Maritz Yellow stations...GIGGLE FOR TODAY

So i do this gas station shop and there is a sign on the mens restroom door saying out of order. I take s picture showing the restroom is out of order. I dont know but I think that is self explanatory......BUT NOOOO, THEY NEED CLARIFICATION. I need to put in writing why there is only the picture of the door. On a brighter note usually they dont send them back to me , it was just my turn I suppose.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2017 09:54PM by adamaimeemom.

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I did one a week ago and for 1 week they kept deleting one of my pictures, then saying it was on hold because the picture disappeared. I would put in the same one daily and we would go round and round. Yesterday I spoke with an editor who told me that I used the same picture from another shop (which I thought was weird as I keep them separated on my camera) and if I corrected it then it would be ok. I looked and the picture from the other shop was totally different. I was going to "correct" it as was stated and went into the shop and it is no longer on hold, and I didn't do anything. Irritating.
Ha! That is pretty funny. I get that they have to dot their i's and cross their t's but yeah. I am doing some this week. I always find myself rolling my eyes when I think about it because I know it's going to be like that.
Whoa...be very careful with using pictures from another shop. I know you said you didn't, but neither did I. I have been summarily banned by Maritz for allegedly doing this. I have tried to explain to them over and over, but they are adamant. I can no longer do shops for 2 of their clients, even though only one of the clients had the suspected duplicate photo. This happened in January of this year. I am just now getting back on my feet from the loss of income.
@adamaimeemom wrote:

I take s picture showing the restroom is out of order. I dont know but I think that is self explanatory......BUT NOOOO, THEY NEED CLARIFICATION. I need to put in writing why there is only the picture of the door. On a brighter note usually they dont send them back to me , it was just my turn I suppose.

There are a few gas stations around here that put signs on the door saying out of order only to keep the delinquents out. I always ask the cashier to ensure that the sign is true. I wonder if that's why they needed clarification.

@janalou wrote:

I can no longer do shops for 2 of their clients, even though only one of the clients had the suspected duplicate photo. This happened in January of this year. I am just now getting back on my feet from the loss of income.

That's tough. I feel for you. I would be shell-shocked if that happened to me. Did/do you have a good track record with them?
I was and still am, shell shocked. My record up until that one thing was impeccable. I sent an email to one of the team supervisors about a week ago..never got a response. I have to move on.
They had a men and womens restroom. The womens was open. I did try to open door but it was locked. Im pretty sure the restroom was out of order.
Yes, even though there was a sign on the door, you need to affirm with the shop's employee that the restroom was indeed "out of order" and comment as such (per attendant, the restroom was out of order). Like litjourney says, I have done shops where the sign on the door meant nothing more than to keep non-customers from using the restrooms.
If it was a small one bathroom store I would agree, but if they wanted to keep custimers out of restrooms both restroims would have been out of order ( womans restroom was in working order) Also if the motivation is to keep the customer out of the restroom , that would mean the restroom is not available to customers which , I believe the client would want to know. This statuon is part of a chain of stations that is very large and common in tlmy area. They have stations with several different brands of gas....I dont kniw one that does not have restoom facilities. If the sign says out of order, the restroom is out of order ( plus the door was locked, I tried to go in. )
I was checking on a gas station bathroom, I opened the door and there was a man sitting on the toilet. I reported that there was a restroom on the location but the door did not lock. grinning smileygrinning smiley
@sojo917 wrote:

I was checking on a gas station bathroom, I opened the door and there was a man sitting on the toilet. I reported that there was a restroom on the location but the door did not lock. grinning smileygrinning smiley

But did you take your required photo????

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Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
Here's one from the Maritz Hall of Fame: An employee couldn't give me a business card, and the store was OUT of business cards, so they wrote their name and phone and store name on a piece of paper (so I could get in touch...wink, wink). I took a photo of the piece of paper and uploaded, with an explanation...the editors at Maritz still wanted to know "why" I didn't get a business card.....and...they forgot to clear out any of the narrative spaces on the report so that I could copy and paste the original explanation! Ha!
I had one that actually printed out their information and I took a picture of it and I had to follow up even though I included an explanation in the comments.
@anihug wrote:

I had one that actually printed out their information and I took a picture of it and I had to follow up even though I included an explanation in the comments.

Was asked why I did not have a receipt for an out of business gas station. Umm the picture of the boarded up gas station were not enough evidence?

Also they wanted pictures of the bathroom. Sorry, did not want to be arrested for tresspassing!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2017 04:31PM by foodluvr.
Although the editors of this client have apparently been re-trained and loosened up a lot, they still have a well deserved reputation of being ticky-tacky. I think they have been the main problem in the various rejections described. My solution has been to take 2, 3, 4 photos and even more of the restroom and store interior. If the editor doesn't like one photo I send them another. It is invariably accepted, even if, IMO, the first one is better than the second. Roll with the punches.
@French Farmer wrote:

Yes, even though there was a sign on the door, you need to affirm with the shop's employee that the restroom was indeed "out of order" and comment as such (per attendant, the restroom was out of order). Like litjourney says, I have done shops where the sign on the door meant nothing more than to keep non-customers from using the restrooms.

Interesting. I don't do Maritz audits but the audits I've done in the past for other companies if there's a sign on the door the restroom is considered out of order. Even if it's in perfectly good order and even if the attendant tells you it's not out of order. As a consumer I think that's a better way of handling it. An average customer shouldn't have to ask if the bathroom is out of order or not.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
I was once in a ladies' restroom that had a hand-written sign: please do not pee in the drain.

I took a photo. I almost forgot to snap a photo, I was so stunned!

Next time I did the shop, the sign had been removed.
Maritz is quite inflexible at times.....a big outfit, maybe the biggest MSC...they are not long on 'explanations' and quick to hit the 'kill'switch on shoppers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2017 03:32PM by winemaker.
I am currently battling the editors for the yellow shops. I never have a problem with any of the other editors. I took an overall picture of the interior of 3 stations. They have sent them back because they are claiming they are the same picture as the overall product. I took a close up of several racks but they are claiming that since they are seen in my overall picture, they don't count??? I need to take a picture of products in other parts of the store. I am very confused! I have always done this and it has never been an issue!!!! Ugh!!!
@Spotnnotfarm wrote:

I am currently battling the editors for the yellow shops. I never have a problem with any of the other editors. I took an overall picture of the interior of 3 stations. They have sent them back because they are claiming they are the same picture as the overall product. I took a close up of several racks but they are claiming that since they are seen in my overall picture, they don't count??? I need to take a picture of products in other parts of the store. I am very confused! I have always done this and it has never been an issue!!!! Ugh!!!

That is a very common issue with the yellow gs editors. I've learned that for interior photos as well as forecourt photos is to take a pic from each corner - meaning, of course four photos for one submission.

You'll never win the battle otherwise.
@French Farmer wrote:

@Spotnnotfarm wrote:

I am currently battling the editors for the yellow shops. I never have a problem with any of the other editors. I took an overall picture of the interior of 3 stations. They have sent them back because they are claiming they are the same picture as the overall product. I took a close up of several racks but they are claiming that since they are seen in my overall picture, they don't count??? I need to take a picture of products in other parts of the store. I am very confused! I have always done this and it has never been an issue!!!! Ugh!!!

That is a very common issue with the yellow gs editors. I've learned that for interior photos as well as forecourt photos is to take a pic from each corner - meaning, of course four photos for one submission.

You'll never win the battle otherwise.

Thanks, it is so frustrating! If those did not make up such a huge portion of my income, I would not touch them.
I take a lot of pictures and upload multiples when I do the report. Then they can choose for themselves. It seems to work as I rarely have a hold anymore. For inside photos upload at least 2 for every slot. Also when taking the photos I hold the camera up over my head to try to get as much in at once as possible.
I recently did one that was in a small store. Of course, it went on hold. One of the items was the food offer - they had a small fresh bakery case and I took a picture of it for the food offer. They wanted more of the counter area, which was not part of the food offer. Also, there were about 3 or 4 other photos they wanted re-taken. I told them it was a very tiny store (which it was) and I did the best I could and would not be able to get any other pictures of it. The hold was taken off.
Failure of acceptance and experience has taught me the following for these stations:
1. Use the panoramic feature of my camera (many phones also have this) for the interior overall shot and the restroom.
2. Hold the camera over my head and take interior shots from each corner.
3. When taking the product photo catch an end cap as well as the length of an aisle. Take 3 different shots.
4. When taking the counter shot, step back and catch the entire length.
5. Also step back when taking a food shot, especially if it is a single item like bananas or a roller grill. Show the areas adjacent to the food.
6. Catch the sink, toilet and hand dryer in the restroom shot
8. Take at least two photos of each required photo.

If/when an editor bounces your report and needs another photo or angle send one of your other shots even if not as good as the first one, in your opinion. It probably keeps the editor happy and he/she is has justified their job.

It really doesn't take much longer to take 2, 3 or 4 shots rather than taking a chance on only one. Especially if you have to return to re-photo or argue your case with the editor.

Keep in mind, they make the rules, we play the game.
Well, in an interesting turn of events, I am getting paid for them. I did go back and take a picture for one that was close by. The other two were not close and I only did them because I was able to bundle other shops. I explained in comments that I did not have any other pictures and I would be happy to delete the information and pictures from the report. They could then send another shopper out. They accepted the shops.....
I had one sent back last month because the counter photo did not include the entire front display of the counter. The part where your knees are when you're standing at the counter.
I sent back a screenshot of their guidelines showing that I had taken the EXACT same angle as the photo in the guidelines, right down to the fact that about 1/2 of the top row of items is showing in the guidelines photo.

I think they just rush so fast to get these edited that they screw up a lot.

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Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.
The ones around my area always have the restroom marked as out of order and door locked. This is to keep the drug addicts out (it is a huge liability for the gas station when they go in and overdose -- this has happened numerous times). I just mark this on the report as a picture and in the comments and all is good. I figure it is easier for me as less work.

Shopping across Indiana but mostly around Indianapolis.
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