There are some situations where a roadtest is not global and specific countries are excluded from the roadtest. If this happens, a person whose country of residence is excluded would not be able to apply to the roadtest.
These are the most common reasons why a country would be excluded:
1. trade sanction: some countries our company does not do business in. Iran is just one example, but there are others. Anyone who would live in a sanctioned country would not be able to apply to a roadtest. This is always checked before shipping to a roadtest. We are required to verify this by our Trade & Compliance department. This department has to approve all of our roadtest shipments.
2. sponsor's request: sometimes a sponsor requests that it obtains roadtesters from a certain country or region. This is generally due to the sponsor being licensed to do business only in a specific country or region.
3. shipping problems: there are some countries that may not be on our trade sanction list, but yet have been difficult to ship to. Sometimes custom departments ask for payments from the roadtesters. Sometimes the product hangs in customs and is deemed abandoned and is destroyed. Sometimes we just have problems getting the package delivered. It regularly happens that my colleague Sean has spent hours on the phone with shippers without a satisfactory resolution. At this point, we discuss considering not shipping there. But I generally talk to my boss about it prior to implementing it.
4. product operational limitations: some products work only in certain areas. This happens with wireless products. I go back to the sponsor when this occurs. The sponsor will report back to me and if necessary, we modify the country list.
5. marketing cost purposes: Like any company, we try to use our marketing budget wisely. So, there have been a few countries (Solomon Islands is an example) where we have never got an application from that we would exclude.
What To Do If Your Country Is Excluded
If you ever encounter a roadtest that you would like to apply for and are not able to see it due to where you live, then leave a comment on the roadtest page or message me at rscasny. I will modify the country list so you can apply.
I would invite you to vote in the following poll. Thanks.
Randall Scasny
RoadTest Program Manager
