It’s also been interesting for me to read your experiences as well… and I also think I know the rep you encountered! I imagine that you live in the Philadelphia TV market based on what you’ve written.

I am afraid to confirm what the other reps have said. It’s true, they make us do all these things you experienced. Not that that’s much of an excuse. I’m sure there were my share of potential recruits that also felt prisoner in their own home at times, but again, we were only following procedure. In fact, feel thankful that you spoke with the rep off the bat. It is policy in the Philly market to make 10 (yes, TEN) attempts at contacting the selected address before moving on. So if you avoided us from day one, you would have received 10 visits no matter what. Oh, and then you would have received another letter and then one last visit. Then, every six months for two years we would attempt to persuade you into participating yet again (no doubt based on the date or your original post, you have received 3 more visits). The whole process is exhausting – for the home and for the rep, and in this former rep’s opinion somewhat counterproductive and less than diplomatic… especially considering that we will need to find one of your neighbors to serve as your proxy. Although you did concede that your neighbors aren’t especially close, in most neighborhoods I’ve worked in neighbors generally speak with one another and you don’t want a bad word to spread around.

Complaining to Nielsen about a rep’s persistence would have done nothing. Ironically, it would have only put the rep in a more positive light. Basically, it tells management that we’re doing our jobs! Unless of course your complaint was that I beat you up or set your house or fire, called your kids ugly or something else just as egregious. Then I’m sure I would have been pulled into someone’s office.

I worked for Nielsen in a membership rep capacity for almost 4 years, like the last poster. I’ve seen a lot as you can imagine, including your scenario as well. Trust me, the rep doesn’t want to continuously bother someone, but when management lays the hammer down we really have no choice. Local management in Philadelphia was actually pretty good for my first 2 plus years there, but almost overnight became really bad (actually, around the time you were contacted). Rep morale became very poor as did rep productivity. My last 6 months at Nielsen were the worst months I had spent at any job. And consider that prior to that time, I would tell you that my Nielsen experience was phenomenal. But like most people, I cannot work well in a micromanaging environment, and the production in Philadelphia at that time reflected that. I speak with reps that are still there today and not much has changed, and problems still exist.

The average rep makes about $30,000 a year. Towards the end, considering what we went through it wasn’t enough money for me to give a damn. Nobody else did anyway. For me, I was glad that I was let go. It was quite a relief. The 20 e-mails a day, dozen phone calls from superiors, endless admin work with no admin support, driving 150 miles a day, boring pointless weekly meetings, all at the expense of my personal life and overall sanity… all over with! My stress level went way down, as did my blood pressure (no joke). In other parts of the country, I’m sure the job is still a lot of fun, but certainly not in Philadelphia. If you were in the Minneapolis market for instance, your experience would probably have been different.

If you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. And I hope you don’t sour on the Nielsen ratings. They still do provide a valuable service despite working their reps like 12 year olds in a Chinese factory. And like another poster mentioned, with your opinionated nature, you would have probably proved to be a valuable participant.

TV ratings absolutely aren’t life and death. I agree with you there but, outside of the installation of the metering equipment, your time commitment in beyond minimal. The log-in/out process is as simple as pressing two buttons on a remote control. Yes, you do have to verify that you are still watching every 42 minutes but, again, it’s pressing one button…Plus, if I were your MR, I would have shown you some tricks to get around the flashing lights! I can’t tell you how many homes of mine were shocked by the ease of participation. I even had a bunch that were so used to ‘logging in’ that they missed it after we deinstalled them. Did I have a few over the years that did think it was an inconvenience? Sure, but not too many. Another point is that if you do get installed and you do feel inconvenienced, they’ll come and remove the equipment and find a replacement home. You’re not locked in to do it for the full 2 years if you don’t want to. They’ll always try to get you to stay, but what company doesn’t do that after you start working with them?

Just the fact that my home was chosen to be one of the 10-15K homes in the entire country that get to be a Nielsen home would do it for me! It’s a very rare opportunity to have your voice heard and have an impact. I know that doesn’t excite everyone, but I like that kind of stuff!

Definitely do let me know if you come across the business card!

I’m glad that I was introduced to your blog. I love talking about Nielsen, if you couldn’t tell! The company and ratings in general have fascinated me since I was a child. World News Tonight did a story on “The Nielsen People Meter” when I was 10 and my ears always perked up anytime I heard anything about Nielsen after that. Little did I know that I’d be working for them down the line.

I’m glad to give the Nielsen perspective, although I’m sure my old management team wouldn’t expect the positive spin from me! Take care.

That said, I still felt I had a right to decline. We’re not talking life or death here. We’re talking TV ratings. As you know from my article, my time is so limited as it is. Would it have been THAT much of an inconvenience? I think so. And I feel I had the right to say that just once and be done with it.

I would have never written twice about the process if it wasn’t so hard to get out. You can tell how frustrated I was. I wouldn’t call myself a “miserable” person, though. Just annoyed with the process.

Our rep was from New Jersey, that’s all I know. I don’t have her business card anymore I don’t think. If I somehow stumble on it in my purse, I’ll write you directly.

Thanks for jumping in with your unique perspective!

Reps have to be very accurate in what they do. As for you questioning her calling you to confirm the presence of children under 18 in the home, it is very important that the rep have that information correct because an alternate home in your neighborhood has to match your cable and child status. Reps can’t just knock on doors and take the first willing participant. There were many times I walked away from a home having forgotten to ask the question and was very thankful to have a phone number later to confirm that info. You have no idea of the pressure from management to have that information correct. If a rep can’t get that info, it has to be ‘estimated’, which often returned as ‘no-cable, yes-kids’, or ‘no-cable, no-kids’ and matches to those demos aren’t always easy to come across. Thanks for answering the question and making your reps life a little easier , unbeknownst to you!

When you refer to them as ‘stalking’ you by sitting in the car and flipping thru a “phone book”, I can promise you that wasn’t the case. Your rep had a list of 90 other addresses in your area, many that had already received a paper survey in the mail (with a few dollars inside). This isn’t a willy-nilly operation. It’s a well-researched systematic method. I often sat in my car upon arriving in a neighborhood for a few minutes to situate myself. Reps have to keep meticulous notes of their time worked, make sure they have everything they need before getting out of the car, and confirm (via maps) that they are in the right place. Signing a home not in the sample area is cause for termination. I agree with an earlier post in the thread that your rep may have been new.

I know that it may not have been the best experience of your life, but looking back, was it really that bad? I respect your decision not to take part, as I did with all of my refusing households, but I told each of them that I had to come back in a few days to check with them. Not everyone liked it, but very rarely did folks blow up at me. Just like you go do your job on a daily basis and follow policies and procedures, that’s what your rep was doing. Her job. And it’s not an easy one. I’m not looking for sympathy for anyone, as we were all in that job on our own volition, but people like yourself were a big reason I had to leave Nielsen. I could no longer be treated like a leper by miserable people. Some people can let that kind of stuff roll off their backs, but I couldn’t. It seems your followers here all have that same mentality, and that saddens me. We have become a very intolerant society focused on ourselves and no one else.

As you can tell, I could write about this topic all night and even though I no longer work there, I believe strongly in what the company does. I understand that it’s surprising to have someone at your door unannounced (I don’t always like it either!), but it’s the best way to recruit in this type of situation. Studies abound that it’s much easier for people to say ‘no’ over the phone than it is to a person’s face. I’ve wanted to be a Nielsen family since I was 10 years old and I would still do it in a heartbeat today if a rep knocked on my door. I am fascinated by research and Nielsen is the pinnacle in that business, in my opinion.

I think you handled the situation well and stayed stern in your stance, which you are absolutely entitled to. I also think that your ‘pen is mightier than your sword’.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about Nielsen and what they do. I had a lot of homes that felt like you initially that went against that feeling and ended up loving the experience. Even though we may disagree on some things, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog on the topic! It was brought to my attention today by a friend of mine still in the ranks at Nielsen. The internet is an amazing thing! I’m dying to know who your rep was, because I have a feeling that you live in the market that I worked in and I may know her!!

I look forward to reading some of your other blogs and hope you have a great weekend!

I think you enjoy the attention Neilsons is giving you.

I’m still not sure my TV vote would count much. Well, maybe it’d count, but it would be ironic. The rating system is there partly to set advertising charges. I’m opposed to advertising of most kinds. It is only accidental if I ever see an entire commercial, or hear one on the radio. I avoid it like the plague.

I’m not sure I caught your meaning when you said “Just not where it counts.” I’m not sure my TV preferences are the place to make my vote count. On a jury, yes. In an election, yes. TV, not so much.

As for making my voice heard on my blog, that’s my choice and readers can come and go as they please. If they don’t like what I have to say, it’s exactly like TV. They can turn the channel and move along to any one of 500M other blogs.

Thanks for adding your input. The reason for my two posts on the Nielsen issue was never intended to move in this direction. It was merely a rant about how crazy it seemed to me that they’d try so hard to get me to sign on, even after I said no several times. That was uncalled for. Surely they can get someone else eager to have their voice heard.

But you’ve brought up some interesting points outside the issue at hand, and that’s fine, too. Come back again if you like. You’ll find mostly goofy humor in The Junk Drawer. Think of it as a blog sitcom.

Do I equate political democracy with television democracy? No. Do they occupy the same ballpark? One could make the argument that as pervasive and influencial that television (not to mention nearly universal)can be in the global scheme of things (think “presidential address” or the constant replay of the 9/11 attack), but instead I am making a slippery slope argument regarding the apathy and indifference common to them both.

Why leave social responsibility to others? I think someone mentioned jury duty. Good comparison actually. How often do people try and duck the judicial duty? “Oh, not me!” they cry “I’ve got a job/kids/nasal congestion/new puppy/etc.” Let the other person do it. “We’re better off” they claim. Are we?

Your blog is proof that your involvement would valuable. A well opinionated, confident projection of your voice. I bet you feel strongly about tv as well. So why pass up the chance to communicate your ideals and concerns? Don’t watch tv? Fine. Leave it off. That says a lot too.

Oh, but again, the inconvinience. Buttons, lights, and all that. So now you have to refuse and justify your refusal to a stranger. The personal confrontation of it is uncomfortable and even inconvinient. It even leads you to write an extensive blog post during the wee hours of the night. If you ask me, you want to be heard. Just not where it counts.

Ah, man, my soapbox time is up. Great blog, even better dialogue.

You got real close to equating voting for TV shows with voting for someone to run the country. Surely, you don’t think they’re even in the same ballpark.

Thanks for dropping by.

But don’t worry; there are other less “annoyable” people out there. Leave the choosing to us. We’ll put up with the lights, the pushing of buttons, the chocolates, and the visitors (oh, the horror of it all!). You can blog about how much you hate the choices later.

That aside, your rep was definately using poor tact and was likely a rookie. Our rep is great; a real charmer who has come to be close the kids and adults alike. The devices are nearly invisible, and the install was fairly painless. I feel pride knowing I am representing my ethnic community in something as pervasive as television. Ah, but who am I kidding. I did it for the money (insert sarcasm here).

For those of you who were selected and are reading this and feel that your opions are worth their weight in gold in an enviornment where they actually count, join! If you would rather just roll over, that’s fine too. I just hope you don’t behave that way at the polls, too.

Kathy – Another tip: you may need to raise your passive-agressive talents yet again; they call back every six months to see if you’ve changed your mind/moved out/become more of an agoraphobe/etc. That tidbit compliments of my rep.

Clearing that up should keep her busy for a good long time.

(That URL was listed as a “random hot post” in the admin area of WordPress today.)

Carla @ WordPlay’s last blog post..Book Review: Punctuation Clarified with Humor in “Eats, Shoots & Leaves”

Corrina — Yep. Very bizarre. I couldn’t have imagined it would turn into such a mess when I first got the letter. I think it’s over now. I haven’t heard a peep out of them for a week. Yea!