well you guys all gave me great info on why to not take these shops.

I did a Shell this weekend and have 2 more to do this week then I am done forever with them. Of course they complained about a picture. When I input the picture again I then got a message stating that I debriefed over 24 hours after the shop and why did I do that and there is a good chance my shop will get rejected without pay to me. Luckily it had a spot where I could put in a message. I said I debriefed within 7 hours of doing the shop (which is true). I use to do a whole route of them on a Saturday (once even having to get my daughter's car cause mine was full of gas) and loved them. They are now on my don't touch with a ten foot pole and if the team calls asking me to do some I will tell them why I won't be doing them anymore.

The msc that does these shops, do they only have gas station shops?

No, they have TONS of different shops (c'mon, Dave, that should be enough of a hint; as should PegLeg's message).

The Chevron shops are about 10% of the work for ~50% of the money. They make much more sense.

@pegleg2000 wrote:

When I input the picture again I then got a message stating that I debriefed over 24 hours after the shop and why did I do that


Same thing happened to me and it is annoying. I gave them the date and time of my invoice, which I submit right after the shop. Apparently they look at the time tat they put the shop on hold. Another glitch that has to be worked out. As for rejecting a photo, I submit the best shots I have. Unfortunately the young picky editors in training do not agree. It is why I take multiple shots and submit a second picture even though it it not as good as the first (this is subjective, of course). But it seems to keep the editors happy and they feel they are doing their job. I get a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that I am contributing to their self worth. This is why Shell is my least favorite gas station reveal shop.

Yeah. It could be better, couldn't it?

The report is cumbersome too. Now that you have to take a photo of each pump you have to input it in the shop. For Exxon/Mobil they have a separate sheet with each of the pumps which is nice since I am not able to get the pump pictures done in order (1,2,3, etc). With Shell they are within the report and you have to write down each of the pump numbers, so I have to keep track of the pumps I need to go back to.

I can weigh in on this issue. I was an editor for the shell stations. The process is subjective. Every editor interprets the guideline differently. Sorry . I wish I could say there is consistency but the turnover is great at $8.75 an hour.

@Lstockwell wrote:

I can weigh in on this issue. I was an editor for the shell stations. The process is subjective. Every editor interprets the guideline differently. Sorry . I wish I could say there is consistency but the turnover is great at $8.75 an hour.

Interesting and not surprising. I think the key word here are subjective and $8.75. Thanks for your input.

Lstockwell, perhaps you can satisfy my curiosity. I have found the Shell editors much harsher than the editors of the other brands. Is there a reason for that?

I have my opinion - and this is just my opinion. The MSC has drop-dead dates that shops have to be completed quarterly for the client. The MSC tries to break them up and get them completed in stages so they can be edited then go through a second quality check before it goes to the client. The second editor, in my opinion, was not consistent. If it was getting close to the drop-dead date you don't get extensions and it only goes through one quality check.

I want to add I also worked for a fuel Jobber that did the branding contracts for shell. If the station gets too many negative mystery shops they can lose their branding. The oil company invests a lot of money into branding. The station signs a contract for 10years to keep the brand at a certain standard. If the station loses their branding they have to pay back 10's of 1000's of dollars to the oil company. It can financially bankrupt a business owner if we don't audit fairly and the MSC does not submit fair scores. I hope this sheds light on why it is important everyone does the very best job they can along the way.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2018 09:24PM by Lstockwell.

I have noticed that a some stations are a different brand regularly. There is one by me that I would shop for Valero, then Mobil, now it is Shell. A few others that were Shell and are now Chevron.

I have been Told by the support staff is that there NEW software is some of the problem for it kicks out what it considers duplicate photos , it seems to me that the EDITORS want the photo exactly as in the guild lines. I just finish 7 of them and I had 4 of them by mb put them on hold for We need closer view of the pump. I have always sent them so you could see pump, baldards. and washer station if possible. This new guide is asking close up of the pump only. I to got nailed for giving a full view of canopy sides and bottom ,columns and all of driveway. If you look at the guild closely and adjust to make photos exactly as they show you might not me put on hold. The BIGGEST problem I have is not getting full view of counter, different view of the overall interior and the product selection. The Bathroom shot has to show the complete sink if nothing else. If you shop these regular do not get discouraged just call The Troubleshooter and this lady will get the shop thru. Side question IF you have a hold and the Editor tell you what they want to be fixed, does the same question appear more than once in the report or is it just me?

@bmttinman wrote:

. Side question IF you have a hold and the Editor tell you what they want to be fixed, does the same question appear more than once in the report or is it just me?

It is not just you and it is very annoying.

I wonder if it would be feasible, since we're dealing with a large MSC here, to request to them that you do not want a certain editor to review your reports due to prior history?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/02/2018 09:48PM by tcurione.

tinman, I think you are an experienced gas station shopper and know that they make the rules and we follow them if we want to play the game. The photos haven't changed. They want a full view of the pump closeup from top to bottom, no bollards or trash can. If you haven't changed the way you take this shop perhaps they have gotten stricter because all pumps are now required. As for the canopy they request a shot of the forecourt and what is under the canopy, not the fascia. I learned the hard way to step back and take a full, angled shot of the counter and not just the area where the attendant stands. Same thing with the food shot. If it is bananas, as it often is, don't take a close up. Again step back and take the whole area. I also try not to submit the overall interior and product shots from the same location. Chances are the same end cap will be in the middle of the picture and the editors will jump all over that. I regularly use the pan feature of my camera for the interior shot and restroom as well, getting the toilet, sink and anything on the wall.

I also did 7 shops last month and 2 were red carded. One was my fault, omitting a shot of one of the pumps, which was easy to correct as I had it and sent it in. The 2nd was, as I described above, the interior and product shots taken from the same angle. Fortunately, I take interior shots from 2 or 3 different angles and submitted another product shot, not as good as the original IMO, and the hold was removed.

Who is The Troubleshooter?

By the way, I don't think they would bypass a certain editor upon request. In fact, I think that comment would go into your file as a negative.

Deleted a long vent. Sorry for your inconvenience.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/2018 04:52AM by Username2018.

I have only seen Shell in my area lately. Does the same MSC do Chevron that did them last year or are they elsewhere. I do not like the new format they use as the only thing showing up on my map now is Shell.

In addition to all of the above, my issue is editors that cannot or will not read answers in the report. Case in point: The location does not have a store. It is a service facilty with an adjacent walk-in payment counter. In no less than 3 spots in the report I stated there is no store. There is even a question that asks if the station was a service facility, and another that asks is there is a store. And yet the shop goes on hold for lack of an interior photo of the store that does not exist. Heavy sigh ...Further, the shop is now considered to be late AND they want to know why. I used 2 words in that comment section, EDITOR ERROR.

There is work still to be done on the new format. The late notice after an editor hold is annoying. Let's hope it is a work in progress and eventually fixed. I must say, I did 7 of these shops last week with no, IMO, silly editor red cards.

I'm not typically a cynical person, but, after a doing so many of these, its my belief that no matter how excellent your photos are, the editor will reject some in a percentage of shops in order to justify that they are doing their jobs correctly.

Also, I've said this in other threads: When a shop is put on hold, I have noticed many times that my answers have been changed by the editors.

That is just wrong.

I agree with FF on both counts. But I believe editors from all brands for this MSC make a lot of changes. I really don't care about that as long as they put my shops through.

@LIJake wrote:

I agree with FF on both counts. But I believe editors from all brands for this MSC make a lot of changes. I really don't care about that as long as they put my shops through.

I've never said anything about the last thing (answers being changed) to anyone at the MSC. I wonder if the upper mgmt. is aware of this.

I'm generally in the school of thought, "The report belongs to the MSC, so they can change anything they want as long as I get paid", however, last year I returned to a station I do on a regular basis, and it is run by the owner. He says, "Hey, usually you are pretty fair, and if you mark it down, I fix it....but dirty bathroom floors?!?'" I was puzzled because the last time I was there, I had actually caught him mopping the floors of the restrooms himself. They were clean! The MSC interpreted his acid washed and polished floors as "exceptionally dirty" when it was actually just the flooring style he had chose.........so sometimes the MSC can in fact, make you look stupid!!

I think mgmt is fully aware and approve of of the changes that the editors make. The prime concern is to get an acceptable report to the client. We supply pictures and info and others decide how to use it.