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Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some commonly asked questions about miPlaces and our service:
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What is miPlaces?
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What is the miPlaces merchant network, and what benefit is it to me?
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I joined miPlaces to receive notifications and offers from a specific merchant who recommended your program. What
do I need to do to start receiving these offers?
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I signed up for miPlaces to receive offers from a specific merchant. Are there other merchants that also use miPlaces?
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How much does the miPlaces smartphone application cost?
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Which mobile phones are supported?
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What else do I need to set up a miPlaces account and download the smartphone application?
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Do you support smartphones that use other operating systems such as Blackberry, Microsoft, etc?
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Can I use miPlaces if I do not have a smartphone?
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Where/how can I get the miPlaces application downloaded to my phone?
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What is a QR code? How do I use it?
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What do I need to do to get my phone to scan/read a QR code?
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Aside from the merchant frequent buyer programs and deals, is there any benefit to the miPlaces application?
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If I have difficulty downloading and installing the application, how can I get help?
What is miPlaces?
miPlaces is two things. First, it is a smartphone application that runs on mobile smartphones. See features and benefits of
the miPlaces smartphone application here. miPlaces is also a community that includes individual members and local
merchants. Community members benefit from their membership by getting merchant recommendations from friends, as
well as offers and rewards from merchants.
What is the miPlaces merchant network, and what benefit is it to me?
In simple terms, community members load the application to their smartphones and then select merchants as "Favorite"
(used for our miPlaces ratings) or "Follower" (not rated as Favorite but a merchant of interest to you). This connects you to
specific merchants inside the broader network. When you shop at a miPlaces merchant, you use your smartphone to scan
the QR code at the checkout register. This credits you with a visit at the merchant. At some merchants, you will
accumulate frequent customer points ultimately redeemable for free stuff there. Even if a merchant does not have a
frequent buyer program through miPlaces, you should still scan the QR code for credit to become eligible for special offers
and deals from that merchant. Your miPlaces account keeps track of all of your "Favorite" and "Follower" merchants,
collects frequent buyer points for a variety of merchants in one digital place where you can't lose them and gets you access
to special offers from miPlaces merchants. A detailed tutorial on use of the miPlaces application with merchants is available
here (Coming Soon).
The goal is for miPlaces to become a customer/merchant relationship-building tool which connects local merchants directly
to their customers more efficiently than mass mailings, coupons, etc. This provides small local merchants with next-
generation customer relationship building tools, evening the playing field with large national chain retailers.
I joined miPlaces to receive notifications and offers from a specific merchant who recommended your program.
What do I need to do to start receiving these offers?
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Download the app to your smartphone. (The app can be found at www.miplaces.com, the Apple Store or Google Play.)
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Currently we are only using Facebook to sign in. You will be asked your Facebook userid and password to login.
Facebook does not share your login info with miPlaces.
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After logging into miPlaces, you will be brought to miPlaces’ main page. Tap the Follows icon.
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At the top of the screen, tap on the bar that states “You are not following any places. Press here to search for places.”
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Select the merchant you wish to ‘Follow’ and receive offers from.
I signed up for miPlaces to receive offers from a specific merchant. Are there other merchants that also use
miPlaces?
Yes. miPlaces is designed to be a community shopping tool that enables you to work with many of the merchants in your
community. You can search for miPlaces’ merchants within the app using the following steps.
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Download the app to your smartphone if you have not done so already. (The app can be found at www.miplaces.com,
the Apple Store or Google Play.)
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Sign in to the miPlaces' application. You will be asked your Facebook userid and password to login. Facebook does not
share your login info with miPlaces.
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After logging into miPlaces, you will be brought to miPlaces’ main page. Tap the Follows icon.
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At the top of the screen, tap on the bar that states “You are not following any places. Press here to search for places.”
(If you are already following some places, the bar will say “Press to add new places to follow and receive special
offers!”)
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Select the merchant you wish to ‘Follow’ and receive offers from.
You can also browse a list of merchants currently using miPlaces on our “Partners” page at
http://www.miplaces.com/partners.htm.
If you know a merchant that is not on miPlaces for which you would like to receive offers via miPlaces, please ask them to
contact us at sales@miplaces.com.
How much does the miPlaces smartphone application cost?
Nothing. Downloading and using the miPlaces application is free.
Which mobile phones are supported?
The miPlaces application is a smartphone app built to run on any Android product or iPhone. So it works on any version of
Apple's iPhone smartphone and also any Apple iPad product and similarly on any Android-based smartphone or tablet
computer. Android phones are sold by a variety of phone manufacturers including Motorola, HTC, Samsung, etc.
What else do I need to set up a miPlaces account and download the smartphone application?
You must have a Facebook account and login. This simple means of login is common across Internet applications. It
eliminates the need to constantly set up and keep track of new logins every time you sign up for something else online. We
are working on other login options to include Google and Twitter. Please tell us (support@miplaces.com) if you are a
potential member who would like to use Google or Twitter to join miPlaces.
Do you support smartphones that use other operating systems such as Blackberry, Microsoft, etc?
At this time miPlaces does not support these other operating systems. There is no current scheduled release of miPlaces
for other smartphone operating systems, but we are constantly receiving and evaluating user feedback to determine and
prioritize the need for additional support.
Can I use miPlaces if I do not have a smartphone?
Yes. There are two alternative ways to use miPlaces:
1) Via text messaging. Customers with a text-capable mobile phone can enroll to receive offers, messages, etc. via text.
2) Via email. Customers without a smartphone or text-capable mobile phone can join miPlaces and receive offers via email
digest.
Some features are limited to the miPlaces app but most of the benefits will work similarly for these alternative channels.
Where/how can I get the miPlaces application downloaded to my phone?
There are multiple ways to download the miPlaces application to your phone:
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Easiest is scanning the QR code at a merchant or taking a card from them to later scan at home. The QR code will
take you to where you need to go to download the application and also help identify the referring merchant.
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You can find the application for download by clicking here.
What is a QR code?
A QR code is like a bar code on a grocery store product except it can contain much more information. The miPlaces
application has a QR code scanner built in.
What do I need to do to get my smartphone to scan/read a QR code?
Using your smartphone's camera and miPlaces, you can scan the merchant's QR code easily. Press the Scan button, point
the camera at the QR code and check in to earn your points!
Aside from the merchant frequent buyer programs and deals, is there any benefit to the miPlaces application?
The miPlaces application acts as your navigation tool and guide to finding local merchants in real-time. Use miPlaces to:
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Find nearby merchants based on your physical location by type --- "What are my options for lunch within 1 mile of
where I am now?"
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Select merchants based on miPlaces user ratings --- "What is the most liked Chinese restaurant in the area?"
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Help you get there --- "Please map and show me directions for how to get to the restaurant that I just used miPlaces
to find."
The miPlaces Quick Start Guide details these and other tools built into the miPlaces application.
If I have difficulty downloading and installing the application, how can I get help?
If you have any technical problems, please email us at support@miplaces.com.