Master Scalir called me over the weekend and told me that there was a "focus group" study for BMW owners. It would take 2 hours.
He does this type of shit all the time for extra cash, but I don't bother with it because it's usually not worth my time.
However, this one was worth $250 cash, which was barely enough to push me from the "too much of a pain in the ass" school of thought to the "okay, this is worth doing" decision.
So I called the number and signed up for it. They asked me a few questions, apparently intended to figure out which other luxury brands that BMW owners might also consider. It was not clear which company was paying for this survey.
I ended up with a 7-9pm slot on Wednesday, July 20 (today).
The location of the survey was about 25 miles away, which normally would take about 30 minutes to drive, but traffic in southern CA can change that. Indeed, there was some moderate traffic, and it was going to be close whether I would make it or not, even though I left home at about 6:20.
I parked my car at 6:58pm and sprinted in there. It was located in a mall, and by the time I located the exact place to go, it was 7:02 when I walked in.
The exact time was important, because they stated that latecomers would be turned away and not get paid.
However, Master Scalir told me that sometimes they overbook and just kick you loose after paying you, so I figured maybe this could be an edge, as the later people are probably more likely to be kicked loose.
Anyway I got in there about 7:02 and they took my ID and car registration (to prove that I was a licensed driver & BMW owner).
About 3 minutes later, another woman came out and told me to "sign out".
Another guy there for the survey looked confused, and asked if he had to sign.
The woman said, "No, we can't allow people showing up late to do the survey", and my heart sank. I drove all that way and was about to be turned away with nothing, just because I was 2 minutes late.
I took a deep breath and got ready to argue, preparing to claim that it was only 2 minutes late and the place was difficult to find within the mall.
"... So we are paying him his incentive and sending him home," she finished.
She handed me $250 cash.
Pretty sure that her explanation was BS, and that they were simply overbooked, and this was the way to make it look like they weren't choosing certain people over others to go home.
So, the plan was to leave your house at 6:20, sit through an excruciating 2 hours of nonsense and then return home at around 9:40. All for $250. You are a super weird guy.
So, the plan was to leave your house at 6:20, sit through an excruciating 2 hours of nonsense and then return home at around 9:40. All for $250. You are a super weird guy.
You forgot to subtract what Druff duked Scalir for the lead referral.
So, the plan was to leave your house at 6:20, sit through an excruciating 2 hours of nonsense and then return home at around 9:40. All for $250. You are a super weird guy.
Wouldn't have been an excruciating 2 hours. It wouldn't have been fun, but it likely would have just been answering various questions about my opinions of various luxury cars. It would have been mildly interesting from the standpoint of seeing the features of other similar cars and thinking about how I would compare them to my current car. Not something I'd do for fun, but it's not like they were making me do something really mind-numbing, like data entry or something.
The drive back would have been quick and easy because it would be after 9pm.
I did estimate the whole thing would take a little more than 3 hours, but that averages to over $80 per hour.
If you make $80 per hour at a full time job, that earns you $166k per year. So I wasn't working for peanuts.
I also knew there was some chance I would be kicked loose immediately, as what actually occurred (though I wasn't counting on this).
I will spend 3 hours to make a guaranteed $250 as long as the work is relatively easy, and I'm not expected to do it every day.
Not sure what you think is so weird about that.
Am I supposed to look down on $250 because I play poker pots all night where most are over $250? Because I don't think that way.
Master Scalir called me over the weekend and told me that there was a "focus group" study for BMW owners. It would take 2 hours.
He does this type of shit all the time for extra cash, but I don't bother with it because it's usually not worth my time.
However, this one was worth $250 cash, which was barely enough to push me from the "too much of a pain in the ass" school of thought to the "okay, this is worth doing" decision.
So I called the number and signed up for it. They asked me a few questions, apparently intended to figure out which other luxury brands that BMW owners might also consider. It was not clear which company was paying for this survey.
I ended up with a 7-9pm slot on Wednesday, July 20 (today).
The location of the survey was about 25 miles away, which normally would take about 30 minutes to drive, but traffic in southern CA can change that. Indeed, there was some moderate traffic, and it was going to be close whether I would make it or not, even though I left home at about 6:20.
I parked my car at 6:58pm and sprinted in there. It was located in a mall, and by the time I located the exact place to go, it was 7:02 when I walked in.
The exact time was important, because they stated that latecomers would be turned away and not get paid.
However, Master Scalir told me that sometimes they overbook and just kick you loose after paying you, so I figured maybe this could be an edge, as the later people are probably more likely to be kicked loose.
Anyway I got in there about 7:02 and they took my ID and car registration (to prove that I was a licensed driver & BMW owner).
About 3 minutes later, another woman came out and told me to "sign out".
Another guy there for the survey looked confused, and asked if he had to sign.
The woman said, "No, we can't allow people showing up late to do the survey", and my heart sank. I drove all that way and was about to be turned away with nothing, just because I was 2 minutes late.
I took a deep breath and got ready to argue, preparing to claim that it was only 2 minutes late and the place was difficult to find within the mall.
"... So we are paying him his incentive and sending him home," she finished.
She handed me $250 cash.
Pretty sure that her explanation was BS, and that they were simply overbooked, and this was the way to make it look like they weren't choosing certain people over others to go home.
EASY MARK SFO
Is this a national study that can be done in every state or only California? As the proud owner of a BMW and a Lexus if this is nationwide can you send me this information. 4
Master Scalir called me over the weekend and told me that there was a "focus group" study for BMW owners. It would take 2 hours.
He does this type of shit all the time for extra cash, but I don't bother with it because it's usually not worth my time.
However, this one was worth $250 cash, which was barely enough to push me from the "too much of a pain in the ass" school of thought to the "okay, this is worth doing" decision.
So I called the number and signed up for it. They asked me a few questions, apparently intended to figure out which other luxury brands that BMW owners might also consider. It was not clear which company was paying for this survey.
I ended up with a 7-9pm slot on Wednesday, July 20 (today).
The location of the survey was about 25 miles away, which normally would take about 30 minutes to drive, but traffic in southern CA can change that. Indeed, there was some moderate traffic, and it was going to be close whether I would make it or not, even though I left home at about 6:20.
I parked my car at 6:58pm and sprinted in there. It was located in a mall, and by the time I located the exact place to go, it was 7:02 when I walked in.
The exact time was important, because they stated that latecomers would be turned away and not get paid.
However, Master Scalir told me that sometimes they overbook and just kick you loose after paying you, so I figured maybe this could be an edge, as the later people are probably more likely to be kicked loose.
Anyway I got in there about 7:02 and they took my ID and car registration (to prove that I was a licensed driver & BMW owner).
About 3 minutes later, another woman came out and told me to "sign out".
Another guy there for the survey looked confused, and asked if he had to sign.
The woman said, "No, we can't allow people showing up late to do the survey", and my heart sank. I drove all that way and was about to be turned away with nothing, just because I was 2 minutes late.
I took a deep breath and got ready to argue, preparing to claim that it was only 2 minutes late and the place was difficult to find within the mall.
"... So we are paying him his incentive and sending him home," she finished.
She handed me $250 cash.
Pretty sure that her explanation was BS, and that they were simply overbooked, and this was the way to make it look like they weren't choosing certain people over others to go home.
EASY MARK SFO
Is this a national study that can be done in every state or only California? As the proud owner of a BMW and a Lexus if this is nationwide can you send me this information. 4
$250 is $250
I think it was only in Los Angeles and New Jersey.
Audi continues its U.S. sales ascent with 63rd consecutive sales record for March
The person on the phone seemed to ask me a lot of questions about Audi, making me believe that they were the frontrunner for the sponsors of the survey.
The $250 I received was actually from the car company putting the survey on. They pay all of the pahticipants, and then pay the survey company a premium on top of that.
I have a friend who used to run a company that did shit like this, and then she came to me last year in a panic because she hadn't been keeping proper financial records (including the names of the pahticipants being paid), and the IRS was sending her threatening letters. I gave her the best advice I could, and I think it actually worked, because she shipped the IRS some money and some hastily prepared records (some kinda fudged and estimated), and they seemed to have accepted it last I heard.
So, the plan was to leave your house at 6:20, sit through an excruciating 2 hours of nonsense and then return home at around 9:40. All for $250. You are a super weird guy.
How is that any different from the average session of poker?
I was browsing my favourite football/soccer team's website and a pop up asked if I would like to do a survey and earn £50 to spend in the store.
I said yes, and this woman rang me and asked me what I thought about the website. I was actually the perfect person to do this because I knew everything about it, such as leaving things in your shopping cart so hours later it sends you a discount incentive to buy the goods.
Anyway, 30 mins later I was able to get myself the new seasons shirt for free =D
These things are worth doing if you are happy with the incentive they offer, but getting paid for overbooking is just ridiculously good value!
One time I did a quick little 10 minute survey online for a local college, and then received $5 cash in envelope via USPS. Not even a 5-dollar bill either....5 crisp one-dollar bills.
So, the plan was to leave your house at 6:20, sit through an excruciating 2 hours of nonsense and then return home at around 9:40. All for $250. You are a super weird guy.
Wouldn't have been an excruciating 2 hours. It wouldn't have been fun, but it likely would have just been answering various questions about my opinions of various luxury cars. It would have been mildly interesting from the standpoint of seeing the features of other similar cars and thinking about how I would compare them to my current car. Not something I'd do for fun, but it's not like they were making me do something really mind-numbing, like data entry or something.
The drive back would have been quick and easy because it would be after 9pm.
I did estimate the whole thing would take a little more than 3 hours, but that averages to over $80 per hour.
If you make $80 per hour at a full time job, that earns you $166k per year. So I wasn't working for peanuts.
I also knew there was some chance I would be kicked loose immediately, as what actually occurred (though I wasn't counting on this).
I will spend 3 hours to make a guaranteed $250 as long as the work is relatively easy, and I'm not expected to do it every day.
Not sure what you think is so weird about that.
Am I supposed to look down on $250 because I play poker pots all night where most are over $250? Because I don't think that way.
$250 is $250.
I know you don't have a regular job, so I guess it's different for you. I value my free time, especially my evenings. There are enough obligations in life that ruin a free evening, I just wouldn't waste one like that for a couple of bucks. It's got nothing to do with the per hour rate.
So, the plan was to leave your house at 6:20, sit through an excruciating 2 hours of nonsense and then return home at around 9:40. All for $250. You are a super weird guy.
How is that any different from the average session of poker?
How is it different from someone paying you to kick you in your balls? I'm assuming different activities have different levels of enjoyment to the guy.
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Originally Posted by ToasterOven
