I've been working for them for a long time with no major issues. Never had a shop not paid, and editors are pretty easy to deal with.

My wife has been doing shops for them for about three months. She mostly did the tax audits and wireless shops. At the beginning of the month, she did two wireless shops where she had to call a local store and ask about a certain service. The printed paperwork said to ask about options for home phone service, but when she went to do the online report, the scenario was completely different, asking about wireless plans and phones. I walked her through making the appropriate notes to explain the situation when she submitted the shop, and a couple days later, she gets clarification emails on both shops asking what they said about the wireless service, which wasn't part of the written scenario. Again, I walk her through the response and explain that the online form was different than the printed documentation. Last night, she gets emails saying both shops are rejected because she followed the wrong scenario. She didn't follow the wrong scenario, she did it right, but MarketForce has their paperwork messed up. This isn't the first time they have attached the wrong paperwork to the wrong call, but usually either I or they catch it before the shop is done.

I could give two craps about the $6 that she lost over this. I'm just upset that they are insisting that it is her mistake, when it isn't. It's not like it's going to change anything between me and the MSC. I do way too much stuff for them to let this screw it up, but it certainly is frustrating.

Nice to see someone else vent or rant on here besides me... lol.

Believe it or not, in one year of mystery shopping, I have never done a shop for MF.

I'm surprised they didn't investigate this further really. I had this happen one time with Cori and after a few days, they admitted the paperwork was incorrect.

I hope this doesn't happen in the future.

I'm guessing that my wife isn't the only one this has happened to with this particular round of shops, so I'm hoping if they get enough complaints, they will fix the issue and pay her. Not holding my breath. We have sent emails contesting the non-pay and have offered to copy the paperwork that was attached and send it in, but it always takes a few days to get a response. If we don't hear something this week, I'll have her call on Monday.

Like I said before, I'm not worried about the six buxdollars. This is just a really bad precedent for them to set.

Can't your wife scan and email the paperwork to MF that states she was to ask about home phone service? That should take care of it immediately.

I agree with sending the original paperwork. My printer can be set to print the date and time of the printouts so I find this helpful at times when proof is needed.

I understand that the OP is not concerned about the $6.00 but if your wife is just getting started with MF, they may hold this against her receiving future assignments.

@ DanteInPA ~ I didn't start working for MF until September 2013, just over two years after starting my MS'ing endeavors. The FF shops never appealed to me. But when they took over a major grocery chain from another MSC that I was working for, I broke down. No regrets so far.

I might try a shop with them to see if I like it or not. I also have never done a shop for Maritz.

I believe (and I'll know later when I'm ready to print out some guidelines/contract etc) that the date and misc. information is at the bottom of the page. That would be proof enough I think.

Canuck is right. All of mine show the date on the bottom of the page.

(heart)

You should have immediately called MF and spoke to your advocate

They will guide you and even stand up for you, in this case of mistaken paper-work, guidelines.

I had a go round with Marketforce one time about a situation in a grocery store (it was a small store that did not have a meat service counter and had a meat-cutting area in the backroom that customers were not allowed to access). They kept insisting that the store had a meat service counter where I was supposed to evaluate the employee working at the counter. It took 26 emails to finally get to the right person at helpdesk who called the store and verified that they did not have the meat service counter. Nearly every time you email helpdesk, a different employee responds. Each of them argued that the location had a meat counter, and I politely rebutted a response in turn. In each email, I asked for someoone to call the store until I got someone who believed I might be telling the truth, and they made the call to the store. I agree that you should call them. You have proof in print, which should be plenty enough to substantiate your claim. Also, scan and attach the CPI and paperwork to an email explaining the situation, then send it to HelpDesk@marketforce.com. Using the helpdesk link isn't always very effective (as I learned the hard way). Also, I had heard other shoppers in a different thread say something about MF not liking two shoppers with the same address, so be careful not to let on if you haven't told them and they haven't already figured it out. Other shoppers have said that it leads to deactivation.

It seems like most jobs under Marketforce have small discrepencies between the paperwork and the report. Whenever MF flags me for answering according to the paperwork, I tell them what they want to hear. We're all just mistresses in the eyes of Marketforce and can be thrown out at any time.


On a side note, I'm relieved to not read the unhelpful reply that says, "I like Marketforce. I've had no problems with them."

I still keep shopping for them, and in general, I do actually like them; I have a good relationship with a few of their schedulers. But I am wary of them as well. I have been shopping with them for many years and I know that one day my head may be on the chopping block, so to speak. Had I not chosen my words wisely in the 26-email rebuttal concerning my dispute, they probably would have just terminated me. I have read a lot of people have had problems with them and gotten terminated for no valid reason (or no reason that MF was willing to disclose). They are a large company with a large pool of shoppers, and we are very dispensible.

She did get an email last night saying to scan and send the original paperwork and they will review it. We shall see.

jonchance, it sounds like she will be in the clear. It's in print. Paperwork proof is indisputable and they won't be able to counter with any valid argument.

Marketforce is a company that I started out with; it's a great company for learning how to do mystery shops. As a more experienced shopper, I have learned that they require quite a bit of time and work for the low fees they pay unless there is a bonus.

They have one shop I like that is reimbursement only for a retail store that sells high end hair and skin products. It reimburses $25 so I grab it up immediately. I usually get a great quality conditioner that I love that costs $26, so it's like paying $1 plus tax for something I generally wouldn't purchase on my own dime! I also do their grocery store shops, but I too wait for bonuses before taking them.

I'm not sure what they will do, but I think in their guidelines (I know it is in the guidelines of other MS companies) it states to look over the actual report before going on your visit. If that had happened you might have seen the discrepancy and then asked the scheduler before performing the visit.

I make it a habit to glance over my reports along with the paperwork just before I go to make sure.

You can't look at the actual online report with MF until you are ready to do the report, as it advances you through the report on separate web pages (not like Sassie and some other companies who have reports that show from beginning to end all on one page). There is a printable CPI, and the guidelines document is the printable report questionnaire as well. The OP's wife had the required printed materials, but he stated that when she went to enter her results, the actual online report was completely different.

It would be great if we could see the actual report, but...that's life, eh?

jonchance, would love an update on what happened. Did MF concede and agree to pay your wife?