Bamboozled by Surveys

In the first season of Survivor, way back in 2000, and way before it became the cultural icon that it is today, Richard Hatch, a corporate trainer, and consultant, won the title of “Survivor”.

During that first season, he infamously set the standard for what a Survivor “villain” is and also shocked viewers and the other castaways by walking around in his “birthday suit” on his birthday. How apropos.

In 2004 Hatch was invited back to Survivor to participate in the All-Stars season. This time, his fellow castaways were on to his shenanigans and promptly voted him off during the fifth episode.

Coming as a shock, on his way out Hatch uttered the now famous line, “I’ve been bamboozled!”

Unfortunately for Hatch, he ran into some legal trouble in 2005 and was indicted for tax evasion, mostly for not paying taxes on his Survivor winnings, He spent 51 months in prison for his transgressions.

I was feeling a little “bamboozled” the other day. Let me tell you why.

About two years ago, I signed up to participate in surveys related to specific health topics. Since I felt I had some knowledge and experience with the topic I thought my opinions might help with future products/devices, etc.

Also, there was a monetary incentive to complete the surveys. Always a bonus.

At first, all was well. I qualified for the surveys, completed them, and got paid.

As time went on, I noticed that the number of qualifying questions was growing, as was the level of information needed to qualify. For some surveys, I was answering 10 – 12 questions just to try to qualify, and then told I didn’t qualify!

At this point, I was feeling a bit like Richard Hatch - blindsided. I never saw this coming. They got what they needed and then told me I didn’t qualify – eliminating any need to pay me.

Perhaps I’m overthinking this, or just being overly suspicious – but still – something is not quite right.

We all know that companies are always collecting our data – whether you are just buying something online or answering survey questions for pharma/research companies.

Answering all of these questions and not qualifying for the survey – kind of left me feeling “exposed”.

But, as we know, data is king, and the companies that get the best data will most likely survive. It’s just the way it is.

Just for fun, I checked to see how much money I have made doing these surveys. $48 – over two years.

I’m also pretty sure I never included these winnings on my tax returns.

If Hatch got 51 months for not paying taxes on a million dollars, how long will I get for $48?

I’ll let you know, and hopefully not from a federal prison.

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