Topic: Seeking PWS Users for In-Home Interviews

[AcuRiteResearch]

Attention Personal Weather Station Users:

In order to deliver the best weather monitoring products to consumers, AcuRite is conducting a research study. We are looking for personal weather station users across the country who are willing to participate in in-home interviews and share their thoughts and opinions about weather and weather monitoring.

If you are interested, please take the brief survey below.

Follow this link to the survey

Or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser: http://goo.gl/hG8uA

[Old Tele man]

Uh, just my observation, but the interview is only interested in people within certain locations, because my interview (barely begun) was immediately ended when I selected ARIZONA as my location.

Anybody get "further" along with their interview?

[SteveFitz1]

I selected Texas as my state. The next question was 'Are you within 30 miles of Houston?' I said 'No' and the survey abruptly ended.

The survey owner should provide the locations where these interviews will be conducted up front rather than have people waste their time starting the survey they're eventually going to be excluded from taking.

[smorris]

Once I selected Ohio it ended.

[BigOkie]

Once I selected Ohio it ended.

Same here; selected Oklahoma and that was it.

[Dr Obbins]

I guess Kentucky was the wrong answer also! 

[George Richardson]

I wonder if anyone got all the way through it. Mine ended when I didn't have one of their new big Acu-rite stations.

George

PS In other words AcuRiteResearch I didn't appreciate you wasting my time.

[JACK10562]

I got up to "do you live within 30 miles of Boston" and the survey ended. Maybe I'll try again! 

[vreihen]

Surprisingly, they don't want to interview people in New York.....  

[Dr Obbins]

Maybe we should compare notes and whoever is the first to complete the survey is the winner.   

[cospringswx]

Once I selected Ohio it ended.

Same here; selected Oklahoma and that was it.

Me too. I selected Kansas and it says it has been recorded and it ended?

[ocala]

Florida was OK as long as I lived within 50 miles of West Palm Beach and Boca Raton.
Strange survey. Ask for volunteers and kicks you out if don't have the right answers.

[Old Tele man]

Apparently, they're only interested in responses from people in selected demographic areas...probably locations where they have established dealers.

[SLOweather]

Yeah, like most on-line surveys, it's poorly written. It should have led off with the location questions. I gamed it to see where it would lead. Here's the kicker:

Below is a description of the research AcuRite is currently conducting. Please read the description carefully and then indicate your overall interest in participating in this research.

This research involves one in-home visit, at your place of residence, from a team of two-to-three market research professionals. The visit will last approximately 1-1/2 to 2 hours and will be recorded. Any videos or pictures taken during the visit will not be distributed outside of AcuRite.

 During the visit participants will be asked general questions about their daily routines, hobbies and interests. Preparation is not necessary for the visit. In exchange for their time, participants will be compensated with $50 cash and a $100 gift certificate to www.acurite.com.

After reading the description, are you interested in being considered as a candidate for participation in this research study?

So, based on the other responses here, I infer that they are going to fly to major airports, drive no more than a half hour for their interviews, and then blow. No input from the outlying areas, where most of us live. For California, the only 2 areas were San Francisco and Sonoma/Napa. No LA/Sacramento, San Diego central valley, Santa Barbara... Sounds like a juggernaut couched as a survey...

My estimation of Acurite has gone down considerably. As an admin, this thread kinda hacks me off.

EDIT: Oh, and the other thing... Android on my tablet didn't trust the security certificate of the survey site. Another flag...

Rhino, are you listening??

[SLOweather]

Due diligence... The forum member who posted this is apparently not from Acurite, but from http://www.branigan.biz/, "...an insight-based communications company that makes brands magnetic." Acurite must have retained them to do the research. I hope they get their money's worth.

[BigOkie]

Due diligence... The forum member who posted this is apparently not from Acurite, but from http://www.branigan.biz/, "...an insight-based communications company that makes brands magnetic." Acurite must have retained them to do the research. I hope they get their money's worth.

Guess I won't ever consider Acurite stations now.  Pretty shifty.  Not what I expected of them, but nothing really surprises me anymore.

[cospringswx]

Not surprised myself. Stick with Davis!

[gwwilk]

The whole scheme is a little cockeyed.  Who in the world does in-home interviews these days besides the US Census Bureau?  There's something more than a little 'fishy' about this, and I wouldn't want them within 50 miles of my home!

[docbee]

I did run through the questions til the end, which is funny.

Let's see, if they do send a market research team from the US to the north of Germany in order to record my impressions first hand  . I will have some decent beer well cooled, when they arrive...

[chief-david]

If I complete the survey and get selected-do I get anything free?
Otherwise, I will not start.

[AcuRiteResearch]

The AcuRite research team apologizes to volunteers who participated in the survey and were not selected for our research. Given the nature of this project (a series of one-on-one, in-person interviews), we are focusing our efforts on a few, very specific markets. That being said, your input is still appreciated by our team. Should the scope of this research change, we will use responses from this survey to help us determine where there is a desire from personal weather station users to participate in research.
 
Again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused to you by this survey. AcuRite respects and values your input. If you are interested in being a part of AcuRite’s future research efforts, we encourage you to sign up for our product panel at http://www.acurite.com/product-testing-panel.

[SLOweather]

If I complete the survey and get selected-do I get anything free?
Otherwise, I will not start.

In exchange for their time, participants will be compensated with $50 cash and a $100 gift certificate to www.acurite.com.

[WeatherHost]

we are focusing our efforts on a few, very specific markets.

Then those should be stated from the very beginning.

I knew something stunk just from the thread title which is why I didn't click on it this morning.

[Rhino]

Hey Folks, sorry to jump in late here! We have partnered with a great team of market research people at Branigan who are conducting a series of these on our behalf to help us add new features to our products in the future. I assure you that they have indeed partnered with us and that these are legitimate surveys.

Please do not take offense to the results- these are focusing on some specific geographic regions. If your questions ended after you put in your location, it is likely just because we have already filled those locations, that's all.

I agree we could have done a better job on the intro communications and the questions, I apologize for that.

As always, if you have any suggestions or comments about AcuRite products, I am always here to listen and take part in your discussions. We know that all of the folks here at WX Forum are enthusiasts, and we value your opinion- whether in a survey or a message or forum post.

Thanks!

Ryan
Product Designer at AcuRite

[cospringswx]

I'm pretty sure a rural area in West Central Kansas is not taken. But anyway No thanks.