New Union/Phillips Mystery Shops

Just a warning about the new shops that came out this morning. The fee is $9 and reimbursement is up to $5, which for those of us who have done a gazillion of the audits sounds good. But there is a catch. You must purchase a minimum of two gallons of gas and buy something in the store.

And before anyone asks, yes it is the same MSC.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2014 03:13PM by whiterosie.

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.

I do almost all the Phillips around my area and there's no way I would do THIS kind of shop. Not for me.

I saw a station with gas over $5 a gallon yesterday. Luckily, I was doing the old mystery shop/audit not that new mystery shop. I would have made $2 if it had been.

Those mystery shops are going to need to be bonused pretty well for me to take them. They ask for a lot of detail, too.

I dont understand why they have to do this.

Its nothing short of shady.

What are they trying to achieve? Why make the shopper buy two gallons of gas?

Why not one gallon or $4 worth and $1 product purchase inside......you still get a receipt and prove the facilities all work.

Is this meant to "catch shoppers out" who don't realize they wont be fully reimbursed for required purchases.

I have no axe to grind as I actually like this MSC but this makes them look very poor.

Don't you mean it makes them look cheap. We all know they sure as heck ain't poor.

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.

I took one just to see how different it was from the way-too-many-photos-required shop, knowing that the $5 didn't cover the gas and store purchase. I just figured I was getting $14, and I did need gas.

The shop was very easy. Just 2 photos - 1 of the building and 1 of the sign. You don't have to report on the entire store, just the beverage area, the bathroom, and the area where you bought your item. So, when I reported on whether the shelves were stocked, and if the area was clean, I only reported on the shelves and cleanliness of the snack aisle.

Short report. Think the shop took 10 minutes and the report 10. But I won't take another until the reimbursement goes up enough to cover the required items.

NOTE: I'm not on the forum every day. If someone comments on my post, I might not reply right away. I've been a shopper since 1991. I've never done any work for a MS company in any other capacity.

If gas was $1.99 per gallon it wouldn't be too bad as $5 would cover most of it. But they have to know $5 doesn't even cover the cost of the gas much less whatever you buy in the store. I think I'm done considering these until fees go back up.

I wouldn't take them unless they were bonused pretty high. I did a couple at $20 plus reimbursement. That seemed reasonable for the work.

I wrote the MSC and asked about increasing the reimbursement, or lowering the minimum amount of gas to 1 gallon. Here is their reply:

"As with many of our shops, this assignment only offers a partial reimbursement. Many shoppers are okay with a partial reimbursement because they are still receiving goods or services at a discount, but some are not. We know that not everyone will find the terms of every shop to be desirable, so please continue to choose shops based on what is acceptable to you."

So, I guess I won't be doing that shop again - unless it has a large bonus to cover the lack of reimbursement.

NOTE: I'm not on the forum every day. If someone comments on my post, I might not reply right away. I've been a shopper since 1991. I've never done any work for a MS company in any other capacity.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/01/2014 04:42AM by niteowl.

niteowl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "As with many of our shops, this assignment only
> offers a partial reimbursement. Many shoppers are
> okay with a partial reimbursement because they are
> still receiving goods or services at a discount,
> but some are not.
> We know that not everyone will find the terms of
> every shop to be desirable, so please continue to
> choose shops based on what is acceptable to you."

Translation, as I read it: leave that job for the suckers willing to go out of pocket over the reimbursement amount.

There are very few shops where I am willing to accept knowing I will go over the reimbursement cap no matter what I do. It is one thing if I choose to do so (at Five Guys I usually go about $1 over, Popeyes I go about 50 cents over due to drink size). It is another if the limit is, say, $10 and there is no way I can order anything less than $10 *after tax*.

The 2 gallon minimum purchase is really coming out of your fee. There is no money to be made at those prices. Gas in So Cal is $4.20 right now.

What company does Popeyes? Been looking for that for a year! LOL!
I agree with you, however, in that I won't accept a shop that I am not even breaking even on. The exception is a pizza shop.
If I'm gonna get it anyway (with teenagers, I always am!), I'll definitely take a shop to get at least some of my money
'back'!

We can't reveal the name of the company. It is part of the forum guidelines and usually included in the ICAs of the mystery shopping companies.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

New Union/Phillips Mystery Shops

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine