You would think I'd learn since this has happened twice before. Market Force calls me asking if I can do a hamburger shop at x price today or tomorrow. I say I can tomorrow but at Y price. The scheduler agrees then goes through the entire "you are committing to the job... only do one meal per time period...no EBT...100% commitment..." tells me the job will be in my log and says to make sure and read the requirements. A few minutes later I log onto my account but there is no job listed, I wait and wait but it never shows up.

The first time this happened I called MF to see what was up and they had no record of the offer to me and said the job was scheduled to another shopper. Does this happen often to anyone else?

I haven't had that happen, but I could say, perhaps you can stay on the phone with the person until they get it scheduled and it pops up for you?

Now a day, regardless of what the scheduler tells you, you are not guaranteed to get the shop if you negotiate for a higher bonus and he/she has to submit it for approval. There was a couple of times when I was told that the job was mine only to find that that particular job was not placed in my shop list. I just overlooked these incidents and move on since MF often than not comes through with their bonused offers to me.

I agree MountainCacher88 the simple solution is to ensure the job is in my account while I'm on the phone with the scheduler. Sadly life doesn't always work out that way and it seems my bad luck that the few times I'm away from a computer or reliable internet are the rare times this has happened.

Goneshopping, you may be right about negotiating but as an IC once a fee is agreed upon and job is accepted on both sides, to me, it is a verbal contract. I expect the MSC to honor their end just as they expect my "100% commitment". The scheduler can put me on hold, as many do, to get approval or call me back after shopping around to find someone cheaper. The problem with telling me I'm scheduled for a job then shopping for someone cheaper is that I've had to leave that time block open indefinitely just in case since I've given my "100% commitment" to complete the job.

@haunuz wrote:

Once you buy and install ready made software or off-the-shelf software, you simply make compromises.

Have reported above poster as SPAM to Jacob.

wwin, I would give MF an hour to follow-thru with their offer. After that, I would move ahead with my own plan scheduled for that day. You could always cancel the job should it comes thru too late to fit into your schedule and explain to MF the reason for doing so. Heck, even if the job appears on your job list, it could still be cancelled by the client, which has happened to me several times. All the "inconveniences" we have to go thru is just part of the cost of doing business.

I had that happen to me the other day. Would have been nice to get it but didn't show up. I knew that I could log in and check. I did do that about half the time in the past.

Maybe ask them to confirm that this shop is assigned to you, get the name of the person and record the time, and then wait for it to show up, as already mentioned. I mean you could have gone and done the shop based on that phone call, that ain't right! Personally I have an app that records all my phone calls so I would save that for proof, if the assignment seemed unambiguous.

It happened to me just the other day. Someone from Marketforce called and we agreed to a job with a specific fee amount. She said to look for the email, but it never came. Yesterday, someone called and wanted me to do either the same location or a nearby location for $5 less than my minimum fee. I told her to call someone else or put me on hold while she gets the fee approved. She said she could not do that. She started to go through her entire speech, have me commit to the job, and retain the privilege to look for a contractor who would accept less money. I told her no way. Either she commits fully to me now or she calls someone else. I told her I am really beginning to dislike how Marketforce does business. I have had people call me recently and offer me a $4 fee plus $7.80 reimbursement to go to a burger joint. I told the woman her offer was insulting and to never call me with that fee offer again.

MF just called and offered me 2 highly bonused jobs which were subjected to approval and they both appeared on my job list minutes later. I have changed my tactic when dealing with MF because it is a "different" MF now. I was told by a scheduler that his ability to provide bonuses has been greatly curtailed. The schedulers are being micro-managed more so than they used to be. I sympathize with their plight and always try to be understanding when dealing with them. I just tell them my fees and if they could only pay so much at that time, I politely ask them to get back to me when MF is able to pay more.

Two different schedulers called me and asked me to do the same 12 dollar reimbursement "casual dining" that is really ff shop. I did not want to inconvenience my schedule without a nice bonus. and most of mf's bonuses aren't that great in my book. And they always start out with We've got a job for you....then try to offer minimum pay. I mean really, it's not like I can't read the job board and assign it to myself. Another scheduler called me for the grocery stores and offered me twelve on on one (but tried to sneak it back down to ten, then the second one I told her I would do for the same 12 dollar fee. She agreed but she acted like the 2 dollars was a lot and then told me 12 was the max she could do.

I am so glad to hear this has happened to other people, sorry other people. I had a U.S. scheduler call me and offer a bonus on an assignment last week sometime I think, very recent. We squared a deal like we always do. Like a dumbass, I'm getting re-dressed and ready to go and I realize I haven't heard the musical sound of an email since she called. I checked, nothing. I called her back and she didn't answer. I was stunned. I called her back and left a message. I have since blocked her number and it will be blocked forever. I scrambled to get other assignments in the same town and had to go do those without covering my total costs. Unappreciative people suck.

Same thing happened to me with a US based scheduler. We agreed on the fee and he said the job was assigned then no email came and it wasn't in my shops. I called him and also emailed help desk with no response to either. Frustrating but glad I didn't plan other shops around it.

I always stay on the phone with them and wait for the confirmation email. I had a scheduler promise me a job and a price, and then NOTHING! No email.

Perhaps I am lucky to be dealing with a different set of schedulers. The schedulers I work with have always told me that any fees above the standard published fee for a shop are subject to approval. There are certain criteria, that if met, generally lead to 95% or so acceptance rate. However, if I am doing a location I have never done before or rarely do, and/or I am asking for more than normal because of routing concerns or the time of the month, its always hit or miss. I think its important to go into a negotiation with this in mind; I would simply ask if the shop is confirmed or "subject for approval."

She told me it was confirmed. Then, it did not show up. So I called her, three times over the course of one hour. She did not answer and did not return my call. This has never happened before. This is something fairly new imo. This is not an error in my negotiating or comprehension skills.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2017 02:13AM by spicy1.

Spicy1,

I am very sorry you are having to deal with this. Is this a scheduler you have a longstanding relationship, or someone relatively new? I will keep my eye on this type of thing in the future. Best of luck. (or break a leg if you prefer)

I'm not, like, dealing with it or having to deal with it as it only happened once, recently. It's not something that I'm going through, it is just something that happened. It's ok though, now I know that can happen. In all the years..... I never expected it. I can imagine what she was going through at the time. Maybe she didn't have time to get back with me. I just didn't expect to be left hanging by MF, especially one of the original schedulers, other companies, sure, any day. I assume she put out a blast and heard back from someone who made a $2.00 less offer and she just moved on to her next assignment.

She isn't new and I only hear from her every couple of months. There is another who I hear from far more often.
This one, well, I could tell that she was probably staring at a screen and I could hear her thinking so i felt for her. The other one, smooth as silk! We talk about the other areas that are around the area she's trying to cover, not only for the time frame of the shop/shops she's trying to cover but also into the future. She knows, approximately, what types of shops I've done, when I've completely that one last and she offers to extend the range of travel. Smooth as silk! But I can say that they have been congenial, helpful, understanding and just as nice as can be.

I had a scheduler offer me a $100 gig to go to Savannah yesterday. You know I'm hurting for money so I jumped on it.She offered me a complimentary 50 dollar gig to supplement the trip. She told me she was going to put in on my schedule *btw not MF, it's ACL. I waited all day for it to show up. I didn't see it. Then late last night she sends me an email. She did put the 100 gig on me. The 50 she has to get supervisor approval because it's a weekend shop and she's going to get it a weekday shop so I can do both. Now I read the guidelines and I'm not looking forward to the narrative, but I think it would be a great experience for me. I am between a rock and hard place.I have no negatives on my credit, my payments are on time. But they dropped my score fricking 60 points because my cards are maxed out. I was devastated when I read that. I am going to be working my butt off. And I think I'm going to spend the night in the hotel and not drive back so I can work on this report the rest of the evening.

Now back to MF, I'm nickel and diming my way through with them. The reports are easy but the sheer volume of what you have to do to make at least 50 a day is work in and of itself.

Sorry about your financial struggle. Are you going to make any profit after gas, wear and tear on the car, and spending a night in the hotel?

Yes, there are easy gas station hops, that don't require ten million pics or reveals. basically 2 or 3 pics (no signs or overviews simple pics outside) and take ten min to do and ten min to input.I will others into the deal, but where I can input any over ten minutes in the next day.My car is a 2013 Camry so other than losing mileage off my warranty I won't notice the wear and tear right now.But what I'm noticing is that a lot of "snatch and grab" shops are staying on the board in Savannah.(Shops that in Macon-central GA are gone within a few hours if you don't jump on them).There was MF's bookstore shop that they try every month to get someone to do for a cup of tea. That sits on the board. But I can't leave a grocery store on the board, so I can get a bonus.If I try to, someone else gets it. Now here in Macon well there's not that many great shops around. and I'm still learning how to get the bonuses up.
How much is a reasonable fee for going to a close by town thirty-49 minutes away? It seems like you guys are getting higher fees than me, but I've only been doing this a few months so I'm still learning the ropes my self. Personally, I would prefer 20 to 25 at least to go outside of Macon, Warner Robins, Gray, Milledgeville, or Forsyth. Even for MF, even though the reports are easy they are high risk with MF because they don't allow edits.
I've been doing them at night and proofing them in am to make sure that I've done them correctly.

@spicy1 wrote:

She told me it was confirmed. Then, it did not show up. So I called her, three times over the course of one hour. She did not answer and did not return my call. This has never happened before. This is something fairly new imo. This is not an error in my negotiating or comprehension skills.

I once had this happen, EXACTLY as you are saying, gave me the job, never put it on my board and never answered my calls. I felt (at the time) because it was highly bonused that she had not been able to get ahold of another shopper, ended up giving it to me, shopper contacted her and she did the deed by giving to the shopper she was more familiar with.... Maybe a far stretch of my imagination but how can you explain that one when they don't bother to call you back?

I wonder if it is the same Associate. She calls herself Ms. (the monocromatic color that is not black....lol). I would like to report her actions! Just kidding. However, I have blocked her number on my phone. She can still leave messages, I have the Note 8 so it doesn't block voicemail. She will have to have quite a piece of pie to get my attention ever again, preferrably peach cobbler pie tyvm.

Without a doubt, the way to make significant money with MF is to have a good relationship with a responsive and available US based scheduler. The make-an-offer online and the overseas call center are great supplements, but I have only made significant money during the times when I've had a US scheduler on my side.

Happened this morning - US scheduler called and offered bonused shop, which never showed up on my shop list. I knew not to rearrange my scheduled shops to accommodate this shop since as mentioned before, one should not act on the offer until it is on one's shop list.