You know how MF will get our attention if they up their pay by typing in red "Changed Fee!" Well....they've done it in reverse!! I just logged on to see if any new grocery shops were up in my area for March, and there were...a BUNCH of them.....and alongside that last box on the right, IN RED, is typed "Changed Fee!", exclamation point and all! BUT......where the fee LAST month was $6.00 with $10.00 reimbursement, NOW....ALL the shops for March are $5.00 with $10.00 reimbursement! WHY ON EARTH would MF emphasize such a "Changed Fee!" I think it's pitiful!!! I really enjoyed doing these, but to see the fee go down just disheartens me!! There are a few left for February that are at the $6.00 fee. I hope it's a mistake! I emailed the help desk and asked them. We'll see!

I just saw that! I noticed this month the bonuses for these are not happening either.

The fee has changed. Have to give them credit for truth in advertising. I have always heard that the truth shall set you free.. In this case it may set many shoppers free.

I can see I'll be getting bonuses for these again for a couple of months, as people refuse the new lower amounts ... and then I'll probably be leaving Marketforce completely, as idiots eventually decide to take them after this latest pathetic dip in fees.

My DIY stores for this MSC went down a dollar about 2 years ago and never went back up. So maddening....

I was hoping the $5 fee was a typo.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I was hoping the $5 fee was a typo.

Me, too! That's why I wrote to the Help Desk and asked them that very thing!....haven't gotten a reply yet!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2016 12:45AM by guysmom.

At least they are providing fair warning. I've seen complaints here when fees are lowered without any warning.

I was actually going to schedule one of these since I frequent the store. When I saw the fee went down, I changed my mind. That is not worth it even though I will be in the store!

@guysmom wrote:

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

I was hoping the $5 fee was a typo.

Me, too! That's why I wrote to the Help Desk and asked them that very thing!....haven't gotten a reply yet!

Please post back and let us know what they said!

I see they are still $5 today so....I suspect there is no mistake in the price. It should have said, "Fee lowered!"

Or the email that shout "WELL BONUSED" and the raise is 50 cents.

I bet they still charge the grocery store the same amount.

What a surprise! I've got 6 of these stores within 5 miles. I have reluctantly only done one of the closest lately at $6 and it included a 10-item stock check on Valentine's Day Eve when I was completely ignored by 3 associates working behind the floral desk until after they finished some guy's arrangement. They just barely beat the cut-off time for me to walk away. The trouble is the snowbirds grab anything no matter how low the pay at this time of year. Oh well, none for me at that price. Their prices keep going up, too, so you get less for the $10 reimbursement. Like Insight, I also bet they're charging the client the same amount.

I'm sticking to my guns just like 5 Guys. When they lowered that fee by $1, I stopped doing them. And I have one less than a mile away that constantly sits unscheduled which, for some strange reason, isn't being grabbed by the snowbirds.

Well, I received the following reply to my email about the price change...it came earlier this morning around 10:45 ET, but I have heard nothing since:
==========================
Hi, XXXXXXXX:

If the fee isn’t increased, the “changed fee” label is in error or the fee is in err. We will look into this, however. Thank you for bringing it to our attention!

XXXXXX
Shopper Advocate
Market Force Help Desk
===========================
I sent off a quick "Thanks for checking this" but have heard nothing else as of 5 pm ET...So who knows??? But at least they DID reply back to me, and I do appreciate that!

I just saw that the fee on one of their fast-casual dining places has been raised by a whopping $1 for the remaining February shops. I'm doing one on Sunday at the usual rate. Wish I'd waited til now to schedule one. But no way can I do two of these within two days. My tummy couldn't take it.

Well, I guess their research is finished. The "Changed Fee!" red line is GONE but the $5.00 fee is still there!! So I guess they just removed the Changed Fee sign!

I didn't object much with the last reduction in fee for this client. The requirements and length of report also were reduced. Were there reductions in requirements or report with this recent fee drop?

MF has taken a hit with the loss of their major client. Retooling, I expect. Shoppers, as always, will pick and choose.

I see the late-night shops are at $9; I wonder if that's because of the reporting deadline? A person would be up very late to get that in within 8 hours....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2016 04:18PM by BirdyC.

@Mert wrote:

I didn't object much with the last reduction in fee for this client. The requirements and length of report also were reduced. Were there reductions in requirements or report with this recent fee drop?

I just checked the paperwork from one of their $5.00 jobs that I took for March, and the requirements look the same. I had to think long and hard about taking them at the reduced price. The reports for these grocery shops are SO MUCH EASIER than the ones done by a Sassie company that I have done 3 for in the past month. For Market Force, the fee + reimbursement is now $15.00 total. For the Sassie company, the fee + reimbursement is $13.00 total. Plus the Sassie report is L-O-N-G, with MUCH more narrative than Market Force's report. Plus I frequent the MF grocery stores often, whether it be the main store or the competitor. So, I'm going to try 4 more for March....to me they are easy, and it HAS helped with my grocery budget! The Sassie one I'm about to give up on....I've worked SOOOooooo hard on these reports, and get a grade of 8!! MF doesn't give a grade....just lets you know it's accepted....fine with me!

@guysmom wrote:

I just checked the paperwork from one of their $5.00 jobs that I took for March, and the requirements look the same. I had to think long and hard about taking them at the reduced price. The reports for these grocery shops are SO MUCH EASIER than the ones done by a Sassie company that I have done 3 for in the past month. For Market Force, the fee + reimbursement is now $15.00 total. For the Sassie company, the fee + reimbursement is $13.00 total. Plus the Sassie report is L-O-N-G, with MUCH more narrative than Market Force's report. Plus I frequent the MF grocery stores often, whether it be the main store or the competitor. So, I'm going to try 4 more for March....to me they are easy, and it HAS helped with my grocery budget!

This is a perfect example of why MF and other MSCs lower the shopper fees. Shoppers will still take them even at the reduced fee.

taking them at those prices will only add fuel to that fire

I understand your point, Sybil2. Yet when I look at the Sassie grocery shops, which have NOT lowered their fees, against MF shops, MF STILL ends up with more fee/reimbursement, so that was an important point for me. Also the Sassie shops involve so much more than the MF shops, and still pay less. It really is a quandry, but hubby & I are on a Social Security budget, so whatever I can do to stretch the grocery dollars is a big help. Even if no one here understands, it's a decision I made. But I don't know that I would do them for any less.

You will probably get a chance to find out. MF has been lowering fees for years. As soon as they find takers at one rate, they float a lower rate.

@LisaSTL wrote:

You will probably get a chance to find out. MF has been lowering fees for years. As soon as they find takers at one rate, they float a lower rate.

I know....I have been mystery shopping since 2005......here's how far back I go....my "Bookmark" for MF is STILL labeled "ShopNChek"!!!!! I do have such a positive memory of them, how understanding they were when we found out back in 2008 that my husband's headaches weren't caused from his cataract, but from a brain tumor!! I had to let MANY companies know, on a MINUTE'S notice, that I had to cancel shops, as hubby had to get right to the hospital, surgery, etc, etc....MF (or SnC, back then), were SOOoooo understanding.....I remember how MF even called me several times over those few weeks, just to see how hubby was doing, with no other pressure added. So.....those sorts of things mean a lot when I decide whether or not to keep accepting their shops.....I see them going down in their fees....but for now, I'll do a few of these for March and see how it goes.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2016 11:56PM by guysmom.

Too funny. My bookmark says Market Force, but my spreadsheet still has ShopNChek! I found them to be much, much nicer back then. Probably because they were a bit smaller. Is my memory bad or did they pay like $15 for cell phone shops back in 2004 to 2006?

@LisaSTL wrote:

Too funny. My bookmark says Market Force, but my spreadsheet still has ShopNChek! I found them to be much, much nicer back then. Probably because they were a bit smaller. Is my memory bad or did they pay like $15 for cell phone shops back in 2004 to 2006?

As I recall, they paid a LOT more for MOST of their shops back then!! (I can remember getting BONUSES of $30.00 for the Arch FF shops! Those were the days!!) And you're probably right, in the fact that their smaller size back in their SnC days probably had a lot to do with how they reacted with their shoppers. You know, I think, WHY should I take a shop at a lower fee??? Like the one I've mentioned here, and struggle with my frustration over how they've lowered the fee? (The end result being, at this time anyway, it still does suit me and my goals). And yet I see that they still have these tax shops (which are supposed to end today) available at $100.00!! Why didn't I sign up for one of those, I ask myself??? Yet inside of me, that type of shop holds no interest for me. So I guess it really does boil down to what we are each interested in doing, and what we find acceptable. We are none of us the same in our thinking and rationale, that's for sure!!! I like reading thoughtful insights such as you and others have posted here on this, and many other topics. Your insights DO help me in my decision-making about different shops. In the end, though, it's a decision all my own, isn't it?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2016 12:48AM by guysmom.

Yes, guysmom! All shoppers are not created equal. We have different needs, wants, time, skills,and tolerances. Whether shops pay peanuts or pine nuts, it's an individual decision.

Regarding the grocery shop, it can be a boon to the pantry, with minimal time involved.

@Mert wrote:

Yes, guysmom! All shoppers are not created equal. We have different needs, wants, time, skills,and tolerances. Whether shops pay peanuts or pine nuts, it's an individual decision.

Regarding the grocery shop, it can be a boon to the pantry, with minimal time involved.

You are exactly right, Mert! The shop is easy and the reporting minimal. The other grocery shop I mentioned above, for a company that uses Sassie, has had the SAME fee/reimbursement for many years now....my Shop Log for these go back to 2007, and the payment BOTH THEN & NOW was/is fee at $10.00/reimb $3.00, which is STILL $2.00 LESS than the new lowered MF fee/reimbursement. And I did 3 of those Sassie shops last month!! But the reports and time involved are SOOoooo much more involved....in store at LEAST 30 minutes, and report another 30 minutes! MF's grocery shops, at $15.00 fee/reimb, for me, means 20-25 minutes TOPS in store, and 10 min TOPS typing in the report.....worth if for me.....not worth if for others! As you say, it's an individual decision.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2016 02:04AM by guysmom.

@Sybil2 wrote:

@guysmom wrote:

I just checked the paperwork from one of their $5.00 jobs that I took for March, and the requirements look the same. I had to think long and hard about taking them at the reduced price. The reports for these grocery shops are SO MUCH EASIER than the ones done by a Sassie company that I have done 3 for in the past month. For Market Force, the fee + reimbursement is now $15.00 total. For the Sassie company, the fee + reimbursement is $13.00 total. Plus the Sassie report is L-O-N-G, with MUCH more narrative than Market Force's report. Plus I frequent the MF grocery stores often, whether it be the main store or the competitor. So, I'm going to try 4 more for March....to me they are easy, and it HAS helped with my grocery budget!

This is a perfect example of why MF and other MSCs lower the shopper fees. Shoppers will still take them even at the reduced fee.

yep, but the "the low-hanging fruit takers" just don't get it, do they? and then we get the "great that you don't take these cuz it means more for me" folks who also just don't get that they are playing into the hands of those MSCs who continue in the devaluation of our work.

I get it just fine, Brian. I've been doing this since 2005, and as a "low hanging fruit taker" it just happens to suit my needs right now. Other shops I would never do at ANY fee (IKEA for one). And others, I negotiate for....as an example, a company doing revealed audits of a local gas station franchise asked me to do an additional 5 locations. SIMPLE shop....NO photos....15 minutes TOPS on-site, 5 minutes TOPS reporting, $14.00 pay for 20 min of my time! For 3 I said fine, for the other 2, I said I needed additional monies to cover a short increase in distance, since I never drive to that area. They said they could not....I said, no problem, I understand, but I would have to decline those 2 locations, and I hoped they would understand as well. Then they wrote back and said management approved my request, so I'm getting paid extra what it is worth to me to do these other locations. As others have said on many, many different posts throughout the years, it's all an individual decision that we have to make. For this particular MF shop, it's easy, and the fee/reimbursement happens to suit me at this time. And as I've noted above, the fee/reimbursement is STILL $2.00 HIGHER than the Sassie grocery shop that hasn't changed since I started doing those back in 2007. One man's trash is another man's treasure!!

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2016 02:38AM by guysmom.