Gosh, I have been out of the loop. Just finding this thread in the past hour. I am guilty, also. I use my main email address but if I can't get one I switch to one of my other addressess. I just try whichever one comes to mind. And, frequently, in the past, I have had new surveys available under a different address with the same identical demographics that didn't show up with my main address. The only thing that varies is my salary. I am on the cusp and it changes from month to month.
I have done several automobile surveys, but they have all been different and I have really enjoyed them because I am in the market for a new vehichle and have been learning alot thru these surveys. I have had the same car for 10 yrs and since becoming a mom, just haven't paid much attn to cars. These surveys have done alot of my ground work in researching what I would like. Opened my eyes to alot of newer vehicles and some I never would have considered.
I'm sorry too - I'm sure I'm on the banned list and I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I used 3 e-mails, not counting any mispellings. The e-mails are mine, my dh's, and my dd's (who doesn't live with me but does visit). I'm sure I made other mistakes but if they look at the # of surveys I qualified for in January (5) it seems strange to qualify that as fraudulent.
I was just thinking the same thing as I was catching up on this thread. You would think that they would have a system in place that if the email address you enter is incorrect that it would let you into the survey. Also, if they can track that the same household has taken the same survey more than once than they should have a system in place so that it can be avoided. I talked with DH tonight and I think that in January DH and I took the same survey on Automobiles. Now, I know that his answers and mine would be totally different when it comes to cars. If they can track all of that you would think that they can track when you do a survey and then get redirected to some other site.
Gosh! I've been away from SR for like a day 1/2! I haven't been on the forum a lot ( I have a newly acquired addiction to ebay) All of of sudden I come back and find this! How sad. I haven't had a chance to read the whole thread, but I wanted to respond because I think it's so sad that Greenfield would look at us like this. I can't say I've tried multiple emails or anything (I only got like 6 surveys last month ) But I can't believe that people doing this could actually jeopardize SR! Good luck to the whole SR family, and if this has already been addressed, I'll probably read about it tomorrow so forgive me.
I'm going to add my two cents, and I don't throw money around lightly.
I've been thinking about this all day while at work and when reading tonight, it just confirms what I thought of today.
My dearest grandfather always said "It is easier to do something wrong and apologize later, than to do what is right and stand by your decision". And I think this is the case with GF.
In the past, Tricia was patted on the back from GF for the traffic she generated to GF. Sunshine Rewards is a powerful 10,000+ members and that can cover alot of demographics and revenue for GF. The very thing that they commend SR for can also be their scapegoat because they have to know just how dedicated we, the members are to SR, to generate the traffic we generated for them.
With that being said, this comes from the daily Survey page and from GF own admission:
Rules: Click on the banner above to fill out the "qualifying" information. If after you have filled out the qualifying information you are selected to take a survey, you will be rewarded .80 for filling out the survey completely. Please note that we are unable to trace the surveys beyond what Greenfield credits us for. If we do not receive credit for you for a particular survey automatically, Greenfield is unable to track your participation in any way. Do not request credit as we are unable to track beyond what we receive from them. You can only complete a survey once a day, but you may try as many times in a day as it takes to get accepted. Survey credits will appear in your accounts Monday through Friday except on holidays. Click Here if you cannot see the banner.
Plus how many of us have taken a survey completely to the end only to knocked out because of classification choices or not rerouted to the "congrats page" or just never recieved credit?
If they can't track if we completed a survey to pay us, then how can they email addys of the 34 or the 170 surveys of the one person?
IMO: I think GF wasn't following the policies set by one of their main clients. And instead of "doing what is right and standing by their decision" or admitting their fault, they passed the buck. Now I realize there is 100's of rewards sites, but SR does have some of the STRONGET DEDICATED member of any rewards site. So it would be "easier to do something wrong and apologize later" for GF. By passing the buck to Sunshine rewards, they get to save face with that client...like saying see we are trying to comply and make good with you. And by temporarily banning a % of SR members and allowing them to start taking surveys again after a cool down period, makes them look like they are trying to be fair.
Sorry but to me, it has to be more than a bunch of ladies who can't spell correctly while trying to complete a survey, tend to their children, answer the phone, cook supper, and whistle dixie at the same time.
A majority of those temporarily banned can be seen anytime on this forum and this forum is available to anyone to read-you don't have to be a member to read. Their dedication can be seen from helping each other, rallying whenever a glitch comes up or(and some of you wil remember this) the great cookie capper...how upset everyone was because someone tried to cheat the system(unintentionally or intentionally). Let's face it, those who were banned will always be with SR no matter what and I think GF knows this. Why else would they ban bad spellers, someone who has a large family, or someone who has 3 email addresses. I think they know, even through this, SR would remain strong and her members would stand behind her.
OK...hoppin' off the soapbox for now.
And Tricia, if you need to delete this, feel free to do so, but this has been eating at me and needed to be said.
Last edited by sunshinemckenzie; 02-06-2008 at 12:16 AM.
This is blatant cheating. However having 3 email addresses or mistyping your email address does not seem to be cheating. I have used three email addresses (and more if you count typos, because I can't type without messing up!) We have three adults in our home and they have answered the surveys. I would say that if my husband and I have done some of the same surveys then the answers would be either really similar or totally different depending on the subject! HOWEVER, it was opinions of two separate people so where is the beef??? The third email is my Mom who I have asked to take a few surveys when I have been trying to reach a goal of 20 - 30 surveys in a month. Her income, age etc is vastly different from ours as are her opinions.
Greenfield is creepy as they can have us jump through hoops and spend 25- 45 minutes on a survey only to deny credit (for whatever reason) when you send them an email detailing the problems or concerns they are "unable to help or track the problem" However now they know everything there is to know about us, we are all cheats and fraquds and stealing their precious .80 a day. I DO NOT REPEAT DO NOT do surveys on any other site my maximum ever has been 30 surveys and that was waaaaaayyyyyyyyy too much work.
Tricia you had a great idea offering the incentive to do a certain number of surveys a month. As with everything else you will have your Blatant fraud and then you will have the little guys who make honest mistakes. Or if you got a second survey in a day by some lucky chance you figure it was good karma for all the lousy ones you did only to be denied credit. Certainly not a crime punishable by greenfield.
That being said, since this is SR's livelihood may I suggest the first thought I had when this monster reared it's ugly head......aren't there other companies offeing surveys who might like and even welcome SR's members???? I don't mean to sound flip but I would think that there are other survey sites out there.
I think SR is basically a great group and will follow the rules as posted and would most likely welcome a fresh group of surveys if available. With 10,000 members however as with anything you wll have the ones who do not follow the rules and need to be weeded out. (Like the one with 29 email addresses or whatever) BUt again, that is blatant so I would try a new survey company spell out the rules and trust that your members will carry you through.
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