I recently completed an assignment for MarketForce and one of the requirements was a photo of the storefront. I uploaded an image and reviewed it afterwards to ensure it was the correct storefront (I have done several wireless shops recently). However, I just received notification from the Help Desk that my shop is not valid because a picture of the storefront was not uploaded. I replied back letting them know that I did upload the image and that there must have been some sort of system error. I let them know that I have the image saved in my files and will be happy to forward it to the editor. They replied back just reiterating the initial communication.....that my shop is being rejected because no storefront image was uploaded and that I need to better read the instructions.

O.K......so now for my question. Is there any way I can talk with management directly about this situation, rather than just communicating electronically with the Help Desk. I honestly can't imagine that they will not allow me to resubmit my photo.....and that I will not get paid for my work when I have ALL the required documentation. If they simply don't have the ability to accept resubmitted documentation, then shame on them for conducting business with such a substandard information system. If they simply won't accept resubmitted documentation, then shame on them for conducting business with such substandard business practices. Every other MSC I have worked with will contact you within 24 hours if they need additional information and/or images you may have for a particular assignment. That's what an editor does.....they work with the IC to ensure the report will meet client expectations. Thankfully, to date I have not had any of my assignments questioned by an editor with MF or any other MSC I've worked with in the past. However, they make it known that you should check your email regularly in case the editor should need any additional information. It appears MarketForce doesn't give you that option....they just won't pay you.

At any rate, I have really enjoyed this forum and all the wisdom it imparts. I have learned a lot and would really appreciate any insights you may have regarding similar instances with MarketForce. I enjoy their assignments and would hate to deactivate....but by the same token, I can't work knowing there is a possibility they won't pay me with absolutely no recourse.

Thank you in advance for 1) reading this entire rant and 2) for sharing your advice.

Happy 4th everyone!!!!

You will not be able to communicate with management. You will, if you keep communicating with the Help Desk, be escalated to a supervisor and they may well reverse the decision. Keep communicating with Help Desk.

Aren't they days behind on communication because of the cluster that is their new website? There was a time when the Help Desk would read emails thoroughly and respond accordingly. It sounds like your communication was glanced over before a canned response was sent.

If you want to keep working with MF, you need to keep after them. They track mistakes and it takes very few to get canned. OTOH, when it is determined they have made a mistake, they will own it.

Recently on the MF message board this was posted, in total a photo is as good as a receipt when it comes to POV for a shop--------> "June 29, 2017................
We get a number of emails from Shoppers wanting us to upload their receipt for them after they have already submitted their report. Unfortunately, we can't do that! Under our new reporting system, your receipt has to be uploaded at the time you are filling out your report. If it hasn't been uploaded before you hit that Submit button, you can't go back later and upload it. And neither can we.
We hope this helps clarify why receipts cannot be uploaded later. We appreciate all you do and your success is our success.

It seems like our "begging" may be a lost cause. In the past one could upload MF photos and receipts at the very beginning or at the end. One could always check to see what was upload or not. With the new website it seems like photos can be upload during the middle of the report. (But one could still see what photo or receipt were upload).

BTW, coming here to the forum may have lessened your bargaining power. Airing your laundry is not MF forte.
Move on and learn from your mistakes. One can always check to see what is potentially going to be submitted before clicking the Submit button.

There is a major problem with everything you just said. You are accusing the OP of not uploading the photo then "begging" Market Force to do it for him. He clearly stated the photo was uploaded and he reviewed it afterward. Asking for advice on how to appeal is far from dirty laundry nor does the OP need bargaining power. He needs to be able to escalate the issue to someone with the power to review the data.

There are posters who are sometimes so anxious to get in there and criticize that they don't read a whole post and then they post an answer they are very proud of but which doesn't relate to the question the post asked. Go figure.

In defense of people who do that....some posts are just too long to read the whole thing.

Wow....it's unbelievable to me that in this industry MF would work with a system that is incapable of editing. Looks like this whole thing is a moot point now. Thanks everyone for your replies....that's exactly the info I was looking for.

For the record, I didn't post today as an attempt to air my dirty laundry. I honestly have just found this forum to be very responsive and helpful.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2017 06:31PM by Meddleblute.

I would keep trying to resolve this with MF. Computer glitches do happen. It is hard to believe they would build a system that couldn't be adjusted when needed.

....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2017 08:55PM by eyelove2shop.

I feel for you, OP. I've had major problems with MF's new website. One report, the photos were like jig-saw puzzles -- I could see part of one photo in the middle of an entirely different photo! I deleted and uploaded them again, and it was exactly the same. Another time, the photos landed like on top of each other? It was totally weird. You could see part of the border of photo #1 under photo #2. Again, deleted and started over, with no change to the outcome.

The editors at MF used to be able to "send reports back" to the shopper, so you could add missing elements.

Evidently, the new website doesn't allow that.

IMHO, the new mess is several steps backwards from the old site.

I have to second the motion -- keep e-mailing the helpdesk. If you have a scheduler there you work with, you might give them a call and see if they can help. I know they can't get into/access the report, but some schedulers will at least contact helpdesk or supervisor.

Best of luck. And I have to agree -- MF punishing shoppers for their own badly engineered website is disgusting.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2017 09:29PM by ceasesmith.

In light of what I'm hearing about problems with multiple photos, I will only do MF shops that have 1 receipt or photo for submission. Unless it's an outstanding shop (which is far and few between from them) it isn't worth the aggravation or hassle.

While some poster or repliers suffer from the narcissistic complex. It would be most simple if MF said they received the photo but it was incorrect. It is very understandable why agitators do not shop for MF.

So the people who understood the OP the first time are narcissists? Maybe the OP is an agitator, maybe not. So far nothing indicates that is true. Where do you get the inside knowledge the rest of us are apparently not privy to? The narcissistic posters chose to take the post at face value rather than crucify the OP.

And what cross, star of lucas, or railroad tracks did one die upon? One disfigured face value is worth ones opinion. Which everyone has and is entailed too.just like a$$hats. If one does not like an opinion, does not make it wrong or right. It is just an expressed opinion. Ones best bet is to not take everything personal. Post are not only-es unless one makes it so. Move on. Learn from ones mistakes.

I forgot to take a photo last week. Totally spaced on it. Three days later, they asked me to go back, take the photo and email it to them. Got paid in full. They have an email address for this. I didn't save it, but it was something like, photos@marketforce......

I find using the MF app on my phone is much better than trying to use the website. It will highlight questions I miss prior to moving on the report and I've never experienced these photo/receipt issues that many people have.

One down side I've found is that with the app you can't see the make an offer icon or change search profiles. So I find the website still works better for this.

Sojo, you used to be witty and kind of funny. Lately you've been supercilious, heavy-handed, and negative--not witty, fun or interesting. It seems lately you have had no positive contributions to the forum. I think you need to start drinking again. Either that or you're just drinking way too much.

I would guess the latter considering how incoherent some posts are.

An editor from A closer look called me on my home phone and then on my cell phone last week. First he asked me if I had a minute to talk to him about my report I just had submitted. I told him I was rushing out at the moment and can't talk. He was extremely nice and just said I am missing the picture from the front of the store. I said no problem I'll send that right away. The truth is, I forgot to take the picture of the store and was headed out that way anyway. I drove by the store and took my shot and sent it in. I got an email saying thank you. Wish Every Editor was that nice!

Gotta be careful of pictures taken at a different time than indicated. It is easy for the MSC (or anybody) to right click the pictures, check properties, and see EXACTLY when you actually took the photo.

When viewing my receipts or pictures I've noticed the distortion. Apparently it is only on our end, not theirs. Depending on accessing by PC or using the App, attachments may need different steps to properly attach to the report.

A while back, I submitted a photo of the front of the store. I was told I already submitted it for another report. I told them that was the kids store. This was the adult store. They did not reply. I realized later that the front of both stores were exactly designed. They must have realized it. That happened when my digital camera was not time-coded yet. Now, even my cell phone is.

The internal date and time on my camera is usually off somewhere in 2020, but I recently selected something weird in the camera, or on my computer, and most photo properties were blank. There were no origin properties, at all. I doubt that editors can tell much from checking image properties, but they can run a software to check if a photo was previously used.

I'm thinking the software may even run over the Internet and into other companies. There are softwares that scour the Internet for plagiarism, so it may work for images, as well.

I would keep trying to talk to them and see if you can send the photo.

Has anyone else noticed how strange it is when you have to upload more than one photo on a report? Not only do I have to upload the photo, but I also have to "link" it. I have had to go back and correct things (prior to submitting the report) because it kept trying to use the first photo I uploaded for each question. The same with the final receipt at the end, it brought up one of my previous uploaded photos, so I had to upload the receipt and link it to the question.

I just mention this, because it seems very easy to have the wrong photo uploaded to a question/area.

Maybe I failed to link the photo? I don't know...but for some reason they don't have it and they will not let me forward it to them. They told me they don't have the time or the manpower to correct reporting errors.

I once went round and round with helpdesk about a shop that I performed correctly and they said I didn't...it was about evaluating the meat department in a grocery store that didn't have a meat service counter. Anyway, they kept insisting that the grocery store did have one, even though I had asked two employees on the floor, asked at customer service, walked throughout the store, and then even called the store later to verify that they only had bins with packaged meat at that store. I kept politely insisting to each person who responded to my helpdesk emails (generally a different person each time) that the location did not have a meat service counter and I provided them with the store phone number. None of them would bother calling and just insisted that other shoppers had evaluated this non-existent service counter. Finally, I got a different helpdesk person who actually called them and found out I was correct. I was paid.

That's good to know Jasflalmt. I have remained polite, and this most recent time I've asked if they would accept my image via pictures@marketforce.com (another helpful poster provided me with this resource). I'm looking forward to their response. To their credit, they have had a 24 hour turnaround time for each inquiry.

If you keep persisting politely, hopefully you will get results. It may have been some sort of glitch that deleted your photo but please make them aware that you uploaded it to the report and are not sure why it did not go through. Keeping fingers crossed for ya!

1-800-669-6526
Try calling them.