I am slowly adding MSCs to my list, now that I have the awesome list on this forum to go by. This week, I was filling out the questions and suddenly I come up against a problem that I could not solve. This MSC said that you must have Windows. I do everything on a Chromebook, so Windows is impossible for me. Has anyone else come across Windows only companies? I had to email them and ask them to remove me from their list so that I would not get emails or call from them.

I would send a email to the company. Often some of the requirements are outdated and just forgotten about. Similar to area codes when long distance calling was expensive and before the tremendous increase in area codes due to cellphones.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2018 02:53PM by Jeffpeds1.

Hi. Glad you're enjoying the forum.

I too would have asked here BEFORE asking the company to deactivate me.

I have problems dealing with tech. I keep running across companies who want their reports "real time, on site". So far, every single one of them has allowed me to complete the report at home, after the shop.

I have severe RA, and my fingers just can't hit the right little buttons/icons/letters/numbers on that little phone screen -- not to mention that I just am slowly (very slowly!) mastering apps AT ALL (I have successfully geoverified and used Field Agent).

I still don't know how to add a contact to my cell phone (iPhone -- anybody wanna give me a lesson, I'm willing!), or send a text!

LOL!!!

@ceasesmith wrote:

Hi. Glad you're enjoying the forum.

I too would have asked here BEFORE asking the company to deactivate me.

I have problems dealing with tech. I keep running across companies who want their reports "real time, on site". So far, every single one of them has allowed me to complete the report at home, after the shop.

I have severe RA, and my fingers just can't hit the right little buttons/icons/letters/numbers on that little phone screen -- not to mention that I just am slowly (very slowly!) mastering apps AT ALL (I have successfully geoverified and used Field Agent).

I still don't know how to add a contact to my cell phone (iPhone -- anybody wanna give me a lesson, I'm willing!), or send a text!

LOL!!!

[www.gcflearnfree.org]

Good luck. Check which iPhone you have before you read the instructions. Feel free to PM.

Thanks so much jeffpeds!

You’re welcome. Many are hesitant to help on the forum. But anytime you have a question or problem just shoot me a PM.

You can also add and manage your contacts from your computer. You have an Apple ID for your iPhone, use that and your password to sign into [www.icloud.com] . You'll see the icon for contacts, click on it and you'll see the contacts already in your phone. There's a "+" on the lower left. Click there to add contacts or create groups. This may be easier than trying to tap all the information onto your phone.

Aha! A light at the end of the tunnel.

But I have absolutely no idea what my Apple ID is.

I try to remember...doesn't that light at the end of the tunnel usually signify a train?

Or sunlight after the train has left the tunnel and moved on.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Aha! A light at the end of the tunnel.

But I have absolutely no idea what my Apple ID is.

I try to remember...doesn't that light at the end of the tunnel usually signify a train?

[support.apple.com]

Your Apple ID is the email address you used when your iPhone was set up. Tap Settings and you’ll see your name at the top. Tap your name and on the next screen, you’ll see your Apple ID.

Exactly Troy. Great post. I only provided the link.

OP: When I first read your title, I thought it said, "Weddings thru MSC's" and I thought, 'They are mystery shopping weddings now?'

That's great, that would be so funny!

But whoever even thought that they would mystery shop churches? My oh my, when I went to the IMSC conference in 2015 that floored me when Faith Perceptions showed up and gave their presentation.

Another odd (real shop) was a MSC who exclusively evaluated medical centers, doctor's offices and clinics. You went inside as a patient (after you made your appointment) and you evaluated certain things. I never accepted one of those shops, Has anyone here evaluated medical clinics or doctor's offices?

Churches are money-making entities so it makes sense that they want to know how to appeal to a wider audience of potential customers. Sad, but true. And yes, I thought it odd at first until I did one and realized it was just another business.

I did some of the phone medical shops for that MSC. You had to do a certain amount of phone shops before they would let you do on-site visits. I don't remember why I only did a few and stopped...I don't know what happened to them.

I did a ton of the easy phone shops and then many where I visited offices and clinics without posing as a patient. I did ONE as a patient when I still had private insurance. However, doing patient shops if you have Medicare or Medicaid is considered fraud (Complicated, but even if the shoppers pays in cash and claims no insurance the MSC says it has been informed that it would be fraud, so those shoppers are disqualified.)

@walesmaven wrote:

However, doing patient shops if you have Medicare or Medicaid is considered fraud (Complicated, but even if the shoppers pays in cash and claims no insurance the MSC says it has been informed that it would be fraud, so those shoppers are disqualified.)

That's interesting to know. I used to consider applying for one of these, but, alas, I am now in the Medicare pool, so I guess I am no longer available.

Good to know, I do a ton of AARP Medicare shops, never did a "posing as a patient" shop, and didn't know it was fraud...since they see your age on your profile, they shouldn't send out an email, and I have gotten more than one. They never appealed to me anyway.

There are many office visit shops where you never see a doctor and anyone can do those.

The large medical center I recently retired from hired a mystery shop company to do phone shops. I saw them at the time and do not remember which msc it was and could not do them anyway. I never looked at the questionnaire but a few months later I was at a dept meeting and they announced they were putting their mystery shop program on hold because they did not think they were getting any useful info from the program. I offered to help them design the form but then I was a little fish there, not a high mucky muck so my help went unheeded and they probably hired some other company and paid them thousands to design another useless survey! I myself often wonder how useful some of these programs are esp when the design of the survey is bad.
Surveys can be just as poorly designed. Yesterday I heard that 84% of respondents in a survey of Disneyland employees said they often did not know where their next meal was coming from. They are using this statistic to push through a higher minimum wage. I am not against the min wage increase but I remember getting a survey like that when my kids were in high school. The day I filled it out I had not yet decided on dinner so I clicked that I did not know. I am pretty sure that was not the intent of the question but the surveyors always say just answer however you interpret it. Mystery shopping can be more precise but then again we are often not allowed to add comments when we think they would clarify what we wrote.