I tried to pickup my first field agent movie shop for marketforce. It was a 2 visit covert shop where I was to watch two movies and make sure certain ads were there before the movie started. In the overview before signing up it just said you had to go to two movies. Well after I accepted the assignment and read the guidelines it furthermore stated that one needed to be PG-13/R rated and the other needed to be G/PG rated. UGH! I check the theater and the only PG/G rated film playing is kung fu panda 3. SO I cancelled the shop saying that had I known that I would have never signed up cause it's just too awkward a situation to go by myself to watch kung fu panda 3! Like sorry but no. I just got a voicemail on my phone from a marketforce scheduler who said "Hi this is ______ from marketforce I was just calling about the shop you cancelled. Um, maybe you could just play it off like you're a really huge Jack Black fan. If there's some way we could make this work give us a call back". First scheduler call that made me lol, so kudos for that but I'm still not sitting through kung fu panda 3 by myself sorry marketforce but thanks for making me laugh

Why would you not want to go see it by yourself? It would be a chance to expand your horizons and you may actually end up liking the movie. At the very least, you made some money to sit and eat some popcorn.

You won't be laughing when they deactivate you and you can't get any shops. It is unprofessional to cancel because you don't like the movie and would feel awkward going alone. You could say you want to preview it before taking your kid as he is very sensitive.

It may not be worth the money to spend 2 hours there, but you made a commitment and need to stick to it.

Do you have to stay for the whole movie? If they just want to know what ads are playing, couldn't you leave after the ads?

I think that if all the requirements weren't available before you signed up you should be able to cancel with no repercussions.

I personally would have done it. The first two Kung Fu Pandas were surprisingly good

I always ask the rating of the movies. I don't go to see anything worse than PG. Yes, I go alone at times. I tell anyone who recognizes me and wonders why my husband isn't with me that I am taking a class that requires me to do a report on a movie. I haven't done movie shops for a long time because I am busy with other things and at this time I really don't think the pay is very good.

The narrow-mindedness of the OP will not get her far in the MSing biz. Not being professional does not help either. People go to the movies by themselves all the time. I used to write movie reviews back in college so I had to go see anything and everything my boss sent me to and I had to go by myself. The whole experience broadened my horizons beyond my expectations.

While the OP thought how MF replied was funny. It indeed was not funny. In their own way they were given the OP a way out to still preform the shop. I would rather see a PG movie before I would sit through a R movie.

Did the OP even have to see the movie? or check out the ads, trailers, or patrons? I don't know how old the OP is, but I am sure she would of looked at HARRY POTTER movies the same as KFP3.

I hope the OP learned a valuable lesson. The grass is not always greener on the other side of the street.

I thought the scheduler's comment was funny, but I'd have gone ahead and done the shop. I think the movie might have been really cute! I've cancelled one shop when the guidelines that were hidden prior to accepting the shop were so outrageous for the fee, I wasn't going to waste my time. But the amount of work here was the same as "signed up for," I assume....

I think the issue for the OP was that the guidelines provided additional requirements (about the type of movies that must be chosen) that were not disclosed in the information prior to assignment. Had the OP known these additional requirements, he or she would not have chosen to sign up for this job.
You may disagree with the OP's objections about the job, and think it's a dumb reason to object, but we all pick jobs based on our own criteria. Some people don't like jobs where you have to order alcohol. Some wouldn't want to have to go see a movie that was rated R or NC-17. I think if the OP reviewed the requirements in a timely manner once the full requirements were available, then the OP should be able to cancel the assignment without penalty. If the MSC disagrees, then I'd probably do a lot fewer jobs with that MSC in the future.

@CaliGirl925 wrote:

I think if the OP reviewed the requirements in a timely manner once the full requirements were available, then the OP should be able to cancel the assignment without penalty.

I agree with you in theory about these hidden requirements, and I think it's shady of MSCs to do this. In this case, I personally would have still done the shop. To many of us, the movie's not a big deal. But if the OP was timely in his/her cancellations, and the type of movie mandated was a big deal, then it's certainly a legitimate reason. Sometimes I think shoppers don't read the requirements until a late date, and then it's more problematic to cancel out.

If the MSCs wouldn't hide these requirements, then they wouldn't be having to deal with cancellations. Of course, there are some jobs that would never get filled. But that should be a "hint" that the shop is itself a problem!

@1JJ, You don't have to stay for the whole movie. As soon as the ads/previews are done and the movie starts, you can leave. I love doing this shop, it's so easy and often bonused.

@Sybil2 wrote:

The narrow-mindedness of the OP will not get her far in the MSing biz. Not being professional does not help either. People go to the movies by themselves all the time. I used to write movie reviews back in college so I had to go see anything and everything my boss sent me to and I had to go by myself. The whole experience broadened my horizons beyond my expectations.

Cool story, but maybe OP doesn't want to sit through a movie meant for 6 year-olds, and that's their business. OP just wanted to share an amusing anecdote and out come the insults and claims of unprofessionalism, like clockwork. What works for you is fine, but please don't shut others down.

You don't have to stay and watch the whole movie, or any of it at all. You're there to watch the ads. I did the same exact shop where the only PG/G movie was Kung Fu Panda. It wasn't bad. But, even if it turned out to be terrible, I would just leave, which is exactly what I did for my first movie, Deadpool. It wasn't bad, it was just waaaaaaaaay too much cussing at 10 in the morning. I already gleaned the information needed for the shop. Plus, the sooner I left the theater, the sooner I can finish my other shops

Exactly KathyG thank you! It would have been different if they made that clear before I applied bt they didn't. I would not have accepted the assignment if that were made clear before accepting, that's on them not me. I always take care of my shops, but if the MSC neglects to mention something before I'm signed up for it then that's on them

I also find it interesting every person here seems to think I'm female. What would your reaction be to a late 20's guy with a beard watching kung fu panda 3 by himself....I rest my case. Good day

I wold assume that you like Kung Fu Panda. What is the big deal? And exactly who would care?

@1JJ wrote:

I also find it interesting every person here seems to think I'm female. What would your reaction be to a late 20's guy with a beard watching kung fu panda 3 by himself....I rest my case. Good day

@JJ1 wrote:

I also find it interesting every person here seems to think I'm female.

@CaliGirl925 wrote:

I think the issue for the OP was that the guidelines provided additional requirements (about the type of movies that must be chosen) that were not disclosed in the information prior to assignment. Had the OP known these additional requirements, he or she would not have chosen to sign up for this job.

Nope

I once cancelled a shop because of a hidden requirement. The job was to shop a 'competitor'. The client was a store is a safe suburban area. The supposed competitor was in an extremely high crime urban area and is not a competitor for the suburban shoppers....and generally the urban residents don't travel far to the suburban store because they don't have cars. I would have never guessed the supposed competitor was this dangerous store. I would have also stood out like a sore thumb...so I did cancel, but it was a legit reason....it was not safe for me to be in that area because I don't know the 'rules' of the street and how to keep myself safe in a gang infested area. It wasn't that I would just feel awkward....They didn't say where the competitor was until after I signed up.

I do shops in other urban areas, but this one particular area happens to be extremely bad. I was shocked to find out there was even a competitor there.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2016 05:15AM by jmitw.

@1JJ wrote:

I also find it interesting every person here seems to think I'm female. What would your reaction be to a late 20's guy with a beard watching kung fu panda 3 by himself....I rest my case. Good day

Ha! That DOES change things. In my neck of the woods, it probably would have warranted a lot of extra "checks" by the theater personnel.

@1JJ wrote:

I also find it interesting every person here seems to think I'm female. What would your reaction be to a late 20's guy with a beard watching kung fu panda 3 by himself....I rest my case. Good day

I didn't go as far as assuming a beard - but the main reason why I thought you were initially so resistant to going to the movie was because you were a guy and not a girl. Perhaps that's because I'm a guy too? (although I would have sat through at least the ads, then departed soon after)

@ShopWhisperer wrote:

Cool story, but maybe OP doesn't want to sit through a movie meant for 6 year-olds, and that's their business. OP just wanted to share an amusing anecdote and out come the insults and claims of unprofessionalism, like clockwork. What works for you is fine, but please don't shut others down.

Did you read the other posts before yours? Many forum members posted that you do not need to stay and actually watch the movie. Maybe if the OP read the full guidelines before freaking out over a panda movie, he/she could have kept their obligation to the MSC.

@1JJ wrote:

I also find it interesting every person here seems to think I'm female. What would your reaction be to a late 20's guy with a beard watching kung fu panda 3 by himself....I rest my case. Good day

I see men sitting in movie theaters all the time by themselves. As long as there are no weird hand motions below the belt, everything should be kosher.

As for the gender assumption, some people just give off a vibe leaning towards a particular gender even though it may be the opposite. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

CaliGirl you have become my hero lately I have always thought the OP was a guy and understand his reservations. What surprises me is the assignment is covert. My one and only ad check was an easy announced audit so I was sitting in the theater with my clipboard. I wasn't supposed to actually stay to watch the movie.

lol what? if that's what you consider an awkward situation, I think it's fair to say you haven't been through many. you're at a movie theater dude, the lights are off. noone is looking at you, noone is talking to you, noone is thinking about you outside of the 1 second of possible eye contact. it's like the least awkward place possible. everyone is too preoccupied with themselves in life anyway to care about what others are doing.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2016 03:11PM by jay225.

My first thought when I read the post was that it was a guy. As a guy, young or old, he didn't want to be sitting in a kid's movie by himself with a bunch of young moms looking at him paranoid, holding their children close, whispering to their friends and talking to the manager. Even if he just sat through the previews, the parents in the theater would be concerned since they wouldn't know he left when the movie started.

If I saw a guy at a kids' movie by himself I'd assume he was previewing the movie to make sure it was ok for his kid.

You are not getting it. Saying it is unprofessional is a FACT. Not wanting to sit through the movie is not a valid reason to cancel. (Not to mention it looks like you just have to view the ads in the beginning, not stay for the movie). There are many things I prefer not to do on shops, but I do it to get paid. There are many people at W2 jobs that have to do things like don't like..but they do it to get paid....There are independent contractors in any business (housecleaning, plumbing, dog walking, etc) that don't like aspects of the job, but they do it anyway.

It is not a funny story and shops should only be cancelled for appropriate reasons...especially with the MSC.

expecting to get a free movie plus cash and then really only getting the cash since you are not interested in the movie is not a valid reason.

Had I gone to see lion king myself 1st, I would have never brought my niece...so there is validity in saying you want to preview a movie before bringing your young child..and a man in his last 20s could realistically have a young child..or even a niece or nephew....


QUOTE: "Cool story, but maybe OP doesn't want to sit through a movie meant for 6 year-olds, and that's their business. OP just wanted to share an amusing anecdote and out come the insults and claims of unprofessionalism, like clockwork. What works for you is fine, but please don't shut others down"

saying something like 'you are acting like an idiotic, immature, whiny brat' would be an inappropriate insult.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2016 07:53PM by jmitw.

OP: If that scheduler frequents this forum, she/he is going to know who you are now....

Which says your discretion should extend beyond mystery shopping and the forum here, by not posting what you wrote her/him and what they wrote you back verbatim. .

Live and learn....