Market Force mystery shopping company begs you to work and then uses rediculous excuse not to pay you. Atlanta Georgia

I am sorry you had a bad experience with Market Force but more than likely it was MacDonald's that refused to pay. I have shopped for Market Force and other reputable shopping companies for over two years. All are specific (and different) on timings. It is always in the paperwork or guidelines. If the client accepts your report and pays you get paid.

I, too, have had problems with re-imbursement from this company. While some contractors may have 100% reimbursement, I can state that I've performed several jobs for them, some of which were not reimbursed. It is evidently hit-and-miss. So, good luck!!

I have done about 5 McDonalds shops for Market Force. They contacted me twice. Once to notify me that I submitted the wrong form and to let me correct the form, The other time was to verify information. These are all recent shops for Market Force. I have been paid for one, three others have been accepted, and one is waiting verification. It took closer to 15 minutes than an hour to input the information and read the instructions. It was a very simple form. I will admit they do seem tideous, but not dishonest. Then again, the customer needs a good review for their customer.

Considering my experience, there is probably more to this story.

You've been lucky so far. I too, got paid for the first 5 or so, then things went south. I hope your luck continues.

I have been doing shops for Marketforce for about 4 months and have been paid almost $800.00 for the work I have done.  I have never had a shop invalidated and only one time was contacted for additional information.  The company begs for you to read and follow instructions carefully so that you will be paid.  All McDonald's shops follow specific guidelines for timing so that the company can properly evaluate the work their employees do.  The McDonald's Marketforce shopper must start timing when he joins the line and mark timing points when the order is totaled and when the food is delivered.  The shopper is instructed to know what he will order (from a preprinted list of choices) and to have cash ready in hand to pay.  Taking a full minute to order would definitely invalidate the shop, and with good reason!  McDonald's would not be able to use the data to compare their employees' job performance with other shopping experiences.  (By the way, the managers can review a videotape of the shop to verify the timing points.)  Fast food companies are often trying to lower their average time to deliver an order by just a second or two.  As far as filling out the forms goes, the McDonald's form is somewhat lengthy, but 25-30 minutes would probably be the longest it could take.  Once you have done one or two of these shops, you should be able to fill it out faster.  Downloading instructions takes only seconds, although McDonald's has some helpful additional information you can download to be certain that you understand how to do the timing.  Marketforce is a terrific company to contract with, and I look forward to doing more shops for them.  Susan should learn to carefully read and follow the instructions.

I followed the instructions to the letter and didn't get paid.  I believe they were experiencing financial difficulties at the time.

I also doubt the $800.00 in four month claim, since there is a strict limit on the amount of mystery shopping you can perform, in order to keep your identity secret.

I have been working for Market Force for about 3 months now,I enjoy the work so much and have received a a variety of shops totaling $426,I only had a problem once with one of their clients regarding someones name.Market Force does explain in the paper work thet instructions including time must be followed to" THE LETTER",all the work is submited on line,I notice it was very time consuming in the begiining but now it is much easier,I make sure I take little notes before doing a shop this seems to help.Market Force is a reputable company and I look forward to doing more assignments for them.

I know some of the clients are very fussy,but I have had no big issues with them and when there is an issur regarding the work getting submitted involving technicalities they seem to reply fast,I hope I have continued success with Market Force working as a Private Contractor.

Was not paid or reimbursed for a mystery shop I did, they said I ordered a regular coffee and should have ordered a soda. They used the report I did, because the shop was never re-listed and they never asked for a re-shop.  Asking us to spend at least $14 on McDonald's food and not reimbursing us!!!

I do lots of work for Market Force.  When they re-list a job it is will not appear on you job listings.  That also happens when you choose a job and then have to cancel.  You only get one chance. 

It is possible to make $800 in a 4 month span as they have many other shops than McDonalds.  If you live in a large city you could do many varieties of shops.

In 6 years I have not been paid for 1 shop and it was my fault.  I did not read the instructions thoroughly. 

 

It's false to say "they always pay".  Myself and several others on here have reported instances of not getting paid.

Thank you.

I have been mystery shopping since September 2010 and in that time I have performed and been paid for 37 shops with 5 different companies.

I did my first shop at McDonald's for Market Force last week. They have rejected my report saying:  

Shopper caused delay: You looked at and inquired about menu while at Drive-thru.

Their instructions say to order a Value Meal, so I asked for a McChicken Value Meal.

The order taker said there wasn't a McChicken Value Meal so I ordered the items separately.

The receipt indicated "McCHICKEN VM" with a single price of $6.39 for the three items listed.

For this they won't pay me? RIPOFF!!! 

 

I have done jobs for Marketforce for over a year and a half.  Two days ago I logged in an noticed that I could not search for jobs.  I emailed them and I got a canned reponce saying that they go through and weed out shoppers who are either to casual or to critical, but would not tell me what I was doing wrong.  I have only been not paid for one shop because of missing a receipt that got lost, other than that I was never called or emailed to say I need to fix anything.  I do shops for many other companies and if they need me to change something I have done, they will either call or email me telling me what to change, not just say you cannot do anymore shops.  I tried calling and got an email saying that phones are for emergancy only, I think this is an emergancy, being that I want and answer to my questions.  What really makes me really mad is just a week ago they emailed me and offered me a job saying it is for their best shoppers only which I did except because it had a good bonus attached to it.  I am really confused and can not get any answers to my questions....

I did a bunch of shops last month, including 2 McDs and got paid for the all.  There was no time limit for placing the order.  Did you try to work it out with MF?

I beleive there is a limit of 4 shops per day, 1 meal shop per meal period.  You could potentially make over $1000 per month.  I seem to be averaging 200/month for this company alone....

 Yes you should have been prepared to order upon arrival....the menu is available online, you could have waited outside the line to make your selection.  the shops no have specific items you can order listed right in the directions.....BUT I don't recall them listing a time limit to order.   It should just be noted that the delay was the 1 minute...and that subtracted from the total time it took.

I've done tons of mystery shops since 2006 and I have never had a problem with any of the companies, especially market force. You do have to read and make sure to follow the guideline to complete the shop correctly. I know there is a time limit on some but never with ordering time. You do however have to record the time you waited in line to the time you order was taken and food was received but that's about it.

I have done several Mystery Shops at McDonald's for Market Force.  These are the facts as I experience them on a regular basis.

The instructions are explicit...you may order certain items and you are instructed to decide on the items BEFORE you do the shop.  The maximum amt of purchase on a two-part McDonald's shop is $15.00 and ordering specifically what you are instructed to order will keep you within that limit.

I do this "full time" and easily average $100 per week on the 4 shops per day Market Force allows.

I have had excellent success with getting questions answered when I email the help desk, and the website explains that you should use email for most inquiries.  In fact, unless you are in the process (on site) of a shop or audit, there is no reason I can think of that an email would not a suitable means of inquiry.

And when my family had an emergency and I had to cancel a few jobs, there was no grief.  I am back in full swing now and loving it.

So technically, if the manager was involved in terrible customer service and saw that the data released in a report was negative, he/she could just... not accept it? And then the shopper could just... not get paid? Wow, that is crooked. Considering I came across many problems at my shop: 1) missing cash drawer from register when associate rung my order up, 2) the cashier ringing up just the sandwich instead of the Value Meal when I clearly asked for the Value Meal, 3) taking 10 minutes to get all three of my items to me, 4) giving me half my order without asking me to pay... I had to ASK them if I could pay for the items. I should have just walked away without paying, if I had known better... Stupid me for being responsible and assuming that being detailed, hard-working, and ethical would get me anything from such a crooked company. Never again.

Market Force refused to pay me because they claimed that I did not wait at the counter until I received all three food items. The funny part is that I did the exact opposite. In fact, I ended up waiting at the counter for over 10 minutes in order to comply with this guideline!

What happened was that I ordered a McGriddle Value Meal. The associate at the register rung my order up and found out that there was no cash drawer in the register... so that caused a delay. Then, I realized he had rung up just the sandwich and not the Value Meal as specified. So then, although I received the McGriddle, I had to wait for the hashbrown and drink. I received the drink cup but still needed the hasbrown. Did I budge from the counter? Absolutely not! I KNEW KNEW KNEW that I needed to wait for the third item (the hashbrown) in order to follow the instructions adequately. So I waited an obscene amount of time for the hashbrown to arrive, and of course my sandwich is probably cold as can be by now. Well, I receive the hashbrown finally, and then no one asks me to pay. I could have just walked off and no one would have said anything. So again, I WAITED WAITED WAITED until someone could help me yet AGAIN with another one of the employee blunders. Someone finally came to help me and I paid. Looking back on this, I should have just walked off and not paid; no one would have cared or noticed. I know Market Force sure as hell wouldn't have given a flying f*ck. Just when you think things can't get worse, they of course get worse. Since I know I have received my sandwich (a loooong time ago), the counter was crowded, and I had too many things in my hands, I decided to set my items down quickly and then head back quickly for my sandwich. Well guess what, folks. Some time within that 10+ minute wait, my sandwich disappeared from the counter. I am guessing it happened while I was paying for the hashbrown and drink, because I was watching it at the counter as I waited.

This was the worst shopping experience ever, but it was my best most accurate report. So I could not help but be shocked when my shop was denied for: "not waiting at the counter until I had all 3 items." Ha! What a complete joke! You know, outside of mystery shopping even, this was the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I invested time, money, and patience in this, much more than what is required of a typical mystery shopper. And to add insult to injury, Market Force decides it would be a great idea not to pay me. They do not even consider the extraneous amount of issues I needed to deal with on the spot at this particular shop. That on top of the fact that they are claiming I didn't do something I did do infuriates me.

I'm trying to find employment, and this company contacted me via email.  It was one of the most poorly written, grammatically incorrect pieces of correspondence I've ever seen.  I also used to sell a catalog only product, and used to get these sorts of solicitations frequently.  That was where I learned to really pay attention to the emails.  Tonight's email contained these gems:  

Job Benefits:
As it goes, Secret Shopper is an ideal way for customers to gain profit in the process of providing feedback, making comments, making of, commenting out to entity. This is a real challenge for you to get to the top of the career delighting in things you like above all. For instance, one may enjoy meal in restaurant or acquire things in online stores reveling in life and promoting business at the same time.
Remuneration:
Your every month earned income may reach $1,500-2,000.Time Limitation of the Position:
On account of the great amount of office seekers for this job, this position is time-bound. So, it is strongly recommended for you to give us the necessary information about yourself ASAP.To become the contributor of our company.

Really?  Who falls for this stuff?  It looks like the entire thing was run through Google Translator.  "A real challenge for you to get to the top of the career delighting"??  Reveling in life?   People, if it seems too good to be true, it is.  Please, if you're unhappy and have been unfairly treated, report them.  I've contacted the site hosting my resume that scams such as this are going out.  Some desperate person actually might respond to the phishing scam it is and send their information out.  Then they're really going to be in a bind!

Best of luck everyone.

Market Force was the first company I ever worked for. I have completed and been paid for hundreds of shops for them since 2008. I have had a few instances that lead to quality control contacting me for answers. Never had any problems with fixing anything. In all the years I've worked with them, I have only not been paid twice and both times were my fault. Again I have done 3-400 or more shops for Marketforce. They always pay on time and I can depend on always finding shops on their job board. If you read the guidelines you will always know exactly what to do or what to order. If a McChicken does come in an extra value meal, you nor the order taker can create one because that is not following the clients (McDonalds) guidelines. Market Force cannot pay you if the client does not accept your report. Be more careful about understanding what is expected.

To do a shop that requires you to pay for food and then not get reimbursed is an insulting way to respond to a minor deviation from the shop guidelines. I had this happen on my very first assignment and I will never do another ridiculous 2 meal drive thru and dine in shop for the giant burger corporation.