How many daylight gas station audits do you all think can be completed in one day? How much time should I allot in my calendar when signing up for audit shops?
I have done a number of audits for different station brands and with the amount of photos required they have taken me an hour minimum at most locations. Of course, fewer pumps/smaller stations may take a little less time and larger stations with more pumps take more time. I'm just wondering when scheduling shops how much time most people allow for gas station audits?
Thanks

Some MSCs ask you to limit the number you do in a day. My physical limitations require that I do no more than 5 (if I'm not driving far, maybe 6) in a day. I find I'm on site as long as you are, but since I'm no good with apps, I have to do reports when I get home.

That's revealed audits, of course.

It depends on the gas station and audit. Anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I use the app so a lot of times as i am leaving a ststion it is submitting. I limit myself to a max of 6.

Typically a Maritz audit takes me 20 minutes including reporting. I've done 16 in one day but typically don't go over 8-12.

In the past I've done a mix of the Maritz shops ("Blue", "Yellow", and "Green" on the same route. Often they amounted to around 8 in the route. The "Yellow" always took the longest (app. 35 minutes) and the "Blue", the shortest (20 minutes). This typically took all day!
Plus, the "Blue" shops often only had 4 to 6 pumps.
As with all the gas station shops I do, I always bring my laptop, download my photos into it and review and name them. I also fill out my worksheet (my design), noting problem areas, etc. I do this just like a cop does after writing a ticket - staying at the until everything is filled out. There have been instances where upon reviewing my photos, I've found a bad photo or something mandatory that I've missed.

BTW, for the "Blue" shops, Maritz only allows a maximum of 10 shops per day. I'm not certain of how they feel about doing more than 10 when they are a mix of "Yellow" and "Blue".

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2019 11:45AM by French Farmer.

If you have not done the brand before allow yourself extra time to get used to the questions.
I have completed over 10 in a day easily, but I've also done a few hundred before and 'have a routine down'.

Remember to allow for driving time between them. Only you know your area. Are you driving 30 minutes to the next town or across town in heavy traffic? Allow at least 45 minutes for a typical station and the really large ones with more than 10 gas pumps I allow myself an hour and a half. It takes longer using the app but you don't have reports when you get home, so all of your daylight can be gas stations. So I know my area and how long most stations take, and how many in a certain direction I can fit into a day. That is what's required so get on google maps and start figuring it out. Soon you will know all the intricacies of your particular neck of the woods. Good luck!

Another variable is the time of day for audits which require daylight. More can be done in the summer than in the winter. On December 21 here I live, there are 9:20 between sunrise and sunset, whereas on June 21 it is 15:00 hours. That is a lot more. Of course, not all audits allow beginning as early as 6:28 AM or ending as late as 8:32 PM on June 21st. Another issue is that some audits exclude times when it is raining or when shadows are not distinct.

Depends on the audits. I used to do a route that I averaged 12 minutes per shop.

It takes 20 to 30 minutes on site. Less if it is a small 4-pumper and not busy. Perhaps more if a large, busy 16 pumper. Once in a while I get hung up if a customer is washing his car with the squeegee or is parked next to a pump and eating his lunch inside. If the car is parked in front of the pump for the entire time I have taken an angled shot of the pump with an explanation. I believe I could do 10 to 15 shops a day but my preference is to work half a day and do 5 or 6.

It depends, for me, how much daylight we have. I can do many more shops in June or July than in December.

I look at the sunrise-sunset times and see how many hours I have there.

For a potential route, I calculate the route in Bing maps to get the drive time. For big shops where I need a picture of every pump and there are 30 pumps, I have to leave myself an hour. For the small rural, trip to the loo, purchase, and a handful of photos I budget half an hour. (Sometimes it only takes 15 minutes on site but that's okay.)

Long answer short: I can expect to do 10-12 in a day in the summer, and half that in the winter unless I can work in night shops to the end of the route.

@heartlandcanuck wrote:

For big shops where I need a picture of every pump and there are 30 pumps, I have to leave myself an hour. .

30 pumps! Sweet fancy Moses, that would be my nightmare. I've only ever seen 1 24 pump and that was awful.

Thank you for all of your feedback!

I would say my record was 20 in a day. Granted they were the quick 5 minute mystery shop. Regular one maybe 12 in a day. I prefer 6 max and usually like to do no more than 2 different gas brands.

Based on all the responses these shops hardly seem worth the pay.

I allot 10-30 minutes per station, depending on the brand. Ten minutes for the no gas, no reveal shops.Twenty five minutes for revealed audits Thirty minutes for the ones requiring a lot of inside pictures. This is cutting it close, but if I stay on task I can usually finish early. I do my reports at home or at the hotel. On the unrevealed shops, I like to limit myself to 15 a day, although I did 30 once when I scheduled myself into a pickle. For revealed shops, I like to do 12-15 a day. But really it all depends on driving distances, and I usually mix other types of shops into my routes.

For someone starting out, I would double those times. If you do reports onsite either on the app or a laptop, add additional time.

You do not know what this shopper is being paid.

@LuCroix wrote:

Based on all the responses these shops hardly seem worth the pay.

@LuCroix wrote:

Based on all the responses these shops hardly seem worth the pay.

Feel free to not take them.

@Hoju wrote:

@LuCroix wrote:

Based on all the responses these shops hardly seem worth the pay.

Feel free to not take them.

Yes!!!

I'll gladly spend my weekend working while my husband is home with the kids and have an extra $1,500 - $2,000 in the bank!

Our annual Disney trip almost paid for in a weekend!

Wow, $2000 in a weekend. Must have been very highly bonused stations.

@LuCroix wrote:

Based on all the responses these shops hardly seem worth the pay.

These shops are worth it. Especially when they are bonused.

Wait. What, exactly, does one have to do for those bonuses?

The real key to the largest bonuses on any shop is to live in the right place and / or to be available at the last minute when someone flakes.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

Wait. What, exactly, does one have to do for those bonuses?

If I use the app, the maximum amount of time with a large station and moving slowly is 1/2 hour. Otherwise, 15 to 20 minutes on site max then reporting at home (time varies depending on whether you are focused solely on it or doing other things at the same time). At least in my area, blue stations have max of 10 pump stations (5 pumps, 2 sides), green stations have max of 12 pumps (6 pumps, 2 sides), and yellow stations have 12 pumps (6 pumps, 2 sides). The thing that will make it easier is to develop shorthand (for instance, 1 use uni for unisex, POP on PPoles, etc, no need to write a ton of description as you can always verify what you meant from your pictures), don't wait on customers (if a pump is still occupied after you've been there 20 minutes take the best angle you can and move on), and do the best you can to take your pictures in the same order to avoid missing any and to move faster because you don't have to pause to think too hard about your next step. It will also get faster the more you do. I have done up to 20 visits (usually several different brands) in a very long day, and most days I can do 10, with driving, in a 6 hour day. Also, try not to be too "nice", just be professional and fast so you don't get sucked into conversations either with station personnel or customers and that will also help you "snap and run" to avoid customers' delaying you. Surprisingly, the evening visits are usually the fastest for me. Don't take a ton of extra pictures, it's either there or it's not. Typically you won't get too much pushback if you answer any questions from editors clearly and politely. Unless you have a station with either a ton of issues or 35 pumps, more than 30 minutes per site is excessive.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2019 01:27AM by KarenMSW.

I have done gas shops for anywhere from $10 for a non reveal simple audit to $110 plus $3 reimbursement revealed audit about 30 minutes on site. My normal average is revealed for $50.

Wow. This is the first time I have done audits for this particular brand station. I'm using the app on site. I didn't really have a lot of time to review pop specs and the rest of the guidelines before I started my first one. It was windy and I was trying to reference my printed guidelines. I kept accidentally hitting my phone's back button and then the app would do a sync and it was taking 10 minutes to sync before i could reopen the evaluation and continue it. I wasted 30 minutes just waiting on it to let me back in! Ended up taking me 2 hours and they only had 6 pumps! Needless to say, I spent the evening reviewing the guidelines thoroughly. I have a route of them that I'm doing. Day 2 I only got one done because it rained almost all day. It started raining on me near the end of the audit. Luckily this time i knew what photos I was going to need so i just switched from the app to my camera and got the pics i needed and then uploaded them in my car. It took less time this go around and it had 10 pump stations. My biggest delay during the audit was trying to get pics without customers faces showing since they aren't allowed. I swear this old man was just standing by his car watching me forever when i was trying to get the overall site photo. I was so happy when he finally left. I had to wait for the checkout counter pic too because they were so busy and i couldn't get a pic without the employee being in it. And i swear one guy sat in his truck and did his taxes or something. He sat at that pump with his truck running for so long I'm surprised he didn't have to put gas in again!

@Rtstshel wrote:

I swear this old man was just standing by his car watching me forever when i was trying to get the overall site photo. I was so happy when he finally left. I had to wait for the checkout counter pic too because they were so busy and i couldn't get a pic without the employee being in it. And i swear one guy sat in his truck and did his taxes or something. He sat at that pump with his truck running for so long I'm surprised he didn't have to put gas in again!

I get that with scratch off ticket folks. One of the stations that I visited the other day even had a sign posted telling customers not to tie up the pumps doing that. Don't wait for the pump to clear if you've been there for 20 minutes, just take the best angle you can and move on (I was specifically told that was OK by Maritz, it's in the guidelines for Ipsos, and I've done hundreds and never had a single one challenged for that). Also, if you wait in line and it's your turn, just ask the employee if they're feeling photogenic (I even make a joke about paparazzi finding them if they're in the photo), they'll move aside, the picture takes 5 seconds and you're done. For the overall site, try either another angle or go across the street and the customers onsite will not be a problem as you either will get the back of their head or you can't tell their face from that far away.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2019 02:05AM by KarenMSW.

Thank you for the non-bashing reply. My post was based on what I see the shops pay. I didn't know you could get $1,500+ for doing a days worth. That's well beyond any bonus I've ever seen. The shops pay $10-$13 each that I've seen. Even at 20 per day that's less than $300.

I guess I should just keep my opinions to myself and not expect constructive replies around here.

LuCroix, sorry if you felt bashed. You certainly CAN expect constructive replies here -- it's a supportive community.

Yes, you are quite right -- no one could make that kind of money taking jobs off the job boards at the posted rate.

But I have done routes of gas stations at over $100 per station. I think the most I ever got done was maybe 9 in one day -- but I'm old, I'm slow, and I've never mastered an MSC's app, so I have to do the reports after I'm all done for the day. I used to regularly do a route 400 miles from home and make $1100-$1300 for the route. I envy the people who state they can complete a revealed audit in 20 minutes of less -- I've been doing them 10 years, and I've done at least a couple thousand, and I STILL count on 45 minutes on site. But like I said, I'm old, and I'm slow.

You will never see these bonuses. They are not advertised. People I have mentored in this business have told me the hardest thing they had to learn was asking for additional pay. Some people never learn it. Some people excel at it.

You also need a record as a reliable shopper who does not flake or regularly gets shop reports refused.

Your opinions are welcomed and valued. Listening to opinions are how we learn.

@LuCroix wrote:

Thank you for the non-bashing reply. My post was based on what I see the shops pay. I didn't know you could get $1,500+ for doing a days worth. That's well beyond any bonus I've ever seen. The shops pay $10-$13 each that I've seen. Even at 20 per day that's less than $300.

I guess I should just keep my opinions to myself and not expect constructive replies around here.

Hey..in my opinion..if the fees are still relatively low..for the audits..yes I would consider 10 to 13 dollars low pay..

I personally would opt for the non reveals...they are less work..they dont pay the fee the audit does..but if you complete the reports at home..you could probably knock out somewhere between 8 to 20 of em in a day. I think my max has been 6 thus far in a day only because some of the exterior photos werent taking correctly and I like to do the report immediately after the shop and had lengthier shops I had to get done. Also if you do multiple shops that are the same company..just clear it with the scheduler first if not specified in the guidelines



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/24/2019 11:56AM by dawnhu.