Good morning folks!

I have a simple question for you experienced shoppers.

I'm doing 2 audits in a few days. Debranding. Now, I want to know what do you do when people/cars are in the way of your picture taking?

Do I have to wait until they move? I'm sure some people will object to my being there with a camera. Do I tell them what I'm doing and wait for them to move?..or just take the pictures? (if they don't mind)

Thanks for the advice.

Stay cool.

I've never had any issues with the taking of the photos....

Same potential issue if you were taking pictures during a regular
photo audit, no?

I don't wait for people to move. I just take the pictures and if someone
asks what they are for I just say it's for branding. Most won't say a word

Thanks for the reply. I have never done this type of shop before. Maybe I should've mentioned this. My first!

Hi,

If you see only the back of the peoples, take the photo, if you can see their faces, wait until they move, this is what I personally do.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2013 05:24PM by yaya76.

I had that problem in a Wal Mart taking pictures of a merchandising display. This one customer was just in a direct line with my shot and apparently they had bought the store because it took forever to check them out. The minute he turned his back I took the picture. The cashier already had her back to me.

I wait for customers to move from registers, otherwise I don't sweat it too much. Over the years I've gotten quite good at photographing around people.

I did a gas station audit once and had to wait for two hookers to move before I could take a photo of the main ID sign.

Hahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!

Cettie, I'm disappointed. You missed your chance for a unique Main ID pic.

I studied and am ready to rock n roll.

Wish me luck, you pros you!

I'm no pro, but good luck anyway.

Well thank you novice! from one to another.

Canuck -
I love the debranding assignments and have done dozens, always last minute with big bonuses.
Several times the owner has been so angry with the client (the company whose logos and color schemes you are looking for) that they wouldn't let me do the audit. If that should happen, just thank them for their time, hop in your car, take the photo from across the street and the nearest street signs and you're on your way and still getting paid in full.
Otherwise, just be quick to let the owner know that you don't work for the client. The owner dropped that company for a reason, and the owner is probably going to want to tell you why, and he or she will probably do so vociferously since the company is now on their case to eliminate every vestige of shapes and colors that had anything to do with the company. If the owner or manager needs to vent a little, just let them, and try to develop a rapport, because the MSC will keep sending someone out for years until the report comes back perfect.
I'm still visiting one location five years after they debranded, and the owner told me that he refuses to paint the building a different color because he figures he's sticking it to the company by making them pay me to come out every year.

elcarev68 Wrote:
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> I'm still visiting one location five years after
> they debranded, and the owner told me that he
> refuses to paint the building a different color
> because he figures he's sticking it to the company
> by making them pay me to come out every year.


I love it....that's awesome! I guess he is really one upping them. I know they could take him to court over it for false advertising (Gas station A when it is really Gas station , but doesn't sound like the client is too interested in that.

When you do a gas station you will never know what happens...you dealing with human beings and everyone is different.
I had an audit 2 weeks ago where the employee did not know about audits and wanted to call the manager. I said go ahead, you have all the rights, I would do it too if I were you. The manager on the phone did not feel that the client had the right for an audit and refused it. I explained that it was just to check the way they were using the client's name, nothing too invasive. Still refused.
I had a debrand where the owner was so mad he almost killed me. He kept insisting he was never branded with the client name. After a while he kept telling me I was in the wrong place and I had no right to be there (I kept cool and always took his side...lol how easy to calm people down sometimes). When he calmed down he agreed to let me take the pictures. OMG I could still see the name brand under the thin tape they used and he still had the nice "oasis" color everywhere LOL.

OMG..your stories are wild! hahahahha

Mine went smoothly today considering the high winds and sand in the air AND the crazy traffic. This gas station doesn't have a big lot around it and I had to stand in the middle of those busy streets and snap pictures fast! On one side of the canopy and pumps was a building, so I could only back up to a point.

Anyway, I did my report and we shall see.

It wasn't so bad. Only 90F, full sun, sand blowing all over, maniacs driving their pickups too fast, everyone rubber necking in my direction. I'm surprised there were no collisions!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2013 10:33PM by Canuck.

Oh! I forgot to mention the manager and assistant manager were scared of me. Their eyes were huge and they looked pale. I do not think they experienced this before. I was their first!

Kundry and shopgal:

Do we have DBs in our area? Either I'm not with the right MSCs, or we don't have many here. It sounds simple enough. . . ?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2013 11:06PM by Lisa4984.

Yep, there are occasional debranding assignments in our locale. Two different MSCs do them.

LOL, it took me a sec to figure out that "DB" didn't mean "Dead Bodies"! I had just finished reading the article in the Mystery Shopper Magazine about funeral home assignments so my mind was elsewhere.

Oh, shopgal, you seriously made me LOL for real! I read the newsletter earlier today, too, and am now happy that I passed on those shops.

No one named any clients in this thread - wanna share the MSCs? How about a hint?

I found this shop today a breeze and so was the report and photo uploading.

I have another one on Wednesday.

Today I had to evaluate too Gas stations, the employees of the first one were so nice, smiling all the time.. ,

the second one, I present my self, he was soooooooo disappointed and he told me that it's a holiday and I don't have to evaluate this today because he don't have enough employees to clean and place items and he don't have a time to do it ! ...

I was little shocked by his bad attitude but I didn't really show it, I told him that to store need to be well maintained holidays, week ends and week, but if he want to me to leave, I'll leave, then he take a breath and realize that he was over reacting, he said with detachment that I can do the evaluation and I have to ask the other employee who was in the cash if I need something, I asked him his name but he refuse and said '' He will help you ! ''.

I stayed calm and start my evaluation, then he came back and try to speak with me showing me some articles that he add in the roofs and gave me the thermometer for the coffee, when I start to evaluate the poor employee who was definitively stressed by his manager, he came again and answer to the question that I asked to the employee ( he was finally smiling ), but he must trust more his employee while he was doing good..


when I finished and prepared my self to go into my care, he comes outside and he told me that he is very stressed because he have an evaluation tomorrow ( I don't know for what ) and he is not ready yet, I told him that I can understand that but he don't have to throw his stress to the others and I didn't like his attitude with me specially that I'm not his employee or a person that he know, than I thought about the poor employee inside and I told him that his employee don't need to have his stress too, he said that he know and he his so tired, 4 years without vacations ( blabla bla.. lol ) with smile I told him that he maybe need some Yoga class to relax, then he showed finally his teeth and had a real smile, he Said that he is sorry about his bad attitude

Good end

Canuck Wrote:
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> Mine went smoothly today

Glad it worked well for you! You've added another shop type to your tool kit.
If you've got another high traffic location for Wednesday, think about one of those orange vests.

Yaya it happens trust me. I live on GS. I make an avarage of 10 a week LOL But watch out on the MSC. There are some clients that put in their requirement no to shop on holidays. If I well remember it is Shell, Cenex and Sinclair.

I have one of those vests, elcarev68. Sitting in the car right now.

It was very hot yesterday and I didn't wear it, but it seems the temps will cool down slightly on Wed. Those vests are eye catchers for sure, but I can't stand in the middle of a busy street. I'll see how this one goes tomorrow, weather allowing. It's hailing out and very windy and I hope the storms moves away.

I can have 4 more jobs like that. I'll see how I did with my first one.

Have a good one!

Hello Italiano, no it was PetroCanada, I verified in the scenario and the guideline they didn't mention about the holiday.

Waw 10 by week ? , I like too those kind of evaluations, the first one take more time, but then you used to the questions and steps, it goes much faster , most of employees are stressed when you came to see them but they are very polite ( too much sometimes lol ), I try to speak with them with smile and make them comfortable when it's came to their knowledge evaluation , this one was an exception, and because he said that he is sorry and it was not personal, I didn't mention anything about that in the section of general commentary

Those two managers yesterday looked scared and I told them what I was going to do and I wouldn't be in the way and all was good. I hope they didn't stress out. Their station was perfect, btw.

I did one of these today. Took it off the board for the base rate because I'd never done one and I knew I was literally driving right past it. I won't do one again. Talk about redundancy. Geez.

How does it pay compared to the regular audit? Just curious. I've not seen one yet.

It only paid $11. Luckily the place was closed so getting the photos went quick. My problem is the stupid stuff they want, like you have to have an overall pump photo, fine, no problem. You have to have a close up of the Pump Face and another of the Price Per Unit face. Umm. I can't tell the difference between those. BUT YOU CAN'T USE THE SAME PHOTO TWICE! Even though 1 photo would have clearly shown all 3 of those. Then they have a generic "was the location free of XX brand logos?" and they want you to provide a photo. Well considering there's a logo on practically 90% of this station and I've already shown you 85 photos of them, what am I supposed to say? And what am I supposed to upload? I've already used all my photos on the actual questions, and then you give me this one? Then there's the added thing that every photo has to be renamed to the visit ID and question number. The photos took me 15 minutes to take, and that was because I took my time and checked off each individual item in the instructions. Took me 45 minutes to get everything in order and uploaded.