Panda Express requirements
I have made donations in the past when shopping for this MSC - I was never dinged, but they would not reimburse the donation amount.
No, but what do you mean by "dinged?" Was the shop totally rejected?
Whatever the case may be -- unless the guidelines specifically target or query whether you were asked to make a donation, I would decline. I would also expect the guidelines to tell you whether you will be reimbursed for the donation or not. If, for no other reason, one does not go to a Panda Express to donate money -- and you want a clean report that focuses on whatever the guidelines indicate (and never anything more no matter how much it may matter to you).
Not to digress, but the merchants get to choose the recipient(s) of those round ups. You also have little, or no, idea where the donated funds really go or how they are spent. They could end up funding an entity whose mission you do not support or which has a huge overhead or executive salaries. The customer making the donation can claim it as a tax deduction up to whatever the current limits are and must usually itemize their deductions to take a specific donation. (This is for US taxpayers).
Corporations can generally deduct up to ten percent of their taxable income for charitable causes.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2023 02:18PM by gukka.
Whatever the case may be -- unless the guidelines specifically target or query whether you were asked to make a donation, I would decline. I would also expect the guidelines to tell you whether you will be reimbursed for the donation or not. If, for no other reason, one does not go to a Panda Express to donate money -- and you want a clean report that focuses on whatever the guidelines indicate (and never anything more no matter how much it may matter to you).
Not to digress, but the merchants get to choose the recipient(s) of those round ups. You also have little, or no, idea where the donated funds really go or how they are spent. They could end up funding an entity whose mission you do not support or which has a huge overhead or executive salaries. The customer making the donation can claim it as a tax deduction up to whatever the current limits are and must usually itemize their deductions to take a specific donation. (This is for US taxpayers).
Corporations can generally deduct up to ten percent of their taxable income for charitable causes.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/06/2023 02:18PM by gukka.
I don't know, since March 1st though guidelines have said very clearly that we are not to order anything else. And I took this to me and that it was the donations too, but then again I also don't give my money to companies to use as their charitable donations to avoid paying taxes.
Charlhenri's experience differs from yours. Seems like the MSC gives the editors leeway in what is following guidelines and what is not 
I've rounded up for donation and it was never mentioned.
Donating a dollar to a company which will give it to a listed charity is not something I worry about with taxes. It's not like I'm gonna take a tax break on $1. And if all those dollars add up and benefit a charity, then I consider that a good thing, no matter WHO gets the tax break. Is that the only reason you're donating?
This company has the most awful editors I ever encountered! For the same client (Panda) I shopped once a location in a mall. Turns out there were two Panda Express at the mall, but there was no way to know which one needed to be shopped. Of course, they rejected my shop because with them the shopper is ALWAYS wrong. I emailed them: screenshots of the discrepancy on Google, on the mall website, on the Panda Express website, arguing that there was no way for the shopper to know which Panda Express they wanted shopped. Of course the editor refused to bulge. The best part? Today, if you look at the same shop, there's a note that says which one of the locations to shop. Not only they have awful editors, but they behave with such bad faith it's infuriating!
I have noticed a lot of changing and updated guidelines from MS companies across the board. Panda and their new - ONLY order a plate - not a bigger plate, no drink, no donation, MF with no more approved expenses options, USPS with shifting guidelines and times. Seems like just about everything has been changing lately.
Only a very small percentage of a donation actually goes to the cause. Most goes to "operating costs" which includes hefty paychecks for the fund's administration. No thanks.
I think the guidelines are there to provide a consistent experience that can be measured objectively at all locations. Any deviance, even asking for a cup of water, skews the results.
@charlhenri
Not to pick on you...but did you know this about that particular Panda location? Are these shops in your area or were you doing shops outside of your normal "territory?"
The store # is right next to the address in Sassie. If I had questions, I would have called the location and asked what their store # was. Yes, I agree, the MSC should have been more specific, but if you are unsure, it is your responsibility to verify you are shopping the location they want. It sucks, but it's easy for them to say "you shopped the wrong one." When in doubt, CHECK IT OUT. You cannot assume you are doing the right location.
If you didn't want to call, then you could have purchased a cheap item (maybe a cheese ragoon). They print the store number on the receipt as well.
I know the situation sucks that they didn't make it clear...but you did it assuming you were at the right one.
Not to pick on you...but did you know this about that particular Panda location? Are these shops in your area or were you doing shops outside of your normal "territory?"
The store # is right next to the address in Sassie. If I had questions, I would have called the location and asked what their store # was. Yes, I agree, the MSC should have been more specific, but if you are unsure, it is your responsibility to verify you are shopping the location they want. It sucks, but it's easy for them to say "you shopped the wrong one." When in doubt, CHECK IT OUT. You cannot assume you are doing the right location.
If you didn't want to call, then you could have purchased a cheap item (maybe a cheese ragoon). They print the store number on the receipt as well.
I know the situation sucks that they didn't make it clear...but you did it assuming you were at the right one.
@pegleg2000 - Did the editor actually write comments on your shop that indicated you erred on the shop due to the donation? Or could they have meant the error was about your report entry for the total amount spent, where you should have not included the donation/round up? As with non-reimbursed tips, we just enter the cost not including the tip.
A while back I was signed up to inquire about XYZ cell phone store at a Mall. When I arrived I realized there were two XYZ locations so I went to the Mall office with the phone number and asked what location used that phone #.
@purpleicee wrote:
@pegleg2000 - Did the editor actually write comments on your shop that indicated you erred on the shop due to the donation? Or could they have meant the error was about your report entry for the total amount spent, where you should have not included the donation/round up? As with non-reimbursed tips, we just enter the cost not including the tip.
The editor write a comment. I did not include the donation in my total. I questioned it and she did show me it in the guidelines that it said not to make the donation. I must have missed that.
I've developed a simple rule: do not do things that makes the editor's job harder.
Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
Tangentially related, does anybody know if you can use a gift card doing these shops? I don't see anything specific in the guidelines other than not using coupons/rewards.
@hbbigdaddy
Yes, yes I did CHECK IT OUT before going to the location, which was a few miles from where I live but I have never shopped it before. I'm not going to go through all the back and forth I had with the company, I sent them everything they needed to show that there was no way for the shopper to know which store to go to with the information they had shared. They ended up admitting that there was an issue, but never came back on rejecting the shop or ever explained how I could have known which one to shop. And to prove my point, they now have a note on the location explaining which store to shop...
The issue with them is always the same - the shopper is ALWAYS wrong, even when they are
Yes, yes I did CHECK IT OUT before going to the location, which was a few miles from where I live but I have never shopped it before. I'm not going to go through all the back and forth I had with the company, I sent them everything they needed to show that there was no way for the shopper to know which store to go to with the information they had shared. They ended up admitting that there was an issue, but never came back on rejecting the shop or ever explained how I could have known which one to shop. And to prove my point, they now have a note on the location explaining which store to shop...
The issue with them is always the same - the shopper is ALWAYS wrong, even when they are
You keep saying there is "no way for shopper to know". That has been debunked. Are you saying your assignment did not have the Panda store # on it in Sassie? Store # in the Sassie details is one way to know. I agree if there was no shopper #. Yes...they could have been more clear...but if you know there are 2 locations...don't do the shop until you KNOW which one for sure.
No, there was no store# on Sassie, and there was no store number on the mall website either, and there was no store number on the Panda Express website.
And apologies hbbigdaddy if I did not provide more details about the shop and the situation, it's been over 6 months now, and I have absolutely no desire to try and solve that issue. I've tried way too much to have someone listen and review what I sent them, to no avail, so I have no desire to dive back into this kafkaesque madness it was. I should have stopped shopping for them back then, too bad I did not. Ultimately, they ended up adding a comment to the shop so the shopper could locate the proper location to shop, that's a silver lining right there...
Panda and also TRH allows gift cards to be used as payment.
I use gift cards all the time at Panda when shopping. It helps keep you anonymous. Sometimes they have to type in the numbers, but most of the time they scan.
When we got those gift cards for buying the plate bundle at Panda the MSC specifically forbade us from using the gift cards to pay for our meals.
Since you are not supposed to order a drink at the Panda shops, I always bring an opaque water bottle filled with Diet Coke. I can’t eat Asian food without soda.
@Schoolmarm - Did you use your gift cards with the current MSC or the previous? Were they regular VISA or other credit card gift cards or Panda gift cards? In light of what @Morledzep states happened when they did that, we would like to know how you did it, please!
I have used the electronic gift cards from Panda (where you just give them a barcode to scan). I remember reading in the instructions that gift cards were okay to use.
Does anyone know if we’re allowed to use the new Panda Rewards when doing our shops?
San Diego - CA
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