I was talking to a scheduler about a $10 (plus gas and small inside purchase reimbursement). I asked her if they really ever get any shopper to accept these shops at base rate (looking at the paperwork, I cannot see how anyone can be on-site for less than 45 minutes -- list the products offered for sale, list the food items listed for sale, multiple photos, etc.; then doing the report, with photos -- I can't get through one in less than one-half hour!) And she said they have "many" shoppers who do "10 or 12 of these a day, day after day".

Okay, first, how do you USE 24 gallons of gas in one day? If the stations are close enough together to even get to 12 of them in a day, where in the world do you put the gas? Drive a truck or something? Counting drive time, how do you fit in 10-12 stops, photos and all, get home, and do all those dreadful reports?

I don't think I've ever scheduled more than 5 shops in a day. And by the time I've done reports, I've put in
12-15 hours, EASY. NO way would I do that for 10 shops at $10 each. When I schedule 5, I aim to make $200
or close to it.

What am I doing wrong? How in the world to you get reports done in less than half an hour each (I'm talking mystery shop plus reveal and audit here). What am I missing?

I AM organized.

Am I just working too hard to do a perfect job?

Thanks for input/suggestions/ideas, etc.

(And if the answer is technology, I admit to being a dinosaur.)

You just become faster the more you do the same assignments, or you'd hope. When I plan shops like this, especially when it involves gas reimbursement, I try to time things right and maximize the reimbursements.

Last year, there was a particular convenience store that's all over my state. Ended up grabbing the max pay possible and taking an entire region which equaled to around 30-35 locations. I'd grind through all locations in one day, then spent a couple hours the next day to get the reports in.

I can do a gas shop (accurately) in about 20 minutes, I figure out my route, have extra gas cans in the car, prepare my paperwork in a 3-ring binder with each location's paperwork bundled inside its own sheet protector, receipts held together with clips or even clothespins in a pinch, the bundle of receipts then get sealed in a gallon ziplock baggie so I don't lose them. (Yeah, see how technology just comes out of every pore?)

I also make sure to bring a fresh batch of batteries because invariably the camera will die when I'm half way through a shop. I zip along in my orange vest, taking no prisoners. I also make a master list for myself of all of the required photos as well as reminders of how much gas to punp, how much for an inside purchase and a reminder of anything new the client wants such as "count the cooler doors". These little things make a huge difference when you don't have to backtrack to a location just to count something or take a photo that slipped your mind. I also do things like make a mark specific to that location when checking off the photo list---Location A gets a checkmark, Location B gets a little circle, etc

In this way I have been known to build a significant route of shops and have been known to nail 17 in a single day--between gas stations, retail stores and a restaurant for my lunch.

Yes, I am organized like that, too. I know the first couple will be a learning curve; then I can be faster and still not miss anything. But do you get 17 reports done THE SAME DAY? I wouldn't mind it so much if I felt I could sleep/rest, then do the reports. Thanks for the input!

I also do batches of convenience stores shops in my state. I can do 10-15 or so in one day and the reports are super easy. The visits are only about 10 minutes each and the reports maybe 20 minutes each. I don't do the gas station shops, but plenty of others in here do. I would think they would make good filler shops for in between other shops, but I couldn't imagine doing that many of them...maybe 4 or so with stops in between for other shops.

@ceasesmith wrote:

Yes, I am organized like that, too. I know the first couple will be a learning curve; then I can be faster and still not miss anything. But do you get 17 reports done THE SAME DAY? I wouldn't mind it so much if I felt I could sleep/rest, then do the reports. Thanks for the input!

When you make large routes with a particular MSC, you make arrangements ahead of time to have a 24-hour deadline or a next day deadline. I have never had a scheduler tell me no.

I used to do this, but really prefer to work a part-time or full-time job and then do two to four mystery shops a day.

Four shops a day is pushing it for me, and as such, is not my typical. How many shops? hinges on a shopper's need, want, family, critters, day/night job, type of shop. . .

To get the reports done I arrange things in order of the time frame to report, an 8 hour window is finished before the 12 hour window before the 24 hour window. I take an hour and upload and label every photo as well as get the receipts scanned. To avoid confusion I make a separate folder for each location labeled plainly with date, shop location and MS company name. Once all of that is done I'm ready to roll and get 'er done. I used to be a journalist and am used to tight deadlines and a screaming editor so I become a writing machine.

I've been wondering this, too, and was going to ask folks how many shops they can comfortably do in one day?

I only do a few shops a week, depending on what's available in my area. I live in a small market, and there are just not that many near me. But I live about 50 minutes from a very large metro area, and in between my home and this large city there are many, many shops. These seem hard to fill and sometimes carry small bonuses. Without traveling all the way into the city, I could probably do several shops per day one or two days/week, starting from about 30 miles/35 minutes away and traveling maybe another 10 to 15 miles further.

But I struggle to figure how many I could efficiently and accurately do in one day. Too few, and it's not worth it. Too many, and I won't be able to do a good job. I guess a lot depends on the types of shops involved. These would mostly be bank shops, cellphone/tablet shops, dry-cleaning shops, furniture and appliance shops, etc. Most require about 30 minutes on-site (longer if there's a mandatory "wait til served" time) and some narrative.in the reports.

I worry if I try more than 4 or 5 in one day, I'll mess up or won't be able to get the reports in (since they won't be for the same company, not sure I can get extensions). I'm anal about my reporting, I admit it, but I fret about "getting it right." I panic at the thought of remembering so much information, even though I make voice notes in my car as soon as I finish a shop. But I'm afraid I'll forget something.

I admire those of you who can do 7, 8, 10 or more shops per day. I don't think I'm capable of it. But if I do 5 at $20 each, I'm not sure it's worth the travel and time. I don't do convenience store or gas station shops, mostly 'cuz there aren't many around here. Maybe I should find a couple "down 'n' dirty" shops along the route to pad the earnings?

Any insight you "road warriors" can give is greatly appreciated!

I have a slew scheduled for Tuesday (Monday being a holiday) -- 3 tractor dealerships, USPS, pizza carry out (that was lucky -- gotta eat anyway!), and the lone gas station. Only the pizza shop must have the report in the same day. So I'll get home, do that report (and MAYBE the USPS one), and then sleep. This is a LOT for me.
But they are all 90 miles away (all in the same town, but the town is 90 miles away). I took the gas station at base rate, just to get the first one under my belt; the rest are all bonused. Counting 3 hours driving time, this is
a HEAVY day for me. It'll take me the next day to totally rest and get the reports in. I have 3 scheduled for
Thursday, and 3 more for Friday. I'm trying hard to make up being snowed in from Dec. 24th to Jan 19th -- didn't earn a doggone dime!

I think 5 is my upper limit for one day. Even 4 usually leaves me exhausted. Even without photos, or shops that require only 1-3 photos.

I don't have another job I work regularly, but I am old and disabled. So what's hard for me is probably a lot easier for you young guys & dolls!!!!

Tomorrow I am doing some credit card inquiry shops (3) and some appliance inquiry shops (3). They are all pretty easy, with about 20-30 minutes store time and about 30 minutes of reporting, including time spent scanning and uploading POV and brochures. The cc inquiry shops pay $20 each (they normally pay $15 but I asked for a small bonus since I picked up several of them) and the appliance shops pay $15, so it's a good day for me. These shops are all within a few blocks or a few miles of each other and only 15 miles from my house. There isn't much narrative required with any of these shops thank goodness, so I will be home by 4:30 and be done reporting by 7.

If you want to do more shops in one day, make sure you get a few that don't require much narrative. Try to do your store visits at a time you know that they will not be that busy, which is generally before and after lunch, and before people get off work. Avoid major retail shops on weekends. Generally you can get in and out of the locations much faster if you go at non-peak times. Same thing with restaurants--when I do Chipotle lunch shops, I try to either go at the earliest or latest time allowed (though not after 2:30 because that's when the high school kids usually come in). Try to pick up several post office shops to do, and since there has to be 30 minutes in between the shops, find some short and simple shops to do in between. Oh also, with some companies you can enter your report on your phone via Mobi Audit, which is a big timesaver. Schedulers also are generally willing to change dates (if it's early in the month) if you want to try to group all of your shops in the same area. I print out hard copies of all my reports to keep in the car so I can pull into a nearby parking lot and enter the information, then make voice to text notes in my phone concerning any details that might be going into a narrative. Also, do you have a laptop? You can always do a shop, find a place with WiFi and buy a soda or iced tea, and do your report immediately before moving on to the next one. I think a lot of people do that.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/15/2016 02:54AM by JASFLALMT.

Best of luck, cease! And kudos to you for your ambitious undertaking! Thankfully, you only have the one report to do same day. Please let us know how it goes for you. Like you, I'm thinking five is about all I can handle. Both 'cuz I'm old and creaky, and 'cuz I'm too much of a worrier!

Be careful driving, and I hope you can take the next day and really relax after doing your reports!

I have 12 set for Tuesday, which is the most I've ever done. 7 is my previous record! But only two are new shops, the rest I've done before. And one of the new ones is a super easy bank shop. Hoping everything goes well!!

I normally do 4-6 shops a day locally. When I go out of town on a route shop, I may do about 8 in a day, but I have done as many as 13 in a day. Yes, I do drive a pickup truck for the gas station audits. It holds 25 gallons. I know how many miles I can go on a gallon of gas, and I know how long the shops will take. I do not fill my truck with gas before I leave home. I put in only enough gas as necessary and plan on using the gas from the shops along the way. I use Microsoft Streets and Trips to plan my route so that I know where I am going to be, what time I will arrive and leave, and how much gas I will have room for.

I have done probably more than a thousand gas station shops, mostly audits, over the last 7 years. The company that has most of the gas station shops will give you leeway on the reporting time if you let them know in advance and tell them that you are making a route, especially if some of those locations are remote. And yes, I work long hours when I am doing a route. The gas stations that you are referring to did not take as long until beginning 2015 when they added more photos. I used to do them in 35-45 minutes; now they take an average of 55-60 minutes each. I normally don’t do shops for that client anymore, except occasionally a local one or two, because the pay received is no longer enough for the amount of work and time involved.

As far as mystery shops that require narratives, I do not do them when route shopping out of town. If I have already done several shops and driven 300 miles or more, all I want to do is sleep, not write reports. You have to contact the scheduler and let them know. Negotiate extra time for reporting just as surely as you would negotiate bonus $$$ for distance. You have to be willing to not take the job sometimes in order to get what you think is fair. I think the bottom line is, “Do not take a job that does not pay you enough for your time and labor.”

AZ, I think you're right. The $10 really isn't adequate for the time/work involved. And I do suspect this one shop will take as long or longer than two other shops combined (pizza: 3 minutes on phone, 7 minutes in store MAX, report, 15 minutes even with the weird receipt form). I do negotiate extra time for reports (even with the MSC with that awful 8 hour deadline -- they always threaten to pull the shop and give it to another shopper when I know and they know they don't have another shopper! LOL!!!) Today I'm driving 300 miles round trip, and when I get home, no WAY will I be in shape to do reports!

But I'm still wondering if these road warriors doing 10-12 shops a day are doing them at base rate. No way would I work a 12-14 hour day for $100 - $120. For my six shops tomorrow, I'm getting $180 plus reimbursements. I figure with drive time, completing the shops and reports, a total of roughly 9 hours, with
the bulk of the reports getting done on Wednesday. I can handle 9 hours spread over 2 days. I fear
I could not do that day after day after day.

I recently actually told a scheduler who wanted me to take a shop at the base rate of $12 that I would not drive around the block, park my car, and walk into a building for $12.

I took the gas station at base rate because it's my first one for that brand, and I know next month I can take a route with several, with bonuses, if I get the first one done in a timely manner. So when I say I won't do shops at base rate, there's that exception: on a first-of-its-kind shop, I will.

The absolute closest shop to me is 35 miles away; most are in towns 60, 80, 90, and 100 miles away. So I
must "route shop", picking up enough shops from several companies to make it worth my while.

Thanks for all the input, every one of you. Maybe some newbies will pick up some helpful hints from all your good ideas!

How? One at a time.

@Cettie wrote:

To get the reports done I arrange things in order of the time frame to report, an 8 hour window is finished before the 12 hour window before the 24 hour window. I take an hour and upload and label every photo as well as get the receipts scanned. To avoid confusion I make a separate folder for each location labeled plainly with date, shop location and MS company name. Once all of that is done I'm ready to roll and get 'er done. I used to be a journalist and am used to tight deadlines and a screaming editor so I become a writing machine.

That is the magical question: If you are doing it for the BIG mystery shopping company which has the 8 hour window, how do you get to all the shops, "get' r done" and get them all reported? You must work quick!

The trick is time management. I like to schedule days with only 1 or 2 types of shops. Repetition makes it quicker. I also highly value short reporting time. And I don't care if a shop is next door to one I'm already doing if it doesn't fit my criteria then I don't do it.

@velveteengypsy wrote:

I used to do this, but really prefer to work a part-time or full-time job and then do two to four mystery shops a day.

Even if you work a PT and/or FT job, you still have to be organized and plan your schedule accordingly. Anytime you have two or more jobs, you are essentially creating a route of sorts.

Yes, and when I do merchandising jobs, usually fit one in for a quick lunch nearby and a shop on the way home.

The OP focused on GS shops. Repetition and time management on site and in reporting are everything.
Try to schedule just one or two brands of GS shops in a route. On site you’ll be going through the motions, on auto-pilot taking pictures. More later.
Request an extension ahead of time for reporting.
Develop a cheat sheet, so that your paperwork is minimized. I do 6 GS brands regularly and use a quarter page sheet for one, a one page sheet for three, and the full eval form for two.
Have your paperwork, vest, camera, extra batteries, and your gas cans in your vehicle or at least set out the night before.
Most, but not all, GS shops require daylight. Drive to your most distant point in the route to arrive as the sun is rising. You’ll maximize the amount of light you’ll have to work, and you’ll leave the closest to home locations until last in case you don’t get them done, leaving you the least distance to drive if you have to go back.
On site, get your gas, get your receipt, get your snack, get your receipt. Return to vehicle, take a photo of both receipts together (I have done thousands, and have never been questioned about using a single photo of both receipts for each individual receipt photo). Put receipts in binder. Don vest.
Return to store or attendant and present the LOA. Ask cashier/attendant for any demographic information and to turn on exterior lights when required. Evaluate restroom, taking vested selfie in mirror. Take all required interior photos. Take all interior infraction photos (you already saw/evaluated the store when you got your snack).
Outside, you’re on auto-pilot. Take all required photos. Take all infraction photos. Return to store to write down infractions on your cheat sheet. Take 20 seconds to check camera for presence of all photos. Your cheat sheet should have a list of required photos that you just put check marks next to. 20 seconds to catch a missed photo is worth saving hours in returning to site for a photo later.
Note: You’re only using your paperwork twice. Once when you present the LOA. Once when you return to store to write down infractions and check for photos.
Thank the cashier and attendant (just call it out if there’s a line of customers). Depart.
Repeat, repeat, repeat. Keep it to 12-20 minutes on site, tops. Bag a lunch if you want to eat healthy. Make an ongoing meal of reimbursed $1 soda/coffee and granola bars if your blood sugar and cholesterol permit.
At home, download the photos. Rename them in batches according to location (select all photos for one location and rename them together, i.e. 23 photos for one site become “2016-02-17-GSNAME-LOCATION (1)” , “2016-02-17-GSNAME-LOCATION (2)” , etc. They are already grouped together, with the receipt image always the first one in the location-grouping. Your computer numbers them for you, and if you use the first image in the selected group to rename, it will remain first in each location even after renamed.
Use PixResizer to resize them to the right size. It takes less than ten seconds per 100 photos and is easy enough for techno-dinosaurs to use.
Sleep, or begin reporting until you fall asleep at your computer or until Jeopardy comes on and you use that as an excuse to break for dinner.
Report your shops in the order that your photos appear in the “Resized” folder. It’s easier to turn pages than create new folders, and you’ll always be uploading the photos from the top of the Resized folder. Keep any required comments to the bare minimum, e.g. “The service was polite. The store was clean. The lot was in good shape.” Upload all your photos at once at the end of the report, not during data entry. Use the image preview to upload the correct image into the correct report slot. Submit report. Submit invoice. Write compensation and reimbursement on cheat sheet or report form, staple receipts.
Move that location’s photos from “Resized” folder into a “Submitted” folder. Your next group of photos for your next location to report is now at the top of “Resized.”
Repeat, repeat, repeat. 8-15 minutes reporting time per location.
Update payroll/taxes spreadsheet.
Prepare for next route.
My record for most in one day:
Sunoco – 21 (does not require daylight)
Exxon – 17 (does not require daylight)
Valero – 18
Shell – 14
BP – 13
Gulf (current MSC) – 11
Keep in mind, that even if your tank and gas cans are full, you can keep going as none of these have a minimum gas purchase any more. If needed to complete your route, 30 cents in the tank gets you the same required receipt as a full two gallon, $5, or $6 purchase, just less useful reimbursement. I’m only doing these with $10-$40 bonuses per location, so I’m OK with leaving a few bucks in gas on the table.

@SunnyDays2 wrote:

@Cettie wrote:

To get the reports done I arrange things in order of the time frame to report, an 8 hour window is finished before the 12 hour window before the 24 hour window. I take an hour and upload and label every photo as well as get the receipts scanned. To avoid confusion I make a separate folder for each location labeled plainly with date, shop location and MS company name. Once all of that is done I'm ready to roll and get 'er done. I used to be a journalist and am used to tight deadlines and a screaming editor so I become a writing machine.

That is the magical question: If you are doing it for the BIG mystery shopping company which has the 8 hour window, how do you get to all the shops, "get' r done" and get them all reported? You must work quick!

The shops with the real tight deadlines will be done as soon as I get back home, I also try to make sure to do the short deadline shops last to buy me some time, If you have a location with an 8 hour deadline from the time you do the shop you can't do that one at 9 am if you're going to be out all day getting others done plus travel time. I know it's common sense but sometimes newbies don't think of that. I know of one person who didn't return home until an hour past the reporting window and then wondered why they told her she was late and wouldn't pay her.

"Sleep, or begin reporting until you fall asleep at your computer or until Jeopardy comes on and you use that as an excuse to break for dinner."

YAY, another dyed-in-the-wool Jeopardy fan!!!

LOL!!!



Loads and loads and LOADS of useful info. Thanks for taking the time to construct such thoughtful and detailed answers!

I don't know how to put photos in files; I just download today's with today's date. I do use the full-sized viewer
to preview them to choose the best ones for the report; I just write the photo # on my cheat sheet, so when I'm ready to download, I zip right through. I have found the connection won't "time out" (kick me off the site so
I have to sign back in) if I upload (download?) no more than 5 photos at a time. I also attempt to just one brand of station a day.

OK, gotta hit the road.

I am also constrained by driving distances -- driving 3 hours leaves me weak and shaky (no, I do not know why -- probably old age!), so I really can't drive and then do a lot of shops. Today's 6 shops are 90 miles away, all
in the same town.

I'm not sure where you all live but for those of us that live in New Jersey or Oregon these shops are particularly harder to maintain cover if it is a mystery shop and not an announced audit. In our two states it is still against the law to pump your own gas.

I'm thankful of it because it keeps our gas tax low since the insurance costs are cheaper for companies because only trained individuals are pumping gas. Like here in Jersey our surrounding states: NY, CT & Pa have the highest gas tax in the country, which we would undoubtedly be right there with them (or probably worse) if it weren't for self-pumping being illegal. Jersey has the second lowest gas tax in the country only to Alaska whom is so low due to their own gas production. Like right now the gas station by my house is 1.41/gallon #win!

But anyway, yea when you have someone asking how much gas to put in your car, only asking for 2 gallons is suspicious. $5 is the lowest you can really go without coming off suspicious. Which right now translates to over 3 gallons of gas and makes doing multiples of these shops difficult

I've done three full service stations in a row at the end of route with my tank and cans full already. I just tell them to fill it, and explain that my gas gauge is broken when it clicks off at $1.

@1JJ wrote:

In our two states it is still against the law to pump your own gas.

I'm thankful of it because it keeps our gas tax low since the insurance costs are cheaper for companies because only trained individuals are pumping gas. Like here in Jersey our surrounding states: NY, CT & Pa have the highest gas tax in the country, which we would undoubtedly be right there with them (or probably worse) if it weren't for self-pumping being illegal. Jersey has the second lowest gas tax in the country only to Alaska whom is so low due to their own gas production. Like right now the gas station by my house is 1.41/gallon #win!

Ummm...just a quick, friendly economics lesson: your gas taxes have absolutely no correlation to the liability insurance the gas station owners pay - or, for that matter, Alaska's oil production. Gas taxes are used for a variety of things, commonly the maintenance of the transportation infrastructure, and are set by the federal/state politicians. Furthermore, gas prices are impacted by other factors as well (beyond the obvious being the price of oil), such as your region/state/city's particular pollution laws, and the supply/demand of the local refineries supplying your city's particular gas mix. Not to mention things like economies of scale, and where the refineries are actually at - which is why Alaska's average retail gas price isn't rock bottom low (current average of $2.13!).

I'm not saying that there isn't some possible insurance savings with having "trained individuals" pumping gas..but given the margins of the gas stations, I would be surprised if the liability insurance costs are going to be that much less (if at all) compared to the employment costs of people pumping the gas.

When I end with a low balance on a gas station gift card, I save it to use on shops in NJ. Otherwise I agree that no one hands over a credit, debit, or gift card and asks for less than $5 of gas in NJ. Of course, I can remember gas at 16 cents a gallon and my father often bought $1 of gas, and $2 filled a large tank. By the time I started driving, gas was about 22 cents a gallon in NJ.

@myst4au wrote:

When I end with a low balance on a gas station gift card, I save it to use on shops in NJ. Otherwise I agree that no one hands over a credit, debit, or gift card and asks for less than $5 of gas in NJ. Of course, I can remember gas at 16 cents a gallon and my father often bought $1 of gas, and $2 filled a large tank. By the time I started driving, gas was about 22 cents a gallon in NJ.

These shops have probably not been ideal if you live in those 2 states, but I presume that you can now get 2 1/2 gallons or more for $5. I don't think it would be odd to ask for $5 worth of gas at that price.

I paid $1.39 for a gallon of brand-name regular in NJ on Sunday morning. That is 3.59 gallons of gas. When gas was $3.50 per gallon, it was ludicrous to ask for $1 of gas on a credit card. Many stations have a $5 minimum for credit card sales. There is one shopper on this Forum who said that she had no difficulty buying $1 of gas. IMHO, a dead give-away. Just like buying a candy bar for $1 and asking for a receipt. By the time I come back in with the letter of authorization, they have changed shirts and are wearing a name tag for the requisite photograph. They just smile when I hand them the letter (in PA and DE and NJ).