What is up with some of these survey companies?

[loriecampbell]

Some of these survey companies have taken advantage of me and my time more than several times now and I'm sick and tired of it!!! I just spent 15-20 minutes on a perfume survey only to get "sorry you don't qualify". I, personally, don't know how they get away with it because they are asking very drawn out long questions that anyone can see is an actual survey! Shame on them!     

[falcon9]

Some of these survey companies have taken advantage of me and my time more than several times now and I'm sick and tired of it!!! I just spent 15-20 minutes on a perfume survey only to get "sorry you don't qualify". I, personally, don't know how they get away with it because they are asking very drawn out long questions that anyone can see is an actual survey! Shame on them!     

FusionCash is not like a restaurant; our paying customers aren't you members but rather the advertisers and survey providers.  Members like yourself are independent contractors, and you get paid rather than paying us (like you do with most businesses).

We work hard to balance the needs of our members (without whom there wouldn't be a site) and our advertisers (without whom we couldn't keep the lights on).  This means a number of compromises: we have to limit the amount of bonuses we issue (we don't earn anything from it being your birthday... not to mention that with 2.3 million members we'd be issuing approximately 6000 birthday bonuses per day on average... not to FURTHER mention that if there was a birthday bonus, people might tell their referrals to choose a fake birthdate which is coming up soon so that they can get an additional bonus [and an incentive to falsify information is bad]).

As for survey qualification, it's a complex issue:
1) Surveys are often routed through two or more survey systems, and they rarely share information: so you may have to "qualify" for a survey multiple times.
2) Surveys are typically targeted at one demographic "slice", for example "males in the midwest".  Once the quota of "males in the midwest" is full, you wont qualify anymore.  You may see other people being credited for the same survey, because they're in a different 'slice'.
3) Since your qualification depends on your demographics (which you can't control) different members have different experiences with surveys.  For some, who are among rarer demographics, they almost always click through, qualify and get credited.  For others, among more common demographics, they have more difficulties qualifying. 

To belabor the restaurant metaphor, a survey provider might "order" 200 survey completions from "males in the midwest".  If we delivered them "females in new york" instead, they'd rightfully be dissatisfied; like getting fish 'n chips when you ordered a steak.  This is why taking surveys can be frustrating, inconsistent work.  If there was a way to improve it, we would, but you can't really tell a multi-billion dollar multinational research firm that their survey platform "needs to be fixed"...

[davidh121]

I think anyone who has done the online rotating paying surveys have been in the same boat sometime or another, which can be frustrating. The survey might have a very long screener process and/or poorly designed. In the end if the added stress is getting to you I recommend to take a break or give them up all together. The extra dollar or so is not always worth it.

[kay7]

I think the complaint was not about the time spent so much as the time spent answering product specific questions clearly not part of determining a demographic.  I've run into the same thing but not very often.  I think the problem is the advertiser gets his limit while you're completing the survey and then you're just SOL but it doesn't seem right when it happens to you    I had one just yesterday but it wasn't perfume.  I can't remember what it was for right now - guess I've wiped that product and advertiser from my brain as I move on about my business 

[kristalie]

I have this problem too but I think everyone does! I don't think they're intentionally scamming us, I just think that things get mixed up in their automatic qualification process.

[loriecampbell]

Thank you for your feedback Fusion folks. Just have to learn to suck it up and move forward. All in all this is still the best online survey I've come across.     

[rabbitpbcup]

I totally agree!! Out of the 10 i did yesterday i only got credit for one!!! 

[patti4me]

It is frustrating to spend so much time answering very specific questions only to be disqualified;  I've had this happen so many times I've lost count.  I usually get the crazy notion that I have actually qualified for the survey the questions are so specific and I've already congratulated myself (mentally, not verbally) only to be let down when I get the SORRY screen.  lol  Course, I'll keep trying cause thats what it takes to make the money. 

[bostonphil]

Surveys seems to be a hit or a miss. I do not qualify for many but when i do, I have had some very good experiences and a few bad ones. this is not limitted to Fusion Cash. This is true for all my sites.

I do know what you mean. I have completed some surveys and never got credit. I have spent a lot of time on the survey, 10 minutes or more, even got to the complete or thank you page and no credit or I got "sorry, but you are disqualified". 

You take your chances when you begin a survey.