After doing several shops for this outfit last month, I wrote inquiring the status of said shops.
this is the e-mail I got back:
You will be compensated for all approved assignments regardless ofreceived shop documentation. However, we are showing we are no longeroffering you mystery shopping assignments with our company. We wish youprofessional success in your present and future endeavors.

Where is the editor of said e-mail? do they not use a space bar?
Needless to say, I wrote back telling them to send me monies owed on the 5th.
This does not break my heart, but they sure don't have people lining up waiting to do the shops in my city. In fact, I know of only one other person who works for them here. (she is my best friend) and we trade off month to month. Lets see if they call her to do shops. That is how we got almost all of them to start with, we never look at the board, they just call us.

Do you know why they are not offering you any mystery shops? If not, do you remember anything that may have caused it?

Also, I'm a little lost... why did you email them to inquire about the status of your shops?

Sorry, I am new and am just collecting tips so that I can keep informed.

Thanks!

KitKat,
the reason for inquiring about the shops is that they were still showing not recieved status. These shops were done back on 10/18 -10/20.
As far as no shops (being de-activated) no reason was given. I have worked for this company for the last 7 or so years. Never had a complaint, paper work always on time, ect. It is just there way of screwing people around.

I'm sorry.

Judging by their e-mail, it seems they didn't receive your shop forms, either receipts or CPIs.

I have a log of shops that I have on my list and the BBB gave them a A+ rating, but they also go under the name of SG Marketing Group. I have alot of phone #'s that I got from the BBB. I do not know if you have them, but here they are.
770-441-5366
800-669-6526
770-393-1072
800-669-9939
770-668-0816
They all pertain to this company, but I'm sure one or two might be fax numbers. Forgot to write that down! I do have a memo that you can fax them if your printer goes on the blink. Good Luck

Market Force bought out SG Marketing, Shop 'n Chek, Speedmark and Certified. Initially the blue portal handled the Shop 'n Chek and Speedmark clients. Eventually they took over the SG Marketing clients as well. Certified has stayed in its little corner of the universe.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Market Force bought out SG Marketing, Shop 'n
> Chek, Speedmark and Certified. Initially the blue
> portal handled the Shop 'n Chek and Speedmark
> clients. Eventually they took over the SG
> Marketing clients as well. Certified has stayed
> in its little corner of the universe.

Thats because they are all in their own little special sphere of reality...

I've never had any problem with tem not getting my paperwork or getting paid. Don't understand your problem. The only Number I have for them is their fax number it is 770-441-5359

Everyone's time comes eventually with this company. For those defending this company, just wait. It may come in a few months, or a year or two ... but eventually you will all be cut by the company. They seem to limit your number of shops you can perform for them ... period. And then once you reach this limit, you are cut without exception.

Fulfilling your maximum quota and obviously if they have other issues such as with your paperwork, receipts, photos, etc. will all get you cut. But you could be the best shopper for them and still be cut IF you meet your quota. They don't care if your area doesn't have many shoppers or if it's difficult to fulfill shops in certain areas. You will still be cut regardless.

Perhaps, but after 5 lucrative years and counting of working for/with them I can certainly say that the trip has been worthwhile :-)

mystikwizard Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Everyone's time comes eventually with this
> company. For those defending this company, just
> wait. It may come in a few months, or a year or
> two ... but eventually you will all be cut by the
> company. They seem to limit your number of shops
> you can perform for them ... period. And then
> once you reach this limit, you are cut without
> exception.
>
> Fulfilling your maximum quota and obviously if
> they have other issues such as with your
> paperwork, receipts, photos, etc. will all get you
> cut. But you could be the best shopper for them
> and still be cut IF you meet your quota. They
> don't care if your area doesn't have many shoppers
> or if it's difficult to fulfill shops in certain
> areas. You will still be cut regardless.

Well, I personally think they are fully within their rights to institute any policies they feel are right for them. So if after a while they feel like they want to rotate shoppers, it's certainly their right. However, as long as they allow you to shop for them, it has to be said, they are one of the most reliable companies in terms of paying correctly and on time.

I agree that perhaps everyone's time will come with Market Force. But so what? No one has guaranteed any of us long-term employment at any mystery shopping company. We are independent contractors. Jobs are posted by the companies and we accept one job at a time, complete it, report, and get paid. At any time, I might decide I don't like something about a mystery shopping company and immediately take no more assignments from them. And at any time any MSP may decide something about my work, my reports, my interaction with a scheduler, or that I have been identified by the client...or even that the settings on their internal computer tracking system have eliminated me. Okay. But for the period of time I work for them, I will do my best and file reports on time, and I expect to be paid in full on time. They do that. Tomorrow I may not work for them anymore. Or they might not LET me work for them anymore. As long as they are fair with their shoppers while the shoppers work for them, they are fine as far as I am concerned.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree that perhaps everyone's time will come
> with Market Force. But so what? No one has
> guaranteed any of us long-term employment at any
> mystery shopping company. We are independent
> contractors. Jobs are posted by the companies and
> we accept one job at a time, complete it, report,
> and get paid. At any time, I might decide I don't
> like something about a mystery shopping company
> and immediately take no more assignments from
> them. And at any time any MSP may decide
> something about my work, my reports, my
> interaction with a scheduler, or that I have been
> identified by the client...or even that the
> settings on their internal computer tracking
> system have eliminated me. Okay. But for the
> period of time I work for them, I will do my best
> and file reports on time, and I expect to be paid
> in full on time. They do that. Tomorrow I may
> not work for them anymore. Or they might not LET
> me work for them anymore. As long as they are
> fair with their shoppers while the shoppers work
> for them, they are fine as far as I am concerned.
Touche!!

I just found out I was deactivated from Marketforce Purple when I tried to log in yesterday. I sent an email to hopefully figure out why. I've enjoyed working with them for the most part but at this point I want to make sure I get paid what's still owed me.

My account with Market Force got "deativated" a few months back. They did not even have the professional courtesy to tell me why. So I hope they have a hard time finding qualified shoppers in my area (South Dakota)!!!

mystikwizard Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Everyone's time comes eventually with this
> company. For those defending this company, just
> wait. It may come in a few months, or a year or
> two ... but eventually you will all be cut by the
> company. They seem to limit your number of shops
> you can perform for them ... period. And then
> once you reach this limit, you are cut without
> exception.
>
> Fulfilling your maximum quota and obviously if
> they have other issues such as with your
> paperwork, receipts, photos, etc. will all get you
> cut. But you could be the best shopper for them
> and still be cut IF you meet your quota. They
> don't care if your area doesn't have many shoppers
> or if it's difficult to fulfill shops in certain
> areas. You will still be cut regardless.

mdplez Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just found out I was deactivated from
> Marketforce Purple when I tried to log in
> yesterday. I sent an email to hopefully figure
> out why. I've enjoyed working with them for the
> most part but at this point I want to make sure I
> get paid what's still owed me.


Hi, mdplez, MF boots without warning for all sorts of offenses, or merely because their computer program has identified you for elimination, but they do pay you for any jobs already completed even when they are not offering you new jobs. At least you don't need to worry that you won't get paid for your prior work.

I am still amazed at the people that defend Market Force. They seem to survive on bottom feeders. When I was taking the blue assignments, I was only accepting 3-4% of the ones posted or telephoned about.
I was amused when Purple would call and tell me that they had an assignment for me. It would be something about very easy and it would take less than 30 minutes to complete. Then they would let me know the highlight of the assignment.
It pays $3.00 flat rate. You only have to take two pictures and upload them with your report.

So how about a little Math.

Change clothes to "Business casual" 15 Minutes
Download instructions. 10 Minutes
Read & understand instructions 10 Minutes
Track package to assignment location 5 Minutes
Drive to assignment location (3 Mi) 10 Minutes
Park and walk to Customer service 5 Minutes
Wait to sign into vendor log 10 Minutes
Got to department and wait for Assoc. 5 Minutes
Wait for associate to locate the box 10 Minutes
Reset the display and merchandise 15 Minutes
Take pictures and get signature 5 Minutes
Walk to customer Service 5 Minutes
Sign out on vendor log 5 Minutes
Return to car 5 Minutes
Drive Home 10 Minutes
Complete report and up load pictures 10 minutes

So in my experience it takes 135 minutes to complete this easy merchandising assignment. But you can take up to three of these assignments.

So how does that $3 sound now? ISt sounds like $1.33 per hour if you do not include the car cost or the ink to print out 12 color pages of instructions.

I thought that I was lucky getting the price bumped up to $15.00 for these assignments, until one day I accidentaly hit record on my voice recorder when I was changing clothes. I found the I had recorded my trip that day and the time was an eye opener for me. I conducted the audit not knowing that I was timing myself. When I went to put away my recorder after the audit was inputed, I noticed the record light was on and just under 2 1/2 hours had been recorded. I played it back and wrote down the times as listed above.

So I hope you know what you are defending, when you declare Market Force the victor.

It would take $25.00 per assignment to make the same take home as minimum wage in my state.

So maybe, you should consider not taking a seat on the bandwagon until you do a little time management research. And of course I did not add in the time it takes to send in pay inquires to get paid for some of the assignments.

But of course you are referring to the Certified Field Associates part of Market Force, not the blue portal that is the old Shop 'n Chek side. And BTW if it takes you 15 minutes to get dressed business casual that is pretty amazing. I am generally out of the house 5 minutes after I start to get dressed to go and that is even with gathering my materials, keys, installing my microphone for my DVR and finding my shoes (which seem to have a wandering life of their own).

A quick glance over the SNC side of MF's instructions takes less than a minute to both print the CPI and determine there have been no changes. It will sit on the printer until I am ready to sign, scan and upload. Drive time is usually as part of a route of mystery shops so can vary from 2 minutes to 15 minutes depending on how you want to count it. Scanning takes place while I am changing clothes to get comfy to go write multiple reports. My most frequent report takes about 7 minutes to report and upload the CPI and receipt.

So if it is taking you 135 minutes you are working for the wrong side of MFI. And frankly the issues you outline are why I don't do merchandising. It may be a source of steady work that gets faster with time, but it is not the kind of steady work I want. I too am very selective about which shops I will take from the MFI blue portal, but generally it is for personal interest rather than any onerous issues. I generally will no do their shops as orphan work except for dinner with my sweetie.

What I do find intriguing is that those who have been cut off by either the blue portal or the purple portal of MFI are so angry and bitter about it. Obviously if they hadn't felt it was a good gig they wouldn't be so upset. And you have to admit that waking up to find a little under $200 has made it safely into your bank account on about the 10th of the month after you did the work, and it is correct to the penny, is sweet. Blue portal is very accurate and timely in their payments, so no follow up required on my part except to mark the work "paid".

I guess I don't understand the argument here, vanster. Jobs are posted and shoppers CHOOSE to take or not take the job. If the payment for a particular job is too low, don't take the job. I'm not sure why anyone would accept a $3 job to go out and perform some work.... You felt lucky that it was bumped to $15 ....how many times did you do it before you realized it took you 2-1/2 hours? No wonder the payment is so low .... someone is accepting it. Supply and demand. I don't do merchandising, so I don't know how payment for merchandising compares with payment for mystery shopping - pay appears not to be great for either one, but merchandising just doesn't look to me like it is worth the time for the payment, so I have never done that with any company. I've also never worked for the Purple Portal, so my comments all concern the Blue, mystery shopping. MF does have negatives, but they post their jobs, along with the fees, and a shopper is free to choose to accept or not accept the jobs. You are also not required to accept a certain number of jobs with them, so maybe I find only 1 or 2 jobs a month from them to my liking, and those are the only ones I accept. Or maybe I find a bunch .... but the point is that I accept only what I want to accept. Yes, their pay is low, but their mystery shopping jobs are self-assign, relatively easy jobs with easy reports, and they pay on time. And if they decide some day to eliminate me..... then "I was looking for a job when I found this one."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2010 02:59PM by AustinMom.

The time line I listed was from an actual digital recording. The comments from the two of you that have never done the work is interesting. I perform most of my mystery shops in attire other than “Business Casual" So when I change to the required attire, I break out an Iron and get my clothes finished. I have had a Company Rep at an assignment when I arrived. So grab the keys is not an option if you could be spot checked. Most of these assignments have a limit of how many you can perform in a day. So your route program goes out the window.

The purpose of the post, was to let others benefit from experience. I was trying to save others from the telephone trap that I fell into one time. My point was exactly how rosy these jobs can be. I do find some work that is worthwhile from both sides. But the key word is "Find" not "Offered." Among the majority of the assignments on both sides is a few hidden gems.

As far as supply and demand....I was again trying to point out the time/ compensation ratio. If more ICs are aware of the math then hopefully less of them will take the lower paying assignments. The cost of printing the required documentation is substantially more than with mystery shopping because the full color pictures of plan sets and examples.

The job information was correct, the actual work took less than 30 minutes. But in my business world all time used to complete an assignment is billed to that job. These assignment have limited hours and short reporting time windows after completion.

The pupose of this string was to discuss experience with Market Force, If you have not worked in the area of my discusion, then why are you two such "Experts?"

I am allowed to throw stones in this glass house, You two are outside looking in.

But of course I have to bow down to both of you being "SuperStar Members" All seeing and all knowing.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2010 03:45PM by vanster2000.

The reality is that I have done some merchandising and found it totally not worthwhile. And of course the sad part of Market Force is that one portal neither behaves nor responds like the other portal so blanket statements about "Market Force" do not apply.

Sorry if I hurt your feelings, vanster. I have never done merchandising because it looks SO not worth the time for the payment offered. And I am speaking not only of Market Force Purple, but other merchandising companies. But, some of my shopper friends do merchandising and find it worthwhile. I did register with the Purple Portal, at about the same time I registered with the Blue, but after looking over what they want and what they pay, I chose never to do any of it. My point is only that the payment amounts are posted with the job and a shopper makes the decision to accept or not accept based on whether the job is worth to him. I have accepted a few and later felt I worked too cheap .... and not just from MF.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I agree that perhaps everyone's time will come
> with Market Force. But so what? No one has
> guaranteed any of us long-term employment at any
> mystery shopping company. We are independent
> contractors. Jobs are posted by the companies and
> we accept one job at a time, complete it, report,
> and get paid. At any time, I might decide I don't
> like something about a mystery shopping company
> and immediately take no more assignments from
> them. And at any time any MSP may decide
> something about my work, my reports, my
> interaction with a scheduler, or that I have been
> identified by the client...or even that the
> settings on their internal computer tracking
> system have eliminated me. Okay. But for the
> period of time I work for them, I will do my best
> and file reports on time, and I expect to be paid
> in full on time. They do that. Tomorrow I may
> not work for them anymore. Or they might not LET
> me work for them anymore. As long as they are
> fair with their shoppers while the shoppers work
> for them, they are fine as far as I am concerned.


You go girl. I agree. MarketForce is too big for my tastes and nothing in life is guaranteed except for death and taxes.

Excuse me, french fries and apple pies do not look any better in color than they do in black in white. It is all about taste ansd quality. "Are they hot, did they taste good."

VANSTER2000 sounds like a scheduler looking for the pefect shopper. V2000 is also "upset" to being pick on. Apparently V2000 keeps up with the forum but from afar.

I am sorry, 12 pages of instruction/guidelines printed in color is $3.60, (the shop is only paying $4 with reimbursement).

I like the blue and purple portal for what it is worth for me right now. I do not know about later. I can be sure, I will know when it is time for me to say goodbye.

As for 135 minutes, the shortest time it took for me to complete a reoprt and not have it come back for questions/inquiry.

SOJO, No, I am not a scheduler.

As far as "picked on" My point was I had experience, I was not quoting from theory or "My friend told me." I do not post about work that I do not have experience with.

As far as the black and white versus color printing..That was my point, The cost of the full color sheet eats up the shop fee quickly. The time quote on the bottom of your post looks like it was cutoff. On Merchndising ,the report is very simple with mostly verification picture uploads and a question about do you want to do this again? There has been no other follow up questions after the assignment was reported.

The Brand compliance on the blue side and the product resets on the purple side have details, that can only be seen in color. I tried taking my laptop on one assigment to save the printing cost, but the store would not allow me to use it on the sales floor. So I had to print out the sheets to complete the work. One of the reguler brand compliance audits in my area requires 28 full color pages of photos and then up to 55 photos, that needed to be resized and labeled individually before being uploaded. The basic fee for this work was $10.00. I only would take the jobs at $40.00 each.

The apple pie and french fry shops only required a digital voice recorder. They were easy as long as you did not get tired of the targeted menu. But they were mystery shops and not Audits or merchandising assignments.

I read over and over about the complaints from purple. I must, either be stupid or very good. I do 95% of my work for purple, I am paid (the rate I excepted and am ok with) on time for every single shop I have ever done.
I have had to call the purple side a few times now for different issues (my personal issues, not anything they have done wrong), they are ALWAYS nice to me, always understanding and/or helpful.
The comment that those of us are "bottom feeders" who work for them is not only an insult but plain and simple RUDE!

Justme615 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I read over and over about the complaints from
> purple. I must, either be stupid or very good.

Or lucky so far.

.... and while we are on the topic of the purple portal, for anyone that remembers, yep still have the lighters. The last call I made ended with me being threatened with legal action if I threw them away.

Sorry Lisa, I just chuckle every time I remember that piece of idiocy. Truly Catch 22 at its finest. So instead of the general public buying and having around a product recalled for safety issues, you get to house them because they can't find a legal way to have them returned. And I suspect they have long since stopped trying to figure that one out because it is easier to just let them explode at your house.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry Lisa, I just chuckle every time I remember
> that piece of idiocy. Truly Catch 22 at its
> finest. So instead of the general public buying
> and having around a product recalled for safety
> issues, you get to house them because they can't
> find a legal way to have them returned. And I
> suspect they have long since stopped trying to
> figure that one out because it is easier to just
> let them explode at your house.


haha, I laugh at it too sometimes.