man....two gas station shops ended up being turnpike locations

I was pretty annoyed yesterday when I arrived at two gas station shops for CORI, and they were both turnpike locations. The job descriptions both stated that they were NOT turnpike locations. I actually looked at them on the map beforehand and had my suspicions, as they were very close to the turnpike. But, as they both had addresses on roads, and THE JOB DESCRIPTION SAID THEY WERE NOT TURNPIKE LOCATION, I chose to accept the assignments. So, I certainly did not want to do them as it would have been a major pain to get on the turnpike and then pay the turnpike fees. I called CORI and talked to a nice girl who said, "Don't worry, I'll just take them off your list!" That's so nice...how about the fact that I drove out here and wasted my time and gasoline for nothing

.....I decided to just politely tell her that it might be a good idea to list these locations as turnpike locations so the next shopper doesn't waste their time and gas. I guess you just have to accept that there will be days like this when you're a mystery shopper...

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Gas Station Mystery Shopping

If you had taken the time and gas to drive there why didn't you just do the shop?

If you use google street view before hand you can
see the locations and where they are located...

= + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = + = +
There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==--==
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody

I always google street view a shop before applying, unless I'm familiar with the location already.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

the good thing about street view is you can see how many pumps
they have. Since a station with 2 pumps wont take as long with 20+
like many turnpike and interstate locations have

The good thing about street view is you can see what kind of neighborhood it's in.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

well thanks for the advice on google street view...will definitely make use of it in the future. the shops were part of a larger route so I decided to just skip them and be satisfied with the profit from the other jobs that I did complete. I was completely unfamiliar with the area and really had no idea where the closest entrance to the turnpike even was. It was weird...my gps took me to the employee parking lot right next to the gas station, but separated from it by a fence. I could walk to the station but I couldn't get my vehicle to the pumps without going on the turnpike. And, again, I had no idea where the closest entrance was. The shops weren't very high paying, so rather than search and waste more time looking for the entrance to the turnpike and then paying the tolls, I decided to just call it a day.

I love Google Street View for things like this! I always double-check locations, and especially gas stations. Not only can you see how many pumps and the overall neighborhood, and ways in/out of the place... you can often tell if the overall location is well-kept or not, to figure if this will be one with lots of photos for all the violations, or fairly easy in-and-out.

Plus, after having gotten incorrect directions from Google a couple of times, I always zoom in on the map to make absolute sure that the location I'm after is actually where Google thinks it is. There is one location out of town where I always have to move the 'Point B' (or whatever point it is along the route). At least now I'm fairly familiar with this town, but still it can throw off directions to the next place if the point isn't in the right spot.

Practitioner of the Nerdly Arts.

Just pay attention to the date on Google. I got surprised a few weeks ago after using it to scope out a station with only 8 pumps. Surprise, the station had been completely renovated and had 16.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Also google will sometimes not recognize an address and put a balloon on a random spot in a town with that zip code. Many times it leads to a wooded area or the middle of a road with nothing on it.

Does that mean you can claim the store wasn't there and collect your $3 shop fee without doing any work?

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Snuffy -
You now know a way to prevent the problem next time, but you also have some very valuable information.
I was a first-shopper to a newly posted turnpike gas station, and did exactly what you did. However, I kept my eye on the board, and it wound up getting taken two more times and reposted both of those times as well. It wound up skyrocketing in price at the start of the next month, to the point that it ultimately became worth my while to get on the turnpike just for that one shop. Cori updated the description to indicate a turnpike location, but still shoppers will miss the turnpike status on the job description. I've learned that an early-month back-up symbol is going to mean a late-month return to the board at a hefty price.
And you know the secret of two of them.

I always google the gas stations so I can see exactly how many pumps they have before I accept a shop.

Okay, I have to ask: What is wrong with a Turnpike location?

(I realize they put erroneous information on your report).

I didn't want to pay the toll money for shops which did not pay much to begin with.

Snuffycuts99 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I didn't want to pay the toll money for shops
> which did not pay much to begin with.

Do they reimburse for your tolls?

SunnyDays2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Snuffycuts99 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I didn't want to pay the toll money for shops
> > which did not pay much to begin with.
>
>
> Do they reimburse for your tolls?

Is that a serious question?

Not only do they not reimburse you for your tolls, they don't reimburse you for the 25 miles you have to drive to the next exit past the gas station just to turn around and drive the same 25 miles again and pay your tolls again in order to get back to where you started.

if there is an employee parking lot off the turnpike that
allows you to walk to the station, just park there and go
to the station if you are concerned about the toll costs...
I'm sure there will be someone who won't mind you giving
them a few dollars in free gas so you can make sure the
pump is functioning properly.

techman01 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SunnyDays2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Snuffycuts99 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > I didn't want to pay the toll money for shops
> > > which did not pay much to begin with.
> >
> >
> > Do they reimburse for your tolls?

Of course it is. MF reimburses me for all tolls.

>
>
> Is that a serious question?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's a simple Yes or No...

Yes. Of course, it's a serious question.

Example: MF reimburses me for all tolls.

Merch Companies reimburse me for all tolls.

techman01 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> if there is an employee parking lot off the
> turnpike that
> allows you to walk to the station, just park there
> and go
> to the station if you are concerned about the toll
> costs...
> I'm sure there will be someone who won't mind you
> giving
> them a few dollars in free gas so you can make
> sure the
> pump is functioning properly.

tech -
I would think that's more than a little marginal in terms of acceptable satisfaction of requirements, and really pushing the envelope in the prohibition against team shopping. I think a shopper would be risking an easy rejection if the report was challenged, and on top of it all, there are security cameras at those employee entrance gates (the ones I've approached have a scan card for employees to drive in and out the complex.) At the very least a shopper would be recorded walking in, and quite possibly confronted by security.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

man....two gas station shops ended up being turnpike locations

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine