Which do you prefer? Which are easier to you? Which pay/compensate more?

Depends on which msc and which client.

Gas shops in my region tend to take less time on site. For the most part, I do find them to be a quicker job than a grocery shop but there isn't a single company in my area offering shops at a base pay that makes it worth it.

Small, rural grocery stores are a lot quicker because they have fewer departments. With a little travel bonus, a route of these can make a decent day considering I would buy groceries anyway and I can take kids on these shops. The base rate generally won't capture my interest any more than the base rate on a gas shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2019 10:39AM by heartlandcanuck.

A subjective question, let me put on my thinking cap. Oh, there it is. Hmm… “Easy” depends on personal preference, really. If you like to chat with many department employees, write about it, have an excellent memory or note taking skills, a shopper may consider a grocery easier. If you prefer minimal interaction, can knock out/ tag and upload multiple photos with minimal narrative, the gas station might be easier. Personally, I like the gas stations. Reveal or not, I do my thing, only chat when necessary (yet be as friendly and disarming as possible) and be on my way with a well-honed system of note taking and reporting. But others have perfected the grocery shop and can do them effortlessly. And how much a shopper enjoys the venue is a factor in whether it is easy or not. I hate cell phone shops. Are they easy? Mostly, YES! But I just don’t like being there so that makes it a difficult shop for me.

I think they are both very easy albeit different. I like both of them. If the weather were always nice I would prefer gas stations just because I like being outside. But it's not so it's a toss up for me. They are both very useful if you can make the logistics work for you.
The easy ones I hate are banks. Like sestrahelena I just don't like being there.

@sestrahelena wrote:

A subjective question, let me put on my thinking cap.

I was thinking of stories of owners/employees chasing, stalking, and threatening shoppers at gas stations.

Those aren't gas station shops, those are audits. I do gas station shops. They don't know I am a shopper and I don't get chased, stalked, or threatened. I have done a few audits as well, but none of that ever happened to me on those, either.

One client I am doing gas station shops for has shops that require no names, no descriptions, 10 questions, 1 photo and a receipt upload. Takes total 5-10 minutes including report time, reimburses $5 for gas and pays $6 per shop. Doesn't get much easier than that. Others I have done take a little longer.

I don't do the multiple department grocery store shops, but I do shops for a regional grocery store that are super easy and take 20 minutes. They take a few minutes longer than the gas station shops but they pay better.

@shoptastic wrote:

@sestrahelena wrote:

A subjective question, let me put on my thinking cap.

I was thinking of stories of owners/employees chasing, stalking, and threatening shoppers at gas stations.

Gas stations are way easier to me, but I like doing both. Either one gets me free beer

Which company? I’ve done 130 in 3 weeks with observa

@Mrcleandpsyahoo.com wrote:

Which company? I’ve done 130 in 3 weeks with observa

That's a good question. I don't do any, but only know of the Maritz, MFI (none in my area), and Alta ones. 130 sounds like a lot!...but maybe they are easy?

They always pay around $10 or so average and are never on my way to anything. I will look into them more carefully soon, but I think in the past they seemed too difficult or a hassle, due to my handicap. I typically can only do routes that last a few hours a day locally. Driving far and/or lots of aggressive physical movement doesn't work too well for me.

And I certainly would NOT want to be chased by a store owner/employee!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2019 01:32AM by shoptastic.

Apples to oranges. Done both, but wouldn't really compare them to each other. If I had to choose I would say grocery shops, especially when they bonus the Harris Teeter shops to a total of $50.00 and let me do as many as I want! Really running out of things to ask though and they are starting to recognize me so may impose a self-exile for a while!! I think it's also less dangerous than doing Gas Station shops.

I much prefer gas stations because I don't have to write a report and it's either there in the pictures or it's not. If I use the apps, I can be on and off site in 20 minutes max. The report is then submitted and I have no more work to do. The new company that I do them for does not appear to have a minimum time on site requirement either so I've gotten those down to about 15 minutes each. The ones that I can't use an app for take me another 15 minutes at home so the pay appears to be commensurate with the work involved. Plus, I get all of my gas plus snacks paid for. Grocery stores have tended to be too much work, names to remember, etc for the money. I also find that, between the 2-3 brands that I do, there are a lot more gas stations within a reasonable driving distance so it's easier to build a route. I have had no issues with employees, the vast majority of them are used to the audits already and the new people, as long as I use my manners and answer any questions directly, have no issue. I have only run into one memorably obnoxious person but I contacted the MSC and he was dealt with. I ran into a rep from the dealer not too long after the issue who asked me if I had had a problem. I truthfully explained what had happened and he told me that I was not the first person that it had happened to. A few months later I ran into him again and the dealer asked if things had improved (which they had). Apparently the employee had to learn that their brand could be pulled if the audit was refused and it took a bit for that lesson to sink in. I also "killed him with kindness" by asking about his kids (he had pictures on the wall behind the counter) and he softened a bit with that as well.

For me, gas station shops (not audits). I'm in and out in 10 minutes and the report has a one-sentence narrative. The grocery stores I've done don't pay much more than the gas jobs but required I stay 20 min., list multiple descriptions and narrate 4 or 5 interactions. The old Smart and Final jobs were as easy as gas stations but they've been gone for a while now.

Gas stations are easier in general. I have not ever done a gas station audit, but the basic gas shops are some of the easiest shops out there. I’ve mostly done grocery stores that have higher rates, but generally they do require a lot of narrative. They also take longer, and sometimes lag because it can be challenging to get all the required interactions. I love grocery stores, so I enjoy these shops a lot, but bonused gas stations are more efficient for me, most of the time.