On a whim, I just sent an email off to MF last week, after being dropped several years ago. I was sitting, bored and alone, in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere. Decided to give it a shot, what could it hurt?

I was reinstated!
And given a reason: too many rescheduled shops, which impacted client deadlines.

Well, cool. I drive 45-50,000 miles per year for video work, and those MF gas stations are going to be fantastic route fillers going forward.

If it’s been a while since MF cut you off, it may be worth an email to their Help Desk...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/19/2019 08:46PM by ColoKate63.

Years ago there was a similar thread about MF and at the time the consensus of deactivated shoppers seemed to think that when you reached some undisclosed number of shops completed you were cut off. Not sure if that is still accurate as my total shop count for them is very low. But to this date I have not been deactivated for non activity. I only do a shop for them once in a while and this year??? hmmm, probably none. Could it be because they do not often give any bonus at all in my area and they do not deactivate base fee shoppers without any cause? The occasional bonus is about 50 cents. Knock on wood that I do not get deactivated after this post!!!

@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.

Depends on the MSC and the scheduler. I will take IPSOS shops at base fee at the beginning of the month when I'm going to be in the area. I'm pretty sure I'm first in line for the big bonuses at the end. The scheduler knows that I'll pick up what I reasonably can and that the sometimes-bonused shops done at base fee are a favor to her.

Good to read I will cut back on rescheduling in that case. MF has started paying relatively ON TIME so I have no complaints for now. I still usually get bonuses or bonused shops.

I've never been deactivated but since I now only see burger, hardware and mattress stores, I wonder if they're blocking me from the more interesting work.

It's totally reasonable for them to deactivate a shopper who reschedules too often. I'm sure there are other reasons MF deactivates shoppers, but if someone is deactivated for rescheduling too often, it seems to me that shouldn't be a big surprise. Just sayin'....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2019 01:23PM by BirdyC.

@BirdyC wrote:

It's totally reasonable for them to deactivate a shopper who reschedules too often. I'm sure there are other reasons MF deactivates shoppers, but if someone is deactivated for rescheduling too often, it seems to me that shouldn't be a big surprise. Just sayin'....

Wait, where has someone in this thread stated they got deactivated for rescheduling too often? I reschedule quite a bite over these past what... 7 years or mystery shopping? I don’t think I’ve ever been blackballed for it?

@ColoKate63 wrote:

On a whim, I just sent an email off to MF last week, after being dropped several years ago. I was sitting, bored and alone, in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere. Decided to give it a shot, what could it hurt?

I was reinstated!
And given a reason: too many rescheduled shops, which impacted client deadlines.

@pambam I see the same shops and have only seen those shops. I'm in an area not rich in shops, but there are the same ones I've seen for almost a decade now. I don't think we're missing out on exciting shops..I just don't think they have exciting shops anymore.

@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.

Never been dropped from MF, but have been blocked from projects before of other MSCs (very rare, but occasionally happens). I had a tough time finding out why, but was persistent and finally told why and reinstated.

I tried to highlight wanting to be able to help the MSC and a willingness to improve in areas of the shop that they felt were performed unsatisfactorily.

But, again, that was not with MF. The one bit of wisdom I've ALWAYS applied from a very experienced former and great forum member with Market Force is:

ALWAYS TAKE AT LEAST ONE SHOP AT BASE w/ MARKET FORCE EVERY NOW AND THEN TO SHOW YOU ARE A 'COMPANY GAL'

I try to take a base-value shop every other month. I used to do one every month, but have gotten very busy lately. But that advice may have kept me going with Market Force. I've made so many errors and sent so many apologies to them that I've lost count. Granted, many of those errors were when I was a newbie (and also when I did the most non-bonused shops). ...So, it's speculation. But, I've been late with reports tons of times, rescheduled tons, and just flat out had reporting issues a lot. I've been surprised at times they haven't warned or blocked me, lol.

But,:

a.) I am always super friendly and professional with them. And, they have always been the same with me. I wonder if this is a regional thing? The ladies I always contact have been exceptionally friendly (above and beyond service really). Treated me like royalty practically. Whereas, I've heard others say they've had tough people to work with. Maybe my area representatives are just awesome? I know I've had reverse experiences with other MSCs where I've had rude, non-responsive types of contacts and others swear by them and sing their praises. Nonetheless, I go out of my way with MF to treat them like royalty they way they treat me.

b.) I always follow that forum member's advice (wherever you are, spicy1, I hope you're well and can come back someday...you've helped so many people with your experienced advice, including me, that we may never be able to repay you *sniff*). I try to take some break-even or even slightly (-$1 or -$2) money losing shops every now and then at their base. Whatever I lose or break even on, I feel I always get back with their great bonused shops later.

Have some thoughts on possibly getting back in with MF, but will either PM you or post later when less tired.

Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2019 06:01AM by shoptastic.

@ColoKate63 wrote:

And given a reason: too many rescheduled shops, which impacted client deadlines.

Were these rescheduled and then completed shops? ....or just cancelled. ....or rescheduled for a "long" time away?

It makes me worry a bit and not want to reschedule anything with MF anymore. I used to think that we were free to reschedule within the shops' date ranges to fit our schedule/convenience. I do that with Quest for Best for what feels like every shop I do with them...or every other one. Just constantly readjusting to get a perfect route.

I feel I reschedule a lot with MF too. Maybe not that much, but enough that it's imprinted on my memory a bunch of times that I have. But these were never cancelled and always rescheduled for within the same shop date ranges (usually just a few days difference).

@shoptastic wrote:

b.) I always follow that forum member's advice (wherever you are, spicy1, I hope you're well and can come back someday...you've helped so many people with your experienced advice, including me, that we may never be able to repay you *sniff*).

OMG quoting this before it gets edited a 7th time.

That's just too much. Geeze, shoptastic, you should see some of the truly nasty things that spicy1 has posted for no reason other than just to be mean and hurt people's feelings, and she surely wasn't just kidding around and teasing anyone like others in here. She got moderated to the point that none of those posts exist anymore, but that's the reason she got kicked out of the forum. And then the PMs!!! I had to laugh at some of the appalling things she has called me when she PMed me. I didn't laugh at some of the nasty stuff she PMed to other forum members who never have had anything unpleasant to say about anyone. Talk about someone who takes pleasure in bullying other people!

Yes, definitely -- I was told last year by a manager that my "reschedule" AND cancellation rates had me on the bubble for deactivation. I explained to her that if she checked the records, she would see I successfully reshopped every cancellation. I had the shops reassigned to me.


She checked the records and agreed that I had no "black marks". But said that unless someone searched for the details, all they would see was the cancellation/reschedule rates; they wouldn't see that I had successfully completed shops after braving floods, forest fires, and other natural disasters to complete urgent shops!!!

If she doesn't think that some of the stuff SHE has posted has been truly nasty, why would she recognize that in someone else's posts? Just sayin'

@JASFLALMT wrote:

That's just too much. Geeze, shoptastic, you should see some of the truly nasty things that spicy1 has posted for no reason other than just to be mean and hurt people's feelings, and she surely wasn't just kidding around and teasing anyone like others in here. She got moderated to the point that none of those posts exist anymore, but that's the reason she got kicked out of the forum. And then the PMs!!! I had to laugh at some of the appalling things she has called me when she PMed me. I didn't laugh at some of the nasty stuff she PMed to other forum members who never have had anything unpleasant to say about anyone. Talk about someone who takes pleasure in bullying other people!

What, you mean the fact that a bunch of us got called scumbags by shoptastic? Hmmm, no idea why that would be offensive.

Okay, back on topic. I do few shops for Marketforce, maybe only 3 a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. This has been my pattern with them for nearly 20 years (since they were Shop-n-Check). Never have I flaked, never have I screwed up a shop, rarely do I reschedule or cancel. This does not make me better than anyone else, it's just I have the option to be more selective because I am lucky enough to live in an area where there are tons of shops available from various companies. If I had the misfortune of living in a more rural area where I was forced to pick up a bunch of shops for a route with them and had to return home for reports after a long day, I could see where it might be easy to make a mistake or 3. Thank goodness I rarely do more than one shop a day for them in any given month so this has never happened. I can still shop for them because they do have a few grocery store shops I love doing here and there.

Peace and love to all for the new year!

I did a recent grocery store shop for them. Not only did it have a decent reimbursement, it offered a fee.

I love flakers!

That's her typical behavior. Then when people call her out on it, she suddenly plays victim and goes into a Mod enforced timeout.

What's new is posting a 20-volume note. I wonder what that will bring with it.

@kimmiemae wrote:

If she doesn't think that some of the stuff SHE has posted has been truly nasty, why would she recognize that in someone else's posts? Just sayin'

I reschedule often as well. Why would it be an issue if you are given the option.

@Tarantado wrote:

Wait, where has someone in this thread stated they got deactivated for rescheduling too often? I reschedule quite a bite over these past what... 7 years or mystery shopping? I don’t think I’ve ever been blackballed for it?

I'm just guessing that although MF gives you the option to reschedule, they really don't want you to do it often. Cease's post would seem to verify that:

Ceasesmith

@ wrote:

I was told last year by a manager that my "reschedule" AND cancellation rates had me on the bubble for deactivation. I explained to her that if she checked the records, she would see I successfully reshopped every cancellation. I had the shops reassigned to me.

She checked the records and agreed that I had no "black marks". But said that unless someone searched for the details, all they would see was the cancellation/reschedule rates; they wouldn't see that I had successfully completed shops after braving floods, forest fires, and other natural disasters to complete urgent shops!!!

Many MSCs state in their job guidelines or general T & Cs that rescheduling too often will or might affect your ability to self-assign or be assigned. MF just makes it easy for us to reschedule; it probably saves them a lot of time. I've always thought that option was for emergencies or other unforeseen circumstances. Of course I've done it, but rarely because I've assumed that rescheduling too often won't look good.

Even if you're meeting their drop-dead deadlines, I'm assuming (maybe incorrectly) that once they see your shop scheduled for a certain date, they factor that into their editing workloads, monthly shop flow, wrap-up dates for each client, etc. E.g., if they see on their end that all shops for a client are scheduled to wrap by a certain date, they probably base some plans on that. If a lot of shoppers reschedule past then, it might impact their workflow. But who knows? Not I.

This is very interesting and I would really love some more perspectives on it. I typically select the last day available and then reschedule to fit it into a route. So I guess I mostly get mine done early but if rescheduling is a ding I would like to know that. I never cancel though... I'm sure that in the 5 years I've been shopping I have cancelled maybe 2 shops with them at the most.

Just my opinion, based on my own experience being with them 10 years, but I think the rescheduling that gets a shopper in trouble with MF is not the self-rescheduling within the posted time frame. I do that all the time and I always have. I frequently schedule fast food shops for the most-distant date and then go back in and change when I get to a day that I need a quick lunch or I see that I will be near by and it will be convenient. As long as it is within the allowable time window, I haven't had a problem and I do it A LOT. I have never contacted Help Desk to reschedule so I don't know how that works. I would think that any time you contact Help Desk, they capture that and it is recorded as part of your track record. Just what I think, I have no knowledge of what THEY do or think.

I would think that scheduling a shop for the furthest day out, then rescheduing to an earlier time wouldn't be an issue. But I think the opposite might be.

Interesting. My scheduler usually books me in and tells me to reschedule it online to my desired date within the window. Hope this doesn't count against me!

@BirdyC wrote:

If a lot of shoppers reschedule past then, it might impact their workflow. But who knows? Not I.

"...A LOT OF SHOPPERS"

This sentence makes a lot of sense, BC.

I think too often I just think of it from my narrow scope and am like: "Oh, it's just me changing from Wednesday to Thursday...no biggie."

But, I can imagine a situation where like Wednesday was a cut-off day for some "cycle" (payments related) they had with an MSC and then what if "a lot" of other shoppers also happened to reschedule from Wed. to Thursday.

No single reschedule may impact them severely, but many all at once could, if done on a particular hard deadline day.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2019 07:14AM by shoptastic.

@shoptastic wrote:

@BirdyC wrote:

If a lot of shoppers reschedule past then, it might impact their workflow. But who knows? Not I.

"...A LOT OF SHOPPERS"

This sentence makes a lot of sense, BC.

I think too often I just think of it from my narrow scope and am like: "Oh, it's just me changing from Wednesday to Thursday...no biggie."

But, I can imagine a situation where like Wednesday was a cut-off day for some "cycle" (payments related) they had with an MSC and then what if "a lot" of other shoppers also happened to reschedule from Wed. to Thursday.

No single reschedule may impact them severely, but many all at once could, if done on a particular hard deadline day.

'
That's where I was primarily coming from. As someone who owned my own business and hired freelancers, I would plan my own "hands-on" workload based on the jobs they were doing for me. I had one freelancer who met the client's final deadline on a huge job, but she often rescheduled her time on-site at the client's. That was a problem for me because I would give the client status reports based on her promises to me, then she'd miss those intermediate deadlines. Another freelancer I had gave me a job at the very last minute, later than promised, and I had no time to spit and polish it before giving it to the client. We met the deadline, bu her work was sloppy, and I almost lost the client over it. I stopped using those two freelancers and found one who was not only good, but super reliable.

So I guess my perspective might be slightly different than assuming because we "can" reschedule jobs with MF, we "should." I just feel like the option is there as an occasional fall-back.

Here's a question:

What if you pick up a shop on Dec. 25 and it's for January 15 with a date range of January 10-20th.

Now, would it be as bad if we rescheduled lots of times within 24-48 hours? In other words, I'm not waiting until January 6, 7, 8, 9, etc. to reschedule. I'm doing it pretty much within the same day (or two at most).

I ask, because sometimes I'll take a shop that I KNOW is popular and if I don't grab that sucker, someone else in my area is sure to do so. I'll pick some date in the future to do the shop. Then, I'll try to build a route around it.

The issue comes up when doing so that sometimes you can't get that perfect route based around the original shop date/time of that popular shop. But, you can if you reschedule.

Some people talk about "pre-scheduling" with schedulers before jobs even get posted. For a number of reasons, I won't or cannot do that. So, for me, it's just wait until job posting day. BUT, that makes it a mad rush. I know if TXRH is out, for example, it'll be gone within a few hours if I don't grab it ASAP. So, I do.

Then, I'll route build and reschedule. The main diff. is it's not an emergency reschedule. It's me rescheduling the same day I added the shop(s) or the next day at worst.

Dunno if that's still penalized, but i'd imagine it wasn't as bad??

You guys have confused the heck out of me. I have been suspended twice by MF once because I let them send me emails notices about shops and my email provider blocked them because it looked like spam. So they thought they could not get ahold of me. Stoped that after I called them. Then once was for canceling shops because I had some medical problems and it took me almost a year to find out. Emailed and they reinstated me. So if it has been a year or so you can try and see what will it hurt.

Those are the only shops I see in this area. When I was 200 miles away for the holidays, I saw very different shops.

@pambam wrote:

I've never been deactivated but since I now only see burger, hardware and mattress stores, I wonder if they're blocking me from the more interesting work.

I have always had the feeling that I have always been on the bubble with this company. Just don't make them the only egg in you basket, and you will be okay. I've also gotten the feeling over the years that giving TMI in their reports would put me in disfavor more quickly. Just give them what they ask for and nothing more. I think that has contributed to my longevity with this company.