Who cares if they know you're the shopper. Almost every gas audit I do they know who I am when I walk in the door.

Actually, in some ways gas station shops in NJ are easy once you get past the purchase requirement. Most of the branded gas stations have 4, 6, or 8 pump faces (due to staffing issues - that is about how many a single attendant can possibly deal with) and many were or still are traditional service stations. That means that they often do not have a convenience store. Some have outsourced the service bays, and therefore the "office" is often the kiosk between pumps where the attendant takes refuge between cars. You get a receipt, and it doesn't matter if the receipt came from the pump or from the kiosk or the office, you just report what happened. No need to go to a second pump to buy more gas to see if it gives you a receipt if the first pump doesn't give you one. The brands which allow for $5 or $6 of gas are fine, other than it is hard to use up gas fast enough. The brand which only reimburses for $1 of gas of course becomes an issue because once I run out of gift cards with low balances, I personally feel compelled to buy at least $5.

@elcarev68 wrote:

Use PixResizer to resize them to the right size. It takes less than ten seconds per 100 photos and is easy enough for techno-dinosaurs to use.

Why bother with resizing? Just have your camera set to the proper size before you even take a single photo.

@Sybil2 wrote:

@elcarev68 wrote:

Use PixResizer to resize them to the right size. It takes less than ten seconds per 100 photos and is easy enough for techno-dinosaurs to use.

Why bother with resizing? Just have your camera set to the proper size before you even take a single photo.

Several times per year I am able to capture a missed photo cropped from another higher resolution photo. That missed MID attachment, the out of date POP on the side of the pump, even a building photo, all cropped from much further away but high-res photos. I save hours and many miles per saved shop each year at the expense of a couple seconds of resizing per shop.

Well, I really bit off more than I could chew this time...first shop, 25 minutes, done; 2nd shop, 18 minutes, done. Third shop, that guy REALLY wanted me to take that $32,000 tractor home with me! On and on
and on it went....til 4 PM. Since I MUST be home by dark, and it gets dark at 5:30 and it's an hour and a
half drive, had to head home. Three reports to do now before I can rest...and have to go back tomorrow
and do the other three (last possible day is tomorrow).

Unfortunately, I can't do anything about the drive time -- it is what it is. And I really can't do anything about
being old. And tired.



All the organization in the world doesn't help if your get up go got up and went. If I could just find where it
went and get it back.....

@elcarev68 wrote:

Several times per year I am able to capture a missed photo cropped from another higher resolution photo. That missed MID attachment, the out of date POP on the side of the pump, even a building photo, all cropped from much further away but high-res photos. I save hours and many miles per saved shop each year at the expense of a couple seconds of resizing per shop.

I can honestly say that I have never totally missed a photo. For gas stations or other assignments that require double-digit photos, I always use a checklist. If for some reason I second guess myself, I check my images in the camera before leaving the property. Shooting is second nature to me though so I guess I have that on my side.

I'm here to testify that back in my broke a$$ college and grad school days, I did in fact (as a regular customer) occasionally purchase $1 or $2 in gas to get me through until payday.

So you can do it, people will just think you are a broke a$$ fool. LOL

____
CeciliaM
Not good at budgeting since 1992

Now I'm really happy I didn't get all 6 shops done. It's almost 2 AM, and I just finished the USPS report. My receipt has 32 digits, and the report only has space for 29! Frantic e-mails awaiting the scheduler in the AM!
Now to bed, so I can hit the road again! Tonight I do feel like a "road warrior"!

@ceasesmith wrote:

My receipt has 32 digits, and the report only has space for 29! Frantic e-mails awaiting the scheduler in the AM!

Try leaving out the dashes (-----). The USPS CPU report I did last week told me to do this.

i did 3 gas stations yesterday, 2 were full serve... i purchased $1 at all of them and not a care was given, especially not from me. these are reveal audits, not mystery shops(ok technically they are) its all about photos, especially the locations with just service bays.

AZ, good idea.

But I tried that, and it didn't work.

Questionnaire also clearly states to show it with all hyphens/dashes, etc.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/19/2016 12:08AM by ceasesmith.

Well thought out and posted elcare. Is what you describe a typical day or an optimal day? The best I have done is 8 gas stations and, separately, 13 banks. But then my typical day starts between 9 and 10 and back home by 2 or 3. No wonder I can't do 17 shops a day. And I normally stay within 30 miles of my home. If I go further I negotiate bonuses. Works for me.

I've done 14 or 15 in a single day. These were shops that required you to go in to a store and record every model of printer/scanner/projector available for sale.

@ceasesmith wrote:

AZ, good idea.

But I tried that, and it didn't work.

Questionnaire also clearly states to show it with all hyphens/dashes, etc.

Oh well, it was worth a try. On my USPS CPU shops, the form said to omit dashes. I just thought it might work on the regular USPS too.

@elcarev68 wrote:

Several times per year I am able to capture a missed photo cropped from another higher resolution photo. That missed MID attachment, the out of date POP on the side of the pump, even a building photo, all cropped from much further away but high-res photos. I save hours and many miles per saved shop each year at the expense of a couple seconds of resizing per shop.

Some clients have guidelines that don't accept altered photos. yes they can tell if they know what to look for.

@MSNinja wrote:

Some clients have guidelines that don't accept altered photos. yes they can tell if they know what to look for.

I don't know this shop, so don't know the guidelines. But I'm confused as to how a cropped and/or resized photo is considered altering it? I have to resize my photos all the time for reports.... But maybe these gas-station shops are different? Even so, I think of "altering" a photo as actually doing something to it to change the image (e.g., erasing the pump number and putting in a different number because you forgot to take a photo of one of the pumps).

If I do start doing gas-station shops, this is something I definitely should know....

@BirdyC wrote:

But I'm confused as to how a cropped and/or resized photo is considered altering it? I have to resize my photos all the time for reports.... But maybe these gas-station shops are different? Even so, I think of "altering" a photo as actually doing something to it to change the image (e.g., erasing the pump number and putting in a different number because you forgot to take a photo of one of the pumps).

If I do start doing gas-station shops, this is something I definitely should know....

I wasnt just talking about gas stations. many guidelines say to not alter a photo.

"It means whatever is done to a photo after the capture. Usually it refers to image manipulation in software program, like Photoshop, etc. Altering can be as simple as minor adjustments of levels, color, and sharpness, or it may mean altering the original file almost completely to create a different image altogether."

Manipulation comes in many forms.

Definitely any change in size to the photo is considered altering it. It's the same for the well-known chain pizza shops. The guidelines state to not alter or resize the photos (for one of the MSCs, anyway, not sure about the other one).

Sometimes my original photos are too large to fit the size requirements of the shop form, so I have to re-size. And there are times when thin lettering on a business card doesn't show up clearly on a scan, so I might adjust the image solely so that the lettering shows (e.g., increase the contrast so that the scanned image matches the actual card). Sometimes, in order to avoid being observed from inside a store, I take a photo from some distance away, then crop it in so that the storefront is clear.

I don't think I've ever done a shop in which I didn't crop out obviously extraneous background or resize a photo. I've never had a photo questioned.... Obviously, I've never manipulated an image to make it different than the original.

Seriously, I really doubt anyone does that many every. single. day.

$1.44/gal unleaded today

@amberngriffinco wrote:

Seriously, I really doubt anyone does that many every. single. day.

does what every single day?

You are not doing anything wrong.

I have a six cylinder car, I can do 3 a day, maybe 4 or 5 if I am willing to drive a long distance, get stuck in traffic, etc. etc, If anyone does 10 or 12 a day they most be driving a 747. For me, it's not worth the effort.

I prefer to be a dinosaur. When technology fails, you are in big time trouble.

Cheers!

@ceasesmith wrote:

I was talking to a scheduler about a $10 (plus gas and small inside purchase reimbursement). I asked her if they really ever get any shopper to accept these shops at base rate (looking at the paperwork, I cannot see how anyone can be on-site for less than 45 minutes -- list the products offered for sale, list the food items listed for sale, multiple photos, etc.; then doing the report, with photos -- I can't get through one in less than one-half hour!) And she said they have "many" shoppers who do "10 or 12 of these a day, day after day".

Okay, first, how do you USE 24 gallons of gas in one day? If the stations are close enough together to even get to 12 of them in a day, where in the world do you put the gas? Drive a truck or something? Counting drive time, how do you fit in 10-12 stops, photos and all, get home, and do all those dreadful reports?

I don't think I've ever scheduled more than 5 shops in a day. And by the time I've done reports, I've put in
12-15 hours, EASY. NO way would I do that for 10 shops at $10 each. When I schedule 5, I aim to make $200
or close to it.

What am I doing wrong? How in the world to you get reports done in less than half an hour each (I'm talking mystery shop plus reveal and audit here). What am I missing?

I AM organized.

Am I just working too hard to do a perfect job?

Thanks for input/suggestions/ideas, etc.

(And if the answer is technology, I admit to being a dinosaur.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2016 01:52AM by arrow57.

Not all gas station shops are created equal. I have done 12 to 15 actual GS mystery shops per day over a two day rural route. I have also done eight or more audits right here in town without it taking more five hours.

@arrow57 wrote:

You are not doing anything wrong.

I have a six cylinder car, I can do 3 a day, maybe 4 or 5 if I am willing to drive a long distance, get stuck in traffic, etc. etc, If anyone does 10 or 12 a day they most be driving a 747. For me, it's not worth the effort.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

Oh, I love those MS assignments that are drive in, get gas, make a small purchase, find the air dispenser (does it LOOK like it's working?), snap a photo of the MID, and LEAVE. In and out in 15 minutes, even if you saunter casually around the store, looking for a goody to buy, and wash your hands in the restroom. I will do those ALL DAY at $20-$25 each. The problem is that the closest one is 45 miles away, 2nd is 60 miles away -- in the opposite direction! The farthest one I do is 170 miles away, in (of course) the opposite direction from the first 2! I use them as fillers, when I have an "anchor" shop in the same town. So the drawback to doing 10 of those in a day (which I would do, happily, at $20-$25 each) is the drive time and distances involved. If I'm driving
170 miles each way, I can only count on the stamina/time to complete 3 shops. So my "anchor" shop has
to pay $125 or so. And of course a food shop is nice, too, since I have to eat anyway!

OTOH, I would NOT do 10 a day at $10 each. Too much work for not enough money.

I wish to thank you all again for your reasoned, detailed responses. I do hope newbies are following this thread! Lots of good suggestions, knowledge, hints here, and I thank you all.

I gotta find me some of those $20 15-minute gas-station shops! They sound like my kind of shop....

Ya gotta travel to 'em, Birdy. They are there; usually in podunk towns in the middle of nowhere! When I see them hit $20, I usually call some schedulers and ask them to sweeten it a little more, because they can't find
another shopper. I get $25 for the one 45 miles away, $40 for the one 60 miles away....and up to $125 for the
one 170 miles away. Strangely, I also get $125 for the one 123 miles away...guess which one I prefer, LOL!!!

I find that after some weeks not doing gas stations I have to get back in the swing to do very many. I left yesterday with the intention of doing 5. I did 2 and came home because I had a splitting headache. That's one of the perks of being an IC. Of course I have 5 more weeks to do these so it's not a big deal, but I definitely have to get up to speed. I have bunches of them to get done. When I am up to speed, I am still lazy, so I tend to not do more than 4-5 in a day. That includes the driving which is usually at least 100 miles for that many stations. I try not to bite off more than I can comfortably chew. Kudos to all of you who get 10 done in a day. I'm just not that person and I never will be.

I can do 10 to 12 a day but not every day of the week. For me a day with 200 miles and 9 to 12 shops means doing some reports in the middle of the night or the next morning. Next morning reporting kills some of the next day as far as shopping goes. I'm still reporting now but I'll get out of here late afternoon for a grocery store, a fast casual, and one to three stations here in town depending on how much daylight I have left.

I had one of those longer days yesterday with seven strung out gas stations out of a mostly local bundle which were a little over $10 each plus $1 rb, one bonus station which came in at $40.44 total, and one fast casual at a flat $30. I already had the gas stations set up and was able to pick up the bonus station and the bonus fast casual and add them in. It was a long day and not a huge amount of money for the work involved but hey, it's beats holding down a 9 to 5 and showing up on the dot with a ribbon in my hair.

I know when I book the cheap stations I may or may not be able to pick up goodies to add in. That's a risk I take and overall it works for me.

If you only do stations now and then you may never get up to speed so that you consider them worthwhile. Most of my day is spent driving and listening to music which I find enjoyable. The actual on site time doesn't amount to much per station. This is not high dollar work but it's flexible and I love it.

@amberngriffinco wrote:

Seriously, I really doubt anyone does that many every. single. day.

So far this year I have had 1 day that I did less than 12 shops and have had 2 that I did more than 25. Admittedly I have only worked 19 days this year.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/22/2016 12:18AM by bgriffin.