Showing posts with label My Trustpilot reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Trustpilot reviews. Show all posts

12/09/2023

Felix Mobile (Mobile phone carrier)

 

Felix Mobile has replaced my previous mobile carrier, which I've had for many years. I was lured by the unlimited data plan, as I use my phone as a hot spot to connect my laptop and I use a minimum of 100 GB per month. Most carriers in Australia have prepaid or postpaid plans for 100 GB at quite expensive prices and unlimited data for ridiculous prices. I was also lured by the fact that the company was new in Oz and they were offering a $35-plan for unlimited data, unlimited calls and SMS. I got a bonus for $5 for unlimited international calling. I have use the company for 3+ months and I couldn't be happier, how easy is to add or remove add-ons on the app, the quality and speed of the Internet that I get with it, the fact that uses 4G and the Vodafone network to operate.
 
They are carbon neutral certified. They claim to plant a tree on our behalf for every month we're on one of their mobile plans. But they don't do so directly as they've partnered with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organisation focused on global reforestation to plant the trees, i.e. they're supporting a great NGO but not planting trees directly like in Oz. We don't know where. It sounds off to me.  

They increased the pricing of their unlimited plan, short after I joined, but I was one of the few newcomers they kept the original $35, and now the unlimited plan is advertised at $40, which is lovely.

The two major letdowns are, firstly, the basic design of the app and color scheme, and, most importantly, the limited customer service they offer. No phone number to call CS, no specific chat on their website. The only way to contact them is via WhatsApp or via the  app chat. Contact via their website via desktop is poor and idiotic. 

9/10/2023

Proton Mail (Encrypted Mail Service)

I've been using Proton Mail as my main private email service for many years, since they first came out to the market. I started with a free subscription  just to try it, and I was happy with the quality of the service, especially the end-to-end encryption and all the security features. After that, I've paid for a personal plan for several years already. 

The differences between the paid and the free versions and the pricing can be found on their website, here. One of the things that made me sign up is not just the reasonable pricing, but also the fact that I would be able to have unlimited organisation folders and more mail storage. One of the things that I noticed when I started using Proton is that I barely receive spam, ever, and I love/d that.
 
Pricing is quite decent for a fully encrypted email service, especially if you pay yearly, bi-yearly or for 3 years. You can pay in Euro or US dollars, which isn't great for any other currency with bad exchange rates with those two. Sometimes they have promotions to subscribe for discounted fees or competitions to get a year subscription, but those are rare.
 
The basic paid subscription has drive, your own domain, several calendars, basic VPN, a vault and also the possibility of creating several alias email addresses. This is my subscription and that's more than enough for me. Perhaps the 15 GB storage capacity is a bit low if you intend to use the domain or Proton Drive. However, I use it mostly for email; despite having a very busy email account with plenty of attachments, this storage is pretty good. 

You can use your email service online on your browser, on the desktop version (with Thunderbird or Outlook for example) and on the mobile app. If you want the IMAP version, you have to install the Proton Bridge on your computer as this is what allows you to have the account encrypted. The Bridge is very easy to download, install and configure, as you'll get step-by-step info re the settings you have to put in. The app is very easy to configure and use, and, most importantly, very reliable. Synchronization is good, but not excellent, with some sort of time-lag between mobile and desktop versions. 
 
The interface on the browser and app is OK. I like the colour scheme and overall look, but it lacks serious customization features, something that annoys me.
.
Customer Service is poor. They always blame you for any problem that comes from their end or anything that happens that they don't know what it is.  Their 'solutions' are always primary-school sort of thing. They act robotically, don't read your emails in full, don't listen (read) to what you say properly, and have a sort of cockiness that annoys me. It doesn't matter that you write on weekdays or weekends, they're always slow and terrible. My guess is that the company has no interest in having fully trained staff and on the quality of the CS they offer, or just pay their officers little money and they don't care. Thanks gosh, I barely have any problem with the service, so I don't have to contact them much. 
 
IN SHORT
Overall, I find the service terrific for a cheap paid subscription, with all the software working well most of the time, reliable app, barely any spam, full encryption and plenty of features for you to take advantage of. The main downsides are the small storage capability if you want to use your Proton domain and slow unhelpful customer service.  Of course, you can subscribe to Proton Unlimited and many of the things that bother me, would not be a bother. 

RESPONSE FROM THE COMPANY
Hi! Thank you for taking the time to review our service and share your feedback with us. Please note that each of our customer support agents is trained and prepared with great diligence before they start answering publicly and will never address you in a rude or obnoxious way. Our support agents are also in constant communication with our developers and engineers to provide you with the latest information regarding bug fixes, troubleshooting, and upcoming improvements. However, if the assistance you had received was not to your liking or seems unfit, please update your review to share your ticket number with us here. We'd be happy to track your case internally and investigate.

WHAT I'M GOING TO DO 
Nothing. It is all true. I have had no results, help or solutions from CS every time I have contacted them. The company can come and say w-h-a-t-e-v-e-r. That doesn't change that CS is poor. I don't blame CS people, just the company, who trains them poorly.

9/06/2023

Usertesting24 (Online Platform)

 

I found the company and the link on Trustpilot Au. I followed the link to the website, and it looks pretty dodgy. It's full of clickable buttons. When you follow the "user testing website" it takes you to a screen with two buttons, which take you to two different white screens with these messages "Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (24)". This is in a non-secure connection and directs to this lyfbodn.com which is a hijacker created by potentially unwanted program and it could also be a phishing site, so I would not be login into anything. When you click on the button 'usertesting get paid' it takes you to another page also a lyfbodn.com page with two buttons, and when you click them it takes you to different sponsored companies. When you click on "usertesting signup' it takes you to the same 2-button page. Again, nothing called usertesting24. There is no about us, contact us, registration info, location, etc. so not a trustworthy place I would go back. Due to what I've said above I don't trust all the 5-star generic reviews that are before mine  on Trustpilot. I might be that the site has been spoofed or hijacked, but that would never say anything good about an user testing platform. Avoid.

9/05/2023

Riot Arts & Crafts (Online Store)

 Riot Arts and Crafts, not Riot Projects, have amazing prices and a great selection of arts and craft products. Most of their stock is Australian art brands, some of them excellent like Matisse and Holcroft, for example, mixed with a smaller selection of international brands and a small selection of their products (Golden, Liquitex, Posca or Faber Castell for ex.) They have free shipping for orders over 80 bucks, which is an increase of 5 bucks since last time I purchased something from them. Still better than most online art supplies stores.

I've both from them many times and they deliver via AuPost. Product quality has always been good or great, except for one case, and the pricing excellent even when the products aren't on sale. But every time I check they're on some sort of sale. 

The main issue with Riot Arts & Crafts is that the dispatch time is ridiculous and can take over a week or more, depending on the time, to get the products dispatched, plus the time AuPost takes to deliver a standard parcel. If you need materials for a upcoming project, this is not a place you want to buy from as, more likely, you won't get them on time. However, it's a great place to take advantage of their offers and stock materials before the ones you already have run out.

Another downside is that, due to the fact that their prices for good brands is below most online sites, the products I want are always sold out or out of stock.  

My last parcel in April, took about 10 natural days to be dispatched. The last one, in September ditto. The shipping info on their website says that intercity or interstate takes average 7-10 business days, which is about 2 weeks, for the parcel to arrive to your place, and they cannot guarantee that either.

So, if they cannot fulfill the demand, why not stop, get more staff and reorganise the business? Most of the negative reviews online are on this issue.

Customer service by email is corteous but minimal, androbotic, full of vacuous wording. Last time I asked why it was taking so long to get the product dispatched the answer was 'we've changed our procedures at the warehouse' or were working on it kinda nothingness.  

9/21/2021

TOLL Australia

 
Every time I have to deal with TOLL I end being upset, frustrated and my issues are never solved. Inflexible and not customer centred. They don't listen to customers. They expect customers to chase the parcel. Customer service is not good either, not because CSOs are bad per se, but because the company is dreadful and they have to follow procedure. As a customer, every time I made a purchase and the store I buy from sends a parcel via TOLL, I know there is going to be an issue. Like right now.

6/24/2021

Beserk (Online Store)

I've purchased from Beserk online many times, especially small homewares, incense stuff, Hot Chocolate flat shoes, and alternative cruelty free make-up (Lethal Cosmetics, Medusa Cosmetics, Lime Crime, Starrily etc.). My experience has always been fantastic.

Their website looks quite bad, outdated and fit for weird 15yos., and it could be a bit more polished so that doesn't mislead first visitors. Beserk is much more and you'll find plenty of cute items of clothing, imported shoes (from the uber-sexy to the uber-comfy) and vegan cruelty-free fantastic makeup bands. For sure, if you are into witchy Wiccanish stuff, this is also a place for you.  

Price is just OK, taking into account that many of the products they sell are from imported cult brands.

Shopping from their website is really easy and straightforward. They have a fab rewards program that can save you a good amount of money (you get 1 reward point for each dollar spent, and when you have 50 you get $2.5 off, 100 = $5 and 200 = $10.

Dispatch is decently fast, and parcels are handled by  AuPost, so you'll be super-informed of when your parcel is leaving or arriving.  

Many people ask me about my shoes and makeup, especially, and they're surprised that they come from Beserk, so that says a lot about the need of the store to better think their homepage and whole design.

One of the things that bothers me is that, to get free shipping, you have to spend $99, but that's a bit high taking into account that this is a big store and that shipping via AuPost is quite cheap for large businesses with many postal transactions. I think 50 bucks would be a more reasonable benchmark for free shipping.

Also when you have some rewards point to use, you cannot use them with any other discount code, so that means that you can qualify for free shipping because you've spent over $99 but applying the rewards takes you out of it. It is a bit dodgy and loses them money, if they made their accounts they'd realise just that.

They don't publish honest reviews that have less than 4 stars, so that's dodgy and unprofessional. So, that being the case, I ignore their reviews as they're cherry-picked for sales purposes. Dodgy!

10/30/2020

The Iconic (Online Shop)

Link

I have bought many times from The Iconic, and they are legends.Dispatch and delivery has always been super-fast pre-COVID, and decently timed during COVID.
 
>Their website is very clean and easy to browse and their search tool quite refined. I find the mix of casual and posh styles, local and international names, normal and curvy sizes, average to excellent quality, generic-ish brands to very well-known brands, clothing and accessories, and pricing terrific.  
 
> They have average-sized models and curvy models, all gorgeous, to showcase the clothing. They also have people from different races.

> Returns are super-easy and free and you can get your money back or rewarded credit for further purchases. 

> Their wish-list and boards are very useful. If desired, you can receive email notifications with updates re the products in the list just in case you are mad about anything.

> Great discounts all year around, and some of their outlet items are a total bargain. 

If you subscribe to your newsletter is 20 bucks off your next purchase and you can cancel any time. 

DOWNSIDES
> One of the main downsides to me is the fact that many of the accessories are not photographed on people but on white backgrounds, which is great to see the product itself but not so much to get an accurate idea of how the product looks on a real person re length, size and overall look. 
 > The items in outlet and sale cannot be exchanged or returned, which is a bummer because sizing is fanciful and you could order something in your size and fits larger or smaller than usual. If you cannot return it, you won't be able to wear it at all and would have been a waste of your money. 
> This being an iconic Australian brand, I truly miss the presence of more Indigenous Australian models in the photos.

10/21/2020

LifeWorks by Morneau Shepell (Online Service)


My employer has a package of sessions available for each staff member due to the nature of the work we do, but the consultations can be used to sort out personal stuff from marital problems to grieving to finances or other personal issues. 
 
One can book the session in advance or use the after-hours service, on the spot, if necessary. Booking is hassle free and the phone "reception" staff are really helpful and efficient. 
 
I have had different counselors in my consultations and they range from really helpful and empathetic, so you can tackle the issue at hand from a new perspective, feel listened and helped to, to the really uninterested incompetent professional that is like talking to a wall, don't know what active listening is and are a waste of your time because you won't get anything good out of the session. These professionals are paid for their consultations, so I found the presence of latter type worrisome and annoying. 
 
I would recommend customers not to stick to any professional that is not really helpful, even if the professional pressures you, because the service does not demand that from you. You can swap professionals if you want or can choose one for all your consultations if you feel they are making a difference for good.
 
Quality of sound in all the calls has been deficient, perhaps because staff are working remotely from home during COVID.

2/23/2020

Amazon Mechanical Turk (Paid tasks Platform)

 
Nothing good about this program unless you live in countries where 1 or 3 American cents, or 1 dollar, if you are lucky, are a considerable amount of money in you local currency.

Amazon has opened a platform and made possible slavery salaries to be paid for tasks. Right, some of them are easy, but some of them take a lot of time, and paying 1 cent, or 3 or 5 in a developed country for something that requires more than five minutes is ILLEGAL. This would not be legal in the EU ever.

They have basically made possible for people who you want to work for them for almost nothing, to do so, so they pay you a misery, take your time, and can take up to 30 days to pay you. If you are lucky. Amazon just provide the house, so to speak, but get out of it and doesn't want to be that much either.

You won't be able to make considerable money unless you sleep on your computer and keep doing gazillion cent tests/tasks/surveys.

They ask you for your tax details and personal details even though they don't provide you with a contract or with any sort of decent anything.

How is that legal?

I love Amazon, the shop, but this 'work' rather slavery platform shouldn't exist.

2/22/2020

Userlytics (Online Platform, Paid Tests)



This is a review of my experience as tester.

Userlytics is a legit company offering UX tests to testers from around the world. In fact, this is the only site that got me a test on the same day I registered. 

 POSITIVE
Unlike most usability tests companies, they don't require an entry test. It is great for testers. If they perform well, no test was needed; if they don't perform well, they'll get low ratings and won't get many paid jobs. 

They don't ask for too many personal details when you join. That is, they don't profile you as hardly as other companies do. 

You can cancel your account any time on your own if you aren't happy with the opportunities they offer. 

They have a nice simple app recorder for Android. You don't even have to login, because, when you get an invitation, there is a unique code with your details that you can use instead; this makes the login into specific tests way faster.Their desktop recorder is easy to use, very intuitive, and also works by code.  

They do send you tests and pay you for them.

Customer support is existent and relatively fast. 

NOT SO GOOD
The fact that they don't make you do an entry test tells me that their panel of testers is way inferior to any other company's panel.

For the test to be considered payable, one has to produce a proper recording. That's totally fair. However, as they provide the recording programs, and they aren't very good, any malfunctioning due to their incompetence, will result in you spending your time in producing an unusable test that won't be paid.  
  
Both their Android and Desktop recorders are sub-par, full of bugs and a clear indication of the company's caliber. If an UX company does not have a reliable system to record their tests, why would anyone want to pay for their services? My experience is that their Android app is not reliable, so you might end wasting your time for no income, and in my case also conflicted with my phone, and that's never good. The desktop recorder is bulky and interferes with testing. In my case, it started uploading my video without me touching anything and while I still was recording the test. Fortunately, I found a way to stop it. Then, the file, about 15 minutes long, took a good amount of time to get uploaded.


Customer support is really idiotic and unnerving. They are unable to provide specific instructions to fix any issue you might have with the app. "Check your settings for accessibility" is not a reply to the question, "What exactly do you want me to check for this specific problem?" You know, testers have the basics under control, that's why they are testers. It is innate. You would not bother CS for basic stuff on your phone.

You cannot update your PayPal email yourself, you have to contact CS. However, since they are quite incompetent, you will find problems to do something as simple as that. In addition, sharing personal info via email is a no-no for security reasons.  I had to exchange a considerable amount of emails for them to do that would not do it because I was writing from another email, the one I wanted to link to my new Paypal. I was so unnerved that I decided to erase my account without being able to change anything. They could not find me in the system, even though I provided them with a valid email account.  

IN SHORT
The company line is "The most advanced user testing platform". Having been a tester for them, and having experienced many other UX testing companies and platforms, the tagline is just bragging not something that reflects what I have experienced. I do tests for many online companies and this is perhaps the less advanced, the buggiest. 

They are a legit company, so I don't think you have anything to fear, if you get a test and do it, and their recorder works, you will be paid. However, there are greener pastures out there. Just saying. 
 
REPLY FROM THE COMPANY ON 9/1/24
Thank you for sharing your comprehensive feedback about your experience as a tester with Userlytics. We appreciate your positive remarks regarding the ease of entry, app recorder functionality, and prompt customer support. However, we understand your concerns and frustrations with the number of available tests, the quality of recording programs, and the challenges with customer support.

Your insights are crucial for our continuous improvement, and we're actively addressing the issues you've highlighted. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and value your continued support as we work to enhance our platform.

Best regards,
Userlytics

2/07/2020

Respondent (Online Platform, Paid Tests)


 
 
This review is as tester for this site.

There are a few paid tests, studies or surveys available on this site, at least for some parts of the world.

Truth be told, the projects they have pay more than well, but they are directed to super specialised business and professional people in leading positions in their companies, those who are already earning a fortune, so why would they want to waste their time doing a paid test or survey?

Unless you work on very specialized fields, you won't be able to take any test even if you have a high level of education.

I was there for several months and never got a project I could take. 

The surveys to participate in upcoming projects never actualized in anything concrete, even though they were asking for every-day sort of things for which you don't require any preparation, education or nothing.

If you want to earn some money this is not your site unless you are already a well-paid individual in top leading jobs in certain companies, specially tech.
 
I didn't like the fact that they somewhat force you to put a photo of you, even though don't provide you with anything.  

Besides the member area as buggy, which says a lot about a company, as every time I would log in, I would get the message that I had already had three screeners on a day and I could not take more. In fact, I had taken none that day or most days. So that's a bug, right there. 


It has been a waste of time for me, and I don't recommend the site at all. I guess they collect your personal data and that's their biz, playing with it, or using it, or whatever. 

 Avoid.

12/28/2019

Kmart Australia (Online Store)


I've I've bought a lot of items from Kmart throughout the years, both from my nearest store and online, and I'm very pleased with the variety of products on offer, the pricing and the service provided. They are perfect for people with low means, like young couples, students, retirees and anyone wanting to buy some trendy stuff without blowing off their budget. 
 
The variety of product is enormous. They sell trendy design items and styles at much cheaper prices than other cheap retailers.

Some of the Kmart brand appliances are really cheap and good quality. Yes, they are basic, but if you don't want anything too fancy or too posh, or the latest model in the market, they are terrific.

They have a fantastic returns policy.

The staff in the shops tend to be very young but really lovely and expedient.

You can buy online and have it delivered at home. If necessary, they gather the items from different stores to fulfill your order. Delivery takes little time to reach metropolitan areas.

Their online reviews are legit. You cannot review a product if you haven't bought it online and receive a link from Kmart to review it.

DOWNSIDES
> Hit and miss quality. Sometimes you get really good quality products at bargain prices, but others you don't. Some products start to fall to pieces rapidly, or the assembly instructions are messed up, or the screws are all mixed up, or the quality isn't good despite how pretty the item looks in the photo. So, there is no consistency in the quality of their products, and you can't see that until you start using them.

> Poor sales. Their Black Friday and Boxing Day offers and sales are sub par when compared with all other cheap retailers.

> Online deliveries are charged. Shopping online is easy, but, unlike many other retailers (Target Australia included) they do charge for the delivery, regardless of how much you spend in one transaction.

> Online reviews. They are diminutive in length. They discard legit reviews that are detailed, which is what I personally would like to read. That was the case with mine, which never saw the light. Mind you, a reviewer saying," I love it", it is not a review, that's an enthusiastic statement. A very different thing is a reviewer saying, "It looks great, but this product has this and this issue" and commenting on it in one long paragraph."  It might be just the design of the reviews area, which is diminutive itself. I don't know, but most of them aren't helpful. 

12/19/2019

Validately (online platform, Paid tests)




This is a review of my experience as tester.

They are a legit company and pay $10 USA per test. 

Like many other UX companies, you have to pass an entry test, not paid, to be admitted. Once you are, you fill-in some general info about your demographics and wait for the tests to be thrown at you. 

You are informed of any test by email, not on the site. That is, there is no member area or dashboard for testers on their website where to find the tests.  You just get the link if something matches your demographic. Click on the test link and follow the prompts. To do the test on the desktop you have to use Chrome browser and install their recording extension; on the phone, you have to download their app from Google Play. 

Although they do send tests often, they don't seem to have the volume of tests that other UX companies have, so testers are like hungry zombies at the smell of a healthy human. Once the email arrives, even if it takes you three seconds to open it, the page is already locked and shows a message saying that there are too many testers trying to access the test at the same time, try again. You keep trying, by reloading the page, to not avail. Then, the test is over and you got nothing. Or simply, you get there and, in the unlikely case no one is fighting for the test, you get through the screener and this one rejects you. All of these situations are very frustrating. 


The phone app is really nice and user friendly, definitely the best I've tried from different companies. However, it could be better designed. If, by mistake, you press step two without having finished step one, there is no arrow or way of going back, not even by using your phone back arrow option.That's bad design.

Once you perform the test and it's uploaded onto the cloud, you'll receive an email saying that they've got it, that they'll  review it within seven days and, if accepted, they'll pay you in the following seven days via PayPal.

It takes about 7 days for the test to be reviewed, and if the rating is acceptable they immediately pay you by PayPal, which is really nice.

Unless you fit their preferred demographics, you won't earn much there. That's at least my experience. So there are greener pastures out there; this is a sort of small shed you keep just in case it rains something, if you know what I mean.

Still, they are reliable and have a good deal of business.

12/06/2019

User Testing (Online Platform, Paid Tests)




I've tried many user testing companies and this has been the best for me so far. I've made some bucks on this site, and they have been paid, as promised, within a week of performing the tests. This company is the only one that, at least for my demographic, provides me with tests mostly every day. 

Some major business and companies use this site, and not the others, and I think they are already established and well organised, so one can see how things flow here and not elsewhere, at least for me.
 
HOW TO BECOME A TESTER

Like most user testing companies, you have to perform an entry test, which isn't paid, to see if you qualify. What they ask you to do is similar to what you would be doing as remote website tester. 

Once you are accepted, you will be given access to your member dashboard and see a list of tests offered to you, from which you can choose from. There is a constant stream of tests, and it is up to you if you try any or all of them.  

HOW IT WORKS

The first paid test you do is examined by the UT team. They will give you the initial rating. It takes them between 6 and 9 days to do that, but they do it; not only that, they even comment on your performance, and things needing of improvement in the future. Getting a high rating from them is very important because, the higher your rating is, the more in demand you are, and the more tests you are offered to take part in.  You will be rated for each of your tests, but after the first one, the ratings will come from the companies that paid for them.
 
Like similar sites, customers are companies with specific requirements. They won't tell you what they want directly,  but will screen you to see if you are what they are looking for. They do so by asking you a series of questions with answers to choose from. You need to answer honestly or might find yourself in trouble. If you qualify you can take the test. The screening takes just a few seconds to perform.

Before you enter the test, your task is mentioned. The system gives you 15 minutes to start the test. That's great if you have your kids around, you are cooking and need to put things aside, or have to go to the loo. Also great in case the recording program is misbehaving and you have to reinstall it. You have to allow their desktop app (actually a Chrome extension) to run, that is, to record your micro sound and share your screen. Once you do that, you press enter and the test starts. You have to read the instructions out loud, and verbalise your thoughts on the tasks you are doing, and do that continuously.

In the member area settings you can decide whether you want to receive emails for incoming tests, or just hear the ding when you are logged in. I think the latter is best, because, as I've said, there are plenty of tests coming in at times and you don't want to flood your inbox with emails. To hear the beep, needless to say, you have to have a tab open, logged into your account and the dashboard "Take Tests' open. 

DOWNSIDES
>> The ratings you get from the companies aren't always fair. They might not like your accent, that you took a bit less or more time from what they wanted you to, or simply that you did your job as tester and told them, politely, that their website sucks.  
 >> The extension/program they use on the Chrome desktop is not always reliable. I lost plenty of tests for which had qualified because the recorder was malfunctioning. They always tell you to check this and that, but most testers have already done that when complaining to CS; they are testers after all! When it works, it is great, but when it does not, it makes testers lose money and UT customers get annoying silent recordings and waste their time. Just fix the recording or just provide with an alternative.  
>> You might have problems with your microphone or the app during the session, and if the recording cannot be heard or has poor quality, your test will be rejected and you won't be paid. Or they will give you the lowest rating, which directly damages your prospectives of getting good tests offered to you. I mean, why not allowing the tester to repeat the test for free? 
>> You don't qualify for 90% of the tests coming at you, as they are targeted to specific industries and consumers. They might want a person who is bilingual in Korean. A person who uses a certain airline, bank, supermarket or store. A person who doesn't know anything about a certain product, or a person who has kids, just to mention a few examples. This varies from test to test. You have to take the screener and be honest because, otherwise, you will be in trouble and won't be paid. 

>> I have the strong impression that many of those screeners are archived and added to your profile, so they profile you to the core and quite accurately.  I am never happy with that, especially because you aren't really working for the company, you are working for rewards not for a salary. Yet, they will have so many details about you, besides your voice. If something goes wrong, the site is hacked for example, your whole life info could be used for fraudulent purposes. I am not sure if their security system is really good, either.

>> Some tests have between 12 or 60 steps and, although enjoyable, they are time consuming; you might spend 30 to 60 minutes on a test and still be paid 10 bucks. That is unacceptable. I dont blame the site for allowing that to happen. I also blame those customers from big companies and corporations that run on the cheap when it comes to paying, and expect a tester to go through their demands for alms. Dear UX designer if you test is 50+ steps is because you don't know how to design an US remote usability test, as simple as that.

>>  Unless you live in a country where 10$ USA is a lot of money, that's a very low per-hour fee. At the moment, the duration of the test is not mentioned, so it could take you 10 minutes, which is the best case scenario, or 60+.

>> They mostly work on Chrome, so you can't perform the tests on any other browser unless the test is specific for that browser.

THEIR PHONE APP
>> I installed their phone app from Google Play, but it required me to have my phone on developer settings, which I allowed it to. Then my phone itself started to request me to switch this mode off or the phone being at risk of crashing or being hacked.
>> In addition, the app didn't allow me to log in, rejecting my login email as incorrect, which is totally bananas! 
>> I removed the app and I don't do tests on the phone, which is a pity, because there are tons of phone tests coming in.  
>> There are simple apps out there that capture sound and screen and aren't invasive at all. I actually tested one of them for another company, and it was fantastic. Why not using that instead? 
 
CUSTOMER SERVICE
CS is useless. It takes ages for you to get a reply, and although they reply, eventually, it is first with a Zen desk robotic message that shows that the officer hasn't really read your query and acted on an impulse by reading the subject. When you complain about some of the companies testing requiring a huge amount of time for little money and for not explicitly saying that at the beginning, they blame you for staying in the test; but for some people this income is necessary and they put up with bad behaviour out of desperately needing extra cash. I had CS officers who needed four of my messages being as blunt as it gets for them to actually read my emails and respond to what I was asking not what they wanted to reply to. It is not acceptable that a company that trades in the stock market has such poor service for those who make possible the site, which are the testers. The worst part is that customer service has grown worse at the same pace as the company is growing up and cashing in.

 

12/03/2019

Appliances Online (Online Shop)



I've bought two large appliances from Appliances Online, top brands, and at a better price than on any other online store I checked before buying them. I ended there just because of that, because of their free delivery policy, and because of their promise of next day delivery if the product is in stock, which was indeed fulfilled.

The guys who brought the appliances were lovely, They SMSed me early in the morning to give me a bracket time for their delivery, and then again half an hour before arrival. They installed one of the appliances, for free, as well.

Their website is very easy to navigate and shop from using your credit card or PayPal. There is plenty of info regarding measurements, materials, brands, pricing, in stock or not, and anything else. They have short videos with people showing most of the products, individually, mentioning their main features, something that I found really helpful. If the appliance needs of some work to be installed they quote pricing beside the price so that you can add it or not. Simple washing machines are installed and connected for free.
 
All the reviews are legit, as they email you the request for a review a few weeks after your item has been delivered, and you cannot review it without that invitation.


Appliances Online operates from Ebay as well, not just from their website. That's good news because they offer the same products, pricing and service, but if Ebay is running any promotion, you can save big. That was my case, I saved 80 bucks in one of my purchases just because of a promo on the site.  

Their refund and exchange policies are more than good. I never expected that to be possible, i.e. to be able to buy a washer and be able to exchange if it didn't suit my needs. They give you 14 days from the day you request the exchange.

DOWNSIDES
The main downside of Appliances Online is that they have limited models of each appliance, and that they favour some brands, while good ones are missing. An example: you won't find a Hoover vacuum there, but you will find Hoover washers and dryers, which was puzzling to me. The same happens with other appliances. 

Not all appliances have good quality shots of the electric panels, something I consider necessary.This is especially important for washers and dryers. The information on the site is collected from the appliances manuals, but some of the manuals are generic for the line not the exact model you've bought, so some of the information can be misleading.

IN SHORT
I wish they had more brands and more appliances. But they are really fantastic. I will buy from them in the future, for sure. Great products, great pricing and remarkable customer service both upon delivery and on the phone, if you have to call their Customer Service operators.

Target Au Online (Online Shop)

Website
 
I've had a terrific experience with Target Australia online store, from where I've purchased many items, many times. 

Their website is very simple, easy to navigate, and to shop from. You can use Paypal or any major credit card, which is what you get everywhere. You can save your fav items on your wish list and go there, directly, without having to browse for them again. 

Dispatch takes a couple of days but, once is done, it takes barely two days for a metropolitan order to get home. They send you your shopping for free if you spend 80 bucks. Other similar cheap retailers don't offer free delivery at all. So that is great. 

I actually prefer using their online store than visiting my nearer store because they online store can provide me with items that might not be in my local store, and they send them to me from wherever they are stocked. The downside of that is that your items might arrive separately in different days. If you cannot be a home, they will take the parcel to your nearest post office. I have never had a parcel lost or mistaken. And the fact that they have teamed up with Australia Post is good news because you will receive SMS with info about your parcel being on the way or being out for delivery.

Free click & collect (if you spend 20 bucks or more), a good refunds & exchange policy, and a variety of everyday non-fancy items available online, and terrific prices, make me go back to Target online quite often. 

The reviews on the site are all legit. Once some time has elapsed since your product/s were delivered, they send you an email asking for your honest review.

Enrollapp (Online Platform, Paid tests)


They were previously called Zurb. This is a legit company, it is just that, while they wait for you to receive a test, if any, they will profile very accurately, with your help. Genius! 

Easy to join. Very fun and likeable website, with that lovely cow walking while you reply to the site queres. 

They start profiling you, hard core, from the beginning, in ways that I don't think I would like to be profiled or I am comfortable with. Of course, they might come and say, it is all voluntarily, you do it because you want (no, I need money, mind you, that's why I am here). Supposedly, they are getting your info to provide you with the right test or survey. Questions are very specific about you and your finances. 

I suspect that they are data collectors, a la Google, just done in a more fun way and having you replying directly to the questions, no machine involved. I know for sure that they don't need of all that info for you to take a test. Their privacy policy also seems legit, but if you read between the lines, you will see that very personal information is collected through the tests themselves, and also that they can share your data, just removing your name and personal details. It smells fishy. My impression.

They might provide legit work, but that sort of profiling shouldn't be allowed or legal!  So, needless to say, I left soon after joining.  I might be totally mistaken, for sure, but the questions about my bank account are too precise to be random or innocent.

 Avoid.

TrymyUI (Online Platform, Paid Tests)


To be accepted you have to perform a free test, which will be examined. If you are considered fit, you will be part of their panel of remote testers. You need to download a program that will allow them to record your screen and voice and tests will be done in real time. Tests are paid well and you won't spend much time on each. 

They are the most didactic of the bunch. Before you start your acceptance test, they explain to you how the system work. You have to download a mini program, very easy to use, that will do the recording and uploading, so they take the time to explain to you how it works. None of the other companies bothers, so that's really cool and considerate.

These is a legit company, but if you are remote tester, might not find any source of income here.

They do email tests according to your demographic, but there are so many people waiting for them, that you'll be lucky if you get any.

It happens to me, all the time: I takes me barely three seconds to open the browser with the emailed link and I get the message that someone is already taking it, or the test is no longer available. So I guess the other person received the mail before I did.

It might be my demographic, but the only test I did, for free, was the entry test. I've been there for some weeks and I was able to open a test that wanted a question answered, and after doing so, it said that it didn't fit the profile they are looking for.

So, money earned, zero.

They work this way: There are a bunch of hungry dogs in a pit separated by fences. The bosses throw a steak and decide that the white dogs are the ones will better benefit from it, so they do so, and the bunch of white dogs fight for the steak. The one who gets it, gets fed, the rest of white dogs, black dogs and brown dogs will get nothing. Would you want to be there or move to a place where there are more steaks and the dogs are not in a pit? Your choice.

It might work for you, if you are student, or have children, or who knows what is the most popular demographic. Otherwise, you will be receiving emails that never lead to anything. 

I quit. 

Slicethepie (Online Platform, Paid Reviews)



I love the site, really easy to browse, and what you have to do is really easy and enjoyable, if you like music. Some new bands are really great to discover and listen to, and that's the good bit.

The problem is that being paid 0.01 to 0.05 for review is just unacceptable. Right, you don't have to do it, nobody forces you, but if you are there is because you really need cash now. They don't have enough tracks to keep you reviewing all the time, either (don't believe what they say). If they paid at least 10 cents per review, that would be something. To get to those insignificant 10 bucks you probably have to review hundreds of tracks, most of them of music you would never choose to listen to voluntarily, so you have a hard time reviewing them and coming up with something long and creative. You just want to say, I hate it, next. 

They, the site and their people, do the following: if their automated system detects a decrease in quality of your reviews (that could be a pathetic singer who has no talent rebutting my review on their horrendous singing, probably), they immediately reduce the payment; the contrary is also true, but it is more the decrease what you get than your increase because, I repeat, you must listen to whatever they have up, therefore, you could be listening to the genre you hate the most or songs or singers that are horrendous. They blame the algorithm, but they chose the algorithm, not the other way around. An algorithm has no brain. 

Another trick, you cannot withdraw any money until you reach 10, but that takes ages to achieve, hundreds of reviews. My informed guess is that many people get bored after reviewing for a while, and leave after having produced 50+ reviews, no payment for their work, and the site has another bunch of free reviews.

According to the site people, they upload songs all the time. I don't know if it is intentional, but my area was barren for days, not even a song, zeo, nihil, so you don't have anything to listen to, to review or money to earn. 

Reviewers barely benefit from being on Slicethepie. They simply don't benefit. The slice goes to the site owners. 

I would be interested in knowing how much the upcoming artists pay for review and whether they would be comfortable knowing that their reviewers are people being forced to listen to their tracks even if they don't like it, and knowing that they are paid a misery to do that, or their reviews are rejected for repeating words. Yes, what you expect if I don't like your song? I will be polite and say generics because I am not allowed to move onto another track or sincerely honestly say, I hate this song, it's a very bad song and singing, or it's amateurish.

You start at 0.01 and get up, but really, 0.05 or 0.10 is still ridiculous for 10 minutes of your time, or more.

You won't earn any money on this, and will waste a time that you could use, say, picking your nose.That's overall better for your health and more entertaining. 

Avoid. Totally avoid. They're short for scammers.

Amazon Es (Online Shop, Spain)


I've used Amazon Spain twice, and they work very much like Amazon USA regarding everything.

Last year, I purchased some pet supplies as a gift for one of my brothers, who lives in Spain, and the experience was excellent. Some of the products advertised were not available on Amazon Es, and were supplied by external European shops; however, the time of delivery was clearly mentioned on the item page, so I knew that beforehand; yet, the item arrived well before the estimate delivery time. 
  
The second time, I ordered two items for my elderly mother during my holidays there. Items were dispatched separately the next day, and I received them at my doorstep two days later. 

They have a huge selection of products and terrific prices and I can honestly say that they provide better service and range of products than Amazon Au. 


I will certainly buy from them again!