Maritz and closed stations.

OK. I have been doing gas jobs for years now. Probably since 2007 with Maritz. I am not being paid for a job and as piddling as it is, it is irksome. I went to a gas station, that the website says opens at 6AM. No answer from the phone number on their job sheet. At 7AM, it was closed. Or rather, it was OPEN, but the CSR was MIA. In NJ, there is only full serve, so you can't pump your own gas. I reported it as a closed location, because no one was there, took all the required pictures and submitted it. I was called and asked to return which I refused because it was 60 miles away, and the cost of getting there is more than the job pays. So after waiting for two months,(this was done on 9/12) I am told, because they assigned it to another shopper, who was able to do it on another day, they will not pay me for it. Obviously, if I ever encounter a closed station again, I will not take any pictures. So this is just a warning to anyone else working for Maritz, to be careful if you choose to do a closed station.

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Tough one. Sorry it happened. With each Maritz GS client there are different standards as to what constitutes a closed location and what should be done in the various situations that constitute closed. Some indicate to do as much of the audit as possible, some specify certain photos to verify closed. Some indicate to call Maritz from the location. One photo I always add to the list for closed locations is a time stamped photo of the store's hours.

I'm seconding what elcarev68 said. For every truly "closed" GS I've done for Maritz, I've always been paid the full fee with bonus, if applicable. I've never had an issue getting payment from them.

I appreciate what you are saying both elcarev68 and tlt14. I've been doing these for years, and never been not paid, especially from Maritz. I think it was more the fact that I would not go back and do it over. Live and Learn. I just won't do it again. For the eleven dollars that it was paying, it is a minor issue.

It becomes an issue of principle at this point. If it were me, I'd argue it. I got in a big fight with Maritz last year that I subsequently won. It certainly didn't affect my status with them.

They like to nickel and dime you and play games but they'll back down if you call them out. They're still my favorite.

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Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.

I had no idea that some states will not allow by law self pumping of gas until some began mentioning it here on the forum. What would be the reason?

Sandra Sue Wrote:
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> I had no idea that some states will not allow by
> law self pumping of gas until some began
> mentioning it here on the forum. What would be
> the reason?

I always assumed that they know that the residents of their states wouldn't be capable of doing something difficult like pumping gas without specialized training. They might set themselves on fire! (I hate to miss a chance to heckle Oregonians.)

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2014 09:00AM by Ishmael.

As far as I know, New Jersey and Oregon are the only states which forbid self-service gasoline. In NJ, the fines for pumping your own gas are very high, both for the station and for the consumer. Despite being full-service only, gasoline prices in NJ are generally significantly lower than self-serve in Delaware and Pennsylvania or anywhere else here.

One piece of "trivia" for NJ residents / visitors. There is also a requirement that gas stations sell gas to everyone. So, BJs, or Costco, or Sam's Club has to sell gas to everyone who stops there at the member price. At Costco in NJ, they just swipe a store card, and you have to pay with cash, debit card, or AMEX. [I am going to regret telling people this - I can see the lines growing already!]

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2014 04:26PM by myst4au.

I have no idea of the reason. I think it is only NJ and I think Oregon. Actually, it is nice to live in NJ and pay thirty cents lower than the neighboring states, and have your gas pumped. Mystery shopping NJ is more difficult though, because of it. And because it is full serve and you can't pump your gas, you end up buying more for some shops, because you would really stand out if you just purchased $3 like some shops want you to, so you end up always getting $5 whether or not the shop reimburses you. And then they can also say no to a lower amount credit card and say $10 minimum on credit card purchases. So, I normally limit my NJ's and prefer to do the mystery jobs in neighboring self serve Pennsylvania.

Here I am a New Jerseyite, and I did not know of that requirement. I'll have to check out BJ's next time I am in the area.

Thanks for the spoiler alert!

You know I would love to argue it, just for principle, but don't know how to get to a higher person that the team 3 members. I wrote to the contact form, and they said I would have to contact team 3 and let them respond to me. Their only answer was that they paid someone else to go back, since I would not, and that person got the fee. They say I should have called the station to verify hours, but the phone number is disconnected. Online they say the hours are 6AM, and I was there 7AM. Since I do 40-60 gas stations a month, one non pay is not a major issue, BUT as you say the principle. I did what they said to do, "if it is closed, take all your pictures and submit it". It is not my fault the guy was gone. The place was really opened, the guy was just no where to be found. Hence the problem. He could have been sleeping in back (which I have encountered other times), or just out for coffee. I've ranted enough. Overall, Maritz is a good company to deal with.

In the situation you're describing, it doesn't sound like it should've been reported as a closed station. They have guidelines for most of their clients for what to do if there is no employee present but you can pump gas.

OP, after you arrived at 7 AM, how long were you actually there? It sounds like you were in and out after taking a few pictures. I have been to gas stations where the employee was in the restroom. Sometimes they lock the store's door and place a sign in the window, sometimes they don't. I waited about 15 minutes one time for the employee to return. If the gas station was actually open and operating then it is not a closed location.

As far as the operating hours for the gas stations, never depend on the web site. There have been several times where the hours, especially on a Sunday, were totally different than what the web site.

I did one recently where I went into the store and bought something, went out to the car to get the audit paperwork, and came back to see the store employee scampering across the street. There was now a sign on the door that said, "Back in 15 minutes." Since the store did not have a restroom, the reason for the attendant's disappearance was fairly easy to guess.

I had just bought an ice-cold peach iced tea. Between that, and the infinite entertainment possibilites of the modern phone, I didn't have any trouble waiting those 15 minutes.

I did one yesterday that totally threw me off. When I realized where my GPS was taking me, I said to self, there is no way there is a xxx gas station out there. Sure enough, it was a marina. No ID sign, no nothing. Just the brand of gas. The fellow at the office was so nice. We drove to the dock and he pumped me some gas into my car (NJ - We can't pump). I bought a, probably very old, soda and got a hand-written receipt. It was actually a nice diversion from the norm. The boats and all were lovely, but sheesh, my Beemer at a dock getting mid-grade boat fuel !!?? I took some really unusual photos of the one pump and small little office building and left. I later thought I should call and ask Maritz about it. I was told to report it as a closed loca and submit the receipts. I probably did more than I needed to. I remembered reading something about marina locations years ago, but never paid much attention because I assumed that it would never apply to me. I couldn't find anything in the most recent manual, but that doesn't mean it's not there somewhere in with all the many instructions. So, long story short, I'm assuming I will be paid the entire fee and nice bonus for visiting the boat dock and getting some expensive mid-grade fuel.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/2014 03:50AM by MsJudi.

Maybe next time call the cops expressing concern that this shop should be open according to what you know. At least you will have some back up.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230

I will continue the NJ tangent on this thread.

In NJ I believe it is an old (and outdated) law that goes back 60 years or so. The original intent was safety based, I believe. Something to do with an explosion and fire caused by a driver. For what ever reason, the law has not been changed since then. Actually, I enjoy getting gas in NJ. The prices, because of lower State taxes, are $.20, $.30 or $.40 cheaper than NY and quite often I automatically get my windows cleaned, at least on the parkways. I feel obligated to give the attendant a small tip of $.50 or so when that happens. If this provides jobs along with cheaper gas and cleaner windshields I am all for it.

Enjoy it while you can. The state government is trying to raise the state gasoline tax substantially to help with budget problems, although there is sure to be strong opposition..we love our cheap gas here...(compared to surrounding states). But we also still have lots of tolls and extremely high taxes on everything else like real estate taxes which I believe are the highest in the country. Don't get me started on where all the $$ is going.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

Costa Rican service stations are full serve. It is nice to let someone else do the work. Funny how Americans are conditioned to do the work of restaurants, serve stations. I worked for a seek filling in at a full service station in my teens. The guy who trained me took great pride and showed me a few tricks on efficiently and effectively cleaning a wind shield.

LIJake Wrote:
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> I will continue the NJ tangent on this thread.
>

... at least on
> the parkways.

Ahhh yes, the East Coast, where we drive on the parkways and park on the driveways. LOL.

Sorry, had to do it...

"A brief history of why you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey": [www.nj.com]

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

junk1958 Wrote:
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> LIJake Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I will continue the NJ tangent on this thread.
> >
>
> ... at least on
> > the parkways.
>
> Ahhh yes, the East Coast, where we drive on the
> parkways and park on the driveways. LOL.
>
> Sorry, had to do it...

For my money, Maritz is one of the worst companies. Incredibly low pay, a lot of work and driving, difficult website and bad scheduling. I had them remove my name from consideration last year and never looked back.

Good. More shops for me.

@warmearth wrote:

For my money, Maritz is one of the worst companies.

There was a Twilight episode titled "Eye of the Beholder".

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