Market Force Will Do Anything Not to Pay You Internet

So I've been a mystery shopper for a while, it's easy work and although it barely pays (I mean, below minimum wage) and comes with no benefits and bare minimal reimbursements...I do it more for the freebies (food, products, etc.). I work full-time with salary wage, so it's really something I do on my off time and I enjoy it. I've worked in the customer service industry for years, so I know what it takes to create a pleasant customer service experience.

Ironically, Market Force does not know how to do the same even though they've managed to build a business around judging other companies' customer service practices. They seem hell-bent on making up any excuse not to pay you or reimburse you for services rendered. Thankfully it's a contract (that I'm currently trying to get out of) that should be easy to terminate. But, it's a headache trying to deal with them and their "Shopper Advocates" are complete (and excuse my French) dumb-f**king-morons that like to treat their contracted employees like crap. They act like they have chips on their shoulders and refuse to listen to any perspective other than what they believe is right. Ironically, they tend to say "sorry" quite often, but given their tone of voice you know it's insincere. Also, please keep in mind that there is no training involved in mystery shopping. But most companies I've worked with have guidelines that are so straight forward and address any issue that can potentially pop up during a shop that it's almost impossible to get a shop wrong. Not so with Market Force. Their guidelines are the complete opposite of straightforward, and even the way the company addresses them makes it seem like they are more of a suggestion than instructions. I think this is where many people have problems with Market Force. They follow the guidelines thoroughly, and then are told their shop is invalidated because they followed them too closely. This is also where Market Force gets you...by making up some random rule or instruction you did not follow that was never explicitly written into the guidelines, or was left for interpretation. Again, there is no training with mystery shopping so how are you supposed to read between the lines?

To potential contracted mystery shoppers: I wouldn't say this company is a scam...but unless you enjoy being treated like dirt and spending more money on providing services than you are paid/reimbursed for, I don't recommend working for this company at all. There are so many better alternatives out there.

To Market Force: Good luck retaining high quality mystery shoppers.