I hope everyone is having a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!

I have a question about a shop I am trying to complete for Mintel. It is my first shop for them and so far it has not been smooth sailing. It is a shipping shop. I had to ask the scheduler many questions over the past few days and she answered all of them in a timely manner. I went to ship my envelope today and I was told it could not be shipped for two reasons: 1. I did not have the phone number of the location it was being shipped to; and 2. I did not have the Canadian province it was being shipped to. The woman actually just told me to take the envelope to the UPS store a quarter of a mile away! When I said that I would get more information and be back, she reiterated for me to take it to the UPS store to ship, rather than bring it back to them.

I wrote down the exact address in Canada given to me from the shop form and double checked it after I got home. I have no additional information.This is a competitor shop so the company is basically trying to see the customer service/ level of knowledge of their competitors.

I looked at the survey and there are questions which allow me to report that I was not able to ship the product. I emailed my scheduler to be on the safe side and asked her what she wanted me to do. My question is, does it make more sense just to report what happened rather than wait for an email? There are not many guidelines for this shop and I feel in the dark. For instance, there is no information about how long I have after doing the shop to submit the report. Furthermore, I have no proof of shop. They are not going to receive the shipment and I have no receipt. There were no instructions about what to do for proof of shop if you could not ship the package.

For those of you with experience working with Mintel, what would you do?

Don't know Mintel at all, but a quick photo of the store exterior may help and/or a geo-verify code in regards to proving you were there.

I would report it as not being able to complete no fault because you did not have enough information to ship. They will still pay you for your attempt. Be sure to submit an invoice for your shop fee. I find this company great!

I always report, then email if needed.

I love Mintel.

If I were in your shoes, I would take pictures of the exterior of the store as well as try to get a business card. I would also just report the shop.

Hope you have a great weekend and Mother's Day, too.

Mintel will make you go back. The instructions are not clear more than once. Pictures of the store are a good idea but Mintel is not always that accepting of that. As for a phone number you can always put in your number. The province can be found if they send you back. You will have to request a second trip amount which will be decided on their end and might or might not be accepted. I had one last year that was UPS only. So I tried to ship UPS. Location does not have UPS. Mintel replied I should have shipped whatever way they had. And I was to know they how??? It said UPS only.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Canadamommy: I was starting to think I was crazy until I read your post. Why would you ship whatever way they have if it says in instructions to ship UPS only. I have felt like I did not have enough information to do this shop from the start. I keep thinking that I must have missed some guidelines somewhere and I searched the site a bunch of times. I filled out the shop and at the end it asks for a business card and photo of the store. Nowhere in the instructions did it say anything about getting these things. Maybe it is common sense to get something, but they always specify their preference in the instructions. It does not give any trouble shooting guidance or what to do if they cannot ship, etc. I had already emailed the scheduler three or four times for other aspects I did not understand.

I have my information entered and saved but did not submit. I can still get proof that I was physically at the location. If I need to go back that is okay too, just wish there was some information about troubleshooting.

Thanks again and if anyone else has insights or has experienced a similar situation, please share!

I did a shipping shop for Mintel once. They wouldnt ship It, I just reported It that way. I got paíd. I dont remember What I used for proof of visit though.

I have done shops for Mintel and run into similar problems of not being able to make the shipment. In one case the location, although it was the correct company, did not do shipping. It was a warehouse only. I took the required photos and submitted my report. I have never had problems getting paid by Mintel and have found them okay to work for.

Thanks everyone, I submitted the shop this morning. Do I have to submit an invoice if there are no receipts or shipping expenses to claim? The shop is submitted but pending approval. I clicked on the invoice link and it said I could not submit invoice now. I'm just assuming it has to be approved first?

Typically you submit the invoice at the same time as the shop and you do it even if it is fee only.

Liz

Okay, thanks Liz! I feel like I was more confused about this shop than I should have been, but it is what it is...I know what to expect going forward if something from this company comes up again.

Interesting turn of events...

I was emailed by the scheduler to go back and try to send the shipment again. I was given the phone number and Candadian province...ugh, was hoping to be done with this. I was offered a small bonus. Since the location is literally within walking distance of my home and the package is sitting near the door, I will go ahead with it...

I had exactly the same things happen to me for the same shop. I am going back tomorrow. I hope the new account number works so I am not spending more of my own money and waiting to be reimbursed. They will pay me but sometimes take a while. On Friday I had told the scheduler that a phone number was required and she gave it to me.

Interesting...guess they will need to be giving out phone numbers from now on since this is a big headache for everyone. My account number didn't work either so I had to pay out of pocket. I will get reimbursed but was hoping to just use the account number and not have to shell out the cash up front. My scheduler told me the account number might not be accepted and to just submit shipping expenses if this was the case.

I hope you don't have too far of a drive to go back. I lucked out that this one is so close. I don't venture too far out to shop very often because I live in an extremely urban area, but occasionally I drive 30-40 minutes out...glad this wasn't one of those times!

The new account number was not accepted so I paid for one. I am not happy about this. I doubt the next store will accept it either and I think that will be a much bigger charge.

So happy I did not sign up for that hassle this past weekend! Hope you guys get all your packages shipped today. They are a excellent company and normally you have to send an invoice with your report. I did not do that my first shop and they took it later I was still paid on time.