~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

by Scar Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:37 am

Mrschia started a thread for to ask JoeC questions.
She wanted to make it easier for Joe to come and address questions with out wading through post after post.
I went through the original thread and picked out only the questions.
If I missed your question in the other thread I apologize, please repost it here.
I shortened some of your posts, and picked out the questions only.
I’m not the forum police LOL or even a Mod but can we PLEASE use this thread ONLY for posting questions for Joe?

Thanks everyone for your cooperation.
This is truly the best group I’ve had the pleasure of belonging to.
Xoxox
Scar

mrschia wrote:Here is a thread for Joe to get a quick idea of our thoughts without having to read a 100 threads. He may not have time to scan all of them.

So please post what your thoughts and concerns are here.

BzzAgentJoeC wrote:All,

I am going to let people weigh in here and on the BeeLog a bit more, and in the next few days I'll come back here and answer, best I can, several of your questions. Like when we announced Shaloha, we made a decision to let Agents experience the changes and answer one another's questions best they can, at least initially.

I will clear up one misconception: There is not a one-honeycomb-per-mounth cap. You can fill multiple honeycombs per month. We will clarify that better in our messaging.

JoeC

Scarlett wrote:My concerns are:

1. MAX off 55 mypoints per report?

2. filling 1 comb a month?..possibly 3 providing u start a new campaign & submit 2 reports that get approved..and have a campaign finish and take the end poll/survey..and of course reviewing 3 frogs a month. So if we are not offers campaigns often..the average agent can only fill 1 comb a month...if a person needs 6 combs to go up ..that will take 6 months?

3. the womlets? are they just going to be discounts to other websites etc?

If I think of nething else I'll edit and add.

sati769leigh wrote:
previous reports i average 30-35 Bzz points. you multiplied them by 8 for Mypoints conversion. so i would have thought i would get around 240 mypoints now. instead our hard work is devalued once again. so now we can get 55 MYPOINTS meaning our reports are worth 7 Bzz points on the old scale. that is an insult to hard working agents. wow. combine that with the fact that it costs a LOT more to GET a reward from Mypoints and you have us all being kinda screwed on the supposed reward system.

filling the honeycomb is great, seems like it might take some time but i love the challenge

why is Bzz agent now spamming its hard working agents with womlets? another insult, seriously. was Bzz agent NOT making enough money so they added this? what is Bzz agents kickback for adding these?

what is going on with Mypoints? their rewards are now much more epensive then when we all first looked them over. and many have flat out dissappeared!!

arny wrote:I guess my only question at this time is how does a tier 1 who has been with Bzz for 4 years putting forth minimal effort become now a Sweet 6...where tier 4's who have put much effort into bzzing only be a 5 (social)? With less than 2 years...was it based on how long you were a member?? Amount of campaigns?? Reports??

This isn't my personal issue (its similar but not mine) but valid points made by others that I have read on other boards..

Honey wrote:I feel like I lost credit for all the bzzing I did. It seems to me like I only got credit ( a honeycomb) for 2 reports per campaign. Yes I got Mypoints, but no status value. One campaign I have 24 reports so far. The campaign is still open, but IF my report is deemed acceptable, I can get a max of 55 Mypoints, some spam offers and that it is. Not really worth it to me. I have more than fufilled my obligation, no real reason to write up any more imo.
I also feel like I got screwed with my frogpond reviews, because I only got credit for 3 per month. I did 19 one month, but that still just gives me status the same as 3.
I was a top 100 agent who joined in 2004, and am now a honey bee
I feel like I bzzed my stinger off, so I guess that is what happened. Don't bees die when the stinger comes off?

Honey wrote:I also feel screwed by not getting anything for the spam clicks I generated in the frogpond. I am glad they are gone now, but couldn't I have a one time honeycomb or two for doing so many of those dang tnings?

Muggins wrote:I went from a Tier 2 with early invite status (probably fairly low level at that) to a Level 5 (a few short of Level 6) still with early invite staus and now even have a Golden Key. I hadn't been very active lately, my last Bzz kit (Crest Whitestrips) never made it to me so no bzzing from me on that campaign at all and I chose to not participate in the Frog Pond. However, I've been with them for over 2 years, have done every survey offered and submitted well over the previous 3 report minimum on the 19 or so campaigns I participated in.

What I'd like to know from Joe is what, if anything, has been done to improve things for us Canadian agents? Our campaigns have been few and far between as compared to those offered south of our mutual border. The Frog Pond crap as far as I can see really doesn't offer anything/apply to Canadians yet I found out last night that by visiting 3 of the sites listed I was able to move up 1 honeycomb anyway which I have to admit is probably a "good" thing for me. Likewise, there is very little on the MyPITS website that is geared for Canucks to be able to earn more points (never mind redeem for). I've tried a few of the offers that actually interested me but was told they weren't applicable to me or that the partner didn't offer shipping to Canada.

So Joe, can you please tell me just how this new system is going to be better for me and my fellow Canadian BzzAgents?

Connie wrote:I love my new level and feel it is exactly where I should have been for my "time in service" and the reports I have done.

I would like to know if the womlets will ever be anything besides "buy something, get something" offers. I was really hoping to see the womlets be the chance to get a keychain, troll, etc.. something exciting.

idatater46 wrote:I feel I have really worked to get to Tier 4 and now to be a Honeybee seems like such a slap in the face. Please explain how we can fill more than one honeycomb a month? I completed 3 frogs last night and submitted a report and was told< I bel;ieve, that I could not do more frogs until next month. I have been participating in the frogpond all along.

Also concerned about the amout of points we will be getting for our Bzz reports.

HAte, hate, hate the Womlets- please explain the ideas behind that!

chiquita55 wrote:Joe, so far I am pretty happy with everything that has happened. I can now get a nice gift card at My Points, my level went up and I got a gold key after all my hard work here. My points transferred over nicely and all has gone smooth.

However, I am not big on the womlets. I doubt you will find many that are. Maybe if they were $$ off on gas or something! Otherwise, times are tough and you won't find me buying things off the internet for the heck of it to get a discount.

My other question/remark is, Are the reward points at Bzz still going to go over to My Points at 8 x's the rate? Otherwise, for all the work, those are pretty low points for My Points. They give you 5 or 10 points just for clicking on a link and not doing anything so to only get, say an average of 30 bzz points for bzzing and then typing up a report seems pretty low My Points points. If they do transfer over for 8 X's the points then that seems fair enough. Waiting to hear the answer.

mrschia wrote:I wonder if bonus kits are gone???? They were wonderful.

First bzz trolls and now bonus kits...boo hoo!!

kashicaat wrote:I'm just a bit confused. I definitely THINK I like this new system especially since I jumped from tier 2 t level 5 (almost a 6). I was also a person going nowhere at tier 2 since I kept taking new campaigns and my score kept dropping...
But from my reading, it sounds like:

1. Only two reports will count in moving up in the honeycomb...anything above and beyond two will give up mypoints, but offer nothing in regards to moving up levels.

2. You can only fill one frogpond honeycomb per month.

Basically, it sounds like there is a ceiling of opportunity now?

I see that my interpretation is wrong from a post from Joe, but I'd definitely like to see it all explained in a bit more detail....once he recovers from all the work they've done!!

Scar wrote:JOE,

You said there is not a one-honeycomb-per-mounth cap?
If not - how can we fill more after we’ve done the 3 frog & 2 report thing?
(I'm only concerned by status because I want early invites)

thebutlerdidit wrote:The only thing I am really disappointed in is that all of my work in the Frogpond netted me nothing but 2 filled honeycombs. I would have liked to see some sort of credit given for the over 200 participation points I had accumulated.

Does the hive realize how many hours it took to accumulate that many points? I am so sorry I wasted that time in the Frogpond, and I want that part of my life back, please.*snip*

missmissylette wrote:*snip*
My question though, is::

Is it 2 reports, equals one honeycomb? That would work better than I can only do 2 reports a month and be able to move up.

And 3 frog ponds in one month? I have noticied some of them have expiration dates. Will they be kept up long enough for people to do at least the requested 3 per month?

Womlets... please explain them a little more. I saw the brand True jeans on the latest bee log post. Is that a hint that bzzagent has teamed up with more than just Mypoints to give us rewards??

That is all for now.

spiritia wrote:*snip*I'm disappointed in the dramatic decrease of what a report is worth. Again... bzzagent keeping more of the money. It's their choice. They are a business. Their goal is to make money. I think they may also see a dramatic drop in the number of reports being done. Will it still be enough to satisfy their customers? I guess time will tell.

Overall, I like the new system. I'm not too happy about the mypoints, but I'll live with it. I hate the womlets... I'll ignore them. I just want campaigns. That is what I signed up for and I rarely get those now.

Scar wrote:Joe,
What's a suomlet???
I found that term on "Learn About Stuff"page

Honey wrote:Why did people who purchased a key, not get one for the level they entered? People who missed out on a key, got one if their level was high enough. I feel like I wasted those 200 points.

by Scar Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:11 pm

brandiland73 wrote:I am just so utterly confused about the whole thing. I am tired since I started my new job and quite honestly at this point just dont care to bzzz at the moment.

Who gets what - when - how do we rank? what happened to the top agents?

by JeepMom Tue Jun 10, 2008 7:16 pm

Is it a glitch that some got keys if they moved from tier1 to level 6 if they did not purchase a key but those of us that purchased keys did not get an additional key?

by tara Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:37 pm

Another curiosity question... has the hive ever considered a cap on campaigns? Like a set limit to how many you can be in at once? I see people say they have been in 7 (I think Barbie said 10 at once) at the same time while others get none at all? Just a thought, seems like more people would have an opportunity to actually get in a campaign.

Go ahead tar and feather me.

by Scar Wed Jun 11, 2008 6:33 am

Will there ever be a "master list" of all the campaigns that are going on so we can see what everyone is Bzzing at any given time?

by aundrea2u Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:13 am

Are Canadians ever going to get more then 1 campaign every 4 months. I posted all my campaigns below but I have been a member since 2005.

by Rebecca1340 Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:16 am

And while we're on the subject of Canadians, why are we dealing with MyPits like the Americans? Most of the "Canadian options" are not available to Canadians living outside of big citites.

by chiquita55 Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:32 pm

Here is my question I posted on the hive....or the problem I am having with My Points. Perhaps Joe can tell me whether anyone is going to address this problem since Bzz has decided to partner with My Points (who are fine except for this one big problem!!!):

Any BIGWIGS from the Hive here? I don't mind any of the changes but I do want to report 1 MAJOR problem with MY POINTS. Maybe a BIGWIG from the Hive can address this problem with My Points because I haven't gotten anywhere with them. All I get are canned responses from their reps. The problem?

Half the time you click thru on their site for these surverys or registrations, it doesn't work. You don't get the points they claim you will get and the click thru doesn't even show on their site even tho you clicked the box they tell you to click etc. Sometimes its works, sometimes it doesn't. If you write them about it they tell you to wait 30 days yada yada and then submit proof. I even made a large Macys purchase and it doesn't even show anywhere that I clicked thru. I am getting the same canned responses. Out of 4 emails I have written them they only answered once and it was the canned 'wait 30 days' response. Anyway, if Bzz agent is going to use them for a partner, I think MPs has to clean up their act, give better customer service and make sure their site works right. Otherwise it will just give Bzz a bad reputation and so far Bzz has always seemed above board to me.

by tegansmom Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:13 am

I have a question about earning keys. Is the only way to earn a key is climbing the honeycomb? Previously you could stay in a tier for a required amount of time to earn a key over time. If that is going by the way-side, it appears that keys will be considerably more difficult to earn and in turn making them more valuable. What is the deal with the keys?

by Scar Thu Jun 12, 2008 11:14 am

Joe,
Have you forgotten us? ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~ 621432

by Scarlett Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:34 pm

I"m still waiting on this explanation as to how we can fill more combs a month. I think he's giving everyone sometime to explore and learn and get to know the new system...personally I know enough.. I want answers now.

by Gameface252 Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:55 pm

Joe, you say WOMlets are discounts from a variety of merchants. We call it spam offers. Can you tell us some (preferably all) of the merchants that are in these WOMlets?

by mlking14 Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:53 pm

3 Things

!. The womlets why did you even go there? They offer nothing but a way to get spammed.

2. When do the points earned from an approved report transfer to mypoints, been 72 hours and nothing shows up?

3. Why was the choice made to give us such little credit for reports? Most of us take a lot of time and effort writing our reports and it just doesn't seem to be a fair trade.

by Knotty Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:58 am

I am curious about why the status credit is limited to only two reports per campaign? And the second half of that is why the perks points for any reports, including the additional ones beyond the initial two for each campaign went down so dramatically. It seems like BzzAgents wants us to do less reports. Is the thinking that there will be more quality reports if we are encouraged to do less reports? Were there so many reports that the hive was overwhelmed? Was there a suspicion that people submitting more than two reports were not submitting honest reports...or were trying too hard to bzz people? I am just really curious why BzzAgent decided to go this route. It seems such a reversal of direction from where you were before, where the more reports the better.

Thanks!

by BzzAgentJoeC Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:30 pm

All,

Honestly I can't answer all of the questions that have been posted on this board. You can email our customer support staff individually, and they are trained to answer a variety of questions related to these changes. Some answers we can give; other answers MyPoints will give.

Here's what I think has happened: I think BzzAgent (the company) has one view of what it is, while many of you have a somewhat different view of what BzzAgent is. You see, we don't percieve BzzAgent as a "rewards" company or a "freebie" site. When I first began working here -- as a contractor -- I received a call from Good Morning America. They wanted to feature us in a story about freebie sites. I turned it down (and turning down GMA is a VERY hard thing for a PR person to do!) because it would set a false expectation with Agents who would have signed up as a result of the show.

Yes, of course free stuff and rewards are part of BzzAgent. But the free-ness of the items isn't the value we perceive in BzzAgent. Providing the opportunity to try new things, to get your opinion heard, to influence massive brands. These are the qualities that we believe make BzzAgent unique. Not just free stuff.

So one of our goals of the new rewards program was to return to our core focus on getting you involved in word of mouth programs. We are doing this by freeing up internal resources by transitioning the rewards part of the company to MyPoints and by trying to place a higher emphasis on the status aspect of the system -- the more engaged you are, the more opportunities you will have. The Womlets thing? They are just little "thank you for reporting" offers. If something catches your eye, check it out. If you don't like any, you don't have to click. It's just a little extra something. It's not the lifeblood of the new rewards system.

I know many of you are disappointed in BzzAgent. But it's really important to realize that we are trying to create a system that works for as many agents as possible. We have so, so many agents, with such varied perspectives and values. For those that see us as a rewards community, the ability to get the most or highest value "stuff" matters most. For those that see us as a way to try new things and be listened to, well, other aspects of the business matter most. We are trying to strike a balance.

I hope this explanation helps. I know it doesn't drill deeply into your specific questions, but we have a staff that handles those questions. I am just trying to let you know the spirit of this new system and share my perspective on the source of the disconnect.

Yours,
JoeC

by Scar Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:33 pm

BzzAgentJoeC wrote:All,

Yes, of course free stuff and rewards are part of BzzAgent. But the free-ness of the items isn't the value we perceive in BzzAgent. Providing the opportunity to try new things, to get your opinion heard, to influence massive brands. These are the qualities that we believe make BzzAgent unique. Not just free stuff.

Yours,
JoeC

I understand that 100% Joe, and that's why I joined BzzAgent.

Alot of the current frustration among the Bees is a lack of information, not lack of rewards or freebies.
At least that's where I'm at.
Personlly I could care less about the rewards...I want campaigns.

Joe can we expect an updated FAQs from the hive addressing some of the above mentioned questions?

by Scar Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:46 pm

Rats...he's gone again.
I guess you call that a "drive~by" post. ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~ 789732

by Rebecca1340 Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:47 pm

That's fine, I think the majority of people understand what BzzAgent is striving to be. That's nothing new -- BzzAgent never did want to be lumped in with "freebies."
I think the problem is that we were told to expect new, great things which for many people turned out not to be the case (take the Canadians who now have no reward options for example). Had the company chosen to be straight forward with us from the start perhaps this feeling of betrayal and the agents who are leaving could have been avoided.

by arny Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:02 pm

Well darn it I agree with Joe..I got into BZZ to Bzz those campaigns..not rewards..

I just wish some questions would be adressed even if it on the Beelog..finding out information 2nd hand leads to misinformation..

Why not have someone on the Beelog fielding questions?

by Scar Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:03 pm

I'm working on a master list of all the questions I've seen over & over then I'm going to email customer service, like Joe suggested.

by Rebecca1340 Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:07 pm

Good idea Scarlett -- then we can pick apart their canned responses and send them back lol!

by arny Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:08 pm

Scar wrote:I'm working on a master list of all the questions I've seen over & over then I'm going to email customer service, like Joe suggested.

That's great...thanks!!

by Rebecca1340 Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:13 pm

Hey -- we could all email the same list of questions and see if Pete gets stuck with us all again! LMAO!!!

by tara Fri Jun 13, 2008 2:25 pm

Rebecca1340 wrote:Hey -- we could all email the same list of questions and see if Pete gets stuck with us all again! LMAO!!!

I suggested that before, when he stopped by to say figure it out, LOL.
Seems like more resources would be freed up if they answered shared questions in one place but if they want to answer 200,000 emails then so be it. Didn't we just have posts in the BL about FAQ's and customer service?
I wonder if we all emailed questions if they would completely ignore the same question from all of us. I know there have been several email responses full of info from them- just not the info I asked for. I wonder if we would all get individual responses?

by mrschia Fri Jun 13, 2008 3:16 pm

I hope Sara gets it, she gives us the best info that does not sound canned....maybe make it her attention, lol

She really gives us more info than anyone else. I love and appreciate Jake, but he does not give it up.....

by Sponsored content

~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~

Re: ~~Questions for JoeC ~ Part Deux~~