Preliminary Review By Phone & Related Preparations

SHUGOLL RESEARCH
7475 Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 200
Bethesda, Maryland 20814

FTC1501
CIRCLE ONE:
ABOVE SUBPRIME SCORE
SUBPRIME SCORE
Recruitment Screener

Date: TBD
Design:




Recruit 5, 90 minute pre-test in-person interviews (2-3 “Above Subprime” / 2-3 “Subprime”
credit scores)
Recruit 3 pre-test floaters (2 floaters 3 hrs / 1 floater 1.5 hrs)
Recruit 48 to seat 40 (one extra per day), 90 minute in-person interviews (24 “Above
Subprime” / 24 “Subprime” credit scores)

Specifications for both pre-test and regular interviews:


Must be 18 years of age or older



Must have purchased and financed an automobile through a dealer in the past 6 months,
for personal, family or household use; this excludes business transactions, and leases.



Must be fluent English speakers, articulate and comfortable expressing themselves in an
interview



Recruit a mix of age, gender and ethnicity

Additional specifications for the regular interviews:


Recruit at least 2 Caucasians, 2 Latinos/Hispanics and 2 African Americans for BOTH the
“Above Subprime” and “Subprime” quotas (at least 4 of each ethnicity total)

ALL SCREENERS MUST HAVE THE FOLLOWING FIELDS COMPLETED:
RESPONDENT FIRST NAME:
RECRUITED BY:
DATE RECRUITED:
CONFIRMED BY:
DATE CONFIRMED:
Hello, this is
from Shugoll Research, a marketing research firm. We are conducting
an important study about auto financing in your area and would greatly value your opinions. This is
strictly research. Your participation is voluntary, and you will receive no sales pitch or follow-up
calls based on your participation. I’d like to ask you a few questions.

1

1.

First, have you purchased any of the following for personal, family or household use in the
past 6 months: (READ LIST)
CIRCLE ONE PER ROW
Yes

No

Don’t
Know

A home

1

2

3

A car (including minivans, SUVs, and
light trucks; please exclude
motorcycles and motor scooters)

1

2

3

A condominium

1

2

3

A boat

1

2

3

MUST SAY “YES”, CODE 1, FOR “CAR” TO CONTINUE, OTHERWISE THANK & TERMINATE.
2.

Please think about the car you purchased in the past 6 months. Did you purchase it from a
dealer?
CIRCLE ONE
Yes

1

No

2

Prefer not to answer

3

2

(CONTINUE)
(THANK & TERMINATE)

3.

Was the dealer you purchased the car from: (READ LIST)
CIRCLE ONE
A franchise dealer, which has a contract
with an automobile manufacturer that
allows them to sell its products (e.g.
Brown’s Car Stores, Koons Automotive,
Sheehy Auto Stores)
An independent dealer, which has NO
affiliation or contract with an automobile
manufacturer (i.e. CarMax)
A buy here pay here dealer (BHPH), where
the dealer is also the finance company
and does not need credit approval from an
outside source (e.g.) Car World Inc., or
Jimmy’s Auto INC)

OR

Something else (Specify): _______________

 (ATTEMPT TO RECRUIT A MIX
OF DEALER TYPES)

2

3

(CHECK WITH SUPERVISOR)

4

(DO NOT
Don’t know
READ)
4.

1

5

What is the name and location of the dealership from which you purchased the car?
INSERT DEALERSHIP NAME: __________________________
INSERT CITY AND STATE: _____________________________

5. Did you purchase your car with cash, with a check, or through a wire transfer? (DO NOT READ)
CIRCLE ONE
Yes

1

(THANK & TERMINATE)

No

2

(CONTINUE)

Not sure

3

(THANK & TERMINATE)

6. How did you pay for your car? (READ LIST)
3

CIRCLE ONE

(DO NOT READ)
7.

Dealership financing, where you obtain
financing through the dealership

1

Direct lending, where you obtain a loan
directly from a bank, finance company or
credit union outside of the dealership

2

Don’t know

3

(CONTINUE)

(THANK & TERMINATE)

For this study we will be asking you to provide us with your credit score and a copy of your
retail installment contract and other documents that you may have from the purchase of your
car. We will work with you to remove all personally identifiable information from the
documents to ensure your privacy. Are you willing to provide us with this documentation?
CIRCLE ONE

8.

Yes

1

(CONTINUE)

No

2

(THANK & TERMINATE)

We're talking to people of different ages in this study. Which of these groups includes your
age? (READ LIST)
CIRCLE ONE
Under 18

1

18 to 24

2

25 to 34

3

35 to 44

4

45 to 54

5

55 to 64

6

65 and over

7

(DO NOT READ) Refused

9.

8

(THANK AND TERMINATE)
GROUP)

(RECRUIT A MIX)

(THANK AND TERMINATE)

When was the last time you participated in a market research study? (DO NOT READ LIST)
CIRCLE ONE

4

Within the last year

1

More than a year ago

2

Never

3

Don’t know

4

(THANK AND TERMINATE)
(CONTINUE)
(NOTIFY YOUR SUPERVISOR)

10. Do you or does anyone in your immediate family currently work: (READ LIST)
SELECT ONE PER ROW
Yes

No

In the field of advertising, public
relations or market research

1

2

In the automotive industry for a
manufacturer, dealer or
financing company

1

2

↓
(IF EITHER
SELECTED, THANK
AND TERMINATE)
11

Using a scale of “1” to “10,” where a score of “10” means that the statement describes you
extremely well and “1” means that the statement does not describe you at all, how well does
the following statement describe you? (CIRCLE ONE NUMBER BELOW)
CIRCLE ONE NUMBER
Extremely
Well
I feel comfortable expressing my
opinion in an interview

10

9

Not
At All
8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1



INTERVIEWER NOTE: 6-10 MUST BE CIRCLED, OTHERWISE THANK AND TERMINATE.

5

12. Please briefly describe your experience obtaining financing for your vehicle. (PROBE AND
CLARIFY. PLEASE BE SPECIFIC.)

ANY SCREENER WITHOUT A VERBATIM ANSWER DOES NOT QUALIFY.
IF RESPONDENT IS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO GIVE AN ANSWER IN ENGLISH, THANK &
TERMINATE.
IF RESPONDENT HAS HEAVY ACCENT OR CANNOT MAKE HIM OR HERSELF CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD
IN ENGLISH, THANK & TERMINATE.
IF RESPONDENT ONLY GIVES ONE OR TWO WORD ANSWERS AND IS UNWILLING OR UNABLE TO
EXPRESS THEMSELVES FURTHER THANK & TERMINATE.
13. Which of the following categories best describes your ethnic or racial background? (READ
LIST)
CIRCLE ALL
THAT APPLY

(DO NOT READ)

White/Caucasian

1

→(RECRUIT AT LEAST 2 OF EACH

Hispanic or Latino

2

Black or African American

3

ETHNICITY FOR ABOVE
SUBPRIME AND 2 OF EACH
ETHNICITY FOR SUBPRIME
QUOTAS)

Asian

4

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander

5

American Indian or Alaska Native

6

Prefer not to answer

7

6

14. Which of the following best describes your annual household income? (READ LIST)
CIRCLE ONE

(DO NOT READ)

Less than $25,000

1

$25,000 to $49,999

2

$50,000 to $74,999

3

$75,000 to $99,999

4

$100,000 to $149,999

5

$150,000 to $199,999

6

$200,000 to $299,999

7

$300,000 or more

8

Prefer not to answer

9

15. RECORD, DO NOT ASK: GENDER
CIRCLE ONE
Female

1

Male

2

(RECRUIT A MIX)

INVITATION
We are conducting one-on-one interviews in our office with people like you to talk about auto
financing. This is not a sales meeting of any kind. As we mentioned previously, prior to confirming
you for your interview we will need you to provide us with your recent credit score.
Do you know your credit score?
CIRCLE ONE

Yes (Record:_________)

1

No

2

(300-600 QUALIFIES AS
SUBPRIME, 601-850
QUALIFIES AS ABOVE
SUBPRIME)

7

Do you have documentation of your credit score that is dated within the last 6 months?
CIRCLE ONE

A.

Yes

1

(CONTINUE TO Q.A)

No

2

(CONTINUE TO Q.B)

Would you be willing to provide us with a copy of your recent credit score documentation
within 24-48 hours? This may be available from your bank, your credit card statement or
elsewhere.
CIRCLE ONE

B.

Yes

1

(SKIP QB)

No

2

(THANK AND TERMINATE)

(ONLY ASK IF RESPONDENT DOES NOT HAVE DOCUMENTATION OF CREDIT SCORE) Would you
be willing to obtain your credit score for the interview and provide us with documentation
within 24-48 hours? You can obtain your credit score, or an estimate of your credit score, at
no cost through various websites, your bank or your credit card company. We do not endorse
any particular site for obtaining your credit score or estimate of your credit score. However,
you should be aware that if a website asks for your credit card or debit card number, it is likely
they will use it to charge you.
CIRCLE ONE
Yes

1

(CONTINUE)

No

2

(THANK AND TERMINATE)

8

C. (ASK ALL) During this interview we will be reviewing a copy of your vehicle financing documents
(sometimes called your retail installment contract or credit agreement, which usually has the
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on it), and the other documents you may have from the purchase
of your car. We will work with you to remove all personally identifiable information from the
documents before we use them in the interview to ensure your privacy. At the end of the
interview, we will want to retain a copy of the documents without your personal information for
further review.
Do you have your retail installment contract or credit agreement and any other documents from
your car purchase, and are you willing to bring them to the interview?
CIRCLE ONE
Yes

1

(CONTINUE)

No

2

(THANK AND TERMINATE)

(FOR IDIs) The interview will last 90 minutes. (FOR FLOATERS) We are currently looking to schedule
floaters, we would ask you to arrive at (INSTERT TIME) on (INSERT DATE) and remain at the facility
for ____ HOURS should one of our scheduled interviews cancel. Can I schedule an interview at your
convenience?
CIRCLE ONE
Yes

1

(ASSIGN DATE/TIME SLOT)

No

2

(THANK AND TERMINATE)

NOTE FOR RECRUITERS: Tell respondents to send us documentation of their credit score within 2448 hours of the screening call. They can either fax it to us (INSERT NUMBER) or upload it to a
secure web portal (INSERT LINK).
INTERVIEWER: RECORD APPOINTMENT DATE AND TIME ON FRONT OF SCREENER
NOTE TO RECRUITER:





Valid proof of identification for all participants is required.
Do not schedule anyone who is at all reluctant about the time, is reluctant to bring their credit
score and financing paperwork, is hesitant about participating in a discussion, talks too low or
speaks unclearly. That person will definitely not be considered a valid respondent and will not
be paid for.
Remind respondent to bring glasses if needed because we will be going over documentation.
9