Albatross Asia

Albatross Global Solutions is a market research company dedicated to understanding affluent customers and improving premium and luxury brands’ performance. Albatross Global Solutions has been working for several years with over 140 prestigious premium and luxury brands developing strong expertise across a wide variety of markets around the world.

A Store Performance Evaluator is defined as "an investigator who acts as a general customer and does a service evaluation of the store.” As a Store Performance Evaluator, or SPE, your responsibility is to visit cosmetic counters, retail stores, restaurants and even hotels as a regular customer, and then share with us your experience by way of filling out our surveys. These online surveys and reports are then read by our clients and used to implement training programs for their staff.

We work with over 140 international brands and have 20 offices in 15 countries around the world with a staff of over 200 full time employees. We have also been members of the MSPA (Mystery Shopping Provider’s Association) since 2005.

While choosing a company name, we strived to find an image that would reflect the qualities of our company being strong, faithful, a high performer and efficient. These qualities are what define the character of an Albatross bird.

Big and Strong : An Albatross is among the largest flying birds, and the Great Albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird species, with a dimension of 340 cm (11 ft).

Faithful : in the animal world, the Albatross is one of the 11 species that mate for life : an Albatross may fly great distances over the oceans, but despite its extensive travels, this bird will always return to the same place — and the same partner — when it is time to breed.

High Performer : It has been recorded that an Albatross can fly up to 550 miles per day at speeds of 50 mph, and in a single foraging flight they can cover an incredible 9300 miles, which is longer than the diameter of the Earth.

Efficient : An Albatross can sleep while it is flying.

In the event you are having problems while registering, please contact inquiry@albatrossasia.com. One of our members of staff will be more than happy to assist you. Please make sure to include which browser and version you are using while trying to sign up as well as for which country.

In the event you are having problems with your evaluator portal, please contact your local coordinator. If you are unaware who your local coordinator is, under CONTACT in your evaluator portal, you will find the Support Form option. By clicking on the option that best suits your problem, a coordinator in your area will contact you as soon as possible.

In the case that you signed up but never received a confirmation email with your username and password, please email inquiry@albatrossasia.com and a coordinator will contact you as soon as possible.

First and foremost, it is important to have a completed profile. By filling in all three parts of your profile, you will be eligible for more missions opposed to only filling out the first and/or second part; a complete profile will allow you to start applying for missions immediately.

In order to provide quality feedback to our clients, we select evaluators whose profile match the brand’s average evaluator. Therefore, be specific when you fill in your profile; a detailed profile is key to being selected for missions.

Lastly, when selected for missions, make sure your comments and feedback are detailed and thorough. If you provide us with these types of comments, as well submit your survey within 24 hours of it being submitted, you will have a greater probability of being selected for another mission.

We fully understand your concern about providing us with such private information. There are many scams on the internet and we understand that our Store Performance Evaluators want to be cautious of such personal information. However, we have to prevent scams on our end as well in order to provide our clients with the most accurate evaluators. Your private information is of the utmost importance to us and we have taken security measures to safeguard such information. Uploading a copy of your ID, will be necessary prior to be paid for a mission once you have completed and submitted the questionnaire. If you have any doubts or concerns, you can always email or call your local office to speak with a local coordinator who will be more than happy to assist you.

The following types of identification are acceptable:

• Passport
• Government issued driver’s license
• Government issued identification card
• Government issued library card
• University issued identification card

These forms of ID are only valued if they have a date of birth, your name and a photo visible and legible. Please feel free to blur out all other information necessary.

The first step is making sure your profile is accurate and thorough. Your local coordinator will let you know once you profile has been confirmed. At that point, you will be uploaded the General Certification which will help you understand our company and the basics of being a Store Performance Evaluator. After passing, you can start applying for missions in your area, in the airports you will be travelling in or the cities you will be visiting. You can click on the Open Opportunities Tab to see which missions match your profile. Next to each mission, make sure to click on the Information button to find out the specifics of the mission and whether or not the mission requires a purchase.

Open Opportunities is designed to allow you to see the visits you are eligible for based on your profile, where you are located and how far you are willing to travel. The first step after clicking on the Open Opportunities tab is to Click the Information Button next to each store location. This will show you the details of the visit including how many questions are in the questionnaire, store hours, location and most importantly, if the visit is with or without purchase. If the visit is without purchase, it will simply say : No purchase required. If the visit is with purchase, you will be able see the details of the purchase and the amount required to be spent on the visit. For purchase visits, you will either return the product to the store or to us and receive a full refund, or the product is the compensation for the mission.

A local coordinator will contact you within three days of your application via email to verify you have been selected.

For various missions, especially in larger cities, we receive many applicants. Here at Albatross Global Solutions, we strive to spread the missions around to all available evaluators. If you were not selected, we understand if you are discouraged but please note, we will make sure we satisfy all evaluators that work with us and not just a selected few, so please continue to apply.

After you have applied for a mission, your local coordinator will review all applicants. Within three days, you will receive an email if you were selected for the visit. Once selected, you can proceed with the training material.

You will only be able to have access to the certification if the local coordinator has selected you and has sent the questionnaire as well to your inbox. If you have not been selected or selected yet, you will not be able to access the mission certification.

A mission certification needs to be taken before each visit is performed. Your local coordinator, after approving your visit request, will send you the questionnaire, certification and briefing material. The briefing material will inform you of the specifics of the mission in order to pass the mission certification with 95% or higher.

After you have submitted your survey, our process of validating the surveys begins. We review each individual survey to control the content and the quality. If we need anymore information or further explanation, we will email or call you within 4 days of submission. If we do not need any more information, you will hear from us when we have sent you payment.

In your evaluator portal, you can click on MY ACCOUNT and then Payment History. Under Payment History, you will find the Payment Method tab. Feel free to update your payment information at any time and click submit to save. If you have any questions about payment method, please contact your local coordinator or inquiry@albatrossasia.com.

Depending on which country you live in, we offer various forms of payment. When you sign up, you will be offered to choose which form of payment you wish to use. Albatross Global Solutions is committed to using Paypal as its standard method of payment and will be the only choice of payment in countries where it is not only accepted but as a user, you are able to transfer money directly to your local bank account. Another benefit of PayPal as an evaluator, is, it is quick and free. Your payment will be transferred to your PayPal account and you simply have to transfer the money to your bank account. Payment should be received within 45 days of the visit.

Even though PayPal offers service to many countries around the world, it is not accessible to everybody and here at Albatross Global Solutions, we fully understand that other payment measures need to be taken. In all countries where our missions our carried out, Albatross Global Solutions has a 100% secure and private means of money transfer. The options available for your country of residence are listed in your evaluator registration.

Most payments are made before 45 days. Once your survey is submitted, Albatross Global Solutions conducts a thorough and extensive quality control process to make sure all content received is accurate and detailed. During this time, your local coordinator may contact you for further details or explanations. Once the mission is complete and all surveys are checked, the payments are transferred to the finance department. It is very important to submit your surveys on time in order to be paid quicker as well as provide thorough and detailed comments to receive the quality bonus for all surveys.

The compensation for each mission is determined by the specifics of the mission, including but not limited to how much time you need to spend in the store, how many questions are in the questionnaire and the overall complexity of the mission. Prior to accepting any mission, you will be made fully aware of the compensation amount.

For missions that require a purchase and return, meaning you have to return to the store between one day after the visit to one week after the visit on average, and return the product. You will receive 100% of your money back in the method of payment you purchased the product (cash is you paid cash, on your credit card if you paid by credit) as long as you present the receipt and the product is in the same conditions as you purchased it, including all tags on and not worn. We have a strict clause with our clients that ensure the Store Performance Evaluator will receive their money back for this specific mission.

The majority of missions that Albatross Global Solutions offers include monetary compensation as payment. However, Albatross Global Solutions also has exciting missions where our brands select a product for the Store Performance Evaluator to keep as compensation. In the case you perform a mission where you keep the product as compensation; you will receive a full refund from Albatross Global Solutions by submitting the online questionnaire on time with the receipt of the product attached. It is important to make sure you understand which product should be purchased, as, in the event the wrong item is purchased, Albatross Global Solutions is not obliged to refund your purchase. Other missions include dining at a restaurant, staying at hotel or flying to a determined destination. In these cases, the compensation would be the lunch and/or dinner, the night in a hotel or the plane ticket to and/or from the selected destination. The same rules apply to by 100% reimbursed for such missions.

In the event you have not received your payment for a mission completed and confirmed as valid, please wait 45 days from the date of survey submitted to make a claim. If you questionnaire was submitted more than 45 days ago, please click on the Support tab in your Evaluator Interface to file a payment claim. An Albatross Global Solutions local coordinator will contact you immediately in order follow up on this claim. In the case that Albatross Global Solutions has already tried to send payment and/or ask for your payment information without response, after six (6) months of sent date and/or visit date, Albatross Global Solutions is not obligated to resend and the payment is to be considered void.

As the tax laws differ per county, if you are unaware of the tax regulations regarding independent contractors, please contact your local Albatross coordinator for more information.

In the case that you have failed either the General Certification and/or the Brand Certification, you will be able to have a second try. We recommend that you wait for the Active Feedback email which will allow you to see the questions you answered incorrectly. This email should be sent to you within the hour. In the meantime, review the Brand Briefing to ensure that you are well versed on the mission and its specifics.

Depending on the type of mission, you will be trained online, over the phone or face to face by our staff. We will make sure that you know all the specifics of the mission and feel 100% comfortable before entering the store. It is important to remember that you will need to pass the mission certification that will be assigned to your inbox prior to performing the mission. If you cannot find the certification nor are able to pass it, please contact your local coordinator for further instructions.

As part of its internal quality procedure, for some visits, Albatross Global Solutions requires that the Store Performance Evaluator to record his/her visit with an audio recording device such as a phone, mp3 recorder, etc. (in countries and states where it is permissible) and to upload this file on Albatross Global Solutions’ secured website. It is Albatross Global Solutions’ commitment to strictly control the usage of this recording and to use it for internal purpose only and therefore not share it with the client under normal conditions.

Please note, Albatross Global Solutions will never ask you to record a visit where it is not legal and all recordings that happen within the designated Point of Sale (store) have been pre-approved by our clients.

In the event you cannot submit your questionnaire, please check to make sure all questions have been answered by clicking on Check Complete at the bottom of the survey form. If all questions have been answered, please double check you have attached a proof of visit successfully. If you are still unable to submit, please contact your local coordinator.

If you are selected to perform a purchase visit, please note there are two kinds of purchase visits. The first type of purchase visit entails you to purchase an item and then, within one day to one week after the purchase, go back to the store to return the purchase item. You will be informed by your local coordinator, the details of this visit.

The second type of purchase visit allows you to keep the product as the compensation for the work performed. In this case, you are asked to upload a copy of the receipt in order to receive your reimbursement. You will be asked to either purchase a specific product or will be given an allotted purchase budget. In the case you go over the allotted purchase budget, Albatross Global Solutions will only pay up to the communicated amount. In the case you spend less than the allotted purchase budget, Albatross Global Solutions will not reimburse you the difference.

In the case that you cannot perform a visit that has already been assigned to you by your local coordinator, it is important to simply inform him/her as soon as possible. The coordinator will try to reschedule the visit. Please never go on another date other than the confirmed date the coordinator has sent you, nor ask somebody else to perform the visit. These visits will not be paid by Albatross Global Solutions.