Last week I got a call from a woman who used to send me on market research focus groups back when I was in college. I’m not even sure how the company obtained my current contact info, but she was working in the suburban office and came across my name and asked whether I was interested in doing a music survey on October 17th in Schaumburg. When I heard it paid $70 for about 2 hours I was on board. Plus she said if I arrived at least 15 minutes early I’d be entered into an early bird drawing to win an additional $100.
As the day approached I started feeling apprehensive about going since it was after work and we wouldn’t be getting done until 8 pm, but I kept thinking how that $70 would cover Winston’s vet bill.
When I got to the hotel where the survey was being held I was surprised to see a lot of people there, all women. It turns out the survey was a big group, approximately 60 women in total. I was bummed because the odds of winning that extra $100 was now 1 in 60.
We used wireless keypads to record our answers to questions and rate music they played for us. Other than the ridiculously cold room we were in (luckily I anticipated this and was wearing layers), I enjoyed the survey and the time passed quickly.
Right at the end before they released us they held the early bird drawing and they called my name! I couldn’t believe it because I never win stuff. In the end I made $170 for two hours of my time. Too bad that doesn’t happen every day!