Very mad at MarketForce right now.

I've been doing their cell phone audits. I just noticed 3 of the 4 shops I did last week were marked as invalid. I was never called or sent an e-mail to explain why. I had 4 more cell phone shops for them for tomorrow, I just cancelled all 4. Has anyone had this happen before? Having Market Force marking shops as invalid and not contacting you?

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

Already a member? Log In.

They usually don't contact you for an invalid shop report. You can inquire about it though.
@eyelove2shop wrote:

They usually don't contact you for an invalid shop report. You can inquire about it though.

They should, because I just wasted my time and gas on shops I don't know why they were not accepted. I will never do another shop for this carrier again. I've delayed other cell phone shops I had planned. I've never had a cell phone shop call invalid by them.
Maybe you didn’t spend the required time in the store? Maybe your time in and time out is too quick for their liking? Maybe your time between shops is not 6 minutes? (Thinking about your past posts.)

ETA- I had a shop invalidated a few months ago. Drive thru and gas station were 100 yards apart. I did not wait 6 minutes. They emailed me to tell me though.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2019 01:58AM by SoCalMama.
@eyelove2shop: I think I found the reason for 2 of the shops. They wanted a picture of the brochure and one of the form the store rep has signed. I made the brochure the receipt. I gave them BOTH, but because I put the brochure as the receipt, they called them invalid. All they had to do was to correct it and let me know. A simple issue to correct. I will not do another shop for that carrier again and I cancelled my other 4 shops.
John

You can write the Help Desk and ask them to reconsider. Some of us have been successful reversing an invalid report.
@kenasch wrote:

John

You can write the Help Desk and ask them to reconsider. Some of us have been successful reversing an invalid report.

I sent a message to the help desk and called, leaving a message. I told them I cancelled my other shops for this carrier, until this is fixed. I am really mad they didn't even try to contact me about any issues.
@johnb974 wrote:

@kenasch wrote:

John

You can write the Help Desk and ask them to reconsider. Some of us have been successful reversing an invalid report.

I sent a message to the help desk and called, leaving a message. I told them I cancelled my other shops for this carrier, until this is fixed. I am really mad they didn't even try to contact me about any issues.

Sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately they do not care one lick. you either give them perfection, which may or may not involve clairvoyance, or they shred you. It's how they work. They see shoppers as disposable and don't much care for trying to turn a report with a minor, easily fixable problem into something useful.
@weatherman2111: well they just lost getting 3 more shops done. I cancelled them, for the same carrier. I told them I won't do anymore for this carrier. Other MSC have no problem getting back to you to correct shops. I guess MarketForce doesn't mind not getting some shops done.
I have successfully had shops reopened after emailing the helpdesk. On one occasion, I did not submit the shop report within the required time and it was removed from my dashboard. MF was able to reassign the shop to me. The other situation was an invalid shop for their popular fast food place. Their foundation machine was broken and I ordered a bottle drink. I had a picture of the out of order sign and uploaded it. They approved the shop after initially invalidating it.
I got an answer back, they said I sent duplicate images of the brochure. This is something I would not have done. I check my report before sending them. I would never send an image twice. At the end of the reports you check the images. I would have noticed any duplicates, you cannot miss them. I also title each image to make sure there's no mistake.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2019 12:28PM by johnb974.
It could seem that way, if you received identical brochures from each place (which is very possible).

That's why I ALWAYS write the job ID on the front of the brochure before I take the photo.
Even for MSCs that do not require it.

Also, it clearly states on the guidelines for every shop that the validation form IS the receipt for the shop. If you linked the brochure as receipt, and the validation slip wasn't linked, MF is absolutely notorious for NOT fixing it, or allowing the shopper to fix it.

They formerly did allow shoppers to correct mistakes. For the last couple years, nope.

I've been shopping with them 10 years, and have had 3 invalidated reports during that time.
@ceasesmith wrote:

It could seem that way, if you received identical brochures from each place (which is very possible).

That's why I ALWAYS write the job ID on the front of the brochure before I take the photo.
Even for MSCs that do not require it.

Also, it clearly states on the guidelines for every shop that the validation form IS the receipt for the shop. If you linked the brochure as receipt, and the validation slip wasn't linked, MF is absolutely notorious for NOT fixing it, or allowing the shopper to fix it.

They formerly did allow shoppers to correct mistakes. For the last couple years, nope.

I've been shopping with them 10 years, and have had 3 invalidated reports during that time.

I know I did not link the brochure to the receipt. I double check that on each shop. I know I sent a copy of the brochure and a copy of the form. I've never had this happen for ANY cell phone shop I've done. The problem is with their system. Even if I put the job ID on the brochure, their system sometimes puts the image up twice.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/10/2019 03:33PM by johnb974.
Sorry. I was reading your post above, which stated that you sent the brochure as "receipt".
I contacted Market Force about this. I was told their system flags any pictures that are copies of the same. All the brochures for this cell phone carrier are the same. I showed them I got 3 brochures for the 3 shops. It doesn't matter if I copied just brochure for all the shops or just got one brochure and copied it three times. They are ALL the same. The editor is refusing to change. I called and left a message with Market Force explaining what happened. The editor is just being hard nosed about this. They even rejected the one shop it should have been good for.
Like I said, writing the shop ID on the brochure would have proven you got 3 separate brochures for 3 separate locations. I just did a route of 5, and got 15 identical brochures (3 from each location). Wrote shop ID on each and every one before photographing. Never got a single question, all approved (even though I somehow managed to put the WRONG ID number on one set of brochures -- don't even have a clue where I got the number, but it was wrong, LOL.)

Also, Marketforce's software (hope I'm using that term correctly) pulls out the date/time stamp on each photo, so they instantly identify when and where photo was taken. Perhaps you erred, and meant to submit separate photos, but accidentally submitted the same one.

After all, we are all human -- and the only people who don't make mistakes are the ones doing NOTHING.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/2019 08:44PM by ceasesmith.
@ceasesmith wrote:

Like I said, writing the shop ID on the brochure would have proven you got 3 separate brochures for 3 separate locations. I just did a route of 5, and got 15 identical brochures (3 from each location). Wrote shop ID on each and every one before photographing. Never got a single question, all approved (even though I somehow managed to put the WRONG ID number on one set of brochures -- don't even have a clue where I got the number, but it was wrong, LOL.)

Also, Marketforce's software (hope I'm using that term correctly) pulls out the date/time stamp on each photo, so they instantly identify when and where photo was taken. Perhaps you erred, and meant to submit separate photos, but accidentally submitted the same one.

After all, we are all human -- and the only people who don't make mistakes are the ones doing NOTHING.

I scanned the brochures. It still should not matter. I could have just gotten one brochure from one store and scanned it 3 times. They would never have known the difference. You also have to show a picture of the front of the store and a signed copy of the assignment form from the manager, to show you were there and completed the audit. I sent them a scanned image of all 3 brochures and told them to just call the stores and they will confirm I got the brochures.
You need to upload a different image for each shop. If you uploaded the same one multiple times, your shops were correctly invalidated.
@football1 wrote:

You need to upload a different image for each shop. If you uploaded the same one multiple times, your shops were correctly invalidated.

When I showed them I had 3 brochures, it would have been an easy fix. I'm sure they submitted the reports and got paid.
And they expressly state that if you submit one photo for multiple shops, ALL the shops will be rejected.

You won't be mad at them for long. I have a feeling that you won't have the opportunity to ever be mad at them again.
@ceasesmith wrote:

And they expressly state that if you submit one photo for multiple shops, ALL the shops will be rejected.

You won't be mad at them for long. I have a feeling that you won't have the opportunity to ever be mad at them again.

Others have argued with them over shops, and still do shops for them, so your FEELINGS are wrong.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/2019 02:41AM by johnb974.
Losing the shops didn't really matter. I picked up several other shops that were easier to do and paid better. Never let anyone try to put you down for taking a stand. As my father told me many years ago, when I got my first job, he said....If they ever hand you that pink slip, you look them in the eye and say, I was looking for a job when I came here and I'll go out and find a better one.
Feelings aren't right or wrong. They just ARE. And I am as entitled to my feelings as you are to yours.
@ceasesmith wrote:

Feelings aren't right or wrong. They just ARE. And I am as entitled to my feelings as you are to yours.

yes they can be right or wrong.
I’ve always wondered if they use these ‘invalid’ shops. I had one at a Veterinarian place get denied because I used one wrong word in my narrative and they wouldn’t let me change it plus they did not repost the shop so either it was not done for that month or they used mine and just didn’t pay me. I really think they used my shop anyway and wish there was a way to make sure companies don’t use denied/invalid shops.
@johnb974 wrote:

I scanned the brochures. It still should not matter. I could have just gotten one brochure from one store and scanned it 3 times. They would never have known the difference.

But yet, apparently, they DID know the difference.
@Livingrisky wrote:

I’ve always wondered if they use these ‘invalid’ shops. I had one at a Veterinarian place get denied because I used one wrong word in my narrative and they wouldn’t let me change it plus they did not repost the shop so either it was not done for that month or they used mine and just didn’t pay me. I really think they used my shop anyway and wish there was a way to make sure companies don’t use denied/invalid shops.

The more I hear stories like this, the more I'm convinced they are still using the shop. I'm sure other shops do the same thing.
Actually they do contact you for invalidated Shops I had one due to the time I reported. They sent me an email and they were able to catch it a couple months ago. My issue with them is I don’t feel they are available when I have an issue or need a Shop Date Change

I am waiting for the next exciting opportunity!
If MF invalidates one of your shops, they do repost it...but they block the reposted shop from your view, as you are not eligible to do the shop again on that round.
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login