@sestrahelena wrote:
So the basic fee is, what, $35? Who was it that said, "Never pay a company for mystery shopping information?" Oh, yeah, EVERYBODY!!! So they've found yet another way to suck money out of us. All long-term shoppers should be invited for free, as a thank you. They could, and probably will, write it off. Instead we are invited to pay them. I am disgusted right now. I would not give them a single cent.
@ColoKate63 wrote:
IPSOS is a $2 billion international corporation. Unfortunately, I am sure that they will be serving us cheap beer, wine, and snacks at the VIP “intimate” gathering. And Panda Express for lunch -? Come ON, PE isn’t Michelin rated; it’s carb-loaded, greasy, faux Asian cafeteria- style food. You can tell exactly what they think of their ICs and what we are worth by what we are getting served. I bet they will have some of the pens and vests there for us too, lol.
The $35/$60 is just to nail down attendees and get an accurate headcount for the venues on Friday and Saturday. It probably covers the cost of the venue and maybe travel for a few of the IPSOS employees who will be dragged down to talk to us.
My cynical math: the whole event is roughly 8 hours long, if I do the Friday night cocktail party. For $60, that’s $7.50 an hour I’m paying to network and make a few connections. I’ll probably come away with a handful of emails or LinkedIn connections that will be worth it going forward. That’s very inexpensive for a business networking event. Since I can fly and stay on my points, it’s basically a free weekend. Hopefully the Braves or the Falcons are at home, and I can catch a game.
@hbbigdaddy wrote:
Hi ColoKate63,
I checked for you.
Falcons are AT seattle that weekend
Braves are AT Philly that weekend
Georgia Bulldogs ARE HOME!!!
Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are AT Central Florida
Bulldogs are good (SEC football) and about 1 hour away from Atlanta
I remember in 1998, a group of us went to Arizona to the new Bank One Ballpark (AZ dbacks) and also went to home opener for Arizona Cardinals, and also an ASU Sun Devils game. It was a sports weekend for us.
@wrosie wrote:
Maybe they should offer this free to the premium shoppers who were lucky enough to get a vest. Or maybe they could return the vest in exchange for admission.
@sestrahelena wrote:
So the basic fee is, what, $35? Who was it that said, "Never pay a company for mystery shopping information?" Oh, yeah, EVERYBODY!!! So they've found yet another way to suck money out of us. All long-term shoppers should be invited for free, as a thank you. They could, and probably will, write it off. Instead we are invited to pay them. I am disgusted right now. I would not give them a single cent.
@myst4au wrote:
I used to help organize events for non-profit organizations and also for the company I worked for. Advertising something as free meant that we would get tons of sign-ups. Anyone who thought, "Why not, it is free. Maybe I will go," signed up. If it was raining, they didn't come. If they bumped their toe, they didn't come. No excuse was too small to cause them not to go.
For the non-profit groups, we solved the problem by requiring a reservation and saying that it would cost $10 at the door, and no-shows would be billed. We rarely had any no-shows, down from dozens out of 200 local members. We never charged a penny at the door (we had money from our share of national dues). The threat was enough!
At work, we had a different approach. We required them to apply to attend and they needed a letter of support from their supervisor. The number of no-shows went to zero. We accepted everyone who applied and copied their supervisor.
I suspect that IPSOS has learned the hard way that if they hold a free event, the number of no-shows is unmanageable.
@hbbigdaddy wrote:
Anyone going to this? Just saw the email. Hopefully someone on the forums goes to this and gives us some feedback/impressions.
Register Today
Talking Shop with iShopFor Ipsos takes place September 24th from 10AM-4PM @ 933 Lee St. SE, Suite B1, Atlanta, GA 30310. We have two registration packages: General & VIP.
General Admission includes access to all 11 sessions during our full day workshop. Complimentary lunch and snacks will also be provided.
VIP Admission
In addition to access to all 11 sessions and complimentary lunch & snacks, VIP attendees will be invited to an intimate reception on Friday, September 23rd. More details to come, but this will be a chance for you to connect with the iShopFor Ipsos team and 25 other VIP mystery shopper attendees over snacks and a good time before our learning sesh the next day.