I gather that report falsification is a real problem in the industry and from the number of additional "proofs" of visit that have been added as well as "gottchas" in some reports, I suspect the problem is growing rather than slowing. Companies are between a rock and a hard place. They can't generally outright accuse a shopper of lying unless they are ready to prosecute. Their only recourse is to reject a shop they feel is falsified and/or terminate the shopper. That, of course, potentially hurts the innocent as well as the guilty, but chronic liars are generally quite adept at covering their track. At the same time, shopping overall pays so little that few shoppers capable and competent to do other things remain shoppers for long, so companies always have to take risks with new shoppers to fill their rolls. The industry IS based on mutual trust between shopper and company and when that trust is broken on either side it will no longer work.

I have never had a shop cancelled with this MSC and do a lot of work for them for several years. Most of my FF shops are good reports. I always report what I see:-) Timings are always to the second. I have it down to a art. I love their food. I was a health nut for 55 years. Now I eat all the junk food I can. Making up for loss time:-)

MF suspended my whole account. I had to call at least 3-4 times before anybody responded to me. And after dealing with one very rude person on the phone that told me I entered two different ss numbers on my application online. But I completed my application by paper 10+ yrs ago, so i couldnt have entered it online wrong (when they were shop n chek). I have been told 3 different stories by 3 different reps and nobody can explain anything to me. Very fed up with the company. I have never had any problems with any other company in the 10+ years I have been shopping.

What I have noticed about Marketforce in the past 18 months is that their right hand doesn't seem to know what the left hand is doing. I like being able to self schedule, they pay on time, even though their pay is not high, many of their clients are places that are close and I will probably go there anyway, and they usually offer a good range of dates so I can group my shops with other shops I schedule so I make fewer trips. That said, anything unusual becomes painful with Marketforce. I try to fly under the radar. I answer editor questions quickly and as completely as I can to put the matter to rest. I have noticed that, in the event the editor is incorrect (I had an instance where the editor had mis-read the shop requirements and wanted to disallow my shop), it took me many e-mails to get it reversed, although it was reversed and I received an apology and a thank you (and most important, my shop was not disallowed).

With a full time job and a family, I don't have a lot of time and I best like to shop the MSPs I have little communication with. I like to see the job, schedule it, do, report it, and get paid. MF fits into this.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What I have noticed about Marketforce in the past
> 18 months is that their right hand doesn't seem to
> know what the left hand is doing. I like being
> able to self schedule, they pay on time, even
> though their pay is not high, many of their
> clients are places that are close and I will
> probably go there anyway, and they usually offer a
> good range of dates so I can group my shops with
> other shops I schedule so I make fewer trips.
> That said, anything unusual becomes painful with
> Marketforce. I try to fly under the radar. I
> answer editor questions quickly and as completely
> as I can to put the matter to rest. I have
> noticed that, in the event the editor is incorrect
> (I had an instance where the editor had mis-read
> the shop requirements and wanted to disallow my
> shop), it took me many e-mails to get it reversed,
> although it was reversed and I received an apology
> and a thank you (and most important, my shop was
> not disallowed).
>
> With a full time job and a family, I don't have a
> lot of time and I best like to shop the MSPs I
> have little communication with. I like to see the
> job, schedule it, do, report it, and get paid. MF
> fits into this.


That sort of sums up my feelings on MF also.

AM and Lisa, that's pretty much why I still do shops for them. I can use them as add-on's to somewhere I am already going, if I choose.

Getting any issues that crop up sorted out is a PITA, though, for sure. I have only had three come up over the years, but... They seem involve multiple areas of the company that do not seem to talk to each other on a regular basis. :-9

I have gotten many bonus shops from Marketforce. In addition, when things are slow, I can always self-assign shops to fill in.

I have gotten a few clarification emails, but never a real problem. Recently, I got an email which said that two shops had similar narratives. Both shops were completely different. I emailed back, and never heard further. I then called on the telephone and the person on the phone checked with the help desk, and they said, not to worry about it.