I have had calls from two different schedulers recently. They called from numbers in Georgia and their accents were American. The first scheduler was polite and friendly but offered me a bonus that turned out not to be authorized AND she did not follow up. The second one was totally unprofessional, hostile, and had the worst phone manners. Talking to her was more aggravating than talking to Market Force's schedulers from the Philippines.

This is NOT the way to get shops scheduled before a holiday.

They use both. The US schedulers are typically the ones that offer the sweetest bonuses for me

My Filipino cousins are easier to negotiate with though since they have a specific way in negotiating themselves:

Kuya: "I can offer you this shop for $6."
Me: "$47, please."
Kuya: "What about $18? That is our max."
Me: "$47, please."
Kuya: "Looking at my records, I can offer you $45."
Me: "$47, please."
Kuya: "Okay, I can assign you for $47."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2018 06:03PM by Tarantado.

Oh, I know they use both Filipino and American schedulers, and yes, the American ones are usually the ones with the sweet bonuses. The problem this time was both of the American schedulers who called me were inept. The second one was downright obnoxious. I ended the call because I did not want to talk to her anymore and because I was pretty sure it would turn out to be an unproductive conversation (due to her attitude).

I have had both nice and hostile ones, who get annoyed that you won't take a shop for $6.

The bad one won't last long, I'm sure. I had one Market Force scheduler (US) call me who had her child making a lot of noise in the background. She had to interrupt the call try to get her child to quiet down. That was the one and only time I had a call from her.

If you are allowed can you please post the numbers of Market Force that you have received calls from? I had a list at one time but I have missed place it.

Thanks

There is a chance you may have gotten a scheduler from the theatrical side, or maybe they just hired some awful people recently. The theatrical side occasionally shares with the regular side and some of them are a bit odd on the phone at times. One speaks so incredibly softly you can barely hear them, and they mumble.

I'm sorry but I am not 100% sure which of the numbers I have saved as MFI numbers were public numbers belonging to MFI and which ones may be schedulers' personal numbers. So, I will play it safe and not share any of them. Just look for Georgia, especially Atlanta, area codes, e.g. 770, 678, and 404.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/2018 01:58PM by SueGraftonFan.

I understand

I have been getting their calls from a Michigan number, area code 906.

I suspect that just as Market Force can be quite cheap with its shoppers, they can be quite cheap with their schedulers. Therein lies the answer as to why some are inept, rude, and unprofessional. It stems from management not wanting to spend the money to have top-notch representatives.

try to remove your cell phone from the system..I dd it in the past when scheduler from overseas called me during hard time when my dad died and pressed me to take shop..I told her about situation but seems like she does not care..

Is that why they don't leave messages? They want the job done NOW! Thry could say this is Susan from MF. Can you complete a shop at XXXX today or tomorrow?


I am not gluded to my phone 24/7 like most people. Last time I got a call from MF (Which I had) I was working at the time and I could not get to my phone.

How come they don't text?? There are two compnaies that I work for and in addition to the email I get a text saying can you do XXX shop on XXX day. I will reply a few hours later and if it is still avaliable and I can fit it into my schedule I take it

Market Force schedulers have always been professional and polite when calling me to ask me to do jobs for them. The only reason I can't is because I cannot get to the location. Schedulers calling me to ask me to do a job is a compliment. Even if I cannot do it at this time, there will be a time when I can go anywhere and do these jobs again.

I’m curious to know more about exactly what the unprofessional second scheduler did.

That said, I had a really nice US scheduler call the other day and she tried to get a higher bonus and it wasn’t authorized. I took this as a problem with MF and NOT the scheduler, though she may have been a little green.

Basically, it was for a late night shop and I told the scheduler I wasn’t willing to do it for my usual fee for the regular hours shop, that is bonused but only by a few dollars, because my work and school schedule has changed and it’s just not worth staying up late for that fee. I reluctantly said I’d do it for a few dollars more than normal and the scheduler agreed but knew I wasn’t really happy with it. She called back a few minutes later and said she checked and I’d done that time and location for twice as much as I’d agreed to months ago and that she was going to ask for that fee for me. If it wasn’t aporoved, hopefully they’d still give me a few more dollars and if not definitely for the fee I’d already agreed to. Needless to say, they didn’t approved any of the higher fees except for the one I initially agreed too.

It totally wasn’t worth it and I won’t do it for that again. I only did it this time because I needed the extra money. I don’t blame the scheduler though.

I believe that unless we shoppers demand higher compensation, i.e. "Free Lunch Only" $6.00/shop plus reimbursement or (THE BEST ONE): $8.00 shoppers pay, purchase AND return!; as I started to say, we need to just say NO to low/no pay. Although, I did love the Filipino response $47.00!

I just decline and tell them to find someone to take the shop for $6.00. LOL! They do not like that!

Strangely, I have not gotten a call from the Philippines in months. They used to call like clockwork. I was wondering if perhaps they stopped using the overseas call center, but clearly they are still using them. I still see all the shops on my job board. Maybe some newbies are taking the shops for low fees.

@marg704 wrote:

Strangely, I have not gotten a call from the Philippines in months. They used to call like clockwork. I was wondering if perhaps they stopped using the overseas call center, but clearly they are still using them. I still see all the shops on my job board. Maybe some newbies are taking the shops for low fees.

Nope. My Filipino cousins are still being used as schedulers and when I happen to not answer, they still leave voicemails for me to call back. That correspondence I wrote above with the $47 fee was real and performed recently

What I dislike are the ones who call and ask me to do a fast food shop for $4.00. These shops are listed initially for $4.50. Why would I take it for less?

@MarionS wrote:

I’m curious to know more about exactly what the unprofessional second scheduler did.

I have Google Voice and have set it up so that the system asks the caller to identify himself/herself. This scheduler would not identify herself. She said nothing.

I answered the call anyway since it was one of the numbers I have saved as an MFI number. I kept saying "hello" but was met with absolute silence for several seconds before the call disconnected. Did she hang up on me? I don't know. She also did not leave a voicemail. (When American MFI schedulers call me and I miss a call, they usually leave me a voicemail. Some leave a voicemail AND email me.)

I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and called right back. She answered right away but said nothing. No hello. No identifying MFI or herself. Crickets.

I identified myself and asked if she had just called me. She denied it. I asked if I was talking with someone from MFI. She corrected me and said she was working FOR MFI. She still did not identify herself, and she gave no indication that she was interested in finding out who called me or whether MFI had a shop I could perform. When I said someone just called me from her number and hung up, she got indignant and said she did not hang up. She claimed the phone rang four times and then disconnected on her.

Remember she had just denied calling me. Now she was saying she did call me but claimed Google Voice ended the call. Um, no. I answered the call. The call disconnected after I answered the call and got dead silence. Why deny calling me?

Now that we have established that she did call me, she still said nothing about why she called. Talking to her was like pulling teeth. I asked why she called. She named the client and then went dead silent again, not giving me any more details about the shop, such as the fee, the city, when it needed to be done, etc.

I told her another MFI scheduler had called me days ago about a shop for the same client. I named the city and found out it was the same shop. I told her that scheduler offered me $X, which was the same fee I got previously for performing that shop at that location. I called that scheduler when I heard nothing back and did not get a job assignment email. I found out from the first scheduler that the supervisors actually rejected the $X offer and would only approve $X-$20.

I wanted to know what fee and bonus this second scheduler was offering. Instead of giving me the information I needed, she asked, in a sarcastic tone of voice, if that meant I would not perform the shop for $X-$20. That was when I told her this had been a very odd conversation and that I was going to end the call. She laughed. I ended the call.

I had a scheduler call me from GA, it was the first time this one called me. They asked if. Could do a shop 200 mile trip, I told them that my previous fee would not be enough and said $125, to do this solo shop... they respond, how about, $50-75... no, I already said $125.... how about $80... I said this is as bad as the phillipino schedulers.... your wasting my time..l I said you know what forget it I can’t do it.... about an hour later they call back...my scheduler approved the $125....I said I told you I would not do it... they said oh I thought you said if I got the bonus you would....I said no I clearly said no prior to hanging up. Later that evening I happen to look at my phone app and they had assigned me that shop. I contacted m go to scheduler, they advised me to cancel and write, I did not accept shop. But what f I hadn’t looked.....it would have looked like I flaked....5 years of shopping in jeopardy.... I put that schedulers number and name of n phone, but they never have called again. There is another schedule pr who will quote a bonus and give half....it has messed me up big time... they also don’t like taking no as an answer..... I am glad I just have one shop left for the month, I need a break. Happy thanksgiving folks....don’t let bad schedulers discourage you, for every bad one there are at least 20 good ones .

There's one from Georgia I dealt with whom was nice, and then there was one that was obnoxious, called too early outside the bounds of hours which would be legal for soliciting, such as prior to 8 a.m. on one occasion and then although they left a message wouldn't return any calls, etc., so I blocked them and refused all shops associated with them (which I guess includes the nice one, but, oh well) Life is too short to deal with that individual so I refuse all Georgia/MForce calls one year later and am fine with it.
The 906 number is borderline hilarious because it's the UP of Michigan...the ones I've spoken with have told me they have no idea on the price showing on the site so I typically get offered lower than what it would take if I accepted it. I've developed a sort of empathy for them and it seems if they reduce by $1 the overall max or some such it's like some kind of win, and have figured out what they are forced to say so negotiations have become fairly easy and the key thing is not to take it personally and refusing certain shops.
There also appears to be multiple managers running the (906) one with one being rather inept and disbelieving a shopper will hang up over $1 (which I've done with shops, just to accept the next day demanding $10 more) and one who has figured with some shoppers it's already a dance as far as the negotiation and price goes, we just have to do this whole negotiation thing even though we all know the end result.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2018 12:54PM by FlawnMawn.

On the Filipino schedulers (and thanks, didn't know where they were from) I've spoken with two of them enough I've gotten to know them.
I think of them as people and they'd probably crack me up if we could all go out for coffee some time.
I'm curious if the obnoxious one from Georgia is somehow related to the nice one and just has a job filling in for them or some such. If it's the same one I have no idea how they're still working if enough people complained and simply refused calls. I'm fairly certain one one shop due to my bowing out the other shopper is happily accepting the max bonus-phone all the time...which is $50 on a shop the max I've seen on the board is $20. Actually, if they've figured it out which isn't hard to do if it's like clock-work..probably could have gone over the $50...one of those areas I think at the time there were only 2 shoppers possible to do it which made any sense.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2018 01:06PM by FlawnMawn.

My favorite is when they ask why I can't do a shop. I really just want to blurt "None of your damn business!"

I'm very new to Market force and have done a handfuI of shops for them thus far. I was so pissed off at one of the schedulers who called me this month. Keep in mind.I always always prefer email over a phone call. This scheduler literally called me when I was on my way to another state because my mom had died that morning suddenly..I only answered because I thought it was one of my family members...anyway this scheduler started the spiel. They get done..I say sorry can't family emergency. I will call you back. Scheduler says when. I say I dont know I will call you back..They keep pushing..I finally get fed up and yell my mom just f word died and hung up...

Don't know why anyone would want to go through the hassle of a phone call when email will save your sanity????

Exception are those who can haggle their way to a great bonus of course....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2018 02:35AM by dawnhu.

I'm really sorry about your loss, Dawnhu. Your story reminds me how the night my dad died someone sent me a nasty message because I hadn't immediately replied to them on an online dating site. (We hadn't been talking previously -- I guess they just thought they were so attractive and interesting that everyone would reply to them immediately.) I responded in a similar manner. Generally speaking the MF phone call negotiations are indeed annoying but they definitely yield way bigger bonuses that I've ever seen offered on the job board or via email (where you might get at most a two buck "premium shopping fee." The only other method for higher pay are the "make an offer" shops, but 90% of my MF shops come via a phone call and never reach "make an offer" on the job board.

I felt the same way until I realized that they are calling with bonus offers.

@dawnhu wrote:

Don't know why anyone would want to go through the hassle of a phone call when email will save your sanity????

I just had a call from a foreign scheduler, begging me to to an urgent gas station shop (due tomorrow, last day of the month, 80 mile drive) for LOWER THAN the original base starting pay at the beginning of the month!

Very sorry for your loss, dawnhu. And then to be treated that way ontop of it...I would've snapped too. Ridiculous.

Do they know how to text??? There have been times I have gotton text from other schedulers asking if I can complete a shop. It might be the day of or a few days later? If I am avaliable I will text back saying that I can complete it .