OK, this is a hard topic to bring up but I want to know what you guys think. Maritz assignments are broke up into teams. IF you are not familiar with these teams then you won't really know how to correspond to this question. Does anyone else feel like team 3 has shall we say, have a certain lack of customer service skills? Does anyone have any conflicting feeling between how the teams talk to you? Or is it just me?

No, not at all. I find team 3 very accommodating, just like the other teams. The only problem i have with Maritz is their lack of response to my bids. I don't have a problem with my bids being rejected but I would appreciate a quick yes or no. I realize that they are waiting for a better offer so if I don't hear back in two days I move on.

Ditto LIJake! And 15+ years I still don't know which team is which, mostly because I so seldom talk on the phone with them.

I bring this up to them frequently. Whatever button they click to reject a bid in their fancy new system should automatically email the contractor saying that the bid has been rejected.
I should also be able to see the status of my bids online. They've got a good online user interface. It can be great with just a few tweaks.

I'll forever be barking up the "You already have the data you need to process an invoice when I enter the report" tree for years. Their invoicing system is so pointless.

agree

I guess that's my problem than too much communication. I talk on the phone with this company more than any other company, But of course, they call me back to tell me if my bid was accepted or countered (team 6). Team 3 ignores over half of the bids then put it on the board for more than my bid was, to begin with. And I still get it but they always have something negative to say.

Were you all aware that when a bid gets rejected, it counts against you in an odd way? I have something like 500 removed shops (which is 99% rejected bids). I think that they should categorize them differently.
It hasn't affected how I get work from them, but I was shocked to hear that.

No, I didn't know that.

last time I submitted a bid I got no response as usual and went on about my life. I was shocked 4 weeks later close to the deadline to find the shops suddenly assigned to me. So it may NOT be rejected, like Trendsource they just hold on to it. FYI.

@LIJake wrote:

No, not at all. I find team 3 very accommodating, just like the other teams. The only problem i have with Maritz is their lack of response to my bids. I don't have a problem with my bids being rejected but I would appreciate a quick yes or no. I realize that they are waiting for a better offer so if I don't hear back in two days I move on.

For the OP. I have no problem with any of the teams.

I have no issue with any of the teams either. Team 3 is great. All of my bids for them have received a call back with a counter within two business days, which I have taken more then half the time. One of them took several days, but I think in retrospect I may have done that just before a holiday weekend. That was a bid for 20-something shops, which half of the shops were taken by the time they called, but in the response they told what stations were still possible and the new proposal. It was a reasonable counter for what was left over, but there was no longer enough money in it to justify the drive and needed hotel cost; which I think they understood well.

You can do 20-something shops in two days? How do you do that? Doesn't your phone die after about 6 six stations? Even with a car charger and a power box, I'm lucky to get 6-7 a day in. I bought a digital camera too, and a set of batteries lasts about 2 stations, I've tried lithium-ion, Energizer, the works. The phone is kept on the charger in the car but is also used for GPS. I read ofter of people doing 10-20 a day and have never been able to do that many gas stations unless I added Marathons and Citgo's. (different MSP).I take a double set of pics for each item, or several to make sure I get a good one I can use. The harder it is to see on the phone the more pictures I have to take. How do you do it? In bright sunlight, I have to turn the screen up to see the picture and make sure I didn't cut part of the object off.

I have no problem with any of their teams. They are all nice and call me about bids.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

You can do 20-something shops in two days? How do you do that? Doesn't your phone die after about 6 six stations? Even with a car charger and a power box, I'm lucky to get 6-7 a day in. I bought a digital camera too, and a set of batteries lasts about 2 stations, I've tried lithium-ion, Energizer, the works. The phone is kept on the charger in the car but is also used for GPS. I read ofter of people doing 10-20 a day and have never been able to do that many gas stations unless I added Marathons and Citgo's. (different MSP).I take a double set of pics for each item, or several to make sure I get a good one I can use. The harder it is to see on the phone the more pictures I have to take. How do you do it? In bright sunlight, I have to turn the screen up to see the picture and make sure I didn't cut part of the object off.

I don't know if this was a reply to my post or not, but if it was, I didn't say I was going to all the shops in two days, I believe that bid was staggered into 3 or 4 days. That part was referring to the time it took Maritz to get back and call me on the bid.

That said, I can get 10 stations out of my digital camera.

I take an older phone that still works with wifi. I can open the app at home and make sure it is good to go. Then I can do the station with the older phone (My new one is probably charging) and submit with wifi whenever I find some. Even if I have to wait till I get home it's better than the camera option. OR I can use the phone as a camera (My camera quit on me recently). and do the report at home because the phone will upload the photos as soon as it connects to my home wifi. So a second phone that doesn't have to have connectivity is very useful.

CoffeeQueen: My android phone has data but it's an LG Fortune and will not type inside of the Maritz App words. When I try to do projects on the way home, I skip all typing sections and date and time, I answer all the yes/no questions and save otherwise end up losing my work but not my pictures. The only time I can use the phone to partially complete the work is on the way home if my husband is driving. Going I'm always driving because he drives the exact spend limit, and I drive 5-10 miles. MY phone will let me upload so many pictures then it crashes throwing me out of Maritz, any answers inputted are lost but the pictures are still there. His phone is a touch screen slider combo phone without data. We are going to upgrade phones when we can afford it. I bought a $40 cheapy digital camera at Walmart but it sucks up batteries, a set only lasts one or two stations. The "average" number of pictures per station is usually 75. Better condition stations require normally at least 50. Cure reshops or failures with a lot of infractions have been known to take over 100 pictures. I have a double charger in the car and since my phone has data it is used for GPS. I thought the camera would increase the workload capability but who wants to spend 20 for batteries every day. I guess I bought the wrong camera I just don't know. I've also considered buying a cheap prepaid phone and not buying minutes just to have another camera along since the digital camera thing hasn't worked out. My husbands battery on his phone lasts longer and charges faster, but the camera app crashes and he has to sit and wait for his pictures to load to check his pictures. Sometimes they don't even load on the site and we have to leave and eventually they come in. Each day is completely different. Some days I have more assignments than him sometimes he has more than me it just depends, but regardless I have not been able to master 10 + gas stations in a day yet. And yes sometimes I have to use his phone because my battery dies or he has to use my phone because his camera keeps crashing and he has to reboot the phone every time.

Maritz Team 3: Is this like Seal Team 6?

@Susan L. wrote:

Maritz Team 3: Is this like Seal Team 6?

No not at all. One scheduler is actually in her 90's.

I can certainly sympathize as I constantly weigh the cost of mobile technology with the productivity it allows. All I can say is I chose productivity as I can make FAR more money with it than without. Of course that depends on your shopping area and abilities, (such as stamina, my big failing.) If there are low cost alternatives in your area they might be worth looking into. I went with a prepaid plan, because the data is a little slower but I save a LOT of money. Companies like Cricket, Boost, and Metro can give you unlimited data for around $80 for both of you. That is what I am currently paying and I switched to Metro and got two new free android phones. You don't need the best phone but you do need a current one. I had a nightmare situation with my former provider which I won't go into but I'll just say that Metro was the best deal going. I can pay for that in one day of shopping. If cell phone shops are available to you, you can learn alot about what is current in your area. And kudos to you for all your hard work.

Editing this to say when looking at a new phone make sure to get enough storage. 32 MB is a minimum. Lots of the cheaper phones only have 8. When you take as many photos as we do and if you are in rural locations where they don't upload immediately you need space for them.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

CoffeeQueen: My android phone has data but it's an LG Fortune and will not type inside of the Maritz App words. When I try to do projects on the way home, I skip all typing sections and date and time, I answer all the yes/no questions and save otherwise end up losing my work but not my pictures. The only time I can use the phone to partially complete the work is on the way home if my husband is driving. Going I'm always driving because he drives the exact spend limit, and I drive 5-10 miles. MY phone will let me upload so many pictures then it crashes throwing me out of Maritz, any answers inputted are lost but the pictures are still there. His phone is a touch screen slider combo phone without data. We are going to upgrade phones when we can afford it. I bought a $40 cheapy digital camera at Walmart but it sucks up batteries, a set only lasts one or two stations. The "average" number of pictures per station is usually 75. Better condition stations require normally at least 50. Cure reshops or failures with a lot of infractions have been known to take over 100 pictures. I have a double charger in the car and since my phone has data it is used for GPS. I thought the camera would increase the workload capability but who wants to spend 20 for batteries every day. I guess I bought the wrong camera I just don't know. I've also considered buying a cheap prepaid phone and not buying minutes just to have another camera along since the digital camera thing hasn't worked out. My husbands battery on his phone lasts longer and charges faster, but the camera app crashes and he has to sit and wait for his pictures to load to check his pictures. Sometimes they don't even load on the site and we have to leave and eventually they come in. Each day is completely different. Some days I have more assignments than him sometimes he has more than me it just depends, but regardless I have not been able to master 10 + gas stations in a day yet. And yes sometimes I have to use his phone because my battery dies or he has to use my phone because his camera keeps crashing and he has to reboot the phone every time.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2019 10:30PM by CoffeeQueen.

Well, maybe I'm a Luddite for not using my smartphone. I remember a commenter some time ago advising how they "prep" their shops prior to going out on the route. That's what I do. Then, once home, I complete the debrief. That means, of course, that (if anyone knows my MO, I bring my laptop along to download my photos), I finish the debrief on my computer.
As for photos, I have 3 digital cameras at any one time that I bring along on any of my shops. I have (at this time) 4 additional digital cameras. These, I purchased at various discount shops like Salvation Army and Goodwill. Most were between $5 and $10 each. Their batteries last me for about 2 days or at least 20 shops max.
As for the comment about Team 3. They have never been a problem. They have been helpful and kind, wished me a Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays (whatever) and we always talk about the weather and the crops. Maybe its a midwestern thing?

the team 6 project ends a month earlier than the team 3 project(assuming you're talking about the projects i think you are) so that's likely why team 6 is more eager to return calls and/or accept your bundles. if what socal is saying is true about rejected bundles dropping your rating, my rating must be negative trillion.

as for the people at team 3, i think they're generally pretty nice. B isn't that great. and if i happen to get L on the phone, well i expect to be on the phone 20 minutes longer than necessary. haven't heard her in awhile though, wonder if she retired.

I love S and Cr. on Team 3. But Ch Is one that I have an issue with.

Thank you French Farmer. I never thought about looking for cameras at Goodwill. I have a Goodwill shop today, I'll take a look.

My camera is a cheap Kodak Easy Share I got in 2007. I bought a lithium-ion rechargeable battery with it. I stop at McDonalds, take out the charger, take out the battery, and charge it up while I eat/drink coffee/work on reports. McDonald's often has outlets right at the tables/booths. The camera stores about 800 photos; after I download a day's, I delete them, so there's always room on my camera.

I bought that battery for about $20 in 2007, and have never replaced it. I think the charger thingy also was purchased separately.

I will often take 100+ photos in a day of shopping. That battery has never once failed. I have often thought of buying a couple more, to have on hand should my camera run out of juice.....

*but you might have some sort of short or leak in the camera, in which case the battery really wouldn't make any difference.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2019 06:52PM by ceasesmith.

I would be open to all of your feedback regarding working with the team.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2019 05:50PM by loosld.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

I love S and Cr. on Team 3. But Ch Is one that I have an issue with.

yea S, and Cr arew really nice... I like Ci(or is it Cy?) too, though i haven't talked to her in awhile. u must mean Ch the supervisor, at least i think she is.

I love S on team 3, she is the best. But really i have worked very closely with Team 3 for years and have never had any issues. Once in a while you can tell they are having a bad day, but overall they are nice and professional.

At the very least, it's a cash flow positve for them.

Doing 10 gas stations a day is easy if you are doing the stations that don't require pictures of anything except the receipts. There are also the ones that require pictures of only the overall location and the main sign + anything that is wrong. I'd rather do 10 of the easy ones than 5 of the audit-type ones that require so many pictures. Besides, the audit-type shops obligate me to dress better and style my hair better!