Update: I appear to have created quite the stir! The DVD is getting a lot of positive reviews. Read the comments for yourself, and let me know what you think! Maybe the Gold DVD is worth it for you?
I have been involved in the mystery shopping world for around three years now. In that time, I have talked to a lot of very experienced mystery shoppers. Some of them were proponents of getting certified by the MSPA, and some said it was definitely not worth it.
But with the release of the NEW Gold Certification DVD, I whole-heartedly believe that you should NOT order it. I have two main reasons:
1. It costs you one hundred dollars of your hard earned money, but it will do nothing in terms of actually getting you better assignments. If you want to learn more about mystery shopping, then the absolutely BEST way to do that is to go out and complete an assignment. Instead of costing you money, you might actually make a little bit. Update: It appears that getting certified does help you get more assignments. However, it is not clear that Gold Certification does.
2. ALL mystery shopping companies give out assignments to the shoppers they believe are the MOST qualified — and the only way to prove your worth to a company is to go out and complete an assignment for them. They might be more willing to give you a better assignment right off the bat if you have a “gold certification” — but thats not likely, unless they’re desperate. The fact is, the only way to get the best assignments is to PROVE YOURSELF to the company you are working with. The Gold Certification just isn’t necessary to do that — and will fall short in almost all cases.
3. If you REALLY want to get your Gold Certification, then go to a live seminar! By ordering the DVD you will miss out on all of the networking opportunities that are available at the certification seminars. It is the networking that has value for you. And it just ain’t happening with the DVD.
4. There is almost unlimited knowledge about mystery shopping available to you on any one of the various mystery shopping forums. This is REAL-WORLD knowledge from real mystery shoppers. Not from a trade association that does nothing to help mystery shoppers, except offer an overpriced certification that doesn’t actually benefit you. I run MysteryShopForum.com and am often humbled by the level of knowledge of the members there, which often surpasses mine! If you have any questions about mystery shopping, then you are far more likely to get them answered in a forum than from the Gold Certification DVD.
Ultimately, I do not see the MSPA as an independent organization. They are focused on helping mystery shopping companies, and are not primarily concerned with mystery shoppers. That is not to say they are a bad organization — but I do not feel that they have anything significant to offer us at this time.
Oh geeze, I read this one day too late… I ordered the DVD yesterday! Oh well…
I am a Gold certified shopper and have received some great offers to shop because of the certification. I agree with Jacob that you could get these same jobs without the certification, but I believe I got some great high paying jobs due to the fact that I had received it. The schedulers who look at the MSPA believe that this person is really serious about wanting to shop and therefore, will not flake or cancel and will be diligent in completing the assignment. I also agree that the networking at the Gold Certification workshop was good because there were several mystery shopping companies there to sign us up to shop. The advantage of the DVD will be that you will be able to view it several times, while those of us who attended the workshop had to take a lot of notes in order to retain what was being said. So, in a nut shell, I believe you’ll recoup your investment as well as being able to write the cost off as an education expense for your independent contractor business. I also scheduled for a well-known scheduling company for awhile and I know that I would choose a gold certified shopper if one signed up for the shop over someone who was not certified. I also found out that I could make better money as a shopper than as a scheduler, so don’t be afraid to step out and shop, shop, SHOP!
I know Pat is right about getting the Gold. When I first started I took the test and got the Silver the only jobs they offer you are jobs that pay $8.00,$10.00. Gas is expensive some of the jobs if I took them I would gain absolutely nothing at all as far as making money.
Not too long ago I wrote in the Forum that I felt that they would not send you the better paying jobs until you get the Gold and I was not wrong. I am very interested in getting the Gold and I will see how the jobs pay once I get the Gold.
I received better shops, after I became silver certified. But, after 2 years mystery shopping, I am getting better appointments. I plan to get the gold. I believe, it will affect the auto scheduling. Certification is a tool, but, nothing works without experience.
All,
I was the President of the MSPA in 2007 and in large part the driving force behind the creation of this DVD. I want to first say that I have NOTHING personally to gain out of the success of the DVD, nor does any member of the MSPA. Obviously the success of any program that drives revenues helps the MSPA on the whole, but rest assured that is NOT the reason for this DVD. I respect your opinion Jacob, but think it is very important to clarify a few things and pass along some information that you typically may not get from an Association.
The MSPA has invested more than $120,000 in the creation of this DVD. After many board meetings it was decided that we would do whatever it took to create a program that would all but ensure the skill level of a shopper. The current Gold workshop does not ensure that. If you think that this was created as a revenue generator for MSPA, do the math. If this has the same success as Live Gold, we will break even in about 2 years.
Here is a response to each of your points.
1. You said “but it will do nothing in terms of actually getting you better assignments.” This is 100% not true. For instance at my company I use KSS Scheduling on all of our shops. KSS sends all of our available jobs out to certified shoppers first then offers what is left to non-certified shoppers. I can’t speak for every other company, but I believe anyone that uses KSS is on the same system. We also schedule many high level shops and LP shops that require specific testing done through our company, but we again use certified shoppers first for these assignments. It should also be noted that the bar was raised so much higher with Gold DVD than it is with Live Gold that I believe more and more companies that may not have the same policy as I do, will begin to incorporate it.
2. This is correct; the best way to get more assignments is to prove yourself. But you can’t prove yourself without getting a shop to prove yourself on. So all things being equal, we are going to give a certified shopper a chance to prove themselves before a non-certified shopper.
3. Very true. We love that shoppers show up for the networking aspect. Meeting you guys face to face is great. I’m sure you love meeting our schedulers, editors and account managers. But we only have so many Live workshops and we may never come to your neck of the woods. We have had so many shoppers say “when are you coming to our city?” We think the money is better spent trying to give everyone access to Gold Certification rather than adding a city to do a Live workshop where 15 people might show up. Plus, the results of the training at the Live Gold show that although you are having a good time networking, we don’t believe it correlates as highly as we would like to a big jump in your abilities as a mystery shopper….which is the real goal. Gold DVD does that and our members know it.
4. This is great advice, we encourage all new and current mystery shoppers to gain any knowledge they can, especially when it comes from experienced shoppers. As far as I know, there isn’t an experienced shopper out there training potential shoppers on how to write a great narrative. If there were, they would charge for such services, which is in essence what the MSPA is doing. If that doesn’t show that we care about the shoppers, I don’t know what would. I personally would love to hear suggestions on how we can “show the love” to the shoppers. We spend hours upon hours discussing this in board meetings, so it’s troubling that shoppers would have this point of view.
Lastly, an amazing thing has happened over the last few years. The PR efforts of the MSPA has educated the end user (our clients) a lot about the industry and you the shopper. I have had many clients say to me “Do you use MSPA certified shoppers?” or a proposal for new business that asks the question “How many certified shoppers do you have in your database?” This is amazing and exactly what we ALL want to see. It helps us provide a better product to our clients and helps you guys by more companies adding mystery shopping programs because the level of the results they get back has improved.
Tom Mills
CEO
Service Sleuth/The Mershimer Group
I respect Jacob’s comments and appreciate putting together a blog for shoppers and others. I just wanted to comment that my company, IntelliShop, has been a strong supporter of MSPA Shopper Certification from day one. We give preference to certified shoppers over those who aren’t, and to Gold vs. Silver. We encourage ALL shoppers to get certified.
Thanks Tom for posting some great information that shoppers should see. My company as well uses Kern Scheduling for all of our shops and we give first priority to Gold Certified shoppers, the shops are released to the rest of the shoppers after a 24 hour window. Game Film is a proud supporter of Gold DVD and feel confident that it will provide shoppers with invaluable information and raise their level of performance. This is a win-win opportunity that creates higher caliber shoppers, which leads to better shops, happier clients, which will lead to more shops in the future. Go for the Gold!!!
Renee DeSantis
President
Game Film Consultants
We believe so strongly in the professionalism of our shoppers, that are gold or silver certified, that we have revised our scheduling system in order to seek out certified shoppers before posting shops for others to pick up. Our certified shoppers require less follow-up, therefore saving us time and money. The Gold DVD is a God send since we typically shop in remote markets and these shoppers are unable to attend workshops.
Carl Phillips
Director
Customer 1st
The reason a shoppers should get certified (silver and/or gold) is to improve their position as an independent contractor. This is particularly true for any shopper that has not completed an assignment for a company. As one of the owners of Beyond Hello and the current President of the MSPA I feel the facts speak for themselves.
Certified Shoppers get on average;
19% higher ratings on their completed shops
44% less likely to be deactivated
63% less likely to flake on a shop
So, if you were a scheduler looking at two new, untested shoppers for an assignment, who would you choose? The choice is obvious. Get certified!
http://www.mysteryshop.org/shoppers/certification.php
Christopher Warzynski
Vice President, Beyond Hello Inc.
2008 President, Mystery Shopping Providers Association, MSPA
Thank you everyone for the very valuable feedback! You just might have changed my mind about this whole certification thing. Thank you very much for listening, and for taking the time to put your word in.
I can understand the controversy because you are wrong on this. I have believed you about everything but I became silver certified and have made at least $500-$1000 from special invites of jobs I would not have known about before and if your going to tell me a $15 investment is not worth $500-$1000 then your in the wrong business. And then if I have made $500-$1000 being silver certified and over 150 of the most well known companies use the MSPA certifications then being gold should attain me more shops and even if it did not I am still making money. I have been told by many companies I am close with that if I was gold I would have gotten that shop and I used to be a scheduler for Kern international and we did offer shops to gold shoppers first and would give more leeway to those shoppers.
This makes me think you methodology since this is crazy. I respect you having an opinion but to say don’t get certified by MSPA is wrong.
I agree with many of the comments out here from the schedules and some from Jacob. Yes, I agree that certification is important. But I also feel that having a good rating at a company is also important. I am silver certified and am unsure if I would purchase the DVD. I would personally prefer a live workshop.
I am not saying that there is no value to the DVD, I am simply stating my preference. I have found, being a silver certified member and creating good reports has been enough to keep me going. I have schedulers that pick up the phone and call to see if I would be willing to accept last minute assignments and I do not attribute that to my certification, but instead to my reputation with the scheduler as someone who completes assignments on time.
I just took the Gold DVD and I’m sorry to say that you are way off this time. The information provided in the dvd is excellent. It will help me to reduce errors in my reporting as well as provide better reports that includes exactly the things the editors are looking for. This gave me information on almost everything I could have thought to ask. I HIGHLY recommend investing in the Gold DVD. ( i’m glad I read your post a day to late)
I am neither gold or silver certified and I still receive high paying jobs. I believe in furthering myself at anytime but if I still get the jobs I don’t see how the DVD would help me. I have been doing shopping for about two years and the highest paid job I got was $200 with a $100 bonus and that was without any training. I think that if you show the companies you are a good shopper that your name and work will speak for itself.
I concur 100% with Mr. Mills, and all the others who have supported the MSPA Gold DVD Certification. The field of mystery shopping is currently open to anyone to join, and is not regulated or monitored as thoroughly as other industries. Many organizations exist to provide certification for their members to develop professionally and provide a way for employees to prove their value to employers and to be confident about their knowledge of their field. It seems every profession has a certification; why do all these certifications exist? In a word: CONFIDENCE! Employers can have confidence hiring certified prospects over uncertified – or unproven – prospects. Employees gain confidence knowing they are truly professionals in their field – and are often rewarded for it. As Mr. Mills states, a shopper with MSPA Certification is more likely to be offered work that not only pays more, but is more rewarding to the shopper. This is due to an increasing awareness on the part of our clients to understand everything that impacts their bottom-line. And obtaining valuable, quantifiable data from the eyes of the customer is the best way to connect key performance indicators with activities in the field (Cause and Effect; Inspect what you Expect). When a company who specializes in the core competency commonly referred to as “mystery shopping” can prove to their clients the quality of those individuals performing the evaluations, the value of the information obtained increases substantially – as does the value of the work performed, and subsequently this value can translate directly into more pay for the mystery shopper.
Therefore, mystery shopper certification is not merely a means for organizations like MSPA to generate revenue; it is the means by which mystery shoppers can generate increased revenue for themselves, while lending credibility to the work they provide and a sense of personal accomplishment.
Richard Eastham
Project Manager
Service Evaluation Concepts, Inc.
I would like to purchase your DVD….so what is the price? You are doing a splendid job keeping up with your clientele. I enjoyed the testimonials.
Don’t give up on me….I just need some time.
Have a good day and hope to talk to you soon.
Janis 🙂
I have been shopping for about two years. I am not certified, but I fully intend to get both the Silver and the Gold. If you are serious about doing this as a business, I feel that the cost is not that much. Any additional information is a good thing to me. I am thankful that this DVD has been made since I probably could not attend a live seminar.
I have worked for several of the companies who use Kern Scheduling, and I am glad to hear that they do reward their shoppers who are certified.
Thanks,
Janet in Tulsa, Ok.
Well since I am new at this, I do believe in time I will get gold certified, like everything else in this country you must have education. I say this beacuase it will take you more time to study the dvd than to write notes in a seminar, at least you can go over the dvd over and over again not only to obtain the information but to put it into practice. At this time I am taking a lot of these test with different shopping companies. Thanks forr sending me this.
Anyone who is serious about developing a steady income stream from mystery shopping should seriously consider certification.
And since taxes are on everyone’s mind — don’t forget that the cost of certification, whether the DVD or a trip to a live conference, is a business expense to offset your self employment income on your income tax form on the Schedule C.
I recently went to one of the companies that I shop for MGC and they had some great high dollar restaurant shops available but you could only apply if you were silver or gold certified. I am not and missed out. I plan on getting certified asap. I have however been shopping for over a year and I receive high paying jobs all the time. Experience and dependability count.
Sincerely,
Michele Scherdin
Shopper Louisiana
I have just purchased the DVD for Gold Certification. As a retired professional salesman, I have invested thousands of dollars in motivational materials including books, tapes and seminars in improving my skills over a quarter century. I am thankful that I can become Gold Certified in the convenience of my own home without the added travel and lodging expense. I agree that you make your “mark” by doing the job and doing it well. But to say “Don’t waste your hundred dollars” on something developed by MSPA seems an ignorant assertion by someone only in the business for three years. I thank MSPA and the many companies who have financially backed this training experience. As far as the networking, attending the MSPA National Conference will likely be a good investment, too. “You cannot be serious about Mystery Shopping if you are unwilling to invest in your business!”
Is it the money you are interested in or the satisfaction of making a difference in the way customers are served? If it is only about the money, you are likely in the wrong business.
Get Silver and then Go for the Gold. It is the pathway to your future as a serious professional mystery shopper.
I am convinced that becoming certified is probably the way to go if you plan on being serious about Mystery Shopping. What I am not sure of is if you are neither Silver or Gold certified yet, do you need to be Silver certified before doing the Gold, or can you go straight to the Gold?
Hi: There is good points in everything said, both for and against purchasing the DVD. I have been shopping for over two years now and are not certified but found little by little as shopped for more companies I started getting higher paying shops. I think it probably happens faster if you are certified but those of you that don’t want to put out the money should know that dependability and doing a good shop gets you the higher paying shops too.
Can anyone tell me how to go about getting silver certification, please?
I have to comments on some of this…First, I do not believe or agree with the owners of the companies pushing this certification. I think that if mystery shopping companies believe in it so much then they should help there dependable, steady workers by offseting the cost of the certification. And as for it costing 100.00, sorry but that is a crock. That is way too much to be able to say you got a gold dvd. Most of us do this job becuase we like it but we can’t afford to make 60.00 and then spend 100.00. Many jobs pay 10 or 12 and if you are saying that I can get a 100.00 paying job without having to SPEND 100.00 on food, give me a real example. Becuase if it paid for itself very quickly, that would be fine. But asking me to spend 120.00 at the Ruth’s Steakhouse and giving me the 120.00 back is not the same as paying me 120.00! I am not even sure I want to shop for some of the companies now that prefer a 100.00 expense for a DVD over a long list of experience!
I’ve been shopping since 2004 and I can tell you the single most important thing is to build a good relationship with at least 4-5 companies. Shop for them regularly and complete those shops with high quality work. Every 6 to 12 months, you will see more opportunities arise and your pay will go up. Not only that, but you will start getting referred to other schedulers for unique and well paying shops.
The other thing I should mention, is that I do NOT have a certification. Did that hurt my ability to get shops when I first started? Possibly. However, I rectified that within 6-9 months of starting, with establishing myself as a good reliable shopper as keyed in above.
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