This is a sincere question.

I just saw couple of their postings and felt that even Nike might be paying more to their Chinese workers than what they are offering. Here are couple of examples:

1.Estimated in-store time: 30 Minutes
Merchandiser pay rate: $5.00 Flat Rate
Download your paperwork
Update your status on the website to let us know you’re all set
Submit your completed report online within 12 hours of assignment completion with required pictures.

2. This is a COVERT assignment
This assignment is expected to take approximately 45-60 minutes to complete – the list of products to audit will be about 60 items.

Payment for completed assignments is $8.00 – ($4.00 for a store closure or manager refusal.....Then how can this be covert?).

Print and familiarize yourself with the field form prior to conducting your assignment – they will be broken down by area of the store
Take your field form to the store and use it like a “shopping list.”
Record the regular price and sales price for each product you find.
Enter the price for each product you find on your field form.
Enter your results online when you return home.

I wonder the powers to be at Marketforce must be super humans who can do all of the above in 45 minutes (including drive time + gas money).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2011 11:09PM by anakin.

It completely depends on the jobs. There is one that I routinely do that pays an average or slightly below average fee with a nice reimbursement that I find very useful. There is a $3 phone shop that takes 5-7 minutes tops. There is an at home shop that requires a couple of photos and pays $12. I just find that there are a reasonable number of shops where the pay/reimbursement makes them highly appropriate and interesting. And these are never folks you need to remind to pay you. Somewhere during the second week of the month the pay for the previous month's work falls into my bank account like manna from heaven :-)

There are a few I like doing, too. Some of the audits are ones I could do in my sleep and the workflow for uploading the photos is also something I've gotten down to a short job. One thing I really like about them is how they let you choose a date range, and then reschedule it yourself without having to go through a scheduler. I've never had a problem with them. Some jobs I will do, and some are too low paying for me to bother with. They're reliable in payment, too.

Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It completely depends on the jobs. There is one
> that I routinely do that pays an average or
> slightly below average fee with a nice
> reimbursement that I find very useful. There is a
> $3 phone shop that takes 5-7 minutes tops. There
> is an at home shop that requires a couple of
> photos and pays $12. I just find that there are a
> reasonable number of shops where the
> pay/reimbursement makes them highly appropriate
> and interesting. And these are never folks you
> need to remind to pay you. Somewhere during the
> second week of the month the pay for the previous
> month's work falls into my bank account like manna
> from heaven :-)

I don't do audits or merchandising.

The grocery store shops that I do are quick, easy and provide adequate reimbursement for things I need to purchase anyway. So, I am spending untaxed $$$. Works for me.

Ahh, MarketForce...

I'm currently boycotting one of their FF places. After being asked repeatedly to give describe myself and my vehicle so that a manager could disqualify my report by saying he'd "identified" me, I choose to no longer do these assignments. Identifying me would not make the counter or the restroom any cleaner. Not my fault the place was a mess. Anyhow, I can't stand the food and the extra hassle was the cherry on the cake for me.

However, I enjoy getting MF phone calls because they usually mean lots of $. If they're willing to pay me $50 to visit a bank that's 3 blocks away, who am I to say no? I gave them a quote of $80 to visit another bank that was about 30 minutes away and they agreed. These shops were all in Montreal - no boonies. I invited them to keep calling lol. I don't even mind that they guy calling insists on speaking French to me with a thick African accent - I speak money in any language

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2011 11:55AM by MtlShopper.

There are some shops I like from them, and others that I refuse to do. With any company, it's pick and choose on which shops you want to accept.

Better to ask, "Why do ff shops?"

Judging from the lines of cars in the drive-thru lanes and the number of cars in the parking lots, there are obviously a number of folks who choose FF for a meal. If you are one of those, then doing the shops would make sense. If you are not, then the shops do not make sense.

Anakin, I saw that assignment listing too and chuckled. All that for $8? No thanks.

I occasionally do MF assignments, like the fast food and casual dining ones. I take the food to my daughters and voila, lunch is served. There is one particular restaurant I do for MF that my 7 year old absolutely loves, so I take her with me and she eats most of it.

Their merchandising assignments are pretty much a joke. $8 to blow up balloons for an hour? I don't think so!

I do theater shops for them, but not merchandising.

Same for Bestmark...low pay, excessive questions wanting commentary on each

I do a lot of work for their merchandising arm (Certified). Yes, the pay is low, but once you get on the board with them, they will call when they are desperate, and you can make some good money. And they pay like clockwork. I used to do ff shops for them, but I got sick of the food. It was fun for awhile though. Again, I usually waited until they called me, so I was getting pretty good pay for these.

I got my feet wet in this business by starting with Market Force. They are very easy most of the time and it's a good place to gain experience. I try to set my shops in a route so I can do 4-6 the same day and not drive tons of miles.

Also, I live in a very rural area and most of the shops are at least 20-25 miles from me. Once they know you are reliable and will help them out, you can, within reason, name your own price. I usually get $25 for a shop that's far away. I do 4-5 in the same area on the same day and make $100-125 which I don't consider bad for easy shops.

I like Market Force. They have a couple of 'eat-in' places that pop up every now and then.....just burgers, but good burgers. Also, they have a drive in food place just a few blocks from my home. We are gonna go there once a month or so anyway, so I shop it whenever I can. They pay on time, they are not unreasonable about their reports and have good schedulers. That goes a long way with me. I try to pick up one of their shops to grab lunch when I have another $$ maker scheduled in that area.

I do a lot of shops for MF/P. I do some for blue too. I had to earn my dues like any other company. Now, they (MF/P) call me and give me first shot and more money. I like the schedulers and they "PAY ON TIME". The reports are a breeze. I say..keep the assignment board full and I will keep busy.

Well the huge advantage is easy reports. Both arms seem to have lots of reports which are little to no narrative, just clicking. Makes it easy when you get home.

Yes, great point! They also have tax preparation shops. You have to watch which preparers you trust with your returns, though. I was signed up to do one, but it had such an air of incompetence and a fly-by-night vibe! They also had numerous computer problems which necessitated multiple reschedules. Finally, I asked the scheduler if I could do a different shop at a different local firm.

It's a good thing we didn't' go to the original place, because we've since heard several stories from locals regarding how badly these yahoos messed up peoples' taxes.

The shop isn't for a specific firm, but to see how certain financial products are offered and explained.

...But I digress. MarketForce has some very useful shops thrown in the mix and I've never had a problem with them. Their audits for certain cellphone carriers are easy to do, too.




Shelly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well the huge advantage is easy reports. Both
> arms seem to have lots of reports which are little
> to no narrative, just clicking. Makes it easy
> when you get home.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/2011 04:49AM by TechSavvy.

You also asked a question about how an assignment could be covert, but you would be paid for if a manager refused. I haven't done a shop like this for this company, but at one location I was supposed to take some pictures inside the store, but didn't need to let anyone know why I was there. It might be one of those where it is covert unless you get caught shops.

I've been with MF for 8 years. And now since their aquisition of TUAU they have new clients. Doing a fun retail cosmetics shop today.

Sun, what's fun about it? Just curious.

I have been with MFI for over 6 years and have no problems. If you do not want to take the assignment then leave it alone.

RobinMarie Wrote:
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> Sun, what's fun about it? Just curious.

Not sure yet RobinMarie, It'll be my first one, but it's the most well-known consmetic store for women's make up and I'm a 49 year old kid and heart - looking for some wrinkle cream for all the wrinkles I obtained the last two weeks filling out reports for EPMS!!!!!!!!!!!

Got it!

Grrrr.... I used to like the phone calls until the one this morning. Who the heck calls people for shops before 9am on a Sunday morning? Not only were we all sleeping but none of the shops being offered interested me.

Don't they know? I need coffee before I can make any kind of rational decision!

Got a message late yesterday afternoon from MF wanting me to do a "nearby" movie theatre. There's only one movie theatre within 40 miles of me so I was intrigued. Called her back, left her a message and then she called me back.

The first thing out of her mouth was, "Well, it's not really nearby..." and then proceeds to tell me the location which was TWO hours away. I had to watch the ads before the previews, I wouldn't even be allowed to stay to watch the actual movie.

And the best part? It had to be done that night! It was already almost 4 pm when she called me.

I take that back....the BEST part was when she said, "It normally pays $12 but we're willing to pay $20!"

Wow Phoebe70! And you turned down that oh-so-generous offer? Shocking! lol

I thought it was just me they questioned. They should tell that manager, "We don't disclose that information" just like we aren't supposed information on their end. I was questioned again on Friday. I do not respond to the questions and I don't plan on shopping again.

MtlShopper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ahh, MarketForce...
>
> I'm currently boycotting one of their FF places.
> After being asked repeatedly to give describe
> myself and my vehicle so that a manager could
> disqualify my report by saying he'd "identified"
> me, I choose to no longer do these assignments.
> Identifying me would not make the counter or the
> restroom any cleaner. Not my fault the place was
> a mess. Anyhow, I can't stand the food and the
> extra hassle was the cherry on the cake for me.
>
> However, I enjoy getting MF phone calls because
> they usually mean lots of $. If they're willing
> to pay me $50 to visit a bank that's 3 blocks
> away, who am I to say no? I gave them a quote of
> $80 to visit another bank that was about 30
> minutes away and they agreed. These shops were
> all in Montreal - no boonies. I invited them to
> keep calling lol. I don't even mind that they guy
> calling insists on speaking French to me with a
> thick African accent - I speak money in any
> language

Maybe I'm just new and don't know any better but I really like doing shops for marketforce. There are a ton of assignments in my area so there's lots of variety. I especially like the grocery store assignments (getting money off my bill and a reimbursement on stuff I have to buy anyway!).....and I like the fast food shops because my husband is a fast food junkie so at least I get a meal we can share. I like that I can be choosy about locations. I haven't gotten any calls yet about bonuses but I am looking forward to those days!

I've been quite unhappy with them recently; I've shopped FF for them for over 5 years. Recently I ordered my coffee at the FF place "1/2 decaf". They disqualified the shop because this was a "special order". Are you kidding me? I've been doing it the entire 5 years and they just NOW decide to not pay me and DQ the shop?

At another FF shop, I dropped my change while paying the cashier and was honest in the paperwork that this prolonged the timing (of paying NOT of receiving food). They DQ'd the shop because I didn't have the proper money/change ready. SO, from now on, I guess I'll just lie to them!!! (This was one where they had increased the fee to $18, too! I had only taken it for that reason; it's WAY too far for me to drive otherwise.)

If it was with the big FF place, I think the company they do it for must be super nit-picky. Even when they were with the other MSC, it was not uncommon for lots of questions to be asked and efforts to DQ shoppers.

I am not sure why they want to pay for only perfect shops. You would think what they would want to pay for was a little reality.