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JM Ridgeway Video Good or No?

July 02, 2017 01:18AM
I just did my first video shop for JM Ridgeway. The audio was good, but the target kept moving in and out of the picture. Does anybody know how strict they are about that?
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More Discussions About JM Ridgeway (All Companies)
More About Video Mystery Shopping
July 02, 2017 01:49AM
Is this for the grill salesman? As far as I know that's the only video shop they have (but obviously I could be wrong). If so I'm curious where the target could go? They had very limited space and I'm fairly certain when I did mine the target was never out of the frame. To answer your question though, I imagine as long as the target was in the frame 75% of the time or more you should be ok.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
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July 02, 2017 01:52AM
Yes, it was the grill salesman. The salesperson moved around a lot. I had trouble following him without looking conspicuous. I guess I'll just wait and see. Thanks.
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July 02, 2017 01:53AM
You need to move your body to follow the subject. Of course, if you were not using a body-mounted camera, that could be a big problem. Do you use a PV-500? Have you had training on using the PV-500?

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
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July 02, 2017 01:56AM
Did I see recently where this client now accepts video from a phone? If so yes, that makes it very obvious. Another reason why phones should not be an acceptable replacement for a hidden cam.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
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July 02, 2017 02:12AM
Yes. They do accept phone videos. It was my phone, which is why I had so much trouble.
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July 02, 2017 02:15AM
Well, there is the problem. If they want you to capture the target a high percentage of the time, there is no sense in them saying anything but a body-mounted camera is acceptable. For very, very short videos you might get away with glasses cam,but moving your head a lot will give the viewers of the video vertigo!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
July 02, 2017 02:24AM
I want to believe this trend of allowing video by phone is an effort to get shoppers into the video world without the investment. Instead it seems to be a way to get the work done cheaper while setting shoppers up for failure.

Think about this. I have been successfully video shopping for around seven years. As of now, one shop was rejected for angles. Several months back I did some videos for one of the companies allowing phones. I used my PV-500 and the phone at the same time. The phone video was an utter joke.

I wanted to add: my phone video was for a short interaction shop, perhaps three to four minutes. The grill shops easily take 20 to 30.

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.


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/02/2017 02:25AM by LisaSTL.
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July 02, 2017 03:08AM
I still want one of those grills. I was seriously going to buy one after my last route, but then I figured up my hotel costs and I averaged over $30 per night more than I budgeted. It came out to about $1200 extra that I spent on hotels. So yeah, there went the grill. :/

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
Reply
July 02, 2017 11:53AM
Even the MSC that promotes using our cell phones for video is careful to add that phone video is NOT appropriate for interactions lasting more than a very few minutes.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.
Reply
July 08, 2017 06:43AM
At this point in time, there is no substitute for a body mounted camera for quality video.

The poster that said the point was to lower the cost of video is 100% correct. This just goes along with the majority of MSCs in this industry. They seem to compete on price alone. They keep lowering their pay and don't seem to realize that you get what you pay for.

Experienced shoppers are working for the quality MSCs. These low-cost companies are taking advantage of the newbies and gullible shoppers. The quality MSCs pay for quality but they expect us to use the best equipment. You can't cut corners and expect to get top pay; just as you can't pay peanuts and expect to get quality video.
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July 11, 2017 07:50PM
Pros and cons, I guess. I've done some phone video shops, and it was pretty good money for the length of shops. It takes practice, just like a body camera. Phones are pretty inconspicuous these days. I'd hate to be constantly turning my body to face someone, unnaturally; with the phone I can slowly pan and aim as needed.
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July 11, 2017 07:58PM
And you don't think people will notice you pointing your cell phone at them all the time?
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July 11, 2017 08:39PM
@dakotagypsy wrote:

And you don't think people will notice you pointing your cell phone at them all the time?
ask the cops
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July 11, 2017 09:35PM
As someone who has done video for seven years, it is not at all conspicuous or unnatural. It does not compare to using a phone.

@LGRM wrote:

I'd hate to be constantly turning my body to face someone, unnaturally; with the phone I can slowly pan and aim as needed.

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.
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July 11, 2017 11:05PM
That's right Lisa. It's natural to be facing someone with whom you are speaking. What's NOT natural is pointing your cell phone camera at them all the time. They see it and don't like it.

You can get away with it for a very short interaction but not more than a couple minutes.
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