IPSOS cell phone shops. Why are people not doing them?

These shops are quick, but require a selfie. Why are people not taking these shops? I'm already out of rotation and still the shops just sit there.

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Personally I do not do cell phone shops because they are not quick where I live. Without an appt you have to wait, and wait and wait. Even with an appt you have to wait.
I keep trying but get an error message "This shop is not currently available" every time I self assign.
I forget about them.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton
I did one today for $16 at Blue Big Box Store because I was in the plaza.

It wasn't what I would determine quick as they kept trying to find someone who knew about the Major Android Phone I was assigned. Their Major Android Phone employed expert was not available and the girl from Blue Big Box Store was clueless. She had her head buried in her phone. Another customer was browsing before me and she didn't notice either of us. I'm guessing she was texting or whatever

As a result it took about a half hour total after she found an employee that actually knew about phones. The employee that eventually helped me was very knowledgeable and was proud he and another employee he pointed to actually took the time to understand the technology and could explain it.

$20 or $25 would have been a more appropriate pay for the time invested if I hadn't been passing by the store.

Edited to remove the phone brand name and the store brand name just in case they are the client.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2023 03:22AM by wrosie.
They also have been $16.00, for at least 8 years, while the technology has greatly increased on cell phones causing more in depth questions, demos, etc. And no reason for a selfie. They do not need our photographs. At least with a food or gas station shop, you can get that fee or more, plus food or gas.
@purpleicee wrote:

They also have been $16.00, for at least 8 years, while the technology has greatly increased on cell phones causing more in depth questions, demos, etc. And no reason for a selfie. They do not need our photographs. At least with a food or gas station shop, you can get that fee or more, plus food or gas.

They need the selfie so you can prove it was you at the shop.
A date time stamp is required and I do not have that App on my phone.
I do other shops for them for a lot more money and all I have to do is open the shop on my device and "check in." They never doubt it was me.
I work in Telecom so it's a conflict of interest for me to touch these.
@johnb974 wrote:

They need the selfie so you can prove it was you at the shop.

No they don’t.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/16/2023 01:02PM by AWhitman.
Diana Paone told me that some people have been photoshopping themselves to make it look like they are taking selfies in front of the store. There’s a lot of corruption going on with those shops and the jig is up, which is probably why they are still sitting there.
For me, they don't give enough information in the shop overview for me to know if it is worth $16 or not.

If there is a selfie requirement to take outside the store to verify it's you, that sounds ridiculous since there are probably at least 5 other ways to use technology to accomplish that.

I don't like to do things that may jeopardize my identity as a shopper in the event there are future opportunities at that location - also why I don't do the revealed audits - and I think those should be two separate shops. I dislike "combo" shops for single pay.
@joanna81 wrote:

For me, they don't give enough information in the shop overview for me to know if it is worth $16 or not.

If there is a selfie requirement to take outside the store to verify it's you, that sounds ridiculous since there are probably at least 5 other ways to use technology to accomplish that.

I don't like to do things that may jeopardize my identity as a shopper in the event there are future opportunities at that location - also why I don't do the revealed audits - and I think those should be two separate shops. I dislike "combo" shops for single pay.

I like doing the combo shops. This what the company wants, pays well so I'll do them.
@AWhitman wrote:

@johnb974 wrote:

They need the selfie so you can prove it was you at the shop.

No they don’t.

You know this for a fact? How do you know?
@johnb974 wrote:

You know this for a fact? How do you know?

Because other Ipsos clients don’t require selfies for verification. Pictures taken with mobile devices already has metadata encrypted, which shows the time and place the picture was taken. It also shows the brand and model of the device, which Ipsos already knows in advance (hence why they ask you what device you own when filling out the extended shopper profile). For example, if the picture was taken from an iPhone, but you told them that you have a Samsung Galaxy, they’ll get tipped off as to something not adding up.

In other words, there are a variety of ways Ipsos can verify if a shopper’s picture is legitimate.

Taking selfies in front of a store is awkward, a waste of time and doesn’t prove anything.
@AWhitman wrote:

@johnb974 wrote:

You know this for a fact? How do you know?

Because other Ipsos clients don’t require selfies for verification. Pictures taken with mobile devices already has metadata encrypted, which shows the time and place the picture was taken. It also shows the brand and model of the device, which Ipsos already knows in advance (hence why they ask you what device you own when filling out the extended shopper profile). For example, if the picture was taken from an iPhone, but you told them that you have a Samsung Galaxy, they’ll get tipped off as to something not adding up.

In other words, there are a variety of ways Ipsos can verify if a shopper’s picture is legitimate.

Taking selfies in front of a store is awkward, a waste of time and doesn’t prove anything.

for whatever reason, the client requires it. It doesn't take any real effort to do it. I'm more than happy to do it. I need the money.
@johnb974 wrote:

for whatever reason, the client requires it. It doesn't take any real effort to do it. I'm more than happy to do it. I need the money.

That’s fine. You do what’s best for you. Aside from the silly requirement from the client, I wouldn’t have a problem with the shop.
I remember one shop last year, they required you to print out an 8 page report, hand write all the answers, scan each page as a PDF, than file the report. I asked the scheduler about this. I was told the client was told there were easier ways to file the report. The client refused to change. Seems like the client is stuck in the 90's. As far as I know, no one took the shops.
Maybe a dumb question, but I think you may know the answer. If I upload photos from my phone to my laptop, then crop and upload the saved pic, don't I lose the metadata? No one has ever questioned my photos.

THX

@AWhitman wrote:

@johnb974 wrote:

You know this for a fact? How do you know?

Because other Ipsos clients don’t require selfies for verification. Pictures taken with mobile devices already has metadata encrypted, which shows the time and place the picture was taken. It also shows the brand and model of the device, which Ipsos already knows in advance (hence why they ask you what device you own when filling out the extended shopper profile). For example, if the picture was taken from an iPhone, but you told them that you have a Samsung Galaxy, they’ll get tipped off as to something not adding up.

In other words, there are a variety of ways Ipsos can verify if a shopper’s picture is legitimate.

Taking selfies in front of a store is awkward, a waste of time and doesn’t prove anything.
I found they weren't always that easy. Maybe sometimes, but at V, I had to sign in and wait. I only hung out bc I was actually shopping for a phone.
@ShopperGirly wrote:

Maybe a dumb question, but I think you may know the answer. If I upload photos from my phone to my laptop, then crop and upload the saved pic, don't I lose the metadata? No one has ever questioned my photos.

I do the same thing and have never had an issue. I do know if I look at a list of my files, in details view, there is a created date and a modified date. The created date usually stays as the time I took the picture and the modified date is when I saved the cropped photo.

I've also cropped and rotated pictures on my phone or tablet before uploading without any problems.

I don't think it changes the metadata but I'm not an expert.
@ShopperGirly wrote:

Maybe a dumb question, but I think you may know the answer. If I upload photos from my phone to my laptop, then crop and upload the saved pic, don't I lose the metadata? No one has ever questioned my photos.

THX
[/quote]

Yes. If you create a pic of a pic, the new pic will have different or no metadata.
Well, there was one editor who was being nitpicky once - like asking me to write in the comments exactly how long I actually waited, even though there was nothing about this in the guidelines. Most editors are fine with the multiple choice selection for wait time that I choose and leave it at that. So maybe people were getting annoyed with that. Also, there are some small stores where it's always the same employee. I avoid those after a while as I'm worried the person will remember me. And then there are the shops that say for current customer - I know they've updated the guidelines where you don't really have to be a current customer, but they are so insistent about looking up your account. I decided to not even bother with those as I hate having to make up some story all the time about why I can't give them my account info.
@wrosie wrote:

@ShopperGirly wrote:

Maybe a dumb question, but I think you may know the answer. If I upload photos from my phone to my laptop, then crop and upload the saved pic, don't I lose the metadata? No one has ever questioned my photos.

I do the same thing and have never had an issue. I do know if I look at a list of my files, in details view, there is a created date and a modified date. The created date usually stays as the time I took the picture and the modified date is when I saved the cropped photo.

I've also cropped and rotated pictures on my phone or tablet before uploading without any problems.

I don't think it changes the metadata but I'm not an expert.


Wrosie is correct. The original metadata remains in almost all cases.
@ebit123 - When a company asks for my account number to look up (which they really just want to see what deals they can offer based on your account in most cases or size you up), I just say my job has been paying for my personal line for the last 5 years, so they have had the bill sent directly to them since then. I just shop for my own phones when I am thinking of upgrading and then they will pay for it, so I need help finding a phone first. If they press further, I say I do not have the password or anything, please just help me find a phone first.
Thats a good idea - but they don’t then ask for your phone number saying they can look you up that way? There’s a certain phone store where the employees are very insistent about that.
Just say I am here to shop for a new phone, can you help me or not? Do you have information on the features or not? Asking for my account number does not help you describe what phones I should consider. Can you or anyone here, please help me find my next phone?
@purpleicee wrote:

Just say I am here to shop for a new phone, can you help me or not? Do you have information on the features or not? Asking for my account number does not help you describe what phones I should consider. Can you or anyone here, please help me find my next phone?

This is what I've done. Never had a problem with it.
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