Dumped by MF, No Reason Given

December 16, 2019 02:44PM

I'm sure other have experienced this, but wow what a way to go out. I asked for a deactivation reason and they Said they don't need to have one. I understand, its business but after 10 years of shopping and hundreds of shops done, I thought a more personal response was called for. No more hedgehog burgers. What a classless organization.

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December 16, 2019 03:31PM

You are not alone.

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.
Alexander Den Heijer

December 16, 2019 03:47PM

Sometimes they deactivate for inactivity, but I've seen a few people say that they've been deactivated for no apparent reason.

December 16, 2019 03:52PM

Yes, they do not normally give a reason.

If you have a regular plumber or mechanic that you've used for years, and decide to change to a different service provider, you do not owe the plumber or mechanic a reason.

We're not employees. Employees can't be "let go" without some sort of explanation ("We no longer need your department at all. Sorry. Here's your 2 weeks of severance pay." ).

I am sorry this happened to you. I'm not deactivated, but I was restricted for six months from any shops that required photos. Three or four months after that restriction was finally lifted, I was "blocked" from schedulers. It's been difficult! MF is the only company with regular shops within driving distance of me.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/16/2019 03:54PM by ceasesmith.

December 16, 2019 04:24PM

I would at least tell the plumber, your done! and not have him trying to knock on my door and me not answering.

December 16, 2019 05:05PM

@ceasesmith wrote:

We're not employees. Employees can't be "let go" without some sort of explanation ("We no longer need your department at all. Sorry. Here's your 2 weeks of severance pay." ).

Depends - if you live in a "right to work" or "at will" state, then you can quit, and/or be fired with absolutely no warning or explanation given as an employee. Sorry to be off topic, but that's important to know if you're an employee in an at will state and potentially affected by it.

Returning to the topic at hand, it stinks that they do that deactivation thing with no warning or explanation. I mean, just because it's legal and their right doesn't make it polite behavior by anyone. I got upset when MF deactivated me for inactivity. I like their shops, but now I feel forced to do them on a schedule. I dislike that pressure, personally.

December 16, 2019 05:41PM

I was terminated by MF, with no notice, in 2010; as I am not WHY oriented, I simply moved on to other companies. As the OP stated, it is business and I would guess their contractor agreement covers the situation of them not providing a reason. Would it be courteous to those for whom an explanation is important? Yes. but that does not appear to matter to MF.

December 16, 2019 06:02PM

I was blocked from one of their shops for about three months, apparently because they felt I either had been or was at risk of being identified as the shopper. But have never been deactivated. I feel now, though, after having read posts from people who have been deactivated for inactivity, I feel like I have to take shops on a regular basis to avoid that.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

December 16, 2019 07:10PM

Ceasesmith - while, generally, I agree with your comment, I disagreein that it is ONLY courteous to inform your plumber, etc., if you change providers....It is courtesy, something MF lacks, has never had, and most likely will never have.

December 16, 2019 08:08PM

Did the shops just come back? I have been suspended from shopping a grocery store since June and wonder if they will magically reappear,.I understand that the client is able to get a more objective report when the same person does not do one too often. I am good with that but would like the opportunity to shop for the client again.

December 16, 2019 11:25PM

@jlovesnyc wrote:

I would at least tell the plumber, your done! and not have him trying to knock on my door and me not answering.

Being an actual consultant outside of mystery shopping, I do not send letters to former sub-contracts we choose to not award work to giving them reasons why we're black balling them from future work. It's not considered unprofessional if I choose to not include them in future bid lists for upcoming work.... Much like Market Force isn't obligated to provide any justification for moving on from you. If they give you a reason? Great! If not, they're not classless for choosing to withhold this information from you.

Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.

December 17, 2019 12:37AM

@Tarantado wrote:

@jlovesnyc wrote:

I would at least tell the plumber, your done! and not have him trying to knock on my door and me not answering.

Being an actual consultant outside of mystery shopping, I do not send letters to former sub-contracts we choose to not award work to giving them reasons why we're black balling them from future work. It's not considered unprofessional if I choose to not include them in future bid lists for upcoming work.... Much like Market Force isn't obligated to provide any justification for moving on from you. If they give you a reason? Great! If not, they're not classless for choosing to withhold this information from you.

I think the difference with your example (or the plumber) and the MF example is that no, you are not obligated to tell your former contracts why you are not using them anymore. That's not exactly an equal comparison, though. What the OP is saying is that they reached out to MF to know why, and were told that they didn't have to give a reason.

The equitable comparison would be that plumber or contractor asking you, "I noticed that you weren't interested in my services this time, I was just wondering why that was the case for my own reference?" And then you answering, "I don't have to tell you why", and nothing else. A professional, classy response would simply be, "we chose to go in a different direction." That provides that same amount of useful information, but is a professional reason. Just saying, "We don't have to tell you." is what an ex-bf might tell a ex-gf for a breakup reason. A professional inquiry should get a professional response. I agree with the OP. That's the most direct comparison to be making here with plumbers or sub-contractors. Not that you didn't call them again, but the fact that if they courteously asked you why you didn't, you shouldn't just slam the door in their face, figuratively speaking.

December 17, 2019 12:44AM

@KA047 wrote:

I think the difference with your example (or the plumber) and the MF example is that no, you are not obligated to tell your former contracts why you are not using them anymore. That's not exactly an equal comparison, though. What the OP is saying is that they reached out to MF to know why, and were told that they didn't have to give a reason.

The equitable comparison would be that plumber or contractor asking you, "I noticed that you weren't interested in my services this time, I was just wondering why that was the case for my own reference?" And then you answering, "I don't have to tell you why", and nothing else. A professional, classy response would simply be, "we chose to go in a different direction." That provides that same amount of useful information, but is a professional reason. Just saying, "We don't have to tell you." is what an ex-bf might tell a ex-gf for a breakup reason. A professional inquiry should get a professional response. I agree with the OP. That's the most direct comparison to be making here with plumbers or sub-contractors. Not that you didn't call them again, but the fact that if they courteously asked you why you didn't, you shouldn't just slam the door in their face, figuratively speaking.

OP did not quote Market Force’s response in verbatim, unless that’s literally what they told them; we only know what OP described which could be taken figuratively and not literally. I’m not assuming either, so I understood that Market Force withheld their reasoning for deactivation, in general.

Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.

December 17, 2019 01:53AM

.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/25/2025 04:10PM by KV.

December 17, 2019 02:44AM

Sometimes it is because you have shopped them too often as well as the items that you have listed.

December 17, 2019 02:56AM

This happened to me about a year ago. I had been averaging about $1500 a month from them for about two years at the time I was let go.

December 17, 2019 03:58AM

It probably has to do with a lot of factors, but one big factor seems to be the shopper consistently getting big bonuses. I think it is mainly aimed at forcing schedulers to find people who will do those hard-to-fill shops for less instead of falling back on shoppers they know will take it, although for a higher fee. It doesn't matter that they may end up paying someone else more to do the shops than you were charging - in other places the strategy will work and overall they will come out ahead, at least in the short term.

December 17, 2019 09:29AM

@KV wrote:

What would be the reasons for one to be restricted, blocked, or removed? Is it because one asks for the bonus fee all the time? Is it because one was spotted as MS? Trying to understand how this company works....

If you take a step back on the purpose of our mystery shops aside from feedback on a customer visit, the client's end-probably includes analytics to help understand downfalls in their operations. The data is analytics based on random samplings of data that's diversified and unbiased with an acceptance criteria. It probably possible that when a client and/or the MSC, whether it's handpicked or via some sort of algorithm is deemed biased, outside of their criteria of acceptance, and simply an outlier of what is deemed as acceptable to them.

Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.

December 17, 2019 04:45PM

Sometimes I take one of their fast-casual shops at base fee just to make sure they keep calling me with big bonuses!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

December 18, 2019 01:50PM

Birdy, when you shop a location at base fee, you won't be able to get a bonus for it in the future.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

December 18, 2019 01:53PM

Not exactly. During my time with MF, I would swallow a shop at base price and when they needed me in a pinch I'd get it for their bonus amount.

December 18, 2019 01:56PM

HonnyBrown, that has never been my experience.

December 18, 2019 02:35PM

In my experience it is difficult to negotiate up after doing a shop at base rate. Not impossible but not easy. I always aim high knowing it will lock me in in a way.

December 18, 2019 03:08PM

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Birdy, when you shop a location at base fee, you won't be able to get a bonus for it in the future.

That is not true. I take jobs at base fee when they are close to where I live or work. I get bonused jobs when they are in a bind or I have to travel a longer distance. It balances out.

December 18, 2019 03:09PM

@thunderdeacon wrote:

This happened to me about a year ago. I had been averaging about $1500 a month from them for about two years at the time I was let go.

$1500 a month with their low fees? It sounds like you over-shopped a certain client or location so you got the boot.

December 18, 2019 03:49PM

@jlovesnyc wrote:

Not exactly. During my time with MF, I would swallow a shop at base price and when they needed me in a pinch I'd get it for their bonus amount.

Taking base fees at a specific location makes it harder to leverage a previous bonus at that same location. In other words, if I previously received a $50 bonus at a specific location, took that same location later at base fee, sure they will call me back, but will use that last shop’s fee as an argument to not match (or exceed) the $50 I’ve previously done.

Very infrequently shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado these days.

December 18, 2019 03:56PM

@HonnyBrown wrote:

Birdy, when you shop a location at base fee, you won't be able to get a bonus for it in the future.

I haven't found that to be the case at all. I sometimes shop the location nearest me at base fee -- when I'll be by myself and when they up it by a couple of bucks for everybody. I still get calls and still get offers accepted for that location for pretty big bonuses.

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

December 18, 2019 07:18PM

@Tarantado wrote:

@jlovesnyc wrote:

Not exactly. During my time with MF, I would swallow a shop at base price and when they needed me in a pinch I'd get it for their bonus amount.

Taking base fees at a specific location makes it harder to leverage a previous bonus at that same location. In other words, if I previously received a $50 bonus at a specific location, took that same location later at base fee, sure they will call me back, but will use that last shop’s fee as an argument to not match (or exceed) the $50 I’ve previously done.

I have found that the one-off intervening lower fee does create a distraction for them as you say. But it rarely changes the net result much if at all. They never fail to try to get the job done at the lower rate if you've done it at that rate. But they do this when the shop has been well bonused too. It adds a round / 10-15 seconds to the negotiations sometimes but in the end it doesn't mean much to whether I get my rate or not. If they need the shop done badly enough the rate gets paid when I assert myself. If not, then they make some more calls to see if they can get a better rate with somebody else this week.

Usually i find they are already prepared to pay what it takes before they call me, but they ask anyway in case they get lucky and I'm not paying attention.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2019 07:29AM by JustForFun.

December 18, 2019 11:02PM

That's good to know. When the scheduler called me for one location that I did at a lower fee, they made it impossible for me to get a higher fee in the future, or so I thought. I will bulldog them in the future when they call me on a Wednesday for that location.

On another note, I typically wait for schedulers to call me for shops since they usually give me the bonus I want. I looked at the app today to see if there was a shop available in a certain location. There was one shop in a different area that was available for the far distance bonus. That will be my base fee from now on.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

December 19, 2019 04:18PM

I have also been dumped for no reason and was told they don't have to give me a reason. I rarely found a problem with the locations so maybe I was just too nice. i don't know but I think it's a lousy business practice. They don't pay well but I did enjoy the burgers and fries.

@jlovesnyc wrote:

I'm sure other have experienced this, but wow what a way to go out. I asked for a deactivation reason and they Said they don't need to have one. I understand, its business but after 10 years of shopping and hundreds of shops done, I thought a more personal response was called for. No more hedgehog burgers. What a classless organization.

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