Soicy,
As I have said, it is early for a schedule for IMSC considering that they just wrapped up the Atlanta conference. But, the $50 networking event includes drinks and dinner and is optional. I have found that there are soooo many networking opportunities that I usually do not go to that event.

I do know that in November there will be at least two sessions on route building and management, tips and tricks. These will cover different aspects of that topic. Except for a few sessions in "the big room" there will usually be two workshops, at least, on different topics, going on in other rooms. In the past these have included topics such as: getting started as a legal NV shopper; hotels, casinos and spas; taxes for ICs; new developments in using cell phones for reporting shops; shopper safety; opportunities and tips for cultivating good relationships with schedulers and MSC managers; a few industry-specific topics like valet parking, new homes, senior living; new gadgets and apps to make shoppers more productive, and many others. They are very open to suggestions for topics that would be beneficial, especially if those include some ideas about who would be a good workshop leader on the topic!

Many workshops are shared presentations by both shoppers and MSC reps and include soliciting many ways of accomplishing a particular goal or shop guideline. To me, that is always a source of some new, time saving and/or money making ideas. Between sessions there are breaks of at least 15 minutes to visit at the sponsor tables, network in the halls, browse the equipment vendor(s) displays; and attend to other business. And, informal networking goes on during the evening, the morning of the 2nd day (when, by popular demand, sessions start at 10 AM) over coffee and breakfast and just general hanging out with shoppers and MSC folks. Just about anyone who has been to a prior conference really goes out of the way to introduce themselves to any newcomers and offer ideas, talk shop and set up times for informal networking outside of formal sessions. (It is a big joke that a newcomer would have to hide under a table to avoid meeting at least 10 shoppers and/or MSC folks by noon on the first day.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2018 02:50PM by walesmaven.

Yes, there will at least two levels of video training in November. But remember, IMSC does not do that training as part of their conference. (Atlanta being a one-time special exception.) They just make it easy for the training vendor to hold classes the day before and after the IMSC sessions, so that shoppers can easily combine the two AND take advantage of the conference hotel rate for the video training days. I am not privy to detailed plans for what video training will happen which day, but it is early days for that. Fees for video training go directly to the video training organization which then, I believe, has to pay for the conference rooms and equipment used exclusively for their days of training.

That's what I wad wondeting, if the day before and after room needs to be reserved.

I finally get to meet spicy!!!!!

I can't afford it, my daughter is interested.

Spicy, if you mean does the shopper need to reserve a guest room for the video training, the answer would be yes. Saturday night room rates in LV are notoriously high, compared to what casino hotels are willing to give as convention rates on other nights, btw. If she is interested in either of the video days, please consult the IMSC Nov 2018 info page for developing news on which day will be which video class.

Please be sure to ask your daughter to be sure to look for me and introduce herself. My name tag always has both my real name and WALESMAVEN on it. If she is new to MS, the LV conference always seems to have a few sessions especially designated for beginners that run at the same time that more advanced sessions are on the schedule. I have volunteered to do a session on how to jump start an MS career by learning to route shop close to home. That is building profitable one day routes and tips for negotiating with schedulers to facilitate such routes. Even experienced MSers have told me that they need more such tips and tricks to increase productivity.

BG, glad to know you will be there. You missed so much of the fun in Atlanta by going to that boring old music festival!

The music festival was a blast!
I'm honestly not sure if I'll go to Vegas or not. I've got a lot of work booketand if it all works out I'll be able to take most of Q4 off. I'll probably get a little antsy sitting at home so a trip to LV would fit right in.

Wild hare here. Maybe they were mystery shoppers who were assigned to test the hotel's security or conference procedures on behalf of the sponsors. From their presumed perspective, what could they report that might reveal what works or does not work well for the hotel?

Sorry, wild hare. They were quite open about their intentions on Facebook post prior to conference. And conference organizers and staff always report to hotel on hotel's performance after (sometimes during) the conference, in detail. Actually conference, like most conferences, has its own security team and the "lingerers" never attempted to enter the conference rooms.

Thank you. I, like a wild hare, do not do Facebook.

@walesmaven wrote:

Spicy, I went back and edited my original erroneous post about the November Conference fee with an explanation. That way, anyone who reads this thread from the beginning will be the correct information. Thank you for pointing out my error.

There is a post on the IMSC Members Facebook page, regarding a special registration price for Atlanta conference attendees and IMSC members.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2018 12:23AM by KathySueLM.

If you are not a member, it's $125 until whenever it goes up to $150. That's a good price, all things considered. The Hotel price is too pricey if they are holding the video the day before the conference. If the day after at $67 I guess that's not too bad.

I would hope that the beginning video day will be after the conference. Those who are already earning video fees and want an advanced course should be better able to pay the Saturday night rate. That, and Friday are the nights when Vegas hotels are most full and won't budge on price.

spicy,
Thanks, I knew I had seen a great rate SOMEWHERE!

Thank you @KathySueLM

SIX WEEKS TO GO !!!
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Details are available at VideoCon18.com.
AND NOW, due to the generosity of some of our sponsors, and their desire to see as many video shoppers at this conference, we are able to offer the best price ever.
This special price is only available if you have not already registered and contact us between 5/27/2018 and 6/30/2018. This price is too low for us to advertise it as a courtesy to the other Mystery Shopping conference.
Request pricing and code for the special pricing by emailing info@VideoCon18.com
Don’t miss out. Also available at this conference, Basic and Advanced Video Training and certification by Video Shopping Pros, the benchmark in Video Shopper Training. This is specially priced as well. See VideoCon18.com for this and hotel information.

If I read this correctly, the actual video training is a seperate fee for this conference as well. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Isn't the video con owner one of the crashers in Atlanta?

Just like every other thread about MSPA, this one has turned into a debate about IMSC vs MSPA. Now we are adding VideoCom18 into the mix. Why not?

I do not see this as a debate. It is more like a comparison of what prices to expect and what topics to expect for the price. I think we all agree that shopers who want to go to a conference need to weigh travels costs, conference fees, and the number and subjects of likely topics to make an informed decision. If I lived close enough to commute to any of the conferences I would have to factor that into my decision due to low/no travel costs, for instance.

Have we established that we have someone going to ShopperFest, for sure, so that we can get fresh feedback from a forum member.? Would also like to see feedback from someone going to videocon who is not already an established video shopper. I am curious because I know that established video shoppers will revel in swapping tales of video adventure, wherever they gather. But it would be nice to hear from a video newbie about that conference. (Remembering, of course, that a video newbie, set down amidst video veterans, is going to hear great shoptalk that will be to their advantage, no matter the setting. Same would be the case if a route shopping newbie spent 2 days among veteran route shoppers who were talking shop, nonstop.)

I think we can all agree that information about relative travel costs (transportation, lodging, meals), type and numbers of topics covered by conference fees, additional paid topics of interest to each of us, and the convenience of the dates is what we need to be "educated shoppers" of conference events. If I report that "A will cost $x" and you say, "But B provides topic 12, which I think most shoppers need," that is not a debate in the sense of an argument. It is simply a set of comparisons that may help forum members weigh the merits on a case-by-case basis. It says nothing about the absolute superiority of any one conference.

It is also great to hear about veteran shoppers here, especially the ones who have been to the conferences. For example, one said that most shoppers, especially the newbie ones, dressed and looked a mess so it's great to be able to avoid those kind of people if one could manage to figure out who they are. Most likely those kind of people will be trying to hang with the company owners/reps and the well-to-doers anyway, with their heads clear up their @ss$s so the less well-to-do / newbies probably wouldn't have to worry about them because they would see those type of people avoiding them anyway.

I would go to the one in Vegas if the video conference, the one that is held in Texas, were also held in Vegas. That would be worth the money in my opinion.

@SoCalMama

Here is the original post:

altoid New Participant 3y
the registration is $195, plus hotel and air fare, it adds up quickly.. Are there any companies sponsoring this year?
Is the conference worth attending? Or maybe there is a different conference that is better ?
Thanks !

NOTE: Or maybe there is a different conference that is better?

Thank you for always providing useful detailed information and for your patience.

spicy1,
That description of the new shoppers at the conferences is certainly not what I have seen, and I have been to at least 9 or 10 conferences. I actively seek out the newbies because most of them are afraid to talk to anyone! Repeat conference attendees soon learn to do the same and then to encourage or even take the newcomer to talk with an MSC rep. But you may have read a post by a well-known troll from a couple of years ago who used such abusive language in some of her posts about new shoppers that she met that she was eventually banned for good. Among the newbies that I met, and whose tables I sat at during the recent Atlanta conference were a woman who is about to retire from a responsible job with the City of Chicago, an Iraqi war vet who is about to retire from his post as an admin at a community college; a woman who just got declared 100 percent disabled by the Air force and was encouraged by her counselor to took into MS as a was of rebuilding her work skills;. In the class of 30 beginning video shoppers that I hosted for a full day, most were quite new to MS and to conferences and none would have come within a mile of being scruffy.

Of course, if your daughter attends you can get a first hand report from her, as well.

What do you mean by getting started as a legal NV shopper; hotels, casinos and spas; taxes for Is, does the NV stand for Nevada? If so is there always a session like this with special attention to the hosting state?

NV is Nevada. If you search the forum you will find many discussions. Nevada is the only state that requires that MSers be employees, and not just any employees. They must be employed by a firm that hold a NV private investigation license. And the shopper must obtain a NV work card before they can become and MS employee. This entails fingerprinting, background check, etc. Only about 4-6 MS companies are set up with NV PI licenses and ALL other MSCs that want to do NV sites must have those companies schedule and pay ALL of their NV shops.
Time to learn how to use the forum "search feature"?

Once you pay for IMSC Nevada, can you get a refund?

I believe that you can, but with a deadline. I know that in some cases they have just credited it to the next event. Please email the IMSC contact with details. I cannot speak for them. I only know what I post because I ask questions of them.