I did several gas audits earlier today. One was in an inner city area that I shop a few times a year. While I was taking pictures a man came up to me and asked me for change. I didn't have any change on me as I was furiously snapping pictures while the pumps were mostly empty. I took all of the required pictures and went back to my car to take notes. The same guy came up to my car and asked me again for change. The only cash I had was for the audits. I told him I didn't have any change, but I did have an ice cold drink (from my inside purchase ). I asked him if he would an ice cold drink? Obviously he must have thought I meant something different because I handed him the Sprite and he said," Uh, Oh, No thanks!" I went back to my notes. I looked up and noticed he was collecting change from anyone he could and then going to the back of the store (outside)to give an older guy the money. The older guy was going into the store and buying lottery tickets.
I am now waiting on a pump where a car has been sitting for 15 minutes. No one gets out, no one pumps gas. They just sit with music playing. I'm growing impatient. There was no way I could get any type of pump picture. About that time another car pulls up on the other side of the pump. A guy gets out, stays on his phone the whole time, walks over to the stationary vehicle, gets in the BACK seat, after 2 or 3 minutes he gets out of the car (still on the phone), gets into his car, and both cars drive off.
What are my choices for safety? 1. Don't do gas audits? 2. Be more selective of the area? 3. Get some type of mace or other protection?
What does everyone else do? I'm sure I can't be the only one with weird or dangerous things happening while shopping.

Weird or dangerous things on a shop? Like a station manager threatening to shoot me because the pump card reader doesn't work? Or finding dead bodies in bushes? Or waiting for hookers to get away from the main ID sign so I could take the photo? Being chased by a horny goat? Getting covered with asbestos powder at a landfill?

I'm now very selective about what neighborhoods I'll do shops in, things have changed that much in a nearby city. I also carry hornet spray---it shoots a long stream and it's not illegal in any state. If things get really hairy then my friend Mr Glock is ready to help.

Your first obligation is for your own safety. This may just be a location you should avoid. I wouldn't care to guess what was actually happening in the car you were waiting or by the back of the store, but it certainly got your attention and not in a way that was good.

Why were you unsafe?
The locations I do with drug deals don't bother me at all. The dealers are not going to let crap go down at their "store." The worst you'll get is a question about what you're taking photos of. At best they'll make sure no one bothers you so you can go away ASAP.
This, btw, coming from the most non-street middle aged white guy ever.

@Flash wrote:

Your first obligation is for your own safety. This may just be a location you should avoid.

Ditto, that. Your safety comes first.

Also that wasn't a lottery scheme. Unless by lottery scheme you mean people begging for money so they can buy lottery tickets and hope they get their way out of the ghetto. All you have to do is politely tell them you don't have any change and that you're are working. That has gotten rid of all but the most obnoxious for me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2016 12:35AM by bgriffin.

I would be more concerned about having been photographing the place. Sure, you probably did not photograph either the vehicle where the meet took place or the other vehicle, but those guys don't know that.

I keep telling my adult children I want a Go-Pro. A lot of strange things happen and I want it on video. Maybe I could have my own reality show? A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A MYSTERY SHOPPER.
Two summers ago I got an apartment with one of my daughters just outside of Dallas,TX. She worked an internship at a radio/tv studio and I mystery shopped the surrounding area. I was at a station somewhere out in the country and the owner tried to sell me the station. At the same station a guy in a pick up truck asked me if he could give me a ride after he took Delores a loaf of bread. I guess I was standing near the corner of the lot and he got the wrong idea? I don't know.
Seriously, the "big city" where I do a lot of gas audits has really gotten bad. Over 10 stations have been held up in the last year. At one station a guy forced a person pumping gas into a car to go get money from the bank and shot the person in the head. Needless to say that location is on my 10 foot pole list.

Cettie - I think we could be friends

@bgriffin wrote:

Also that wasn't a lottery scheme. Unless by lottery scheme you mean people begging for money so they can buy lottery tickets and hope they get their way out of the ghetto. All you have to do is politely tell them you don't have any change and that you're are working. That has gotten rid of all but the most obnoxious for me.

I thought about going back over to the guy and telling him I would give him some change if he gave me part of his winnings, but I decided that would be mean.

If you feel unsafe, your best protection is to just leave. You can either come back later, or cancel the shop and explain the situation to the MSC.

If you feel really uncomfortable about the entire situation, then definitely stick to areas you deem safer. No one can force you to take a shop. An alternative is to limit your gas audits, especially those in the inner city, to mornings and early afternoons. There is less street activity and it's mostly working people commuting to and from work, shopping, etc. This is also a situation where wearing a safety vest has an advantage, even if it is not required. People know you are there in some kind of official capacity.

Also, depending on which brand you were shopping, you might have been able to complete the shop without the picture of the entire pump if you explained the circumstances. On rare occasions, I have submitted a picture of just the top of the pump or even an extreme side angle and explained why I could not get the entire pump. (It helps if there are no violations on the pump that require a photo.)

@mshelliep wrote:

I did several gas audits earlier today. One was in an inner city area that I shop a few times a year. While I was taking pictures a man came up to me and asked me for change. I didn't have any change on me as I was furiously snapping pictures while the pumps were mostly empty. I took all of the required pictures and went back to my car to take notes. The same guy came up to my car and asked me again for change. The only cash I had was for the audits. I told him I didn't have any change, but I did have an ice cold drink (from my inside purchase ). I asked him if he would an ice cold drink? Obviously he must have thought I meant something different because I handed him the Sprite and he said," Uh, Oh, No thanks!" I went back to my notes. I looked up and noticed he was collecting change from anyone he could and then going to the back of the store (outside)to give an older guy the money. The older guy was going into the store and buying lottery tickets.
I am now waiting on a pump where a car has been sitting for 15 minutes. No one gets out, no one pumps gas. They just sit with music playing. I'm growing impatient. There was no way I could get any type of pump picture. About that time another car pulls up on the other side of the pump. A guy gets out, stays on his phone the whole time, walks over to the stationary vehicle, gets in the BACK seat, after 2 or 3 minutes he gets out of the car (still on the phone), gets into his car, and both cars drive off.
What are my choices for safety? 1. Don't do gas audits? 2. Be more selective of the area? 3. Get some type of mace or other protection?
What does everyone else do? I'm sure I can't be the only one with weird or dangerous things happening while shopping.

From your post, you sound like you had your head "down" a lot. You need to protect yourself, first and foremost. The change guy, came up to you while you are taking pictures, the he came to you after you got in your car. Although he was "only" asking for change, he could of taken your camera, your car or you life. You did not know him from Adam. You wouldn't know his full intention if he was on a drug high. We as shoppers need to be
safe. As for the car stationary at the pump. If it was a drug deal, Do you really want to be in the area, if it had gone bad?--------->gas pump+gun+car+lady with a camera =?

Your choices for safety------->leave. Call the scheduler, reschedule the shop, or submit what you have and inform the MSC of the situation. Search the forum for other subjects where the Shopper did not fair so well.

Was this a revealed shop? Did you or do you have on a safety vest? Safety first.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/13/2016 06:32AM by sojo917.

Aiming a camera at cars that you suspect are engaged in a drug deal isn't a good idea. No one will believe that you just needed a picture of the pump; not that it matters because no one will even take the time to ask questions. Just get out of there. Dealers don't play. As a previous poster suggested, if you feel safe going at a different time when it will be more crowded, then limit your shops to those times. Otherwise, cross it off your list. No matter how highly bonused that shop is, is it worth it?

Whats the question, did the questioner say "Did you see any drug deals?"

In that situation, I would report the suspicious incident to the police AND the scheduler for the shop. Knowing me, I'd probably also report it to the store's Management, but I wouldn't shop there again because sometimes employees are either 'in the know about' or in on these things. I wouldn't tell the scheduler that you went to law enforcement, though, unless they suggest that you do so. You can leave out the part about it being a mystery shop, and any number of people could have seen something.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2016 04:43AM by OceanGirl.

As for weird or dangerous things happening while shopping----yeah, been there.

-Been solicited for prostitution

-Been offered drugs

-Been asked if I had any drugs

-Seen violence or threats of violence

-Seen employees working while drunk, high, or severely ill or injured

-seen shoplifts/shoplift attempts

-Seen customers have medical emergencies and the staff doesn't do anything

-reported a major Public Safety violation to management and had them disregard it

-seen drunk drivers, accidents, near accidents, and one hit-and-run fatality

-had employees hit on me

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2016 04:35AM by OceanGirl.

@Oceangirl, it might be time to move.

When the McD's has steel entrance doors, (as they had on one of my shops,) it's probably a good idea to get out of dodge!

I went on a Subway shop that was inside a gas station convenience store. The entire food counter was behind bullet-proof glass. There were lots of dings in the glass, so apparently it was necessary.

You go girl.... what state r u in... we should shop together !

@ChrisCooper wrote:

I went on a Subway shop that was inside a gas station convenience store. The entire food counter was behind bullet-proof glass. There were lots of dings in the glass, so apparently it was necessary.

Eep!

Maybe I'm a bit jaded here, but this situation doesn't sound unsafe to me. Drug dealers are doing business, they don't want trouble. Mind your business and keep doing your audit, and they will leave you alone.

That was the rub. The shopper couldn't continue with the audit because the dealers were in front of the pump the shopper needed a picture of. She had to wait for them to finish.

Inner city: Best times, Saturday mornings too. Definitely when raining or snowing also.

I have like cettie been threatened with death by a gas station owner. Get off my property or I kill you.

Contact your scheduler immediately. Do not pass go do not collect $200.00

The bottom line is how YOU feel. What may be nothing in one persons mind may be the invasion of the body snatchers to another. Males are less likely to be targeted for crimes of opportunity than females. I don't do any work in high crime areas. Been there, been robbed, car broken into a couple of times, expensive lesson learned. Wherever you are, be observant, don't make yourself the easy, completely distracted target. I have seen several people almost hit in parking lots because they were so glued to the phone screen. Just a glance around, take note if someone is watching you. Think twice before you slide in between those two vans, or other large vehicles that hide you from general view. Don't park in the lot and get distracted with your report/ phone. You can become a carjacking victim in a heartbeat. I have an acquaintance that was writing out a birthday card in a store parking lot and lost her 3 day old car to 4 kids with a gun. Get rid of the enormous shoulder bags, do you need everything in that bag on a shop? They are so attractive to purse snatchers. Cross body bags are a better choice if you need a bag. If you get that little uneasy feeling that you don't like the look of a situation, listen to it! Leave.
I can not replace a car window, my wallet, or my life for what I can make on a shop. I accept work accordingly.
Be safe out there, no job is worth the trauma of being robbed or worse.

drug dealers r like msc schedulers. ask drug dealer for outragous price for the drugs & they will turn u down just like schedulers do when u ask for outragous bonus.

Will the drug dealers give a receipt?

Drug Dealer MS

Were you greeted?
Were they knowledgeable about their product? Offer samples?
Did they try to upsell you?
Did they make you aware of their customer loyalty program?
Did you feel like a valued customer?

@cindy55 wrote:

Drug Dealer MS

Were you greeted?
Were they knowledgeable about their product? Offer samples?
Did they try to upsell you?
Did they make you aware of their customer loyalty program?
Did you feel like a valued customer?

Yes with "Hey I got what you need"
Yes: They knew the cost per gram or ounce and the blend. They tried to upsell me to the super premium hemp
No they were all out of sample bags
Yes they told me about their doouggie loyalty punch car for every 10 ounces ou buy you get 1 free.
Yes they treated me in a friendly manner and tried hard to earn my business.