I just saw a message that MF will be changing the reporting times to make them shorter. Has anyone else seen this or know anything about it?

The site was supposed to be updated last night, I have not checked it out.

This is directly from their web site. I do not do much work for them and they are always begging me to take more shops. I have never missed a deadline or cancelled a shop. So it looks like I will be negotiating longer report times along with more money if they still want me. Otherwise I have a lot of other options.

"Message Posted on Shopper Portal August 20, 2015

Reporting Times Alert!

In the upcoming weeks we will be changing our Reporting Times to reflect that your reports need to be submitted online as soon as possible after completing your shop. We will try to keep the shop open for 8 hours, but there is no guarantee we will be able to do that if deadline requirements mandate that we move quickly. Perhaps you can use this time before the change goes into effect to start submitting your reports earlier so that when the change comes, you will be ready! This new reporting time might also help you better select what shops are right for you in the event you use your work or library computer to report.

For those of you who have been long-time Shoppers with us, we realize this may take some getting used to. We are having to take this action to provide our Clients with faster turnaround of your shop data which will allow them to take faster action. This will also help to insure data integrity since you will be required to report the shop sooner while the experience is fresh in your mind.

Please keep an eye on your CPIs as to reporting times so that you will know when this goes into effect. We thank you for your support and commitment to maintaining Market Force’s leadership in the industry."

Ugh. I'm glad I hardly work for them. I like the simple reports but I may not even get home in 8 hours.

I wouldn't mind an 8 hour reporting requirement: I don't usually do more than a couple of shops a day and I typically enter them shortly after completing them because I want to knock the report out of my "to do" list. Since I'm not driving around doing multi-stop routes, the change to 8 hours for the report likely won't effect me much.

But the part about "We will try to keep the shop open for 8 hours, but there is no guarantee we will be able to do that if deadline requirements mandate that we move quickly" worries me. The heck? Any shop I perform needs to be "open" for my report for the full amount of time listed in the CPI. If I agree to a 4 hour reporting window, fine. But if I agree to an 8 hour reporting window and they close it after 4 hours because "deadline requirements mandate that we move quickly", I'd be mad.

Sorry MF... I know I agreed with you to do the shop for $10 but "budget requirements mandate that I earn more", so I hope you understand why I'll now be requiring $15 for that shop you agreed to pay me $10 for. I have a feeling that wouldn't fly with them, and neither will MF changing the reporting time on me. I'll be interested to see how this plays out.

Lame change. Then again, I've seen worse. The most ridiculous turnaround times are from Mystery Shopper Services, where they expect shoppers to turn in the reports by midnight, even though the shop times were 5-10 PM that day....

2 shops I preformed on Monday (8/17), the CPI said I had a 8-12 hour reporting window. There were only one photo of the receipt and 10 questions, so it was easy to report under that time frame. But when there is a lot of pictures, I usually go up to the 12th hour.

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

Ugh. I'm glad I hardly work for them. I like the simple reports but I may not even get home in 8 hours.

This is my problem with super-short reporting times too. There are definitely days I don't get home until later than 8 hours after the shop was completed. I have a hard enough time with the same-day midnight deadlines.

I *hope* they mean that some shops will have a shorter reporting time and it will be dictated in the CPI, as opposed to them closing it whenever they want regardless of what is in the CPI. They should write a clearer message.

The reporting times are shorter than the time it takes to submit a report on MF's new site.

I hardly ever work a one or two shop day. When I work I usually leave early and I'm on the road all day, getting home late. Guess I'm outta luck unless I want to carry a computer. Well, I'd do that for enough money but not for base rate work because the reporting time would burn my daylight.

@MDavisnowell wrote:

I hardly ever work a one or two shop day. When I work I usually leave early and I'm on the road all day, getting home late. Guess I'm outta luck unless I want to carry a computer. Well, I'd do that for enough money but not for base rate work because the reporting time would burn my daylight.

Me too. I'd rather put in a long, well paid day or two, and stay home the next day. I've thought about getting a tablet for submitting the quick reports but that would require me buying data. I don't really want another bill. I don't work for them enough to justify that anyway.

@CoffeeQueen wrote:

...
I've thought about getting a tablet for submitting the quick reports but that would require me buying data. I don't really want another bill. I don't work for them enough to justify that anyway.

I have a tablet that doesn't have a data plan: just uses free wifi. Most lunch places now in my area have free wifi. Also coffee shops, where you are the queen.

I have my own on the road wireless but still not sure I want to give up the daytime to do reports. In most cases I would be able to make more money using that time to do another shop. If I only had a partially booked day, that might work but that doesn't happen often. Usually I'm running from can to can't.

This won't affect me much. I recall very few MF assignments where I haven't started and finalized the report within eight hours. Some fine dinings, I like a 24-hour turnaround. I plunk it out after dinner, review it the next morning, and submit. MF has one of those, yet I've only taken it twice. But, that's my life. As long as the CPI spells it out prior to me accepting, I will be on board.

I am never home within 8 hours because I perform my shops before, during and after my FT job. I always have a laptop and a tablet with me but it is hard to drive and fill out reports. I have been known to do so while stuck in traffic though. I think I need a driver.

Filling in the report is only one part of it. I could do that on my computer on the road but I don't carry a scanner in my back pocket to scan the receipts. Digital cameras can work sometimes but some receipts need a scanner for clarity.

I really do not understand this obsession with scanners. I was given a free scanner and never even set it up. I have no use for it. I take all my receipt photos with a digital camera and I have never had an issue.

Glad I recently decided to invest in a tablet. My only issue with it is that the camera isn't that great. It doesn't even have a flash. I'd prefer submitting the burger photos they ask for from my phone but have trouble sending them to my tablet. Receipt photos won't look as good as they normally do but they'll be readable. This will also knock me out of doing lunch shops most week days, as well as long routes, unless I can figure out how to make my Android tablet accept iPhone photos. I always try not to take a full twelve hours but some days I do go over 8 hrs and it can't be helped.

I like this new policy. I live in a highly competitive where an experienced shopped can pretty much snag all my local stuff. This policy will make it easier for new guys to get closer projects. Go Go MarketForce

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/21/2015 04:51AM by Customer_Service_Police.

I really thought that they were changing to a 24 hour reporting time until I read that they want an 8 hour turnabout. That makes it very tough for me unless I stop at a Starbucks or library to do the report. I don't even like the 12 hour turnabout. Looks like I will be working less for MF and more for the companies that have a decent report time.

I do a lot of shops for them. Most are local, so the 8 hours will not matter.

Maybe if enough people call or email the help desk politely protesting the new requirements they will rethink it.

@MarionS wrote:

Glad I recently decided to invest in a tablet. My only issue with it is that the camera isn't that great. It doesn't even have a flash. I'd prefer submitting the burger photos they ask for from my phone but have trouble sending them to my tablet. Receipt photos won't look as good as they normally do but they'll be readable. This will also knock me out of doing lunch shops most week days, as well as long routes, unless I can figure out how to make my Android tablet accept iPhone photos. I always try not to take a full twelve hours but some days I do go over 8 hrs and it can't be helped.

Hi Marion,

Have you tried emailing the photos to yourself from your phone (open the photo in your gallery, hit the share button <the triangular thingy> then choose your email program), then opening the email on your tablet? Hope this works for you.

Yes, and the emails are blank when they get to my tablet. I've also tried dropbox which was incredibly slow but i need to try it again since it could just be my internet connection at home, and I don't think Apple products will bluetooth with Android. Honestly, I'm not a fan of Android but I am happy with the tablet for the price I paid. It's made reporting much quicker and easier if i could just get this issue straight.

This is terrible for those of us who are shoppers on a full time basis. I also travel. On a "full" day I can drive up to 100 miles round trip. By the time I get home, I'm very tired, I need a break. I usually start reporting by 7 to 8 PM, I always complete Market Force shops first due to the time limit.

It seems that they don't think about logistics. If my first two or three shops for the day are theirs, that means that my time is due before 8 PM. An 8 hour window reporting is way too tight.

This sucks, many times I will take the shops nobody wants to do.

If people stop doing their shops or if people TELL them, they will no longer do their shops because of this, they might change their policy.

Got for it & sees where it gets ya!

We can check that out on a real small map because it won't get us far.

Usually, for me the 8-hour mark would be around midnight or later. What is the difference between 4 more hours? To me, not much when it takes a day or two for the editors to get to the shop surveys.