What a day for me. I have only done 2 shops before today. One was for a company that I will not work for again due to their expectation of perfection, the other was a fairly easy grocery shop with good pay. I'm hoping that one comes around again before long.

Today, though, I did 4 gas stations and a mattress store. The mattress place was so easy, and we really do need a new mattress, so it didn't even require any "acting" on my part. The gas stations, though, threw me for a loop.

The first one I forgot to get a receipt for the gas and then forgot to look for the clerk's name. I went back a couple of hours later and re-did it when another clerk was there, so that part was not a problem. The problem was that these stations were an hour away from me, and I did some other personal shopping in conjunction with these shops.

By the time I returned home, there wasn't much time to get the reports in within the time frame given, and I didn't realize how long it would take to download and install the picture-sizing program they require, upload and re-size the photos, scan and re-size the receipts, etc.

Then, when I was filling out the form, I kept getting an error box. I could put in the hour on the time started, but it would not allow me to enter the minutes, so those were left blank. Then anytime I had to fill anything in, upload a photo, or write comments, the error box would pop up. It took forever and I think only one survey made it in the deadline time.

The last gas station was no longer the brand I was doing, so I took the required photos. Then when I went to do the report, which only required answering two questions and uploading the photos, the first page is the receipt upload and I didn't have any because I didn't shop it. I could not get past the page to the survey without putting something in there. So I just put a couple of the photos I would be using so that I could get past that page and onto the survey.

It was all very frustrating and I have NO IDEA whether any of it will be accepted and paid. Tomorrow I have a shop for the same company and brand of gas station that is in a pretty isolated place, and they're paying 5 times what these were worth. So, I'm very much hoping things will work correctly tomorrow.

Please tell me what I should/could have done differently. I do know that I won't dilly dally and instead will get home and get the reports in earlier (plus I will not have to hassle with installing the program). I really thought I was ultra-prepared today but now I'm afraid the only shop I'll be paid for is the mattress one. :-(

Ok. If you have any decent re-sizing program on your machine already you do not need to use the one an MSP provides. If they want a jpg format, most photo editing software does that. If they want some other format, often the editing software can change the format to the desired one.

When I have no receipt for some reason (store closed, no purchase required, etc.) I simply scan a sheet of paper on which I have written "No receipt. Store closed." or "No purchase required, thus no receipt." This I upload where the receipt was required so that I can move on with the report. That issue does not arise very often.

Error boxes are a real PITA. When you get them or are having issues, close out and try a different browser. Second-to-None and Sinclair are the only ones I have had issues like that with for a long while. I normally do reports using Firefox and those two I now do using IE.

Of course you were off to an awful start without the receipt and the clerk name, so I'm sure your frustration level was very high to start with. You did the right thing to go back and try again. Luckily it was not a reveal shop, where you don't really get a second bite at it. But it gets better as you do more shops. It becomes so ingrained that I can tell you the manager who took our lunch order today was Greg and the food was presented by Steve, the receipt is in my pocketbook and it wasn't a shop. The order time on the receipt was off by 3 minutes and it took 6 minutes for our sandwiches to be ready.

SpyGirl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What a day for me. I have only done 2 shops before
> today. One was for a company that I will not work
> for again due to their expectation of perfection,
> the other was a fairly easy grocery shop with good
> pay. I'm hoping that one comes around again before
> long.

I'm not sure what turned you off of the company expecting perfection. Bad score, negative feedback, rejected? Could it have been done better? Having done only two shops prior to this one, it's too soon to make the decision not to work with them again. Good deal on the grocery shop. They are my bread and butter, literally.
>
> Today, though, I did 4 gas stations and a mattress
> store. The mattress place was so easy, and we
> really do need a new mattress, so it didn't even
> require any "acting" on my part. The gas stations,
> though, threw me for a loop.
>
> The first one I forgot to get a receipt for the
> gas and then forgot to look for the clerk's name.
> I went back a couple of hours later and re-did it
> when another clerk was there, so that part was not
> a problem. The problem was that these stations
> were an hour away from me, and I did some other
> personal shopping in conjunction with these
> shops.

Stuff happens. As a new shopper, there is so much to remember, and it's unfamiliar territory. With experience, you will develop routines and aids that may not make the shop easy, but will help ensure you remember requirements. Receipts and names top the list of things not to forget. Before going home, take a minute in the station's restroom, or in your car, to double check you have what you need to properly complete the report. You made a very good business decision in returning to the station to get what you needed. Yes, maybe you lost your shirt, but you did what was necessary to deliver an acceptable report.
>
> By the time I returned home, there wasn't much
> time to get the reports in within the time frame
> given, and I didn't realize how long it would take
> to download and install the picture-sizing program
> they require, upload and re-size the photos, scan
> and re-size the receipts, etc.
>
> Then, when I was filling out the form, I kept
> getting an error box. I could put in the hour on
> the time started, but it would not allow me to
> enter the minutes, so those were left blank. Then
> anytime I had to fill anything in, upload a photo,
> or write comments, the error box would pop up. It
> took forever and I think only one survey made it
> in the deadline time.
>
> The last gas station was no longer the brand I was
> doing, so I took the required photos. Then when I
> went to do the report, which only required
> answering two questions and uploading the photos,
> the first page is the receipt upload and I didn't
> have any because I didn't shop it. I could not get
> past the page to the survey without putting
> something in there. So I just put a couple of the
> photos I would be using so that I could get past
> that page and onto the survey.

Members have shared stories not only of error boxes and software glitches, but car malfunctions, tornadoes, heart attacks, amorous goats. Life happens and some things are out of our control, but nonetheless have to be dealt with. If, despite all best efforts, the report cannot be submitted timely, email the scheduler and advise her/him. Let them know you will get it done as soon as possible.
>
> It was all very frustrating and I have NO IDEA
> whether any of it will be accepted and paid.
> Tomorrow I have a shop for the same company and
> brand of gas station that is in a pretty isolated
> place, and they're paying 5 times what these were
> worth. So, I'm very much hoping things will work
> correctly tomorrow.

Nice bonus. Nail it!
>
> Please tell me what I should/could have done
> differently. I do know that I won't dilly dally
> and instead will get home and get the reports in
> earlier (plus I will not have to hassle with
> installing the program). I really thought I was
> ultra-prepared today but now I'm afraid the only
> shop I'll be paid for is the mattress one. :-(

Don't get discouraged, give yourself a break. You're new, and after reading your post, I have no doubt you'll do just fine.

I certainly agree with Mert's confidence that you will do fine. You are showing the characteristics of a trooper--doing what needs to be done, trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding for the future and being diligent enough to care.

Good to know about the browser. I was using Firefox and it was Sinclair. Tomorrow I'll use IE!

Mert, I am perfectly happy to have already decided not to shop with the first company again. Had I read about them on this forum first, I would never have started there and had a somewhat unpleasant experience. And then when you share it on the forum, and the MSC owner reads it, things go from bad to worse. So that was a live and learn experience, and I'll know to search the forum before launching ahead with other companies.

I'm looking forward to doing the gas station tomorrow with a little less "frazzelement" after doing 4 of them today. And my hubby's tagging along this time, which will make it even more fun. :-)

I just heard back from both the gas shop and the grocery one from last week. Both places are telling me my scanned receipt is too small to read. I don't see any settings on my scanner that I can change how that size comes out. With the gas shop, I scanned the receipt and then used the automatic re-size software they asked for. I'm not really certain how to fix it or if there's another method to get those receipts to them. Ideas?

Does your machine have regular scanning software? Try scanning the receipt and not resizing it at all. Send them that file by email to whomever was asking for the larger size.

Edited to add: Then spend some 'quality time' with either your scanning software or theirs to figure out how to make it work. Generally I scan receipts using my sheet scanner, calling for the scan to be imported into my photo editing software. I then can crop the image to look more like the dimensions of the receipt without eliminating any receipt information. Then I can use "autoadjust" which usually does the contrast changes for me to have a clean and tidy receipt, or I can use the brightness/contrast adjustment to get it legible. (My scanner makes the background too gray, so I usually kick up 'brightness' until the background looks white on my screen and then kick up 'contrast' to get the receipt lettering to be darker against the white background. It is just something you need to play with.) Now save and see what size the file is. With my software an 8" long receipt is generally about 360 KB without adjusting the size at all and this is a lot less than the 1 MB maximum most places have for an uploaded file.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/17/2010 04:38PM by Flash.

I rarely have to resize, but I crop to size. That gets rid of all white surrounding the business card, receipt or whatever. I was once contacted that my scan was too small to read. Don't know what happened there, but the MSP told me they would prefer pdf, and it then went through just fine. That option is standard on all copiers I've used, as well as resize, adjust, edit, crop, rotate. Just takes some playing with.

SpyGirl Wrote:
---------------------------

> It was all very frustrating and I have NO IDEA
> whether any of it will be accepted and paid.
> Tomorrow I have a shop for the same company and
> brand of gas station that is in a pretty isolated
> place, and they're paying 5 times what these were
> worth. So, I'm very much hoping things will work
> correctly tomorrow.

Okay, today takes the cake. I drove for more than an hour out into the middle of nowhere, the town that had the station (Town S). There was the tiniest little station and the proprietor told us the town had 18 people living in it. The address seemed funny, but it was not just the only station in town, it was the only establishment whatsoever!

It was a beautiful drive through a canyon full of gorgeous fall leaves and because I knew where Town S was, and that it was very dinky, I did not click on "Map this location" next to the address. BIG MISTAKE!

I came home after my lovely drive, went to enter the info, and decided to look at the map to see what might be up with the address. Lo and behold, the map showed Town H, which is 35 miles away from Town S. But the town name was most decidedly given as Town S. Town H is much larger and has their own post office, etc., so I know they don't use Town S as their mailing address name.

This is such a huge bummer. I can hardly believe it. Does the MSC have no responsibility for giving a completely wrong town name on the address? Am I completely stuck? I emailed them and explained what had happened, but I'm not feeling terribly hopeful.

It's kind of a lose/lose situation, if you ask me. I wouldn't get paid and they won't have the shop done. It's obvious that it's not an easy one to fill in the fact that they're paying more than 5 times the usual fee!

On a good news note, both the grocery store and the other gas shops let me know that my new version of the receipts I sent were A-okay. Hooray!

Wow, are you carrying your own rain cloud? :^) As for responsibility, yes, no and maybe. You won't nail them to the responsibility. Hopefully they needed the dinky one in Town S done as well and can use the shop, but if the address was not a match, the logic doesn't help. More than likely you can have a lovely drive out into the country tomorrow.

Get used to using the map software, especially when it is a new to you location. This week I have done almost exclusively known locations. I still use the map software to figure shortest/fastest routes. I am very partial to maps.google.com and using the 'add destination' feature. I usually open it in three windows and in one slap down all locations I could POSSIBLY do today. In the second window I slap down the ones I MUST do today. In the third window I actually eyeball the route to sequence in the shops I will do in this run, making sure that I am leaving reasonable run clusters for subsequent days. I then either note the sequence on my 3x5 spiral pad or print the route. All of this is easy copy/paste from my spreadsheet, where I copied and pasted the addresses from the job materials themselves.

Hooray! In the end, all of it worked out and I got perfect scores on everything. We did go back and forth with emails about the two different towns thing, and in the end I had done the right shop even though the address and map both showed a different town. They need to fix that on the listing! Even though the time had expired for me to enter the report, they put me back in the system and gave me a longer time frame to get it in. Phew!

I'm getting brave and doing two cell phone shops tomorrow for $13 each and a cosmetics shop for $15. If those go well, I'll probably give up on the gas shops unless they are bonused because they're such a hassle with the receipts, photos, and reporting time frame. But I do like the perfect scores (especially when I was fearful that two of them might be rejected!)

Excellent!

t's kind of a lose/lose situation, if you ask me. I wouldn't get paid and they won't have the shop done. It's obvious that it's not an straightforward one to fill in the information that they're paying more than 5 times the usual fee!