I did a fast casual shop with marketforce on Oct 2. I was supposed to call in my order and then pick it up, check out the restrooms etc. Was told to purchase an entree, fries and a soft drink but when I called the store they said their soda machine was down so they only had water. When I did my report it was immediately rejected because I hadn't purchased a soft drink, but it's not like I had any other option... so I let them know the situation and their response was "We are researching this issue and will contact you with a solution." this was almost three weeks ago and nothing yet. Emails say not to call or continue emailing so I should just wait right? Idk I'm pretty angry because it was my first shop with MF. They're not allowing me to accept any assignments right now either.

Well, I know that hindsight is always 20/20 and you had no way of knowing this at the time, but if that were me I would have rescheduled the shop. I definitely wouldn't have done the shop without at least contacting helpdesk about the issue and getting a response from them, knowing it was a mandatory purchase. The thing is, you knew in advance that the soda machine was down so you should not have gone to do the shop. I know that they are really difficult at times when it comes to things like this. But how were you to know? Three weeks? Gah! That really stinks. Sorry that happened to you.

I know from experience what it's like to have a deer-in-the-headlights moment when you realize that you can't complete your shop on the required date according to the guidelines. Put in your mind right now that IF you are lucky enough to have it happen in such a way that you can call or email your scheduler to ask whether to continue or reschedule, to do so, and then wait for a response before continuing. If you continue with a shop like this, make sure that you are fully prepared to absorb the cost if you aren't reimbursed. Often, they would rather reschedule for a day or two later than have to deal with issues like this. And if they do say that you should continue with it anyway, get it in writing (an email).

With MF, don't be afraid to reschedule shops within the available dates, send an email asking for another date and explaining why you need to reschedule, or occasionally cancel with them. If you have to cancel, just do so ASAP so that someone else can pick up the shop. The shops that I do for them always allow me to reschedule at least once myself and always allow me to cancel myself. Do be aware that the available dates to reschedule often change based on the dates that other people have performed stops at the same client.

Also, MF obviously has multiple people responding to the emails that are sent to the support email address. This means that if you send another email while someone else is already working on the issue, a second person may also start working on it - with each of them unaware as to what the other one is doing. Sometimes you literally have to tell them what they have told you and/or refer them to the previous emails regarding the shop. I'm not sure how their system is set up, but I've had cases where they (or their system) did something automatically that we had agreed not to do, eg. close and reject an incomplete shop where there was an issue and I needed to do something before I could complete the report. Once I referred them to our previous discussion, they put things back to the status that we had agreed on, but sometimes my plans as to when I could complete the shop were also thrown off by the delay.

Honestly, at this point, I'd respond to their email address including the previous discussion, ask nicely if they have heard anything, reassure them that you understand what to do if this happens in the future, and ask for the opportunity to continue shopping for them while they check on that shop.

Good luck,

River

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/2017 10:39AM by RiverSong.

I don't recall if the guidelines address what to do if this occurs. I'm guessing not, or the rejection would have been black and white. I would expect that MF is communicating with the client to verify. The fact that they are researching it, is a good sign.

An out-of-order soda machine would not have been a problem for me. I always order tea, which qualifies as a beverage.

Hope you get a positive outcome!

Mert, many of these locations do not have a seperate tea canister/dispenser yet. The OP could have asked if they had tea so they could have still ordered the required drink. I deleted my copy of the phone order instructions so can not check if there are clear instructions for this situation.

That's true. My locations do not have a separate tea urn. All drinks come from the fountain dispenser at all 6 of these restaurants in my area. Also, I do believe that there is a question asking if you order a fountain drink. Anything coming from the tea urn is not a fountain drink (if they even had a tea urn).

I don't think they will know you drank tea even though you ordered a fountain drink. Many locations have a separate coke machine along with a separate tea dispenser.

Pretty sure that there is a question on the report about it, and none of my locations have separate tea dispensers. Whether they know you are drinking tea or not is not the issue, if you have tea from a separate dispenser when it is supposed to be a fountain drink, then it's not following the guidelines. I do believe part of what they are trying to uncover with this question is whether or not the fountain dispenser is working properly. If your locations have separate tea dispensers and you don't utilize the fountain, then you are not helping them uncover any issues.

My location had a tea urn but that was down as well. I suppose they're all connected, both the tea urn and the drink machine were only dispensing water. The guidelines do say that a drink must be ordered but doesn't state what to do in a situation like mine where the drink machine is inoperable. I suppose I understand how it is from MFs point of view but I didn't think to reschedule or cancel the shop because of it. I guess I know now for future reference

Almost all of us have had one or more shops rejected at times. And you still don't know if you will get paid for it or not, hopefully so. If you don't, at least you weren't out a lot of money! I have been shopping for nearly 17 years now and I just had a shop rejected a few months ago during a post office shop due to a guideline change that I didn't catch.

Wow, that's really interesting about the tea urn being connected. I remember in high school working at BK and having to fill the tea urn. My how times have changed!

The tea urns are not connected to soda dispensers. At most FF you will find two types of urns, those filled by hand and the ones supplied by the soft drink manufacturer which have different flavors available. BK still uses the former in many areas. The latter works on the same concept as the dispenser with syrup being carried through lines from packaging in the back of the house, but they are not the same lines. If both dispensers were not dispensing syrup, it is possible the employees hadn't bothered to change out empties.

@summerallya wrote:

My location had a tea urn but that was down as well. I suppose they're all connected, both the tea urn and the drink machine were only dispensing water.

Guessing that something in the lines was malfunctioning then?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

That's true. My locations do not have a separate tea urn. All drinks come from the fountain dispenser at all 6 of these restaurants in my area. Also, I do believe that there is a question asking if you order a fountain drink. Anything coming from the tea urn is not a fountain drink (if they even had a tea urn).

The locations are self serve. You order a regular or large cup, you do not specify fountain drink, tea, coke, just size. On the survey they have too many options, I just select Fountain Drink in addition to confirming ordering a drink. If you select water, or a bottled drink, you will be rejected.

Yep. They said somebody was coming out later that day to fix it.

Isaiah, I was not aware that not all locations had tea urns, as all the locations around me have two. One is sweet, the other is unsweet. I have a shop coming up, and just checked the report. One of the questions regarding the condiment area asks if the fountain drinks were not working or not available. So, it seems to allow for the possibility.

Keep in mind, we observe all the self serve areas. If something is not working, or not available, they expect us to ask a crew member. If they fix or restock then the survey has us change the answer to say it did work or was available.

As for ordering a drink cup, I see nothing requiring us to check every dispenser or even have to use the fountain. Many locations have Freestyle machines, and seperate tea. I just follow the guidelines and order a drink cup.

@isaiah58 wrote:

The locations are self serve. You order a regular or large cup, you do not specify fountain drink, tea, coke, just size. On the survey they have too many options, I just select Fountain Drink in addition to confirming ordering a drink. If you select water, or a bottled drink, you will be rejected.

Yes, Isaiah, I realize that.

I mean I still got a cup. But I think it would have been weird to ask them to charge me for a drink anyway when the machine was down lol

@summerallya wrote:

I mean I still got a cup. But I think it would have been weird to ask them to charge me for a drink anyway when the machine was down lol

That is why I mentioned checking if the location has a tea option that is working. Most have the newer stand alone machine, haven't seen the urns in a long time.

I would have taken a photo of the beverage area with the out of order sign if it was self serve.

SassyShoppin, no place on the report to upload any photos...you mean just to have when communicating with helpdesk?

@JASFLALMT wrote:

SassyShoppin, no place on the report to upload any photos...you mean just to have when communicating with helpdesk?

Yes, just a proof that the soft drinks were not available.

Okay, the report asks what type of beverage did you order? Choices include Iced Tea, Coffee, Lemonade, Fountain Beverage, et al, . . .

I have always selected Iced Tea, and have never had a rejected shop. Even way back when an MSC that's no longer in business had the account.

It has been several months since I've done one of these shops, so I only vaguely remember what questions were on the report. IIRC, there is a question regarding whether you ordered a drink and what type as well as another question regarding whether or not you were charged for the drink or if it appeared on your receipt. What I would have suggested doing is say that you ordered a fountain drink for the first question and that you were not charged for the drink/it did not appear on the receipt for the later question. At that point, an additional question should be unlocked to give an explanation why the drink did not appear on the receipt. Explain that you were not charged for the drink because the fountain drink machine was broken and only water was available. In the cleanliness/maintenance section again explain that the fountain drink machine was not working. Of course, this is all in hindsight.