Hi all- I was just curious. Without naming clients or MSPs, what is the average pay for a revealed gas station audit that requires pictures?

They offer $8-10 initially. I won't do for less than $20 locally. If I have to travel I'll hold out for $30. I'm watching one in my town right now for $18-something and I will not budge till it hits $20. That station has 12 pumps and is generally compliant, too, but has a couple chronic issues (damaged bollards) that have to be photographed.


I don't know what an "average" price would be. Depends on where it is, how many shoppers in an area, how much they have to pay in bonus to get a seasoned shopper to nibble.

True...definitely a lot of variables involved

The ones I did in Flagstaff (100 miles away) were $50 when I took two of them.

Joan. I bet you might be a bit more than curious. Does Inside Evaluators have a bid out on this?

Obviously a rhetorical question, since it really can't be answered.

mrcomputer101 Wrote:
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> Joan. I bet you might be a bit more than curious.
> Does Inside Evaluators have a bid out on this?

The problem with gas station shops is that they are EVERYWHERE, including out in the boondocks on an interstate, and in small towns in out of the way places. There are stations in remote areas of Northern Arizona that pretty much start at $50 and I don't think they get taken even for that most of the time.

It's easy to get the ones in a major metro area covered -- lots of shoppers, low cost to get to them -- but to clean up the board at month end will cost some bonus money for sure to get all the remote ones.

I just signed up for my for my first gas station audits. Any tips?

I'll take them around $16 for the one MSC that I do this with if I can group a few together. Remote locations bring a lot more.

I probably average $20 per shop and they take me less than an hour to perform and report.

Lately the in town ones go for between $16 and $29 depending on rotation. Otherwise it is $30 to $50.

Delwilliams Wrote:
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> I just signed up for my for my first gas station
> audits. Any tips?


Take the photos in order of the questions. Check photo quality immediately. Be sure pump numbers are clear. Remember to get receipts. Remember to look for the Credit Card applications. Before you leave the site, fill out the report to make sure you didn't miss anything.

Relax. They're really not that hard, not matter how many pages the instructions are. Once you've done one, the rest will be much faster because on your first one, you're figuring out terminology and stuff.

Don't forget the vest if you're required to use one.

I find it helpful to compress all the points I need to hit into a one page document. I print one out for each audit and I can quickly check off items, record info, make sure I've taken all the pics, etc..

Joan -
An additional variable in GS pricing is the amount and type of reimbursement. I don't need another pack of gum or can of soda, but I do need an indoor receipt. Reimbursement for the in-store purchase in no way enhances the value of the shop.
However, since I'm always driving to a GS shop, I always need gas, and I do factor that into the value of a shop.
Some reimburse no gas. Some reimburse $1 (which is ludicrous - who else but a mystery shopper goes into the store to ask for a receipt for $1.00 in gas when the receipt didn't print at the pump?) Some reimburse $3. Some reimburse 2 gallons.
I have done well over one thousand GS shops, and my standard is that pay plus gas must equal $21 or more for me to take any revealed GS shop. I average just over $26 per shop. I've received as high as $70.
Hope this helps.

I recent signed up with the company that has the $1 gas reimbursement. That made me laugh, in a very sad sort of way. What *are* they thinking?

I do the quick no-reveal mystery shops that reimburse up to $5 of gas, and feel like even that low amount pegs me as a shopper. However, I'm not going to get more than is reimbursed because if I am paying for the gas, I'm going to one of the stations where it always costs less.

I think for the revealed shops, I would want at least $25. As elcarev68 said, gas counts toward that, but the inside purchase does not because it isn't something I would buy if it weren't for the shop.

Delwilliams Wrote:
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> I just signed up for my for my first gas station
> audits. Any tips?

I do tons of fuel station shops for at three different gas stations, here are my tips:

1. Understand their lingo and acronyms - understand what an MID is, what is a pump island, storefront curbs, what's a CRIND, ICR, what's the difference between a light pole and a column (sounds simple, but people screw it up) what is the pump skirt, pump valence, bollards, and fueling position.

2. Know what the current point of purchase (POP) materials are - a lot of stations let these things go, so you often find outdated POP. Take lots of pictures of the POP - it will save you in the long run.

3. Credit Card applications - know what the current one is, and where all should it be displayed (inside and outside). Also, do they have a business card application, or a gift card and are they accessible to the customer. Take pictures of these, you won't regret it.

4. Taking pictures at the correct angles - one of the fuel shops wants a photo of the fuel pumps from outside the canopy at a 45 degree angle. Also, make sure you get the entire pump, don't leave anything off.

5. Branded vs. unbranded diesel fuel, and E-85. Understand the difference between branded and unbranded diesel will be in their guide, and do they carry E-85. Take pictures of all of these, again it will save you time.

6. Safety vest photo - don't forget it. Also, I do some pay-at-pump shops where there is no store, but they still want a safety vest photo, so make sure you take a photo in your vest on the property.

7. Overall photo - you may run into locations where it is not safe to take a photo from across the street due to traffic/location - if this happens, make a note on your report. I once told a MSC my life wasn't worth $20 for an overall photo that I would have to take from the shoulder of a major highway. I got paid for the shop. What I have found with overall photos, if you can show the MID, the fuel canopy, the pumps, building, and they can see a street, you will be good.

Yes, this sounds like a lot, but once you do several fuel shops for the same company you can knock them out in 20-25 minutes. I prefer one fuel station because you get their forms sent to you, so you don't have to print any forms off. I do have another company I like because they have several stand alone locations with no c-store and no attendant, so they are super quick and easy. The hardest thing for me is when I have to make a $1.00 c-store purchase, because a lot of the stuff under a dollar in a c-store is junk.

Safety vest? No one told me about a safety vest. Shall buy one tomorrow.

Del, not all of them require a safety vest, in fact, I've only heard of one MSC that does so check your paperwork.

River, the gas receipt is just to evaluate the pump and if everything is working so they don't want it to be more than a buck. If there are stations nearby with gas a lot cheaper my purchase will be close to the dollar limit, but it is rare for there to be more than a few cents difference. More often than not, I will fill up figuring if it is 10 gallons that's 10 cents off per gallon and for five gallons it is a 20 cent discount. Either way it is one less stop so the value is my time as well.

Delwilliams Wrote:
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> Safety vest? No one told me about a safety vest.
> Shall buy one tomorrow.

You can find these for under $5 at Wal-Mart. If you are doing a fuel shop at a very busy station you might want it even if it's not required. People drive like maniacs in parking lots, but if they see a safety vest they are more inclined to slow down.

Good point, Lisa. I tend not to fill up when doing gas shops because they are often back to back, and I don't use that much gas in general (unless I am making a special trip for a mini-route), but do try to get my money's worth out of the reimbursements. I have to remember that time is money too.

LisaSTL Wrote:
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> River, the gas receipt is just to evaluate the
> pump and if everything is working so they don't
> want it to be more than a buck. If there are
> stations nearby with gas a lot cheaper my purchase
> will be close to the dollar limit, but it is rare
> for there to be more than a few cents difference.
> More often than not, I will fill up figuring if it
> is 10 gallons that's 10 cents off per gallon and
> for five gallons it is a 20 cent discount. Either
> way it is one less stop so the value is my time as
> well.

So, can we condence down a 37 page guide, which is mainly pictures to take with us, or do I have to carry that book on every audit?

Just read the book and make a short list. Most of it is common sense items...

Carry it on your first shop. You likely won't need it after you've done one or two.

Thanks. That makes sense.

I keep my booklet in my car...I have done over 900 gs audits, but just in case I have a random question about the weird station that doesn't fit in with others...I have the booklet. I rarely ever, if ever, look at it anymore.

I always carry all of mine. The downloadable guides I keep in a three ring binder. The ones that get mailed to me I keep in a milk crate in the trunk. Since I regularly shop 5 different GS's, it's probably about 1 out of every twenty shops that I have to reference a guide, e.g. for one MSC it's no signs within 5 feet of the PID, for another it's no signs under the PID, for another it's no signs attached to the PID, for another it doesn't matter at all. Nozzle cover color standards are another that blend together in my head and the guides, well, guide.

I love gas station audits in the "boonies."

I can combine a $50 gas station with a $40 post office and a $60 bank shop in a little town in the Rockies, get all the reports done with my iPad and wifi hub while I'm having coffee in the local cafe, take a few photos for a souvenir, then drive off and repeat the process 2 or 3 more times in a single day.

It's fun and lucerative - this kind of work is why I love my job.

Joan -
In case you are looking at adding a GS client, I would ask that a list of any required photos be added onto the evaluaton form. It would only add one line per required photo (or less if in columns), with just check boxes next to each photo description. I think a lot fewer rejected shops would result.
I've had to return to GS sites once per year for a missing photo, and it's always one of the required ones, usually because customers were in the way when I went to get the photo the first time (counter, restroom, etc.), and I forgot to get it before I left.

Delwilliams Wrote:
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> So, can we condence down a 37 page guide, which is
> mainly pictures to take with us, or do I have to
> carry that book on every audit?

Del,

I don't shop everyday, so for me it's helpful to develop a one page form for each client. I can't remember all the particulars if I only shop that client every other month or so.

I set it up in order of the shop flow, have check boxes for each required photo (as elcarev68 wisely recommends), and a list of every detail I need to capture. I have space to write all the info on the form. When I sit down to do the report I have all the info I need on one page instead of a booklet the size of the JC Penney catalog.

Usually when I do the first report or so I discover some detail that was left off my form and I revise it for the next shop. By the time I do the second or third shop my form helps me complete the audit in 15-20 minutes. A small station with four pumps and no negative conditions could be less than 10.

I can't for the life of me understand why the MSC's or clients don't create a one page form ahead of time. I think it would help shop accuracy and probably make the shop easy enough that shoppers wouldn't hold out for $20+ per shop.