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Need Advice. While Completing a Gas Station Shop I was Threatened and Literally Chased off Property

May 23, 2019 11:57AM
@Megs7521 wrote:

I’ve done hundreds of gas stations. If I felt threatened or was told no when I did the reveal, I would leave immediately and submit with a note. An “overall” photo can be done in 2 seconds from across the street as I drive away.

I’m not going to waste my time or breath trying to cajole some employee into allowing their own inspection to take place. It’s not my problem. I submit quality work and expect to be paid when the odd situations come along.

I agree.

I have been told by shop employees to not take any photos. I say "Okay" and leave. I go across the street, take an overall photo and anything else that is needed for a declined shop.
At one particular shop that I have done over and over, it has been consistently declined. No problem, less work for me. In each instance, the employee was rude and nasty. I just shrug. I kind of looked forward to the shop as I knew I would be through it faster than normal.
Except for the last time. I informed the same rude employee of the site inspection while noticing another employee nearby. It turned out he was the owner. He said it would be okay to do the inspection, just do not take a photo of the counter employee.
"Sure," I said.
The rude employee smiled!
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More About Gas Station Mystery Shopping
May 23, 2019 12:26PM
I would have immediately began videotaping him with my phone and sent tge footage to the scheduler requesting that I be paid.
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May 24, 2019 11:04PM
I have something similar happen to me. The sheriff was called. I got off property and waited for sheriff. I told him my side of the story and showed him a copy of the authorization letter. I email and call the MSC as the instructions in the guide stated . I have never been able to no these shops again. I still do shops for the MSC since then which has been 4 years now. ANYONE can have this happen to them at any shop. Remember the guide Don't fight them just leave for the lawyer is your expense and law suits from the client and the Mystery Shopping Company can happen.
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May 25, 2019 04:50PM
I have never told an MSC when I felt threatened for fear of being considered a wimp and removed from the project completely.
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May 25, 2019 05:37PM
This seems to happen a lot on field inspection for wegolook and especially onsource. They will tell you on the phone the client is waiting for you, and then when you full up there is usually some hillbilly that runs out the door "Can I help you?" as they run out the door.
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May 25, 2019 07:55PM
Hand them the LOA, calmly tell them I will let the company know the audit was declined, get in my car and leave.
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May 26, 2019 02:29AM
@sestrahelena wrote:

I have never told an MSC when I felt threatened for fear of being considered a wimp and removed from the project completely.

You are certainly not the first, and they will not think you are a wimp. Just calmly explain what happened in your report, and possibly in an email/call to the scheduler (depending on circumstances).
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May 26, 2019 02:46AM
I was doing one of those contactless Visa shops and customers noticed me taking a photo of the Apple Pay logo. Three or four of them, one of whom was a certifiable lunatic who kept talking about the Illuminati, surrounded me and demanded to know what I was doing. Another one asked me where I was parked. I ended up calling the police for an escort out of this s**hole convenience store, and the guys finally relented. I notified the MSC what happened, explained that I still expected payment, and received said payment at the appropriate time.
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May 26, 2019 03:07AM
@chrisg0619 wrote:

I was doing one of those contactless Visa shops and customers noticed me taking a photo of the Apple Pay logo. Three or four of them, one of whom was a certifiable lunatic who kept talking about the Illuminati, surrounded me and demanded to know what I was doing. Another one asked me where I was parked. I ended up calling the police for an escort out of this s**hole convenience store, and the guys finally relented. I notified the MSC what happened, explained that I still expected payment, and received said payment at the appropriate time.

What state was this in? What a bunch of nutjobs.
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May 26, 2019 03:15AM
This was in Philly, in a not-so-nice neighborhood.
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May 26, 2019 03:23AM
@chrisg0619 wrote:

This was in Philly, in a not-so-nice neighborhood.

That's funny, I'm in Philadelphia this entire weekend Mystery Shopping. There's a special kind of wackjob you can find in this city. They're not any crazier than the wackjobs of other cities. They're just way more confident.
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May 26, 2019 03:10PM
@Jbrz123 wrote:

@chrisg0619 wrote:

This was in Philly, in a not-so-nice neighborhood.

That's funny, I'm in Philadelphia this entire weekend Mystery Shopping. There's a special kind of wackjob you can find in this city. They're not any crazier than the wackjobs of other cities. They're just way more confident.
Philadelphians in general have a special brand of undeserved swagger.
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May 26, 2019 03:35PM
But they have Cleaver's so it's worth it

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
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May 26, 2019 06:47PM
Santa Claus gets booed in Philly.
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May 26, 2019 11:32PM
There was one shop that required an overall photo, but the location was in a sketchy area, and I saw something was about to go down outside with some men who were (at the time) verbally talking in a tone that said, "back off." I drove out, tried to take a fuzzy picture out my car window, and explained to the MSC in the report. I got the full fee, and they thanked me for my time. Most MSC's are pretty understanding about some of the locations of the assignments they offer. I would have driven off as soon as anyone started acting aggressively.
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May 26, 2019 11:44PM
@sestrahelena wrote:

I have never told an MSC when I felt threatened for fear of being considered a wimp and removed from the project completely.

I would think the client would want to know how their employees and franchisees are behaving. I've always read in the guidelines that the MSC prefers the shopper remain safe, and you really should report when it isn't.
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May 27, 2019 02:00AM
Yes. The guidelines say to notify the MSC immediately. But they are not open 24 hours and weird stuff happens most often at night so by morning, immediately has passed. If they were open 24/7, what would they do anyway? Send me an immediate bodyguard? No, the guidelines say that they would replace me but do not say if it is for that location or all locations. And, why would I ask to be replaced, the next morning when they open, when I have already completed the shop? See what I mean, like a catch 22? Also, most dangerous situations I have encountered were due to the clientele, not the establishment or staff.
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May 27, 2019 02:39AM
@sestrahelena wrote:

Yes. The guidelines say to notify the MSC immediately. But they are not open 24 hours and weird stuff happens most often at night so by morning, immediately has passed. If they were open 24/7, what would they do anyway? Send me an immediate bodyguard? No, the guidelines say that they would replace me but do not say if it is for that location or all locations. And, why would I ask to be replaced, the next morning when they open, when I have already completed the shop? See what I mean, like a catch 22? Also, most dangerous situations I have encountered were due to the clientele, not the establishment or staff.

I've always reported if an assignment was in a poor location or bad neighborhood. MSC's will often offer better money for those types of locations. Of course you don't have to call the MSC right then, and they're not going to send a bodyguard (smh), it's just something you report in the narrative.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/27/2019 02:39AM by CashieNess.
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May 27, 2019 12:58PM
With Maritz in particular I've called them a couple of times to tell them that I wouldn't be able to complete a location because I felt unsafe. They asked me why I felt unsafe because they need to know that stuff, but they were completely understanding and supportive.
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May 27, 2019 04:06PM
Good to know. I have, at times, included in the narrative suspicious or aggressive behavior of the clientele or odd goings-on on the property. But I never relate to me. And I was just being sarcastic about The bodyguard.
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June 20, 2019 02:29PM
Yes. If you follow shop requirements, try to be discreet and give a full explanation of what happened, you are most likely going to have the report accepted. If for some reason, you were discovered before completing a lot of the shop, most of the time, if the report can't be accepted, they will find a way to still be sure you are paid for the shop if you did everything correctly.
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July 03, 2019 09:24PM
Who do y’all use for gas station audits? I did over 125 for observa and now I need more
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July 04, 2019 01:40AM
Many companies offer gas stations. Most or all are on the list of companies at the bottom of the page here.
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July 04, 2019 01:54AM
@Mrcleandpsyahoo.com wrote:

Who do y’all use for gas station audits? I did over 125 for observa and now I need more

FYI: Big difference between what Observa does and an actual gas station audit.
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July 04, 2019 04:46AM
@KA047 wrote:

@Mrcleandpsyahoo.com wrote:

Who do y’all use for gas station audits? I did over 125 for observa and now I need more

FYI: Big difference between what Observa does and an actual gas station audit.

What's the difference? The process is pretty much the same they're both revealed shops where you're taking a bunch of photos and checking off boxes.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2019 04:48AM by Jbrz123.
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July 08, 2019 01:05PM
I had a horrible experience once at a gas station once, the person who was the cashier didn't speak English very well, and he began screaming at me that I needed to cover my head after I handed him the letter of Authorization, when I replied that I didn't understand what he wanted and that if he had any question to use the information on the letter of Authorization to contact the company, he got very angry and started yelling "stop talking, stop talking I can't talk to you, you're a wh*re, you're not modest" at that point I was done. I went out to the car, called the scheduler, attached the photo's that I had to the report and I ended up getting paid for the shop. What I learned was this, it there is a problem just walk away and call the scheduler. document everything, time, place, details and let the company deal with the person. 2 months after my incident I noticed that the station was de-branded and was changing over to another company. I will never go back there again.
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July 15, 2019 04:00AM
OMG I'd love to find these shops. The only ones around me are the super complex audits where you have to do a reveal and take a ton of pics.
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July 15, 2019 08:32AM
Usually, the options are addressed in the guidelines. I would point out the contact information in the authorization letter, ask them to call a manager/owner and refuse to comply with their demand. .

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
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July 15, 2019 04:11PM
Once he starts getting belligerent leave. The MSC won't give an ounce of care if you're hurt or maimed. Check the contract you signed with them. They leave all the negatives to fall on you.
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July 15, 2019 04:12PM
A lot of these gas stations employees are not trained nor do they speak English. It can get very dangerous. They come from places where they will kill you over a speck of dirt.
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