@JAS: how it is unkind to provide a mention of a no-cost service that some shoppers (or people the shoppers know) might need now or soon, depending upon how events unfold over time?

I told others who emailed me privately that you would be one who would critique. So here we are, no big surprise.

I actually think Julie is doing a great service by offering free classes. I have not taken FPU because of the cost, but I have listened to the CDs and tune into his broadcasts on a regular basis. I wish I had learned about him in my 20s versus my 50s. Statistics show that 59% to 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. I would venture a guess that many of us do mystery shopping as a side gig. My earnings go directly to paying off my debt because of DR baby steps. Bravo to Julie and her team! We all have extra time right now with the pandemic, and she is contributing her time in a way that could benefit our fellow shoppers.

@SchedulerDeva wrote:

I received OVER 100 email responses and all but 2 were positive (the two negative emails were from two gentleman who said the COVID-19 was all hype and not real....)

First of, it's terrifying if 2% of people are deniers. It's still pretty bad if 2% of mystery shoppers are, but think we've all seen enough crazy responses here to expect that....and as a scheduler I'm sure you are used to that of insanity.

@JulieACE; I do want to say something positive. I commend you for making a public statement, and for setting shopper payments as a priority. That already puts you in the top tier of MSC owners.

I am not on the Ace distro list and didn't see the email, but if you led with the statements you made here about putting shoppers first and and explained that no purchase would be required, I don't think it's particularly offensive. I think it just catches people off guard when they get an email that's not MS related.

That said, I have received emails from 90% of the companies I do business with outside of the MS industry about how they are handling the situation, so if the email started with that, i think it would appropriate.

To clarify, the program is not free for those who sign up. It's $129.99 per year unless you cancel after two weeks. I would not want anyone to get surprised by this in a time when finances are so tight for some. You could buy his book, Total Money Makeover for about $12 on Amazon if any of you want thst instead of the yearly plan. You can also look him up on Youtube.

@Niner wrote:

To clarify, the program is not free for those who sign up. It's $129.99 per year unless you cancel after two weeks.

Understood. There are many similar offers out there (free offers that require a cancellation before you get charged).

As MSers, we are generally in a group of people who opt for a frugal lifestyle, so most of us would presumably have experience with offers like that. Coupons, rebates and the like all function on the premise that a certain number of people will not follow the guidelines, and absorb the cost for those who do.

Some people don't learn well from books, and some won't want to take the initiative to do the research themselves. I assume those are the people that programs like this are for. Take a look at MS conventions, books and classes. It would appear that all of that information is free for the taking of you know where to look, and put in the work, but prospective shoppers often spend a lot more than $130 to partake in those, and often defend their value here.

Adding that I myself may have been put off by it at first read, but after hearing from all the parties involved it does appear the offer was made without any intention of defrauding shoppers, or significant personal profit.

It's actually only $99 if you buy it from a class link after the trial. I paid the full $129 not realizing that. I was still worth it though. And I listen to the podcast every time I'm in the car. Anyone could do the steps just by listening to enough of the podcasts.

To JulieAce: I am sorry to have made you cry and in no way intended to bully anyone or create drama.  It has been said that you are kind.  Okay, that is good. And subjective. But I do not personally know you or anyone else in the mystery shopping world.  We are not friends.  We are business associates related only to mystery shopping. You may indeed be saintly and I admire your ability to plan ahead in order to keep your business afloat during hard times.  I have too, all with just the tiny bit of common sense that I already possess. I still stand by my original negative opinion, though, as to the appropriateness of your solicitous email for the following reasons:

1.    The address you used for me is for my mystery shopping business communications.  It is not for personal email or get-rich-quick schemes.

2.    The email I received followed the exact same format as any other that can be found in my spam folder at any given time.  In it, there was excessive excitement over the program and a lot of exclamation marks which are two key elements of a con.  Also included was a miraculous success testimonial.  You’ve posted several more here on this thread, all of which could be found (maybe even verbatim) on any commercial or “Paid programming” charade.

3.    This is not the first time that an MSC or representative of one has contacted the shopper database in an effort to involve them in whatever scheme they are selling/promoting/recommending.

4.    If my best friend of more than 40 years had sent me the same email you sent, my first thought would have been, “Oh, no.  What has she gotten herself into?” I would have done my best to get her out of that pyramid.

5.    Most MCSs care very little for shoppers which is evident by the very low fees, late payments and, sometimes, no payment at all.  If your company is different, I earnestly thank you. As you well know from being in the MSC climate for many years, we have good and legitimate reason to always be wary.

6.    If your email and program peddling were actually in good faith and an effort to help others, I apologize, but it certainly did not sound that way.  At all.  So bringing it to the forum was a way for me to find out if I was being overly suspicious, for my own reference, or whether anyone else knew more about your program.  That is what the forum is for, to give/take/share mystery shopping knowledge.

I will now delete and move on as someone suggested and, again, apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused you.

Also, there have been many instances where scammers have pretended to be legitimate MSCs and those of us who are aware like to check here first.

I haven't got a dog in the fight here at all. I received the email, and deleted it. And perhaps one reason was because of a DIFFERENT person who likes to think of herself as someone special in the MSC world, namely, Pam. She has sent out LOTS of emails for JUNK...no kidding!! So, while I do not doubt Julie's kindness and well-intentioned motives, her email didn't interest me.

NOW.....I have a SUGGESTION....for ANY & ALL MSC OWNERS who think they may have something to offer shoppers. INSTEAD OF using the shopper email database for something non-shopper related (I personally don't think that's ever a good thing to do anyhow), PERHAPS the MSC OWNER could come here to the MS Forum, and just post a NEW THREAD in the GENERAL CHAT area. That way, anyone who is generally interested in what new offer may be offered by an MSC owner could PM the author of the thread and take it from there. That way, none of us would feel somewhat off-putted by seeing our MS emails used for soliciting something other than an offer for a mystery shop. Just my two cents here.

That and on their own MS website. After all, not all shoppers know about this forum

@JASFLALMT wrote:

That and on their own MS website. After all, not all shoppers know about this forum

True.

I reiterate; I signed up with ACE for mystery shopping opportunities, not to have financial planning seminars hawked to me.

Overall, I agree with the sentiments that the email should not really have gone out to the shopper list. However, it really did not bother me much as I do not believe that there was anything underhanded about it or any ill-intent. I just shrugged my shoulders and deleted it.

While the offer may have been well-meaning and something that would potentially be beneficial to a large number of folks in the general public ("Debt" is a reality for the vast majority of Americans - not just shoppers and not just during this time of crisis), I sign up for mystery shopping companies and agree to receive their mass mailings for the purpose of finding mystery shopping work. If an MSC were to send solicitous email unrelated to shopping to me frequently, I would turn off email notifications and/or deactivate myself. If every MSC were to periodically do so, I would likely have removed myself from mystery shopping completely before really getting into it.

That said, this was one email sent with, what I perceive to be, good intentions. Moreover, with all the very serious things happening in the world right now, one solicitous email is not worthy of concern. After deleting it, I would not have thought more about it if it were not an active thread in this forum.

sestrahelena,

All of your points were great, and the two below stand out the most.

@sestrahelena wrote:

1.    The address you used for me is for my mystery shopping business communications.  It is not for personal email or get-rich-quick schemes.

3.    This is not the first time that an MSC or representative of one has contacted the shopper database in an effort to involve them in whatever scheme they are selling/promoting/recommending.

@JulieACE , I don't have a dog in this fight. I just want to tell you that your company has treated me right on the 2 times I have shopped for you. And I don't mind if you emailed me about something that you found helpful in your own life. I appreciate the sincerity and kindness that comes through in every email from you. Please don't change.

I've had the opportunity to meet Julie at conferences. She is thoughtful, smart, and kind. When I saw Julie's email, I took it as her reaching out the best way she knew how to provide a small bit of solace in a crazy time. Like Dave Ramsey, don't like him, it doesn't matter. She has learned some solid financial practices and just wanted to share. Right now MSP's are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They do still have clients who are asking for evaluations. Here's the thing, if you don't feel safe doing them, it's okay. Really. But the MSP's HAVE to try to fill the jobs. If they don't, it may be the difference between them even being here in six months. We are all trying to hang on as best we can. Being negative towards people who are just trying to be helpful is not the way to weather this storm. I have every confidence that Julie was trying to be helpful. She is looking out for her shoppers by ensuring that they are paid, and that they have some tools to navigate these rocky financial waters for the next few months, or years. Give her a break. Instead of bashing others, what are you doing to try to help people during this time?