Telephone Survey Work with Optimum Contact

Paul_Varjak

CURRENTLY (NOV/DEC 2011) HAS FEW SURVEYS AVAILABLE - SEE POST 424 ONWARDS.

THIS FORUM IS FOR GENERAL QUERIES ONLY. MORE SPECIFIC QUERIES SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO OPTIMUM CONTACT. PLEASE DO NOT MENTION OPTIMUM CONTACT CLIENTS BY NAME OR USE ANY WORDS WHICH MAY IDENTIFY THOSE CLIENTS.

I have been working as a mystery shopper for many years. One Mystery Shopping Company I work for (Optimum Contact) also has ongoing vacancies for people who want to do customer satisfaction telephone survey work from their own home.

To do the work you will need your own PC and a home phone (with unlimited call package). You will need to take a brief test to ensure your suitability for the work. The hours of work are not fixed (anytime between 9:30am-8:30pm weekdays and Saturday 10am-4pm) but you are expected to commit to at least 10-15 hours per week.

If you have a TalkTalk landline the preferred option is to use the 0845 number to record calls as TalkTalk provide unlimited free calls to 0845 numbers with its 24/7 package. Recordings are automatically sent to OC at the end of each call.

If you use a landline provider (other than TalkTalk) you can use you own equipment to record calls. There are several alternatives but the recording will have to be e-mailed to OC each day. Again, make sure you have an unlimited 24/7 package.

Finally, you can use Skype to make the calls but you need recording software, such as PAMELA, installed on your computer. You will have to e-mail your recordings to OC each day.

Optimum Contact is very quick to pay; invoices may be raised 4 days (96 hours) after completing surveys and payment is usually in your bank account within 4 working days later. Providing you work every week, you can issue invoice every week and have cleared funds in your bank account each week.

I still work for other mystery shopping companies, but the bulk of my income is now from doing surveys for Optimum Contact. It is ideal for someone disabled (such as me) or for mums with a young family.

All the surveys are to do with customer satisfaction; there is no selling involved and payment is made for each survey completed. I reckon my gross earnings to be £6-7 per hour.

If you are interested in working for this company, look at their website: www.optimumcontact.com or call them on 08709 502560.

To apply, follow this link...

http://www.fspulse.co.uk/applyonline/content/default.asp?Type=OutBound

(You need to live in the UK or Eire)


Please note: I am not an official from Optimum Contact, nor am I an employee. It just my favourite Mystery Shopping company to work for and I will NOT get referral payments, so you don't need to tell them you saw this posting!!

AndreaE

Many thanks for this Paul.

I have had a look on the site and have registered.

I didn't see any mention of pay rate though.

Would you be able to give some indication how many hours you are likely to have to work to earn, say, £100?

Many thanks,

Andrea

Paul_Varjak

Hello AndreaE...

Payment is for each survey completed; there is no fixed hourly rate. The payment for each survey is based on the length of the survey and the likelihood of getting people to participate.

Of course, the likelihood that anyone will participate in a survey depends very much on the type of survey and your approach when calling people. It also depends on the time of day that you call; afternoons and evenings are the best.

Of course, there is no guarantee that you will earn a minimum wage (you are self-employed) but I usually expect to earn around the minimum wage mark or slightly better.

You also have minimal expenses as you will already have a phone line and a PC. Just make sure you have an unlimited call package. If your call package does not include unlimited free calls to 0845 numbers you really need a method of recording the calls and then forwarding the recordings to Optimum Contact by e-mail each day. For this I would recommend https://www.truecall.co.uk

System

I have looked at this before and almost went ahead. I was just concerned that I might spend 2 hours trying to find someone willing to complete the survey and if nobody does then I have wasted my time! How do you find it? I mean are many willing to take the time to answer questions nowadays?

Paul_Varjak

racelja...

I have been doing surveys for Optimum Contact for almost three years. Today, I worked a total of 7 hours and earned just over £48. That is testament to the fact that people are willing to do surveys.

System

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

racelja...

I have been doing surveys for Optimum Contact for almost three years. Today, I worked a total of 7 hours and earned just over £48. That is testament to the fact that people are willing to do surveys.

Thanks, I wasn't trying to be funny, just voicing my concerns. But thanks for the extra info I might give it a try, nothing to lose I guess!

I do agree that they are a good company and pay promptly.....when I remember I have to invoice them that is lol

AndreaE

I may need to look at changing my phone provider if I go ahead.

I am with Virgin and the package excludes 0845 - I don't think they have a package that includes it.

I guess Truecall may be a good idea but at £100 it is a lot to pay upfront.

Paul_Varjak

rachelja...

Yes, you do have to invoice Optimum Contact but they prepare the invoices for you and you just have to press a few buttons on their website to get paid. If you memory is not so good, just set an alarm on your computer to go off once each week.

I invoice Optimum Contact on a Tuesday evening and the money is usually in my bank account by Friday the same week.

Paul_Varjak

AndreaE...

I think the only phone company that has virtually unlimited inclusive calls to 0845 number is TalkTalk. If you are in an area with local loop unbundling they are also the cheapest for combined phone/internet/unlimited calls package (around £23/month)

You could, of course, use Skype and use software to record your calls (rather than trueCall). £100 is for the basic version of trueCall (without call recorder) and you need the call recording version, of course.

But I believe you can still get trueCall (with call recorder) for £100 if you register on the Consumer Action Group website.

Currently, I do not use trueCall to record my calls for Optimum Contact as it is easier to use the 0845 recording facility as I get free 0845 calls. However, you may find trueCall useful for recording other calls - I used it the other day to validate a complaint against the Police and I also use it at night to prevent drunkards ringing my number thinking I am a taxi service! I also use trueCall to stop TalkTalk calling me, trying to sell me new packages!!

Becles

Just wanted to add that it's self employed work, so you need to register for tax. You need to keep accurate records and submit a tax return every year and pay whatever tax is due. You may also need to pay Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance depending on how much you earn.

Paul_Varjak

Becles...

Yes, it is necessary to register as self-employed. I claim half my phone/internet bill as a business expense.

Self-employed may also claim Working Tax Credits if they work 30+ hours each week (16+ hours for disabled). Those aged over 50 and returning to work may also be able to claim an extra allowance for one year (assuming this government has not dropped that yet). Surprisingly, Tax Credits are not taxable!