My audits take 35-60 minutes depending on the # of pumps and how busy the station is. But three hours to upload the report with photos? Are you using a dial-up Internet connection? My reports take about 20 - 30 minutes including the invoice.@ceasesmith wrote:
I have found the Maritz shops not worth the money. Even getting a few extra dollars per station to do a route, I found each audit to take an hour and the reports would sometimes take me 3 hours to complete, with as many as 88 photos to take and download to the report!
If a customer "camps out" at the pump screwing around with their cell phone, I knock on the window and ask them to move. Why should my pay decrease with every tick of the clock because some butthead needs to posts a selfie to Instagram?@pegleg2000 wrote:
I am not crazy about the Maritz ones that you have to take a picture of each of the pumps. Sometimes it is hard to get to a pump if the station is busy or a customer sits in their car and talks on the phone for a while after getting their gas. I believe that is the $17 one.
@Sybil2 wrote:
My audits take 35-60 minutes depending on the # of pumps and how busy the station is. But three hours to upload the report with photos? Are you using a dial-up Internet connection? My reports take about 20 - 30 minutes including the invoice.@ceasesmith wrote:
I have found the Maritz shops not worth the money. Even getting a few extra dollars per station to do a route, I found each audit to take an hour and the reports would sometimes take me 3 hours to complete, with as many as 88 photos to take and download to the report!
@HonnyBrown wrote:
How much reimbursement does Maritz give for gas?
@sitotw wrote:
Hello, I do gas station mystery shops for Market Force. I had one last night that had to be done 7 -9 PM. I got email from Maritz today regarding gas station routes. Has anybody done these and how is it?
@ceasesmith wrote:
I have found the Maritz shops not worth the money. Even getting a few extra dollars per station to do a route, I found each audit to take an hour and the reports would sometimes take me 3 hours to complete, with as many as 88 photos to take and download to the report! And they really believe I should do all that for a total of about $17, including reimbursements? They fail to understand that there are not enough working hours in a week to make a living by working for considerably less than minimum wage! For example, I do a gas station route for one MSC, 9 shops, 2 overnight hotel stays, and net $700; Maritz wanted me to travel just as far and do 7 stations for $280 GROSS.
At base pay plus reimbursements, even gas stations 5 minutes from my house ended up making less than minimum wage.
I thought about picking some up as "filler" on routes, but they are just too much work. To me, a "filler" should be quick, with an easy report, and pay up to $25.
However, some shoppers LIKE doing them, and have figured out how to make a living wage while shopping for Maritz.
And Maritz has many good things going for them -- they are almost always reachable by phone, they try hard to be helpful, they will send you a paper check, and, best of all, they don't have the crazy insane 8 hour filing deadline for their reports. They also pay very fast, usually within 2 weeks of the reports being approved.
Also, something I didn't know when I started with them, after you complete your report, you have to submit an invoice to get paid (it is on the website). So be SURE to submit the invoice!
@LIJake wrote:
I know we have had this discussion before, and risking redundancy, I tend to agree with Sybill and Hoju. Except my 3000 Maritz shops pale compared to Hoju's 8000. Cease, in my opinion, the key to these gas station shops is a well thought out and organized worksheet. My suggestion is to set it up in the order you do the shop but keep it flexible enough that you can move on from a blocked pump, for instance, and pick it up later in the process. As you move through the shop each completed item should be checked off so that nothing is missed. The biggest hang-up can be attempting to do each pump in order rather than taking pictures as the pumps become available. My routine is fill-up, park, do the C-store, then the restroom, take the pump pictures, then the MID and overall and finally return to the pumps to note the additional info needed. I can do a simple 6 pump station in 20 minutes if there are no hang-ups but my average is around 30 minutes for all stations. And 88 photos is an overkill. How many of those photos do you actually use in your report? Finally, 3 hours is about 2 1/2 too long for uploading your report. If you have an accurate worksheet you should be able to complete your report from that without having to review your photos. As I said, the worksheet is the key.
You don't need to actually print out the security code. You can just write it down somewhere on your paperwork. I add the security code to my cheat sheet. Easy peasy!@MA Smith wrote:
My biggest peeve is needing to print off the security code. I could pick up more work on the fly; if I didn't need the security code to write reports.
Obviously, you've lived to tell the tale, but I assume every stranger has a gun and is willing to use it. No way would I knock on a window and tell a stranger to move on. You must MS in a nice parts of the country.@Sybil2 wrote:
If a customer "camps out" at the pump screwing around with their cell phone, I knock on the window and ask them to move. Why should my pay decrease with every tick of the clock because some butthead needs to posts a selfie to Instagram?
@LIJake wrote:
The biggest hang-up can be attempting to do each pump in order rather than taking pictures as the pumps become available.