About a month ago, there was some concerns about Spar and how they took over merchandising for MF. It was mentioned that Spar was another MF with low pay for jobs. Well, here are some of my experiences with Spar ,since they have taken over.

Yes, the jobs they took from MF were still being offered at low pay. This was due to the information they were given by MF. Since they have found out that especially the inventory jobs take longer than they were told, they have greatly increased their pay to much more reasonable rates that are $10 and more per hour. Notice I said per hour, not per job. They are still learning the jobs and if you tell them what amount of the time the jobs really take, you will be compensated for them. Please remember, they are learning the ropes. Some jobs are still per hour and some jobs are per job. However, the pay per job is still $10 or more per hour.

I called from one job, that was expected to take an 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I had been there an hour and found that the job would take 6 hours to complete on sight alone. The scheduler/regional manager is compensating me for the time I already put in plus more time on another day, as I did not have 6 hours available to complete that shop that day. This will include compensation for whatever amount it takes to input the job.

Concerns were also voiced because of the regional aspects of assigning jobs. I was talking with one manager and mentioned another job, they took from MF, that was in a nearby region. I was told who to call to get the job again. That regional manager, not only gave me the job, but also got my pay increased and added a bonus.

If you remember to hit their print box, you will also be reimbursed for your printing of materials. I don't know of any other comapny that does this.

I know there was concerns about the withholding of a % of pay for security purposes and I know they do. I intend to find out more about this and why it is necessary for every job.

The first merchandizing/inventory job I did, they did not have enough time to train me on their system and the scheduler offered to input my information for the first job if I was not able to figure it out. She did as she said she would. They are also very willing to walk you through the system on a job.

They are scrambling right now to meet deadlines and to learn new jobs. Yeah, there are glitches, but they are trying to get us decent pay once they understand the problems/concerns and the amount of work a job will take.

As of now and the experiences that I have had, I would highly recommend this company. I would like to hear from others as to if they are finding the same thing when they are dealing with SPAR.

I appreciate your thoughs on this Anita. As for me, I have never seen such a convoluted web site. I just can't imagine why they thought this website, with all of their jargon and structure was user friendly or even efficient.

My biggest concern goes back to the first formal announcement all of us got:

=====================================================

"The new partnership therefore is a great opportunity for existing contractors with Market Force to work with the SPAR Marketing Services, Inc. team and gain access to our effective tools and potentially gain additional new assignments. As an independent contractor you have the ability to select the jobs you want to accept.

You will be contacted in the next few days with additional information about becoming an independent Contractor with SPAR Marketing Services, Inc. that will outline the conditions that will enable you to take on more assignments and continue the work you have been doing for Market Force. If you decide to become an independent contractor with SMS you will be eligible for work that you were doing for Market Force and potentially additional jobs for SMS. Until the transition takes place please continue to do the assignments you have for Market Force and you can be assured you will be paid for all the work you are doing. We will keep you informed of any upcoming changes.

We welcome the new partnership and encourage all independent contractors to look at additional projects with SPAR Marketing Services, Inc. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Robert G. Brown

=====================================================


Last week I just reviewed the assignments for the dollar store DVD project and I am very frustrated. Over the past few years MarketForce had come to rely on me more and more to make this project work in my part of the country where this dollar store has been growing like Kudzu for the past few years.. I was doing as many as 40 location for them in a month for this client because I always got the job done accurately & quickly. There were problems with other independent contractors not knowing what to do with returns (usually they would box them up and they would sit in a store room for months), others would just guess at the inventories, and some came into their stores so clueless they asked the store management what they were supposed to be doing.

Six times in the past year I was called upon to help open new stores for this account, that means setting up the shelving, working with the newly assigned store manager and insuring that Sony's gondola was ready for opening day.

Well when I saw the assignments from SPAR what had been 30 - 40 shops was cut back to just ONE SHOP! Even though I live less than a mile from the North Carolina state line SPAR's system of managing agents has stripped me of ALL North Carolina locations. I suppose I could do Georgia & Alabama stores if I lived on that side of the state but SPAR has placed me in the "Georgia" category and apparently this precludes my doing any Carolinas work.

Needless to say, SPAR is not on my list of favorite companies to work for right now.

You will find extra pay is not always possible with SPAR and in fact rare.
They have a job they are desperate. Just beware!
And get it in writing.

Anita Koenig Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> About a month ago, there was some concerns about
> Spar and how they took over merchandising for MF.
> It was mentioned that Spar was another MF with low
> pay for jobs. Well, here are some of my
> experiences with Spar ,since they have taken over.
>
>
> Yes, the jobs they took from MF were still being
> offered at low pay. This was due to the
> information they were given by MF. Since they
> have found out that especially the inventory jobs
> take longer than they were told, they have greatly
> increased their pay to much more reasonable rates
> that are $10 and more per hour. Notice I said per
> hour, not per job. They are still learning the
> jobs and if you tell them what amount of the time
> the jobs really take, you will be compensated for
> them. Please remember, they are learning the
> ropes. Some jobs are still per hour and some jobs
> are per job. However, the pay per job is still
> $10 or more per hour.
>
> I called from one job, that was expected to take
> an 2 to 2 1/2 hours. I had been there an hour and
> found that the job would take 6 hours to complete
> on sight alone. The scheduler/regional manager is
> compensating me for the time I already put in
> plus more time on another day, as I did not have 6
> hours available to complete that shop that day.
> This will include compensation for whatever amount
> it takes to input the job.
>
> Concerns were also voiced because of the regional
> aspects of assigning jobs. I was talking with one
> manager and mentioned another job, they took from
> MF, that was in a nearby region. I was told who
> to call to get the job again. That regional
> manager, not only gave me the job, but also got my
> pay increased and added a bonus.
>
> If you remember to hit their print box, you will
> also be reimbursed for your printing of materials.
> I don't know of any other comapny that does this.
>
>
> I know there was concerns about the withholding of
> a % of pay for security purposes and I know they
> do. I intend to find out more about this and why
> it is necessary for every job.
>
> The first merchandizing/inventory job I did, they
> did not have enough time to train me on their
> system and the scheduler offered to input my
> information for the first job if I was not able to
> figure it out. She did as she said she would.
> They are also very willing to walk you through the
> system on a job.
>
> They are scrambling right now to meet deadlines
> and to learn new jobs. Yeah, there are glitches,
> but they are trying to get us decent pay once they
> understand the problems/concerns and the amount of
> work a job will take.
>
> As of now and the experiences that I have had, I
> would highly recommend this company. I would like
> to hear from others as to if they are finding the
> same thing when they are dealing with SPAR.

So far my experience with Spar has been so so. I hate not being able to choose my own jobs, and I had to fight to keep my perms. I also was told by my full time jobs management that it is illegal for them in our state to collect for workers comp. if I am not an employee.

Since day one I have been suggesting everyone look into their behavior in regards to their Independent Contractors. So far I've hear quite a bit about not being able to choose jobs, etc. Be forewarned and if they are guilty of exhibiting behaviors contrary to the IRS definitions of an IC, report them.

I was concerned with the change from MF to Spar at first, but have found them to be great to work for as long as you communicate well with your District Manager. The website is cumbersome at first, but after a few jobs, it is no problem now. There are tutorials available for inputting assignments. They also have a mobile app to be able to input shops from a smartphone while at the store. I just downloaded this and am excited to try it next week. Also, they do pay for printing paperwork, which is a definite plus.

>>great to work for as long as you communicate well with your District Manager.<<

I wish.

I am totally perplexed by this company. First they assigned me 11 jobs without so much as an email to notify me.
I had no idea.

I hadn't logged into the site because it was rejecting my password and they have no password retrieval system so I just skipped it until I had some time to follow up.

2 weeks later I get these "due date reminder" emails about all these jobs. What? I immediately responded to the scheduler (or my DM since I didn't know who was who) and let them know I would do what I could but a couple of days notice was going to make that difficult. I did as many as I could fit in and sent an update to the DM about what was left to do and when I could finish them. No reply

I have 5 messages sent to 3 different people all still unanswered ( it has been over 2 days now) yet I keep getting emails about more jobs.

What is that all about ? Anybody else have communication problems ?

I am still getting the same good service from them and the bonuses. They are relying on me quite a bit. I did however, get some jobs added while I was on vacation tht I was not informed of. I called the Area manager on them and she begged me to do them. I took them as I was going that way anyway.

Find out who is the area supervisor for the area you want and then contact them to get your jobs back. They will most likely be delighted to get you back as they probably haven't found anyone to do them.

Yes their sight is cumbersome and if I start a job I have never done, I get the scheduler to walk me through the sight for it. The biggest problem I have is finding where to upload the pictures. Usually if I contact the scheduler, they upload the pictures for me.

Boutique, I think part of the problem you're having is that your number is probably similar to another employee's number. I had that same problem this morning. I logged on to my portal and found something assigned to me that I hadn't accepted, and when I called in, the representative thanked me profusely because it was assigned to another employee, but somehow it was entered wrong. I would be willing to bet the same thing happened with you.

Personally, I haven't really had issues with SPAR yet. I am a little miffed with their assembly sector, NAS, though. I was assigned an in-home assembly that was only estimated to take 6 hours, but even a very experienced assembler would have had difficulties assembling all the pieces in less than 10 hours (it took me 13 hours and two trips). The more assignments I take, however, the faster I'll get and the better gauge I'll have on how much of a bonus I should ask for. I know they're willing to negotiate gas mileage, which is nice.

Boutique Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >>great to work for as long as you communicate
> well with your District Manager.<<
>
> I wish.
>
> I am totally perplexed by this company. First they
> assigned me 11 jobs without so much as an email to
> notify me.
> I had no idea.
>
> I hadn't logged into the site because it was
> rejecting my password and they have no password
> retrieval system so I just skipped it until I had
> some time to follow up.
>
> 2 weeks later I get these "due date reminder"
> emails about all these jobs. What? I immediately
> responded to the scheduler (or my DM since I
> didn't know who was who) and let them know I would
> do what I could but a couple of days notice was
> going to make that difficult. I did as many as I
> could fit in and sent an update to the DM about
> what was left to do and when I could finish them.
> No reply
>
> I have 5 messages sent to 3 different people all
> still unanswered ( it has been over 2 days now)
> yet I keep getting emails about more jobs.
>
> What is that all about ? Anybody else have
> communication problems ?

My experience
1) horrible sytem to nagivate, not user friendly
2) I am not seeing jobs available in my area that were available from MF
3) After tax taken from pay seems terribly high
side note, reimbursement for printed pages reduced from 7 cents to 4 cents.

I was concerned at first with the company. The first job I did I got five times less than what I had been getting even though the first person I spoke with when I came on board assured me my old payment would be the same. When I got the first check and saw I was paid $9 less workman's comp for a 74 mile round trip job I was ready to quit. I spoke with my scheduler and she got me the regular pay for that job and have been satisfied with them from then on. She did explain it had been a nightmare with all the new jobs and employees in taking over from Market Force. I love reporting the complete job on my IPhone.. It is done before I ever leave the shop. I have wondered why the workmen's comp fee when none of the other 28 companies I work for charge this fee. I did know about it up front so I cannot fuss too much. All in all, I like the company

Has anyone investigated the legality or even necessity of their workers comp deduction. As independent contractors we are not eligible for workers comp so why would they be carrying ICs on their policy?

No, don't really think that is the issue.

I think I was automatically assigned a bunch of work because I had expressed an interest in it about a month before. A month before mind you, and absolutely no communication between us in the interim.

When I get this reminder message about all these jobs I am assigned I was kind of like whaaa ? I just assumed the jobs had been assigned to someone else since I never heard back.

Then they sent me to places that didn't exist. I am not sure if I got paid for that or not. I managed to complete about 1/2 the jobs they put on my list - never heard another word about them and the ones I didn't finish were still just sitting there weeks later. No contact, no answer to my emails.

I later received a check for around 23.00. I have no idea what that was for, it wasn't the total for all the jobs done - perhaps it was the ones done before a payroll cut off I don't have a clue - and really don't care anymore. I can't be bothered with this amount of hassle for low paying jobs and managers that don't respond to emails.
===============================================

pixie_dust_711 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Boutique, I think part of the problem you're
> having is that your number is probably similar to
> another employee's number. I had that same problem

I was making decent money with MF and loved working with them. I had several permanent locations Then SPAR took over. The first time I spoke with my DM, she assured me that I would be able to keep my perms. HA! One of my perms I got to keep for a few weeks and then it was just taken without warning or explanation! All the others, I have not heard a word about. I truly miss MF!!!

Me too, if I ever complained about MF I am sorry now. The jobs were easy to obtain and the perm jobs stayed in your queue month after month.