Flagship Research

I’ve been participating in focus groups and market research activities for several years. I highly recommend going through as many of them as you can if you’re eligible. For most of them –if you make it– the payouts are worth the hour or two of your time. Next to Unilocal events, they’re the biggest payout I have for just «stating my opinion».
In order to make it to a study, you have to go through what’s known as a screen and that involves someone from Flagship asking you questions. It is one of the most annoying things I’ve ever encountered and is the main reason for the two stars.
— The biggest problem is that for all the screeners I’ve been asked (10+) I only qualified for two studies. I swear they know more information about me from these screeners than what’s asked in the actual study. And I’m not even being paid to do the screening!
— Even if you say the answer to the question right away, for «quality assurance purposes» and per client they have to list down ALL the answer choices.
— For this one study they’ve called me at least once a week for an ENTIRE MONTH, only not to qualify for ANY of the sessions. The biggest pet peeve is that they have to ask the SAME SET OF QUESTIONS AS THE PREVIOUS SCREENS. The reason is that when the screener is done they shred all the paperwork. At least they could save some of the questions so they don’t have to ask the same questions again, potentially saving time in finding the right people. Or better yet they can transition to having people contribute to a database so that all the demographics information can be filled out.
— At the end of the screener they have to let their supervisor or in rarer cases the client know whether you qualify and the followup phone call can take a few minutes to several days, and sometimes you don’t even get the courtesy followup phone call.
— Minus one star just for the fact that the lady’s voice who’s been asking me questions for the same screener for a month is super annoying to the point where I’d rather take an annoying phone call at work than listen to her voice again.
The parking situation really sucks. There’s few spaces in the complex dedicated to Flagship Research (and even then they’re in sub-​optimal parts of the lot) and all the other spaces are for the other businesses in the site. If you park in those other spots your car will likely be towed so if all the Flagship spots are taken you’re at the mercy of regular Hillcrest/​Bankers Hill street parking, which you may have known if you go there frequently or been reading my reviews for the Hillcrest/​Bankers Hill restaurants.
What saves this review from being a one star is that the studies themselves conducted at the site are actually quite fun. In some instances the client will hire extra people and even if you don’t participate in the actual study, they’ll still pay you the amount promised for your time. In other instances there’s an incentive to come early for an early-​bird drawing for additional cash.
In short, it’s worth going through the pain of the screener to take part in the study and get paid. You’ll just have to go through the most annoying screening process to even try to get qualified.

Worth it if you do get selected. I have the same complaints as some of the other research groups, could/​should screen participants better. Most of the time demographic info can be found on the registration forms, instead of asking them each time. Was selected for one focus group and had a good experience over all. The staff friendly, and the process very easy once you are selected.

Received a call from Ursula who works for Flagship and spent the better part of an hour on the phone. She said I was a good candidate and frankly I agree! Life long resident and 56 years old should qualify me for just about anything in San Diego. Well, apparently her supervisor thought otherwise. Oh well. My jury is still out because they know everything about me now including where I live. Lol! I’ll give them another chance.

I had received an inquiry regarding a study that was taking place regarding my work experience. They offered a compensation of $ 150 for an hour and a half of time. I was skeptical of course, because I had never participated in a study before. I was very pleased with the ease of parking, cleanliness of the office, and friendliness of the staff. I look forward to the next study!

The worst! sex offenders, thugs, gang bangers, 3 time felons. You name it, That’s the only kind of people the owners hire…

Received a call from this business at my work regarding a study that was directly related to my job. Heard the $ 250 payment at the end of the study and thought what the heck I will see what this is all about.
The person who scheduled me to attend was very nice, then I received a follow up email, along with a call from another nice person to make sure I didn’t have any questions or need any help with directions.
It was really easy to find and I parked right on the street.
Walking in, the office is very clean, I was greeted with a smile and was all set and ready to attend the group within 5 minutes. They had refreshments and sandwiches for people to eat while we were filling out the paperwork which was really one disclosure and you pick up your name tag.
When we walked in the room was very nice, clean and there were more snacks, sodas and waters for us.
The people leading this particular discussion were very professional.
When we walked out they handed us each an envelope with $ 250 cash in it.
It started and ended at the exact time they stated when they signed me up, I even learned some good stuff that would be helpful at my job.
My experience was great, saw all these bad reviews and thought it was time they received a good one!!!

I don’t know what this company does but it is not a company with appropriate business practices.
One they don’t leave messages to contact people and two they continue to contact people during non standard business hours. I have received phone calls three times and all of which were late at night. I live on the east coast and this company is in San Diego CA. Someone want to tell me why it is important to contact me on a Wednesday at quarter til midnight?

UGH. I filled out the form, submitted it and they called me for a survey. They didn’t send an email, as they had promised, so I called them to confirm. Told me I was in and all set, awesome!!!
The next day they called me back after I arranged a sitter and was on my way down to the survey site. They changed their mind.
The girl who called very apologetic, but really? ugh. Un-​organized to say like the least.

I was a little concerned about reading the other reviews on Unilocal for Flagship. They have seemed nice enough on the phone. I arrived at their very nice offices and was informed that I was a backup and would need to wait about an hour and a half to see if they needed me to fill in for anyone. I read my paper and drank my coffee. For this I got the full $ amount promised. Heck, yes, I would do it again.

Very unorganized! They call me over and over and start from the beginning of questioning. When I tell them that I have already been screened the person on the phone stumbles over their words because they panic to get off the phone. WEIRD!!!

Completely agree with gail p. this place is either really unorganized or the screeners are trained poorly.
I called them through a craigslist posting and I was put through the screener and at the end the woman said shed talk to her supervisor and then call me back to let me know if I qualified. When she called me back she said that her supervisor really wanted me cause I fit a category that they don’t get much of. she told me when the study would be and that I would receive an email with directions and a follow up call later on.
Fast forward 2 days, I get a call (which I thought was just to verify my answers to the screener). They ask me the same questions, and then said they need to call me back. Someone calls me back and asks me some more questions and then proceeds to tell me that the screener made a mistake last time and that I’m actually not qualified to participate. Seriously? thanks for wasting my time.
Same day, they call again and then tell me that a spot has opened up for a different study. I asked her multiple times if this was for sure and said I wont be getting any calls later about canceling this right? and she said no.
So help me god if they change their mind again, I am going to punch a baby.

Terrible place with the most abysmal management of the phone room!
Last night, I fell for their usual scam. Some interviewer girl calls me up when I’m watching the news and asks me if I’ve been screened for some drink study. When I tell her that I always do the screening and then get kicked out at the end for some crazy reason, SHE ASSURES ME THAT IF I QUALIFY. I will be in the study. Fair enough.
After going through all the B.S. this time and telling me that I DO QUALIFY, the interviewer puts me on hold to get the address of the place I need to go for the study. She then comes back and tells me MY AGE QUOTA HAS BEEN FILLED! After wasting 15 minutes of my time, all she can do is apologize. I ask for her supervisor-​Wendy, who is «too busy» to talk to me.
This morning I checked to see if I could complain about them to the Better Business Bureau. Ha! Flagship Research is not even a member. My friend told me that Wendy the manager told her: when interviewers haven’t met their calling quota’s, they all just start pulling names and phone numbers out of a box and call anybody. They don’t even bother to check the data profile’s or quota fills. It’s just a bunch of aimless and unorganized minions pounding the phones.
Don’t even bother wasting your precious time with this bunch. They goof up their studies all the time. They promise to send an email and then they don’t. They put you in a study and then call and cancel it for no reason. It is a shame that I have to write this since I enjoy doing studies and I am a very good participant: smart, well-​spoken and knowledgeable about issues. But Flagship has abused my goodwill for the last time. They are the absolute bottom-​of-​the-​barrel BAD!