Today I got an inquiry from Market Force for a job I did at the beginning of December and have already been paid for. They want me to resubmit times, describe what I was wearing that day, and what car I drove, etc. I can't remember what I wore last week, how in the world am I supposed to remember almost 2 months ago. Not to mention, since that was one of my first shops, I'm not even sure I still have the times written down any where. The last inquiry I got from them was less than 24 hours after I did a shop, but I think 60 days is a little ridiculous. Is this common place with them?

I would say the quick inquiries were simple clarifications. The information they want now means the store must be challenging your report.

Try to remember the shop and report. It does sound like it's being challenged at the store level, probably due to one or more negatives. Anything you can remember to substantiate your report should be shared with the MSP. They're giving you an opportunity to validate your report. Even though you've been paid for the assignment, it is obviously important to MF.



To add another Really MarketForce? moment to your thread: Some locations have the opportunity to pick up a shop(s) with them this weekend, with $1.47 added to the fee. Wow! A hot wing or two could be added to the Super Bowl fare.

Mert Wrote:
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> To add another Really MarketForce? moment to your
> thread: Some locations have the opportunity to
> pick up a shop(s) with them this weekend, with
> $1.47 added to the fee. Wow! A hot wing or two
> could be added to the Super Bowl fare.

LOL, Mert! I just received the same fantastic offer. Woohoo! We're rockin' out now!

There's one MSC out there that "requires" you to save all the info from the shop for a year! Dream on.

Mert Wrote:
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> To add another Really MarketForce? moment to your
> thread: Some locations have the opportunity to
> pick up a shop(s) with them this weekend, with
> $1.47 added to the fee. Wow! A hot wing or two
> could be added to the Super Bowl fare.

A real big deal! Maybe I should reschedule my other shops so I can do more of MFI's. I don't
want to miss the opportunity. Offers like that don't come too often my way.

Dream on? One year would be a MINIMUM time period to keep records from a shop. I still have every report, recording, picture, and receipt. Why toss them? Throw them in a box and keep them for four years along with your other tax documentation. We are IN BUSINESS. Do you think any brick and mortar business would throw out documentation if there was a chance it would be needed for an audit?

A brick-and-mortar business has more room and can also afford a storage unit. There is no reason why we should keep the paperwork a long time. It's not tax papers. It is a visit, one of many the store gets from mystery shoppers.

Sixty days to remember and recreate all of the details of a shop is probably not reasonable. Few shoppers can recreate what happened on a shop two months ago, espeically if you're doing several shops a day. But I agree, the business must be challenging your report. If possible, I'd ask Market Force specifically what details are in question, and then rack my brain, or hunt for my notes, to come up with the answers they're looking for.

Times aren't important, unless it's a restaurant or fast food shop where times do matter.

What you were wearing doesn't seem relevant at all.

What kind of car you drove. If it's a car shop, yes. Otherwise, no.

But, to restate my point, ask what specific details they are looking for and then do my best to supply those.

I don't keep paper records, except for binder-clipped bundles of receipts ~ but I only keep those for a year. I only keep those in case I'm ever asked to mail in the original for any reason. All receipts are kept digitally on my PC forever, as are pdf's of all of my completed reports. I also scan in my hand-jotted notes and keep pdf versions of those.

I had similar sentiments as the rest of you about the "big bonus offer" for this weekend. Sheesh! Where did they come up wtih $1.47, anyway?!

I have a really weird memory about shop experiences. If supplied the location, employee name/description, and scenario; I can close my eyes and recall tons of detail. But I get that memory from my Mom's side. : )

Good luck with remembering/providing the details! At least you've already been paid. I've only had to verify odd details a couple of times, but never what I was wearing or the kind of car I was driving. Neither did I have to resubmit times... I just had to give a few additional details of the interaction. Once, I was specifically asked about the abandoned cart I reported in an aisle ~ in minute detail!

You should always keep your documentation, rather physically or as I prefer, digitally. Rather then store it locally and take up wasted space, I upload all the pictures and receipts to the cloud.

This way, if it is ever needed for verification, I can download what is needed.


Last thing you want is them to disallow years of deductions and be hit with tons of interest and penalties because you threw away your proof of work.

I have been trying to keep all paperwork and times in one location on my desk, but then the toddler spilled a cup of water on my desk and ran away with half of the papers. Currently working out a better storage system though. I was lucky and that I was able to locate my times (breathing a huge sigh of relief), and walked through every thing with the shop (I remember most of the details of the drive thru because I couldn't believe it was taking that long, and the food came out burnt and tasting disgusting). I was honest and told them I couldn't remember with 100% certainty what I wore, but told them all I could remember (i.e, I would have worn jeans and what color my winter coat is). Chalk it up to lesson learned I guess.

I do save copies of all scanned receipts in my computer, and try to save all the paper copies as well. This is turning out to be more of a trial by fire thing.

"What you were wearing doesn't seem relevant at all.

What kind of car you drove. If it's a car shop, yes. Otherwise, no. "

They are trying to identify you as the shopper. And yes I have had this happen to me. It was a fast food and the drive thru where I was supposedly identified and challenged. Since at the time I drove a black Mustang convertible, it was easily shown I was not the driver in question. ( I had no idea what I was wearing)

Both wifey and I have been asked for similar details on separate occasions - what kind of car, etc.. However, they asked in a timely fashion. The detail in question had to do with a food quality issue - the buns. On both occasions we received our burger on a dry, stale, crumbling bun which any normal customer would have sent back.

Here's the kicker: after providing the details we each received the "white glove" email chastising us for being too picky. We just answered the questions on the report truthfully, but the reports must have been challenged.

Now, I no longer see that location come up in my job search, and wifey has the same problem with her location (different stores).

So I've reached the conclusion that this client does not want negative reports, and if you give them one you could be fired.

Fine, I'll play along. I still report accurately, but I give the benefit of the doubt and I don't dare criticize their buns!

Yes - it sounds as though you did a fast food with a drive-thru and inside counter purchase. It does sound like the location is disputing your report. They plan to look you up on their video so they can validate the timings you provided and view the transaction. Most people can't remember 2 days later what they wore on a particular day, so that's probably not a big deal, but it should be easy to tell them what car you drove. They will identify your car on the video and check that timing. If they still have questions about the inside visit, they will likely be able to identify you on the inside video by the time and your general physical characteristics without knowing what you were wearing.

I keep my notes for each shop on an index card which I staple to the receipts. Like itsasecret, I do keep them. My notes are not tremendously detailed and I do NOT note what I was wearing. But I definitely have my timings and I would have made a note on the card of any unusual thing that happened. If I felt the timings were way off or I reported a negative interaction, I would capture the name/description of the employee on my card even though the report does not require it.

I also scan receipts and I keep receipts/pictures filed under the client/month/year on a flash drive. Periodically, and always at the end of the year, I back up to an external drive. I could probably scan and add the index card and then I wouldn't need so much physical file space.

It doesn't require a tremendous amount of storage space to hold onto your assignment sheets and receipts. The USPS medium sized flat rate boxes are perfect for holding 8.5x11 sheets folded in half. That way, documentation can be stored horizontally and in a time-based sequence for easy reference if needed later.

Scans and pictures for a quarter or a year or for whatever time period is desired can be burned onto a disk.

Guidelines for repeat assignments can be kept in a binder, or uploaded to a Kindle.

I keep what I need for tax purposes, which is all my income and expense information. I don't hang onto all my work folders, guidelines, and shop notes indefinitely. A few months is good enough for me. I figure I won't get any any inquiries over six months old from the MSCs. The IRS does not need my work folders, guidelines, maps, and shop notes. They want the income figures and the expense receipts. I keep a copy of my spreadsheet for the year which shows all my shops by date, MSC, job number, address, income, and mileage.

And what is with MarketForce calling about shops that they are not willing to bonus three weeks in the future?! I guess they really want to cut down on bonuses. Well, at least that's consistent with the $1.47 weekend bonus.

I doubt that any fast food restaurant would still have video from over two months ago. Doesn't the tape record over itself after a certain time period? What a lot of malarky for a mystery shop!! (A Biden word, but I used it first) If everything was done correctly the shopper should not have to worry. Answer to the best of your ability and if it gets rejected, so be it. Not worth the worries. What are they going to do, deduct the fee from your next pay? Just amazing.

I print out the questionnaire and fill it out by hand after each shop, then use it to enter into the computer. I staple the receipt to it and save that. All my audio recordings are transferred from the device to the computer. All my pictures are transferred from the camera to the computer. Other things go through my scanner and are on my computer.

At some point if I break my leg and can't go anywhere for awhile I will copy all the above to a DVD and store it. Maybe at that time I will run all my paper copies through the high-speed scanner and then I can throw out the pile. But since I don't have time for that right now . . . I save it all in a file cabinet by MSC. I'm thinking of starting to just save them by month instead, that way the docs for each route will be together.

One MSC I signed up with but haven't yet shopped for has in their contract that we are not to retain any of their documents but should send them to the MSC. I thought it odd but they are obsessive about confidentiality. Don't remember who it was.

The $1.47 was almost as funny as the 20 cent "increase" for reimbursement at one FF place. I guess I can get an extra onion ring. I save my paperwork until I am paid and then shred it. Never thought they would ask for something over a month ago.

MsJudi Wrote:
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> I doubt that any fast food restaurant would still
> have video from over two months ago. Doesn't the
> tape record over itself after a certain time
> period? What a lot of malarky for a mystery shop!!
> (A Biden word, but I used it first) If everything
> was done correctly the shopper should not have to
> worry. Answer to the best of your ability and if
> it gets rejected, so be it. Not worth the worries.
> What are they going to do, deduct the fee from
> your next pay? Just amazing.



I'm guessing most camera systems these days are not VHS tapes but DVR's which save to a hard drive and can be easily backed up. I have an eight camera system I bought for about $500 on Amazon like that.