I would like to start doing Gas Stations, but I would like to know if anyone has any tips on them as I have never done them before. It seems like they have alot more gas shops and have dropped alot of their grocery stores and phone shops.

Patty

I have done a few a couple weeks ago and have 3 more scheduled this weekend. They are fairly easy its all about the pictures. Make sure you read the instructions really well about what pictures they need, I believe there are 11 required plus one for every "no" answer. I had one issue where they weren't able to read one of the labels on one of the pumps, but other than that it is pretty straight forward.

If Market Force had a better photo upload system (that didn't take me so long), I'd do more of them. Be prepared to spend a good half hour reporting your shop.

Do you just tag your pics as you upload from your camera?

Market Force makes you resize all of your pictures (they don't do it for you, you have to resize them under 2MB or their uploader will reject them). You also have to go through a separate process of "linking" your pictures to questions (not done during the first questionnaire). It can be a pain.

I agree with Nichtoliver. I did a total of 10 of them a while back. (over the course of a week end) Out of the ten, only 3 were accepted. Seems that they wanted the gas price sign to stand alone. Then they wanted three different pictures of the pumps from different angles. Then one of the canopy. Geesh....
What are you suppose to do when there are only one set of pumps? Or you can not get the price sign with out showing the canopy? (I will not stand in the middle of a street to do this. Not for the small amount of money they pay)
To me it was a royal pain in the _______!!!!! Never again

Thanks for all of the advice. I am just wondering if it is worth all the trouble.

Patty

These audits are quite infamous. I think there's been several topics in the last three months on this particular shop. Nobody seems to like them, yet they keep getting taken at $10/$2.

For me, it's not worth it. They're not fun, they don't pay well, and it's alot of work (at the location and back home).

Thanks for information

This is slightly off topic, not gass station but other Market Force Shops. I perform Bank and Fast Food shops for them. Yes it is a little tiresome that the CPI's and photos need to be put onto different pages. But I have filed some reports with other companies and lost the whole report because their system could not handle/accept the photo. Honestly I prefer Market Force, their one of the few companies that still ask if there was any other/extra expenses (and actualy pays them too.)

Oh, I love working for Market Force. I have worked for them 5 + years.

I did have some issues with having to convert the pics because the files were too large and I was even thinking that it was under 1mb but it might have been 2mb, but now I know not to take them in such high resolution. Just make sure you have the instructions with you because they have specific picture examples of what to take. I don't know if the pay has increased for all of them but the ones I have scheduled this weekend are $12/$2, and it only took me about 30 minutes onsite and 15 minutes to submit everything. It seems worth it to me, but then again I've only been doing this for a few weeks so this may be low pay compared to other places.

Brak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I did have some issues with having to convert the
> pics because the files were too large and I was
> even thinking that it was under 1mb but it might
> have been 2mb, but now I know not to take them in
> such high resolution. Just make sure you have the
> instructions with you because they have specific
> picture examples of what to take. I don't know if
> the pay has increased for all of them but the ones
> I have scheduled this weekend are $12/$2, and it
> only took me about 30 minutes onsite and 15
> minutes to submit everything. It seems worth it to
> me, but then again I've only been doing this for a
> few weeks so this may be low pay compared to other
> places.


Right...what Brak said. No need to resize your pictures if you take them at the correct resolution in the first place.

Thanks for all the advice.

If you choose to fax instead of upload, Market Force allows you to tape the receipt(s) onto the bottom of the CPI and send as a single page.

PMW Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is slightly off topic, not gass station but
> other Market Force Shops. I perform Bank and Fast
> Food shops for them. Yes it is a little tiresome
> that the CPI's and photos need to be put onto
> different pages. But I have filed some reports
> with other companies and lost the whole report
> because their system could not handle/accept the
> photo. Honestly I prefer Market Force, their one
> of the few companies that still ask if there was
> any other/extra expenses (and actualy pays them
> too.)

I have been doing these gas station shops for Market Force for many years. When I first started doing them, I labeled all of my pictures and almost gave up doing them due to the time that it all took. I then tried to submit my report without labeling them and everything was accepted and fine. I enjoy doing them and like that there is not a lot of narrative reporting for them. I make sure that my camera is set at no more than 3 pixels and my pictures upload fast without any problems. The shop and report are quick with the exception of having to link the photos to the questions at the end of the report. Still not too bad, but wish that they would come up with another way to add pictures to the question. I love working for them. They are reliable and they pay like clockwork!

I have worked for Market Force for over 5 years. I just havent done the gas stations. They have drop alot of their shops that is why I am thinking about doing the gas stations

Hey I have completed many gas station assignments. I have completed these shops in as fast as 35 min. It's very easy if you know what to look for. First of all I always buy gas for 2.00. You can do that regardless of whether it is a store/kiosk/garage bay. That way you are reimbursed for your gas. Secondly I do 4 of these shops a day since you are not allowed to do more than 4 MF shops in a 24 hour period. Thirdly when taking pics I set my camera at 1.3 MP. They seem to upload ok although since I live in a rural area it always takes a long time to upload these reports. And also when you are familiar with this assignment you can walk in a circle as you take the major 10 pics so that you take a pic of the next thing that you come to. Also you can answer all the Q's about the pumps if you go from pump to pump and take a pic of what is wrong with each one before preceding to the others. This saves alot of time for me. I hope this helps.

Do you tag your pics as you are uploading them. Does the new software for pics help that they have now.

Nichtoliver Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> These audits are quite infamous. I think there's
> been several topics in the last three months on
> this particular shop. Nobody seems to like them,
> yet they keep getting taken at $10/$2.
>
> For me, it's not worth it. They're not fun, they
> don't pay well, and it's alot of work (at the
> location and back home).

I'll take them if they are bonused. Some of my first shops for what was at the time Shop N Chek were these heavily bonused gas station audits. I think they were something ridiculous like $40 apiece and I was bummed when they cancelled two of them on me.

bestfr1303 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for all of the advice. I am just wondering
> if it is worth all the trouble.
>
> Patty


I haven't done gas shops with Market Force, but I have done a lot iwht Corporate Research Inc. Wait unti the sexond or third week of the month when the commissions get up over $15- $20 and then take them They require 6 photos and will resize them for you. Must have date on, on your camera. My problem is getting the full pump shot of the pump I used without being seen as I have to stand back. I don't see how MS can get all these shots without being noticed? One summer day I did ask the cashier if I could take pics of his plants as they were particularily pretty (I really did want them for a project), this gave me the cover to get all kinds of shots. Another thing is make sure your shots don't show the neighboring gas station or you may be accused of shopping the wrong location.

Gas shops can be good money, but be prepared to build a special memory file in your brain to rebemeber everything you have to. also good luck passing the training tests!

I've only done three of these. The first one was awful, it took forever, there are so many details! Plus it was a rural station, so a lot of the questions were "no", requiring a photo. Then it started raining on me!

The next one was in town, and took about half the time of the first. There was only one "no" answer. It ended up being really easy.

The third was in a small-ish town, but there was only a few "no" answers. I had gotten used to the details, and it went pretty quick. Plus the employee was a hoot! When I made my purchase (a pop), it didn't look like he was gonna give me a receipt. So I asked for one. He looked at me kinda funny, and I said something about keeping track of expenses. He said, "yeah, we gotta keep track of expenses, too, like printing receipts for a silly bottle of pop!". When I came back to complete the audit, with the letter for him to sign, he said "Oh, man! You know I was just joking, right?!" Ha!

I've looked at some of the others in town. They all look so new & slick, I'm sure I could get through them quickly. I'm looking forward to them being back on the list!

When I did it, it only required one photo of a pump, and one close-up of that pump. Not every one. I had to position myself creatively for some of the distance shots, like the canopy & the store, so as not to end up in the middle of the street... but I explained this in the report. No problems so far!

I given up on picture taken jobs! They look so clear and beautiful when Im see them before I upload them, then some of the MSC say they cant get a good picture of it. BULL!!! It is just their way of not wanting to pay. And to boot, how many pictures do you have to take after you take them and they are not up to standards even with the best camera. I paid to much money for my camera for picture taken and got regected. But when I am taken personal pictures they are all 90% of the time are perfect.

Charlene, I totally agree with you. The time it takes taking the pics and then uploading, I could be doing 4 or 5 shops.

Patty

That is why I typically do not take shops that require extensive pictures.

I have been with MF for over a year but haven't done a shop with them. I don't like the fact that I cannot see the shop information or questionnaire until I have already agreed to complete it. How can I agree if I don't know what you are asking me to do? I know that they wont give me the information, so I will ask all of you super, brilliant and experienced shoppers.

Are the questionnaires for these reveal 11+ photo shops Y/N and multiple choice? Do you have to write a bunch of explanations and narratives? Can anyone give me an idea of how many questions there are? What is the maximum number of photos that you would have to take if all conditions were negative? Also, I never see them for more than $10 +$2. Are you guys finding them on the website for more than that or does marketforce only bonus when contacting you directly?

Taking photos doesn't bother me too much. There are times when I would rather just present facts, like photos, and let them decide how to interpret them.


Thanks in advance!

** Edited because even though the test materials said 7+ photos the agreement page said a minimum of eleven.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2011 10:01PM by Miss Tori Shopper.