Use Ciao! For opinions and NOT to make money! (ciao.co.uk)

Member Name: wellyboot

Product:	ciao.co.uk
Date:	13/06/05 (706 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Reviews, Strong Community

Disadvantages: Awful for surveys, Very low pay outs, Poor customer support

Although I can’t fault Ciao on its function as a consumer opinion and review forum, as a long time DooYoo member, the only real reason I joined was because I had read that Ciao offered members the chance to make money by filling in paid surveys…

So, I joined up a few weeks ago, studiously filled in my details and survey profile, did some browsing of the site and then waited patiently to receive my first invitation to take a paid survey.

Now, perhaps the problems I have thus far encountered in taking surveys is down to plain bad luck, less likely, I fall within a very common demographic, but I really do not believe that this is the case - here's a short outline of me.

I'm female, 30, am married and have 1 child aged 11. I have pets, my own car, my own business, am technically savvy and have a house full of gadgets and gizmos. I am not religious in anyway and am in good health apart from recurrent migraines and a dodgy knee. I am interested in music, gigs & festivals. I can’t stand soaps, celebrity gossip and/or vanity and am into snowboarding and mountain biking.

So far, I would estimate I have received in the region of 15-20 invites in my inbox to take paid surveys. Now, I am confused and a little less than happy with Ciao for the following main reason;

I have been unable to fully complete a single paid survey since joining up. This is despite being online 8 hours a day (I work in IT and from HOME) and answering all survey requests within about 30 minutes of receiving them into my inbox (most have been answered immediately).

After spending time (sometimes more than 5 minutes!) reading and filling in my responses to questions forming the first part of the surveys, I am told that ‘I do not fit the profile’ (in which case, given all the information I have provided about myself in my survey profile, why I am being contacted in the first place?) or that ‘there are already enough respondents that fit my criteria’. I am sorry, but when I answer a survey within seconds of it getting to my inbox I do not believe a word of it – there is just no way that a figure, large enough to be considered a representative sample, has been reached.

This is continually happening and I have contacted Ciao several times to find out why and I am yet to receive any sort of reply from them. This makes me feel like something dodgy is going on. Why all the initial questions? Why should I waste 5-10 minutes answering so many questions only to be told…’sorry…’ ?

I would urge you NOT to join Ciao if you are thinking about it simply as a way of making a little extra money, because in my experience, that just hasn't happened.

It takes in the region of 20 minutes to fully complete your initial registration process (including the laborious process of filling in your personal survey profile, which is meant to mean only carefully targeted, relevant surveys are sent to you – in my experience, this just means any surveys are sent to you!).

As a way of making money, Ciao is quite frankly useless. As a consumer review forum then Ciao is excellent, the reviews are normally well written and informative and there is a strong sense of community and reviewers are eager to provide you with feedback and/or comments on your reviews.

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