So Marketforce can be relentless, and I'm sorry but I really find the over sea schedulers to be a little annoying. Before anyone replies-yes, I am polite to them.

So they call when I am at work or when I need some quiet time, therefore I don't answer the phone. I have done a bundle of shops for them a couple of weeks ago (exhausting with my work schedule). I call today, and I get a recorded message stating to leave a message and they will return my call. In the past they have never returned my call. There have been shops languishing on their website; they are the grocery shops that usually pay nothing and now are offered for $5.00. They have called me in the past and offer a whole $8.00 when I press them. Really, 8.00?! God forbid I ask for 10.00 they always counter with $8.00. Yes, I don't always accept it.

My question when they leave a recorded message, is it code for "we won't consider you?" Does it count against you if you refuse to answer the phone?

Oh, and those whom are tempted to reply, "We are independent contractors and we can accept any price we wish. If you don't like it don't do business with them." Save it. I don't want a condescending reply. I. GET. IT.

Another question, how much do these schedulers make for each shop? I understand it might vary per client but I would like a ballpark figure/percentage.

I apologize if these questions have been answered on a previous thread. I did a search and could not locate my questions/answers

I never pick up the calls they cal. i only return if I am interested.
I do very few shops for them these days because of how I was treated by a scheduler not long ago.
They are probably not returning your call because they found someone else to do the shop they were calling about.

ive been call bombed this weekend. im on phone talking to one scheduler & call waiting clicks & it is MF calling me while i am on the phone w/mf. don't these people talk to each other or have territories they work on. it is annoying. i countered w/triple amount, put on hold & then approved by superviosot.

jacka maybe that scheduler treated you the same way you treat others.

Many cultures use an honorific (Mister or Missus) in front of a first name. It is a sign of respect, and should be viewed as a sign of a well-meaning and respectful person calling you. It is just not someone from the mainstream US culture.

@katyfrics wrote:

When the call me some of them use Missus in front of my first name but I don't correct them. They are probably as poorly paid as Market Force shoppers.

You can add Egypt, Turkey, India, and some Caribbean islands to the counties you listed. I have been to all of "yours" and "mine" except for Egypt. When I first heard it from an Egyptian national when they visited the US about 30 years ago, it sounded very strange to me also. Now, it is just another aspect of some cultures and I rarely thinka about it. In Japan, they add -san to your last name as a sign of respect. I do the same when I am there.

As a general rule, I consider it good business etiquette to answer all calls from schedulers even if I know I will turn down what they are offering. However, I make an exception for the overseas MF calls. I send these calls straight to voice mail and never answer them. As far as I know, it has not counted against me in any way. I still get plenty of calls.

Also, if they leave a message, I would think they do want to give you the shop. If they don't want to consider you, they wouldn't even bother leaving a message.

I have noticed that I am getting as many calls from MF as normal, yet they are coming from only 3-4 of the same overseas schedulers unless they are really looking for a last second shop and then I very rarely get a US based scheduler.

They may have organized the schedulers per region instead of having one big pool calling all over the country. They also have my shopping history in front of them and know what I am willing to accept for a given location and will not give me an insulting offer at a price point that I have turned down for a given location before.

If they call me, they know that I will require x amount of pay and will open with it now. They seem to be a little more organized.

I am starting to like seeing the word "California" on my caller ID.

My experience with the overseas schedulers was interesting. I started getting calls from an outsourcing center in the Philippines starting in late 2011, and I didn't hear from any of the ladies in GA/FL/AL at all for about six months. During those six months, I got bombarded by calls from the Filipinos asking me to do burger dude shops at the base fee. They were friendly but very persistent, and always seemed confused when I declined (presumably because one dude shop provides the equivalent of a respectable day's wages in some parts of the Philippines).

After about six months, the foreign phone calls stopped and I never got another one again. The GA/FL/AL ladies started calling me again. However, they were more direct than before. For example, one of my favorites would call and just say something like "Bubba, I've got an ___ audit in ___ that needs to be done today and it's paying $50. Can you take it?" That was nice while it lasted...

In retrospect, I wonder whether shifting me to the overseas-only marketing effort was an initial strategic attempt to transition me away from the high-income bonus plan without having to deactivate me.

Thanks for everyone's input and sorry if I came across as a little terse in my original post.

I am getting sick of MF; they post "reimbursement only" for the grocery shops. When nobody picks them up, they frantically call on the weekends. I have called them on Thursday and told them I am working my primary job all weekend, so if they need any filled I would be happy to do them right away. They tell me they aren't scheduling them now. This is code for "I won't have my scheduling fee reduced."

I still would like to know how much the schedlers make.

Can't imagine why anyone who knows (i.e., the schedulers, because who else would have the information) would tell you. Especially if they thought you would use the information against them.

I must have 20 MF phone numbers saved in my phone as "MF Foreign" (I don't answer), MF Nice (I'll answer), and MF USA (I'll answer if I'm not busy).

The foreign guy who calls me is nice enough; I just resent the outsourcing of work when so many Americans are still unemployed. Occasionally if I feel like a chili dog I'll answer; he knows what I require and most of the time will pay it without argument. (MF only has two shops in my town that I can do, a FF and a hardware store. I don't really like the hardware store ones much)

@dspeakes wrote:

Can't imagine why anyone who knows (i.e., the schedulers, because who else would have the information) would tell you. Especially if they thought you would use the information againt them

I wouldn't use it against them-I would never mention it. It is just curiosity on my part. While you state the only people who know are the MF schedulers, I would disagree. There is always someone who has insight (they may have been schedulers in the past); of course the percentages might be different. I ask because when they need something done on the fly, they offer a huge fee. Why not just offer a the assignment to a shopper who asks only for a modest fee (such as myself) and can do the shop ASAP? Their loss.

Interesting -- I wasn't aware of this. This seems to be part of an ongoing strategy to diversify. I wonder if this reflects a prescient observation that the mystery shopping industry is oversaturated with providers, and/or that the industry itself is in decline as a result of new approaches like crowdsourced information-gathering. MF is obviously in a much better position to detect and respond to any such trends because of their greater capital (compared to all of the boutique MSCs) and their investment in technology.

@katyfrics wrote:

I googled "call center" and "Market Force" and got this. They now are in the call center business--news to me.

[www.marketforce.com]
Market Force’s full-service Contact and Call Center ensures that you can be there with a friendly voice to turn that negative customer experience into a positive one, whether it’s at a location or even on your website. More than just your average outsourced call center solution, ours is a full service response center for your website, social media and 800 number, bolstered by our extensive expertise in customer management, research and loyalty.

So the price for your principles is a chili dog?

@dspeakes wrote:

The foreign guy who calls me is nice enough; I just resent the outsourcing of work when so many Americans are still unemployed. Occasionally if I feel like a chili dog I'll answer; he knows what I require and most of the time will pay it without argument. )

Many MSCs are well-diversified with many services offered to help their clients improve their businesses. Mystery shopping is only part of what they do.

@LisaSTL wrote:

So the price for your principles is a chili dog?

@dspeakes wrote:

The foreign guy who calls me is nice enough; I just resent the outsourcing of work when so many Americans are still unemployed. Occasionally if I feel like a chili dog I'll answer; he knows what I require and most of the time will pay it without argument. )

Not all my principles, just this one, and only when I'm not on a diet, which I am at the moment. Just because I resent something doesn't mean I have to boycott it 100%. I also resent Wal Mart but I have to buy things there at times because the alternative is a 100 mile trip to Phoenix.

@MSNinja wrote:

ive been call bombed this weekend.

I was, too, and I blocked it. No way I'm going to have someone call me several times in a couple of minutes while I'm getting ready and not have them blocked.

Go take that telephone Tourette's elsewhere.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/11/2015 04:18PM by AlfredB1979.

When they call me and offer a higher fee, I tell them my minimum. They say they can't offer that and then call back the next day with my price. I'm just not interested in doing hotdog shops for $5 anymore.

Also, MF tries new things every month to fill shops. For a *bird* shop, they started with reimbursement only. Then they offered $4, then $5, then $7, then $9, then $11... I guess they "might" learn that we don't like the no fee shops.