@eyelove2shop wrote:
Are you new to MF?
You can not shop the same location at the same time, whether it's the same client or competitor. And you Def can't use the same receipt for two different shops.
@Kenzie wrote:
All of this makes sense...except that I actually did two separate shops in the same location at the same time. The times I entered for both shops are identical and correct. This was a grocery store. The client on one shop was the grocery store, and the client on the other shop was a competitor. Both required some of the same observations, but some interactions were in different departments. I completed and properly reported all details for each shop, and I used the same receipt for both.
My question is if I should explain this to MF and see if they could remove the "warning" since I did not screw up the shop times? I don't intend to have this issue again...but I'd hate to have ANY negative mark on my account. On the other hand, I'm concerned that they may instead invalidate both shops and refuse to pay me. I did not see anything anywhere saying that I cannot combine two shops at the same location. Does anybody know if there is such a rule written anywhere?
@roflwofl wrote:
I would not explain to them that you deliberately did two shops, one for a competitor and one for the store, at the same time. They are likely to deactivate you. In the future, if you get two MF shops for the same location, one for a competitor and one for the store, I would perform the two shops separately.
And, it's too late to not have a negative on your record. It's already there. If you argue, it increases the negative
@ChrisCooper wrote:
Two separate shops are just that. They need different start times, different receipts, different interactions, different pictures, etc. No company will you twice for one shop. Consider yourself lucky that you just got a warning and move on.
@Kenzie wrote:
@ChrisCooper wrote:
Two separate shops are just that. They need different start times, different receipts, different interactions, different pictures, etc. No company will you twice for one shop. Consider yourself lucky that you just got a warning and move on.
I see your point, but I figured each client gets a complete accurate report with all the required information and proof of visit. MF certainly gets paid their full fee from each client, so I don't see why they wouldn't also pay the shopper.
@roflwofl wrote:
@Kenzie wrote:
@ChrisCooper wrote:
Two separate shops are just that. They need different start times, different receipts, different interactions, different pictures, etc. No company will you twice for one shop. Consider yourself lucky that you just got a warning and move on.
I see your point, but I figured each client gets a complete accurate report with all the required information and proof of visit. MF certainly gets paid their full fee from each client, so I don't see why they wouldn't also pay the shopper.
And you have not been told you are not getting paid for either or both shops, you just got a warning? Usually, when you get the overlapping times warning, both shops are not allowed. In both shops, is each client reimbursing your purchase? If so, providing the same receipt to both clients and collecting reimbursement twice on the same purchase sounds pretty fraudulent. In addition, it would make one of the reimbursements actually taxable income.
If you are getting getting paid for both shops AND reimbursed twice for the same receipt, consider yourself very, VERY lucky. People have been deactivated by MF for fraud for much less.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
I would have done one shop, made the required purchase, taken it out to my car, and gone back in and done the second shop. I guess I never thought about doing both at the same time. I have a different MSC that I sometimes do two shops for at the same locations. One is shopping the convenience stores and the other is shopping the food outlets within the convenience stores. I always do one first, go out to my car and put away my receipt and make a couple of quick notes on my phone, then go back in for the second shop a few minutes later.
@ChrisCooper wrote:
You can stop looking in the guidelines. MSCs do not put a section in there about how to rip off their clients.There is nothing in there about shoplifting, loitering, spitting, and smoking, but you should avoid doing those on an assignment, too.
Sorry this thread went south on you, but you don't realize how lucky you were to get just a warning. Can you imagine what would have happened if you went back to the MSC to clarify? Look at your fellow shoppers reactions. Really, let it go.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
Sometimes those stores are so darned busy and the employees (mostly) are so unobservant or busy with other tasks they don't even recognize you as the same person. I do demos at a health food store, and I was at the store about 15 feet away from the cash register for 3 hours one day and had given some samples to some of the cashiers, even having a semi-lengthy conversation with one of them. At the end of my shift I did some shopping and went through his register and he didn't even know it was me...after he rang me up and I paid, I said, "So what do you think of xxx product?" And he said, "Oh, you're the demo lady. Sorry, you look different without your apron on." LOL!!!! And I have before forgotten something as a real customer and had to go back into the store. Haven't you ever gone shopping and left the store, then realized you forgot something? And who do you think is watching you go into the restroom? Probably nobody. And maybe you have an overactive bladder, who is going to ask? So if they look at you curiously during you revisit to the deli and/or say something, you say, "Oh, my husband/wife texted me and asked me to get some xxx meat. Can I get 1/4 lb. of xxx?" If you are ever worried about being recognized at the same location, drive somewhere to get gas or run an errand nearby (plan for it) and then go back about 30 minutes later. You might even get a different cashier.
I don't think you were trying to rip off the MSC, you made it clear you purchased enough to cover the amounts, but now you know. Do two shops at separate times and two separate receipts are the way to go.
@MountainCacher88 wrote:
I suppose it's akin to a regular 9-5 job where you couldn't punch in at 9 AM to begin working at your desk, and work for XYZ company on your computer at the same time for taxes and all sorts of other reasons. Basically, can't be clocked in two places at once and getting paid.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
That may very well be true, but as independent contractors, we are at the mercy of their whims and they can decide to not use our reports if they want to and not pay us if they don't use our reports. And they can deactivate us for any reason at any time and there is no recourse. Just keep in mind that you got lucky with Marketforce only giving you a warning.
Several months back, I had a situation where I was able to shop the same store at the same time for TWO separate MSCs. What I did was go through and make all my observations at each section, gather all the items I was purchasing, and divided them up into two separate orders, so that I had two separate & different receipts, one for each MSC, so that they had different items, different checkout times, and different (but close ) total costs. One MSC may have required a particular item, and the other MSC a particular item, so when I separated the items up into two separate orders, I made sure the right items were with the right order. I was able to submit my report to each of the two separate MSCs, and never had any blow back.@LisaSTL wrote:
Had those two different shops been for two different MSCs and two different entities were receiving the report, I see nothing wrong with submitting the same receipt for reimbursement regardless of how much or little was spent.
i agree w/chriscooper 100%. question for op. how long have u been msing. it says uve been forum member for 2 yrs. very surprised that after 2 yrs u dont know about dbl dipping & using same receipt for 2 diff shops.@Kenzie wrote:
@ChrisCooper wrote:
Two separate shops are just that. They need different start times, different receipts, different interactions, different pictures, etc. No company will you twice for one shop. Consider yourself lucky that you just got a warning and move on.
I see your point, but I figured each client gets a complete accurate report with all the required information and proof of visit. MF certainly gets paid their full fee from each client, so I don't see why they wouldn't also pay the shopper.
@Kenzie wrote:
I already explained that the purchase amount was enough to cover both reimbursements. The reimbursement for one shop is $10 and the other $15. I spent about $45. It might be against guidelines (which is what I'm trying to find out), but there is nothing fraudulent about what I did. Neither the MSC, nor the clients nor the IRS are getting screwed in any way, shape or form. Both clients received all the data they paid for, and the MSC received payment from both clients.
deli. raises hand. irl i made deli purchase then bf calls to tell me he wants something from deli. usually deli counters are covered by multiple employees so there is chance u would get totally diff assoc.@Kenzie wrote:
Yeah, I thought about doing it that way, but it really didn't seem to make any sense and would raise too much suspicion. For example, one department I had to go to for both shops was the deli. The store client wanted to know about the department and interaction, and the competitor was mostly interested in the wait time. Who makes a deli purchase and then 15 minutes later makes another one? Or uses the restroom twice in a row? Or walks up and down the entire store twice? Or asks a question at the bakery and then comes back and asks another question? Sure, maybe I should have done it that way to be on the safe side, but it seemed like an absurd thing to do. Lesson learned, I guess.