not to lure customers since we shoppers are such a tiny point on their radar.
@CaliGirl925 wrote:
I'm consider this shop because I'm going to buy a new phone anyway, and this is my current carrier. Since I'm going to buy a new phone anyway in the next few months, I'm thinking I should wait to see if it gets up to $125, then pull the trigger. $175 toward something I was going to buy anyway is a pretty good deal (especially if they categorize $50 as "reimbursement" which won't be taxable to me as income). I agree that anyone who wasn't already going to buy a new phone or service probably shouldn't do this shop, but I doubt the point of the shop is to lure in new customers for the reasons that @bgriffin lists.
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