Fall Incentives on backorder

So Fall Incentives have been on backorder. As of today- all the incentives have gone out except the water bottle. I did contact QSP directly about the backorder issue and wanted to pass on their response to all of you.

From QSP:In regards to incentives, unfortunately everything is imported. When you run short, the delay to replace the item takes a lot longer than dealing with domestic suppliers as we used to do. I put in an estimate each year by Council based on items that they have chosen as incentives. For example- at the $100 level your girls had a choice of the bracelet or the gel pens. How many girls are going to reach that level are just as important which item are they going to pick. Even with girl input (some 500 are asked each year)into our selections, the numbers can vary dramatically from what really ends up being picked. It also varies by which part of the Country you are getting input from. Also adding to the problem is the fact that your Council is one of the later Councils to submit their orders due to the dates of your sale. Early Councils were pretty much error free. Please don't look at these as excuses, there is no excuse for being back ordered on patches nor will we be again.

We are meeting in early January and will be looking at ordering procedures and we will have inventory level discussions, which I have already been told will change for next year. We are not in any way satisfied with our incentive fulfillment. Besides being irritating to our customers it costs us more to ship twice or three times to a service unit person's house than to over order on inventory, especially the lower end items. Due to economic conditions we also expected a flat year sales wise and it has turned out to be a +8% year which further threw off incentive estimates.

I would also say that we have spoiled the service unit people as the past two years incentives have arrived about the same time as the product. For years prior, they were delivered in January in time for the first meeting so they could be given out.

So, folks- there you have it. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our girls. We are SO PROUD of them for selling. I am confident, that next year, incentives will arrive on time.

Thanks everyone!!