Quick Poll: Do you complete the quickie audit as a mystery shop, the way the guidelines stipulate or do you reveal like the rest of our gas station audits?
My husband and I both do gas station audits. He can't stand the red and white audits because of the mystery shop element during the audit portion of the shop. He doesn't feel he should have to sneak around and take pictures which I understand but refuse to pass up the money and do them anyway.They are quick and easy and I like them even if they start out underpaid.[they aren't underpaid forever, lol].

I try to stay covert, even though the guidelines pretty much require us to take pictures out in the open. My main reason for being sneaky is I don't want to waste time explaining myself to employees. With a long route, an extra few minutes on each shop can add up. I do my outside inspection before I go in the store, and already have a list of photos I will need. When I finish my purchase, I snap my pics and drive off within a couple of minutes in most cases

But I agree with your husband, lol. Doing it on the sly can be stressful. When I have a route of mixed reveal / non-reveal, I look forward the the reveal shops as a chance to relax.

Are you talking about Citgo? Circle K? Exxon? A lot of gas stations have red and white.

Citgo. Exxon and Circle K both state that you go in and reveal prior to taking your pictures, unless its a Circle K mystery shop only. I've done some debrands with people sitting outside at a small location. I felt that there was no way to take 4 sides of the canopy without someone seeing and asking, what the heck was going on. I got my receipt and then revealed that I would be taking pictures. I just didn't want to stop in the middle and go to the car to get the folder, it was a two pump shop and impossible to take them sitting in the car without excessive driving around. The assignment went quickly and efficiently and I was able to continue on in my route. Another issue to consider is that most of my routes are on a tight schedule. I don't really have time to sit around most of the time to wait for the customers to be in a position for me to be "unobtrusive'. The other issue to consider in this situation is in today's day and age in rough neighborhoods with people panicking because they are breaking the law hanging out at the gas station waiting for illegal customers and them thinking, "Is she a cop" trying to catch me, or a snitch trying to turn me in. I hate when people go running in the stores, saying why is she taking my picture or my cars license plate picture. I'm not taking your picture, your car's picture and I don't give a da** what you are doing. I just want to do my job and leave.

I've done several thousand Citgo shops. I never reveal unless asked. I had 400 a quarter for a several years. I would get asked less than 10 times a quarter. I just did the shop then did the audit. I did not go out of my way to be secretive. They know the audits are done this way so if they see you they know what you're doing. I wouldn't stress over it

Many moons ago, the blue station was with a different MSC and it was undercover only. I liked it that way, having no desire to interact with people. We didn't even have LOAs. When blue switched to the current MSC is when it became revealed. I avoided them for years. Until one day... The price was irresistible. Now, I'm nervous and uncomfortable when taking photos covertly. But I'll still do it. Funny how things change.

I feel like that about OSI's. I love the unrevealed ones, Scope R's and L's and dread the Experian or TransUnion ones. I am an extrovert and have an outgoing personality but sometimes I still feel they are nervous being inspected and think I'm trying to "trick" them into relaxing and giving something away. I can tell they are holding back from me. Rent houses are the worst because the landlord never informs the tenant and they look at you crazy, but at least you can take your couple of pics and drive off. If there are tenants I try to avoid them whenever possible. But when I did one they were barbequing outside so I revealed and told them I had to take a pic for the bank for the landlord. He gave me no problem.

Well, I do what the guidelines say to do. That’s what they’re paying me for. If I don’t like the guidelines for a shop, I don’t take it.