OpinionOutpost frustration

[Huntress]

Thanks again Sherry for yet another very thorough reply. I only am active in a two panels currently. I might hang around for OO given that it seems by this thread I'm not being singled-out for d/q'ing. (But I do resent the implication regarding the 'data inconsistencies'.)

[peach6]

I have had my share of problems with OO but I will say I make the most with them and that is one of the reasons I do surveys.

[avemaria]

it's easy once you get the feel for how to work around the problems.. the problem is you have to go through the problems to recognize them in the future.. but things tend to repeat so you know in time which ones to skip and how long to take on them.. in general you're safe if you complete it in a time that is about 75% of the time they list it as.. sometimes you can manage faster.. but I never finish in the listed time.. it's always less.. and if I know i've gone too fast, i just leave it open in another window while i do something else... toward the end i'll answer the 'final' questions one every 30 seconds or so just to drag out the time..

but the major problem i have is screening out.. i can't get a pulse on when it will come most time.. also i keep getting alcohol surveys even though i've told them at least 500 times i don't drink.. i still get daily, 'which of these do you drink' questions..

[Sherry67]

Huntress -

Again, good luck! Keep in mind that all of that stuff I wrote about happened to me just over one week's time. That is not a good sign -- and then, to boot, coincidentally, I have not gotten paid for the very same survey from Pinecone that I later saw pop up on Opinion Outpost (even though I didn't do the survey on OO), and this is the first time ever that Pinecone has not paid me. So I have a feeling that OO is going to be a headache for me in a few ways.

By the way, I know that people want to think that the customer service at OO is actually helpful. They take calls and they e-mail back, so that is different from other places. But they really are useless. I don't think they have any actual technical people on staff! When I was on the phone with them last week, trying to troubleshoot the issue of why I kept getting the "Runtime Error" page during every cash-out attempt, on two browsers, I was told to switch to a 3rd browser and see if it worked. (And then they had me e-mail them screen shots and URLs and all of this mess, none of which seemed to help in letting me cash out. That's when I told them that there is no reason any member should have to try 3 different browsers to get a cash out to work, and that the problem was on OO's end.

I finally reloaded Firefox onto my PC (against my better judgment), and the cash-out worked.

This morning I got an e-mail from Opinion Outpost telling me to "always use only one browser when making a redemption, and be sure to sign in to your dashboard at http://www.opinionoutpost.com/Secured/My-Dashboard.." !!!!! Where else have I been signing in all along, if not there?

I think they are backwards and totally inept, to be honest. They just run their members around in circles, acting as though they are helping when they are really only listening to us vent!

[SeriousSurveyer]

They sure aren't good with technical issues but the support staff does well as far as issues with points and they reply somewhat quickly. There are a lot of errors to wade through on their site but I like their surveys overall so as long as they keep paying in a reasonable timeframe they're okay with me.

[Huntress]

I just joined OO yesterday based on its high-ranking on this site. I answered a few questions (might've just been profile surveys without points) but then I started running into some of the problems listed here when I began taking surveys:

survey on cell phones for 15 points which took me ~30 minutes--I got to the end and was asked if I wanted to continue with another 19 minute section not for any points, but for an additional sweepstakes entry. Well after about 8-10 minutes, I got the infamous 'unable to record participation--this could have happened because you were either flagged for data concerns or someone else already participated using this computer'.

As far as 'data concerns'--I answered the questions as truthfully and as accurately as I could. I might've misinterpreted a question, but I certainly was not trying to rush through the survey or answer dishonestly. I could understand not receiving point for the second optional section--but apparently I received no points for the initial survey which I completed either!

I wrote to them and am awaiting a reply. ....

Update: I just received a reply--they added the 15 points to my account.