All of this smells, to me, like an inept payroll department. Maybe they've farmed it out to a third party and that's where the issues are coming from.

@thegov2k2 wrote:

All of this smells, to me, like an inept payroll department. Maybe they've farmed it out to a third party and that's where the issues are coming from.

Sounded so interesting here that I cancelled my DD and pointed it at another financial institution.... Sure enough, my new financial institution shows the following just now:

PPD MARKET FORCE MF Payroll ROUTING NO. 02200002 ACH Deposit

So my financial institution has received the "handshake" from MF, yet on the MF website, not even shows as verifying with bank yet, but that's a done deal already! Like who are these yahoo's anyway? If they can't keep their ducks in a row, it's OUR GOOSES that stand to be cooked. Perhpas those at MF simply don't care?

Plus the shopper pay gets crappier and crappier. They have lost more shops than gained in my growing population area.

You nailed it #1234567.

January 30th and no paycheck.

I would be very worried. Good luck.

Yesterday there was 18 jobs listed and in just an hour or more there was only 1 job left and the ones that were gone was night gas station jobs. I found that a little strange.

@MysVal wrote:

I also found it interesting that Certified Field (the "other" MF) now has regular shops, as opposed to just movies. Am I late in knowing this info? I just learned that a couple of weeks ago and now, seeing the info here, I am wondering if there is just some consolidation and/or transition happening.

They always have a few per year of regular shops, the core of this end of the business remains movies (although Jan/Feb traditionally slow)

All those jobs that disappeared from view was back this morning and some were changed to day jobs.

I noticed that too. I'm wondering if the person who took them all realized that they were a revealed audit versus an unrevealed audit and changed their mind about them. The guidelines are 36 to 40 pages long so who really wants to do that? Not me. I immediately cancelled the assignment as soon as I received the guidelines.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2019 02:43PM by iblori.

I notitced that the paperwork has changed some now and maybe that is the reason the jobs were removed for a while and replaced with the right paperwork , I am not sure but think its a possibility.

@iblori wrote:

I noticed that too. I'm wondering if the person who took them all realized that they were a revealed audit versus an unrevealed audit and changed their mind about them. The guidelines are 36 to 40 pages long so who really wants to do that? Not me. I immediately cancelled the assignment as soon as I received the guidelines.

If the money is a decent amount above the base pay, those audits are easy. I can usually be done at the station in 10-15 minutes, particularly if they don't have a store.

Interesting that there is a new message on Market Force site concerning February payments. Instead of normal range of 15th - 20th of the month, new message: 'Please be advised that Shopper Payments are expected to go out on February 22nd this month and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are committed to returning to the consistent payment approach that we have followed throughout our company’s history and that you have come to expect as a valued shopper.'

What is involved in a revealed audit? Are there a lot of photos? They're only offering them for $10 and nobody is taking them in my area. And all the stations here have stores.

@calsim11 wrote:

Interesting that there is a new message on Market Force site concerning February payments. Instead of normal range of 15th - 20th of the month, new message: 'Please be advised that Shopper Payments are expected to go out on February 22nd this month and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We are committed to returning to the consistent payment approach that we have followed throughout our company’s history and that you have come to expect as a valued shopper.'

As expected, actually. When the clients start bailing, what do you expect, anyway?

Update, as of today, 2-7-19, no change in status re DD, signed up green, verifying with bank and approved greyed out. Just curious, anybody wonder if clients might have people like us keeping an eye out on things, just in case? Cringeworthy, almost, wouldn't ya think?

Ahhh, today is the 7th business day since, btw. At the 'risk' of being ever so blunt, I know if I ran a business that used a MSC, I'd make it my business to know what was going on in the trenches. I've found that my private clients appreciate this disposition on my part, too.

Clients are bailing on them? Which ones?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2019 06:51PM by iblori.

@iblori wrote:

Clients are bailing on them? Which ones?

Are you asking client names? Discussing that would violate the Independent Contractors Agreement (ICA) that we signed.

Oh, that's right. I forgot. Sorry.

@iblori wrote:

Clients are bailing on them? Which ones?

I'd expect the ones who are watching and getting concerned about what's going on, or not going on. Unfortunately, it'd be poor form if I waxed too eloquent on the subject. My position is rather more bluntly put that MF would be stupid if they thought that nobody was watching very closely at what's going on, or not going on, for that matter. As per DD, my financial institution provided me yet another (redacted slightly) notice, below:

SCHEDULED DEPOSIT
A deposit for $0.00 will be available to your XXXX Ckg XXXX 2/8/2019 from PPD MARKET FORCE MF Payroll ROUTING NO. 02200002. Still no update on MF site.

BTW, here's info about that routing number:

www.routingcheck.com/routing-number-022000020.html

My 'theory' is that some, perhaps many, are paying attention to what is and is not going on, and yes, eyes and ears are all over the place. Who knows how many ex Military spooks are out there keeping an eye out for stuff? Wanna have some fun as a sideline, check out this location, and no, you'll not see anything you're not allowed to see, I promise you!

31°33′19″N 110°20′59″W

Now find this:

39°1′10″N 125°44′17″E

Now guess who at one location knows heaps about the other, and who at the other location wishes they knew even a little bit? Final idea, peek at 41°21'21.8"N 127°03'39.6"E and read current news, just for a little excursion even further away from shopping, if you like.

Back to topic, when a business starts having too many fails, and general OT performance is amiss, that is not a good sign. If what we see portends doom or no, that remains to be seen, so let's hope for the best

Clients are monitoring how promptly the MSC pays its shoppers? Is that what you are suggesting?

I'm so confused...this latitude and longitude stuff is baffling. This is way too deep for my tired brain. I'm sure Market Force is just fine. They have loads of shops in my area.

They just posted that Feb payments will go out on Feb 22nd. Cash flow problems?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2019 12:52AM by boridi.

I have greatly decreased my shops with MF. I had a shop where I went into a big box store to evaluate their client's kiosk. If no one was manning the kiosk, then I was to wait 30 minutes to see if someone showed up. If no one showed up after 30 minutes I could leave. There was no mention in the instructions that my fee would be decreased. I had done this shop several times before. If no one showed up at the kiosk, I would still be paid the full fee. This last time when no one showed, up my fee was cut in half. it didn't pay that much to begin with, and cut in half was a total waste of my time. I sent emails inquiring as to why my pay was cut and was told it was because it was a closed location. I contended that I was required to stay on site for 30 minutes which is not a requirement when a location is closed. I finally asked to escalate it to a supervisor, and I was told they would get back to me. No one ever called or emailed me. MF has lost some clients in my area as well. One happened to be a shop that I really enjoyed. I no longer find it necessary to do a lot of shops for them. There are plenty of other MS comcpanies whose fees are better, and they are fair.

I haven't had any issues with Market Force. Always have been paid on time and get the direct deposit. They still have plenty of shops in the SF Bay Area. Don't bother with most of them though unless they heavily bonus them/accept my high shopper pay offers. The only shop I take for their starting pay is the Chinese American restaurant only because I like the food. MF is a great company when you first start mystery shopping but there are much better MSCs when you gain more experience.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2019 04:32AM by azncollege.

@jgoodwin wrote:

Clients are monitoring how promptly the MSC pays its shoppers? Is that what you are suggesting?

Rather more than just that, indeed. And yes, my DD still looks dead as a doornail on the MF site.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2019 06:50PM by ap7isback.

@MsJudi wrote:

I'm so confused...this latitude and longitude stuff is baffling. This is way too deep for my tired brain. I'm sure Market Force is just fine. They have loads of shops in my area.

Yikes, so very sorry if I pickled yer brain with that one. Cut and paste into any map that supports GPS coordinates... :

@Rooper7 wrote:

I have greatly decreased my shops with MF. I had a shop where I went into a big box store to evaluate their client's kiosk. If no one was manning the kiosk, then I was to wait 30 minutes to see if someone showed up. If no one showed up after 30 minutes I could leave. There was no mention in the instructions that my fee would be decreased. I had done this shop several times before. If no one showed up at the kiosk, I would still be paid the full fee. This last time when no one showed, up my fee was cut in half. it didn't pay that much to begin with, and cut in half was a total waste of my time. I sent emails inquiring as to why my pay was cut and was told it was because it was a closed location. I contended that I was required to stay on site for 30 minutes which is not a requirement when a location is closed. I finally asked to escalate it to a supervisor, and I was told they would get back to me. No one ever called or emailed me. MF has lost some clients in my area as well. One happened to be a shop that I really enjoyed. I no longer find it necessary to do a lot of shops for them. There are plenty of other MS comcpanies whose fees are better, and they are fair.

We know about that stuff, like I said, many eyes and ears are watching and listening.

@Rooper7 wrote:

I have greatly decreased my shops with MF. I had a shop where I went into a big box store to evaluate their client's kiosk. If no one was manning the kiosk, then I was to wait 30 minutes to see if someone showed up. If no one showed up after 30 minutes I could leave. There was no mention in the instructions that my fee would be decreased. I had done this shop several times before. If no one showed up at the kiosk, I would still be paid the full fee. This last time when no one showed, up my fee was cut in half. it didn't pay that much to begin with, and cut in half was a total waste of my time. I sent emails inquiring as to why my pay was cut and was told it was because it was a closed location. I contended that I was required to stay on site for 30 minutes which is not a requirement when a location is closed. I finally asked to escalate it to a supervisor, and I was told they would get back to me. No one ever called or emailed me. MF has lost some clients in my area as well. One happened to be a shop that I really enjoyed. I no longer find it necessary to do a lot of shops for them. There are plenty of other MS comcpanies whose fees are better, and they are fair.

That's what I'd consider a case of changing the payment terms without notice. I always, without exception, cancel a shop if I see it happen before I do it. If it's after the fact, well...

@BurnedbyMaritz wrote:

Plus the shopper pay gets crappier and crappier. They have lost more shops than gained in my growing population area.

Well, I just made an offer for $50 for a retail store, and it was accepted. So, that's the highest fee that I have ever received from them in almost 20 years. (And I am not in BFE driving over mountain passes through snow.)
Something must be amiss....