I bought a lottery ticket. Wouldn't that be nice?

What is the general consensus about only taking bonused shops with them? I know some shoppers say they make it a point to take the low paying standard rates every so often to stay in their good graces. Does it really matter ?

These days I take most of the bonused shops they call me with unless they are too far out or it is just too last minute, and I do take some of the regular priced jobs that appeal to me and the pay is enough, but just wondered if it would truly make any difference if you only did the highly bonused ones.

Market Force apparently does deactivate some good shoppers and we don't understand why. For those of us who speak out for Market Force and haven't yet been deactivated, we understand it can happen. That doesn't mean MF is not a good company to work for with a lot of work nationally and payment on the dot.

Many of those who are the most adamant in disparaging MF for deactivating shoppers claim to have been very active shoppers and happy with the company prior to their own deactivation. Now that the relationship is over, they have very little good to say.

All shoppers should be aware that eventually MF will probably deactivate. I know my car is going to belly up on me too, but you know what? I'm driving it until it does. This computer is going to snarl and not recover some day, but you know what? I'm using it until it does. Everything changes. Think back to every job you ever had before this one. They're gone, aren't they?

Here's my plan when I'm deactivated anywhere. I'm going to pick that deactivation notice up and put it in the trash. Then I'm moving on.

That's why it's important to sign up with as many companies as possible. I do some work for MF, but if they were to deactivate me tomorrow I wouldn't care. To hell with them! There's better companies out there that pay more.

Yes to both the above - Mary and Phoebe. I have worked with MF since 2008 and fully expect that as newbies come on board, eventually I will be deactivated because there are so many newbies who can easily take my place. MF reports are set up so that a newbie can complete a report about as well as an experienced shopper, with clear choices on the form and little narrative. They want objectivity and new blood.

I think the biggest problem here is that Market Force is great to work for, with plenty of clients, reasonable instructions, self assign, quick and dependable pay, and VERY easy reports. Most shoppers LOVE working for them. Because they LOVE working for them so much, if and when they are deactivated, some shoppers are so angry and devastated that they can't get past it. They dwell on the deactivation, insisting that it's "wrong" and painstakingly analyzing the "reason why." They post "warnings" to other shoppers, telling them "I made the big bucks and when it was over they dropped me like a hot potato, so don't work for them because they may drop you." Or "Avoid them, because even though I loved them, they deactivated me and won't tell me why."

That's like warning your children to never fall in love because someday he may leave you. When it's over, it's over. When the boyfriend breaks up, does it matter why? What's the difference if he is disenchanted with the way the old girlfriend laughs or that he thinks Susie is cuter? He's done and moved on. Obsessing and worrying over why merely prolongs.

I've noticed the shoppers who are the angriest are those who made a lot of money with MF and/or really, really loved working for them. I think it eventually happens to all MF shoppers - when it's my turn, I'll deal with it and move on.

AustinMom, yes and yes and yes. This forum is full of people who made big bucks with Market Force and now they are warning new shoppers off the company. What's up with that? They got theirs and got dropped so now the world should end for everyone else? I think not. No hard feelings here (not much) but you guys who got dropped should be fair with the newcomers. No way you would have turned down that money from Market Force. Let's be reasonable and explain the situation to newcomers, but let's don't warn them off from a very good thing because our very good thing ended.

I want to know how Big-T-Bone earned $12,000 + in 5 months with Market Force?

Or, do you mean you earned 12K from "all" your mystery shopping companies in 5 months?

I "still" ask.....how do you earn 12K in 5 months?...At best, I might earn $3,500 in 5 months from all my companies....

@Canuck wrote:

I bought a lottery ticket. Wouldn't that be nice?

Do you live in NC, Puerto Rico or Texas? Because if you do, you should be relaxin' today and not working!

It sounds to me like T Bone is saying $12,000 at Market Force in five months. That's $2400 a month and yes that can be done and Market Force has enough work if you are in the right location. It absolutely cannot be done where I am on the job board I see but they don't have all that much here to work with except burgers and fries.

New to MF.
While they seem to have plenty of jobs available, there seems to be little to no feedback available. I have no idea if I am doing a good-fair-poor job reporting my shops for them. I guess since I have not been deactivated yet, things must be ok?
The other mystery shopping companies I work do for, either score each of the jobs, or provide feedback on each of the jobs and surprisingly I've been getting very positive detailed feedback. Sometimes I will hear things like, the client is looking for a little more feedback on the cleanliness, or one particular area that I may have touched on briefly. I want to do a good job for MF, but if they don't provide any feedback - how do I know what specific things they are looking for, or want more focus on.??
Unfortunately, right now my crystal ball is not working very well
I hope they don't deactivate me simply for writing this post, but I have sent several emails to MF and they have either been ignored or responded to in a very curt manner.
I like the jobs at MF - while not high paying, they are great fill for when working other jobs in remote areas to make it worth the trip/time.
Anyone getting feedback from MF?
Thanks
Signed: Befuddled and bewildered

@camper138 wrote:

New to MF.
While they seem to have plenty of jobs available, there seems to be little to no feedback available. I have no idea if I am doing a good-fair-poor job reporting my shops for them. I guess since I have not been deactivated yet, things must be ok?
The other mystery shopping companies I work do for, either score each of the jobs, or provide feedback on each of the jobs and surprisingly I've been getting very positive detailed feedback. Sometimes I will hear things like, the client is looking for a little more feedback on the cleanliness, or one particular area that I may have touched on briefly. I want to do a good job for MF, but if they don't provide any feedback - how do I know what specific things they are looking for, or want more focus on.??
Unfortunately, right now my crystal ball is not working very well
I hope they don't deactivate me simply for writing this post, but I have sent several emails to MF and they have either been ignored or responded to in a very curt manner.
I like the jobs at MF - while not high paying, they are great fill for when working other jobs in remote areas to make it worth the trip/time.
Anyone getting feedback from MF?
Thanks
Signed: Befuddled and bewildered

1. Once, I received feedback from MF.
2. I responded to that feedback and I still work for MF.
3. You can ask for additional payment. There is no guarantee that you will be paid more money for any assignment.
4. I don't know how you work your jobs, but one easy way to know what the MF clients want is to read the questionnaire before beginning the assignment. If you can bring the questionnaire to the job site, do so. If you have done these things and are still unsure about what the clients want, fear not. The experienced shoppers will see this and give you more information.

C'mon, experienced shoppers! : - )

With MF, no news is good news.

I've been with MF for many years. For most part they are okay but they extend zero grace and when they choose to dump us or deactivate they give no warning or reason. I've called and demanded explanations and they won't give me much info. I just recently messaged that they ticked me off again and they have deactivated me again.
But when they get desperate they will call.
They do use statistics, calculations and rotations to drop or stale mate shoppers......OK BUT HOW ABOUT SOME COMMUNICATIONS?

Well said an probably true. I've done about 150 shops for MF - so we'll see.

***THEY FIRED ME, REACTIVATED ME AND FIRED ME AGAIN** I worked for MF for about a year and a half, they deactivated me once with no valid reason, I emailed them and all I got was a thank you and good luck reply. So I was pretty upset about this because of course after 6 months I got used to the extra income and don't get me started on the beans some of the shops pay for your hard work. Well I found one of the big time people in the company and contacted her, left her a voice message and can you believe she called me back!!! I actually spoke with someone on the phone from them other than the schedulers. Well I explained to her what happened, she was very nice (probably more surprised than anything with my persistence) but she told me she would check into it, and took my shopper number. Well a couple days later I received a call from the another lady stating she was sorry and they reactivated my account!!! SWEET VICTORY! Or at least I thought, after about 9 months later they deactivated me again and I said they can go to hell because it was the same email, thanks and good luck. They obviously didn't appreciate the hard work and long drives I would have to do so they can make money versus the $5 and $15 pay they would give. I made my peace with it and said I will never work for them again but I have told other people about them. If you can stay on long enough and not be a target for their next round of deactivations the extra money is great in this economy. The last time I actually knew they were about to "fire" me again because I had a [client named deleted] shop and the manager made 2 workers go home in the front of customers, it was quite a scene and since I was on assignment I had to report the truth. It probably made me a target but oh well, I did my job.

I've been with MF 9 years, have made some errors, had to reschedule some shops I'm still there

I'm just curious as to why there are no threads like this about other companies. Now that I received a great PM from someone on this board telling me of other companies, I am making more money doing the same number of shops. It seems there are a large amount of threads about being dropped from MF. Does anyone know if any other companies do this? I am now adding this extra income into my budget for the rest of the year and counting on it.

ajohnson2012, please remove the reference to the client in your post. It is a violation of the forum rules to list the client and the MSC in the same thread. Additionally, it also violates the ICA. The abbreviation you used is still a giveaway as to the client.

@mgoodreau wrote:

I'm just curious as to why there are no threads like this about other companies. Now that I received a great PM from someone on this board telling me of other companies, I am making more money doing the same number of shops. It seems there are a large amount of threads about being dropped from MF. Does anyone know if any other companies do this? I am now adding this extra income into my budget for the rest of the year and counting on it.

Other companies definitely do deactivate shoppers. There are numerous other threads here on the forum detailing the reasons shoppers have been deactivated from different companies. When you have been here a little longer, you will probably have seen a lot more. I would say that there are probably more threads complaining about deactivation from Market Force than other companies because Market Force is bigger and has more shoppers than most other companies, so more is written about them. Also, Market Force is so easy to work with and has so many assignments that people seem to get much angrier and take much longer to get over it than they do when deactivated by a company that does not have as many available assignments.

I would rather work for the company who does Chipotle than work for Market Force any day of the year. Market Force tried to purchase this company and they were turned down....That's a good thing.

This is in answer to the question of whether other companies deactivate.

I was deactivated by another company, Gapbusters. I had been with them for maybe two years with no apparent problems. When I had a birthday, and not a big 0 birthday, I got an email saying I could never work for them again. I didn't question it. I thought it was plenty weird. This was several years ago.

I worked for several companies that MFI bought out. One was Certified. I was deactivated by them once when I was new to them. I waited until the last day to do the assignment, which was merchandising, not theater, and then found myself in bed sick. Yeah, I know, not really MS'ing. I questioned the deactivation and was reinstated. Another time, I got a route of C-store merchandising assignments. On the very last one, I was in a hurry and didn't verify the signature. It turned out that it was illegible and I didn't remember who signed the form. Then I went on vacation. When I returned, discovering I had been deactivated, I questioned it. I sent them a copy of the signature and I believe I told them that it would have been a simple thing to call the store to find out who was working at that time. I honestly can't remember the third time I was deactivated, but I was reinstated. It was a misunderstanding, too. I haven't had any more of that kind of problem since MF took over.

Another company--I can't remember which one it was--deactivated me when I made a mistake in a recorded phone call. It was a mistake that someone not from that region would not have caught immediately without forewarning. The scheduler immediately deactivated me, after scolding me harshly for not realizing that a comment like that would show I wasn't local. The company overruled her.

I have worked with numerous companies for 30 years. I always try to do my best.

I bet your favorite Market Force mystery shop is that large fast food company. If you enjoy doing those shops, you should have your head examined. The food is 100% garbage.

What a bad company!

What a devious shopper!

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I want to know how Big-T-Bone earned $12,000 + in 5 months with Market Force?

I wondered the same thing.

That's approximately $78.94 a day. With a limit of 4 shops per day with MF each shop would have to pay $19.74. (at least I think that's how much...math is not my strong suit)

You must be hard up for money. I bet you love that fast food company they shop.

@newsomenew wrote:

What a bad company!

And YOU are the answer to the question that titles this thread.

You can do up to ten shops a day if they are for the petroleum client. This is not publicized on the site but I was told this by a scheduler who called one day to get me to do a bonus shop afterI stayed I could not due to the restrictions. Shortly after that I did 40 of thas gas audits at 25 to 30 dollars a shop in 5 days. Shortly after that I was deactivated. I think the reason why was my wife had used my computer a few times and once she canceled a job and they called me and offered to me for a higher fee. Could you make 12 grand in that amount of time? I believe it. I have only been doing this for going on a year and I have averaged 2500 per month over the last four Months. I would encourage anyone to check them out but would say dont just ONLY check them out.

I agree I think this is the reason. As seasond shoppers we know what they will pay and newbees dont. so they dump us and get cheaper shoppers. I was also told once by them they canceled me and everyone of my family members that shopped for them because we all lived at the same address and due to there new policy they only allow 1 shopper per address. I dont know what the truth is. The last time I asked them they said they dont have to have a reason to stop allowing me from doing shops. in a very rude Email in my opinion. I work for over 20 companies and never had a issue with any other ones.

I got that email too. They were correct and it was an honest mistake on my part... Twice... So, I started a new Shop folder so that I could keep better track of all the photos and receipts that I had scanned in. I have not had an issue with MF since.

I consider myself a high volume MF shopper, I have had some good checks from them. I'm quick and efficient with my reports, I rarely have questions from them. They are reasonable to deal with. I do certain shops for them as soon as they post, others, I do wait until they offer a bonus, as they aren't worth it to me - time, distance, effort, the food I have to buy and taste, etc.