ExxonMobil shops?

Has anyone else noticed that the regular monthly batch of ExxonMobil shops has not been released? There are a few monthly locations on the board, but I have not yet seen locations posted for August that have appeared every month since I started watching the boards again back in January. Region specific or is this a trend in other areas?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2022 03:05AM by patman9760.

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Nothing has changed in my area. The same jobs are on the board as always. Someone new could have grabbed them. Or maybe even some of the monthlies switched to quarterlies.

In my opinion, since the MSC began allowing shoppers to grab shops and then, perform the shops they wish while allowing some of those to just fall off, returning to the board, without penalty, those shops you describe are being sucked up almost as soon as they are put on the aforementioned board.
Of course, many of the monthlies are re-assigned to the shopper who requests them per the rotational question in the debrief.
I often see shops returned to the board weeks into the month with a small bonus. That's when I wonder; did the shopper not do it and allow it to fall off or did the shopper screw up?
In my opinion, the MSC would be better served with shoppers who do a professional job and by removing the rotation requirements on the quarterlies.

I just got an email - they were posted today. None were on the board last night. I did them last month which was actually 2 weeks ago today. Maybe there has to be a couple of weeks between shops or something (?). Hopefully they will stay on the board a while - all the ones I did had bonuses over $20 each.

If the July shops were done at very end of month or into August, they may not be back on the board yet. I’m not sure how many days in between, but it’s some number before they’re back on board. Otherwise, like others have said, they could have been claimed or changed to quarterlies or removed from the program completely.
The ExxonMobils are now up to a $5.00 bonus. Yes, you read that right: not a $5.50 bonus but $5.00. Chipping away at the bonuses and shopper morale wherever possible.

ETA: oh I see you came to the same conclusion about a time period in between. That’s the most likely.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2022 03:04PM by Notme2021.

Yes I see them too. All of ones I did at the end of the month appear to be among the newly added locations, so you are probably right about the dates. I had just assumed someone took those locations.

I got an e-mail on Wednesday titled "Huge bonus on these Exxon shops for TODAY! Email me if unable to assign!".

The bonus was a whopping $32.50. I've done two of these locations for $100 since they are 100 miles from me. I think that is fair figuring in at least three and a half hours of driving time (country roads) round trip, at least a half hour or more onsite and the time it takes to fill in the report $20something is a reasonable expected hourly pay when minimum wage is about $15 am most fast food joints are paying at least $18 along with Walmart for the employees who do the restocking at night.

Edited to add: Oh, and they deleted one of these highly bonused shops that I planned a route around which made the route unprofitable, $10-$25 each that I then had to decide not to do. That tends to keep me from accepting the shops even with a bonus, because as noted on another thread, the MSC randomly cancels the shops without notice.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/14/2022 03:48PM by wrosie.

Exxon/Mobil shops have the distinction of being the only gas station mystery/image audit shops that are worse for the shopper than Shell.

I used to HATE doing Shell but when the gas prices and store prices are high, Shell is a better deal. If you have the time and appropriate pay for all the extra pics. Now that they're done on the current platform, even Exxon takes a long time to complete if you're inputting onsite.

The least I did a Shell for this quarter was $50 and the most was $85. I didn't have to drive far from home, but all of the shops were in a neighboring state. Someone gobbled up all of the Shells close to where I live before they hit $30. It seemed like they had streamlined Shell this quarter so that they were along the same level of difficulty as Exxon - the highest I have seen Exxon within an hour radius of my residence is $35. I don't think Shell rates as the most difficult station on my list anymore.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I used to HATE doing Shell but when the gas prices and store prices are high, Shell is a better deal. If you have the time and appropriate pay for all the extra pics. Now that they're done on the current platform, even Exxon takes a long time to complete if you're inputting onsite.

@wrosie wrote:

the MSC randomly cancels the shops without notice.

Is this the MSC or is it the scheduler? I'm curious - it seems like I've only heard of EM shops being canceled without any notice. There's only one scheduler for them that I know of...

Wow, really? In my state Shells were still at $40 in August after the quarter officially ended, even tho they were supposed to be M1’s done the first month of the quarter. And it took a long time to get to $40. In the past I did many @ $40 and up the first month of the quarter.

I haven’t seen a gas station of any brand for that MSC reach even $50 for many months, even when the month/quarter had already ended.

Shells still take me longer on-site and longer to finish the report. Just taking all those inside photos takes extra time especially when trying to avoid taking photos when customers are facing me. And then infractions must be uploaded on each and every pump.
But with inflation, and reaching $40 instead of EM’s $35 max does make them a better deal. And EM’s are no longer edited immediately which used to be another plus.

@patman9760 wrote:

The least I did a Shell for this quarter was $50 and the most was $85. I didn't have to drive far from home, but all of the shops were in a neighboring state. Someone gobbled up all of the Shells close to where I live before they hit $30. It seemed like they had streamlined Shell this quarter so that they were along the same level of difficulty as Exxon - the highest I have seen Exxon within an hour radius of my residence is $35. I don't think Shell rates as the most difficult station on my list anymore.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I used to HATE doing Shell but when the gas prices and store prices are high, Shell is a better deal. If you have the time and appropriate pay for all the extra pics. Now that they're done on the current platform, even Exxon takes a long time to complete if you're inputting onsite.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2022 10:50AM by Notme2021.

Oh, wow, I still find the EM shops the easiest, at least the ones without branded diesel canopies.. I guess they have a lot in my area and I've done so many I don't even think about it anymore. I just go on autopilot.

I like doing the EM since I've become so used to what to look for. I'll do a Shell here and there when the fee is right, but they take me quite a while to enter and I'm always afraid of missing something.

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EM is always $15, and Shell is always $20 locally. I cannot afford to meet client requirements at either of them for that fee. The guidelines alone for EM are 69 pages! It's worth at least $15 just to read and understand that tome.

On average, the shell locations take 5 to 10 minutes longer than an Exxon Mobil location. I complete on site for all gas station evaluations.

On Exxon mobile being canceled without notice after being assigned, I am almost certain it is the scheduler and not the company.

@Notme2021 wrote:

Just taking all those inside photos takes extra time especially when trying to avoid taking photos when customers are facing me.

I posted a link in another thread that allows you to blur out faces in a photo but a lot of other shoppers said it’s easier to use paint. Regardless, I took the photos without waiting for customers to move and blurred the faces out when I got home (I answer the survey on-site and upload the pics at home when I have Wi-Fi). I don’t know if this helps or not, but you can also edit the pics on your phone and scratch over the faces with a white marker.

Thanks, but that’s not the issue. The issue is customers thinking I’m taking their photo when I’m not. Even when they’re not even in the shot. I’ve had aggressive, and even violent, confrontations with drunk and disturbed individuals on shops because they think I’m taking their pictures. Maybe I’ll start using judgment about the situation, and occasionally not wait and blur or otherwise cover their faces for the report, but I’m pretty wary. The same at pumps: I make sure not to point my camera towards anyone or towards their license plate because I’ve had confrontations there, too. I go to extremely sketchy urban areas at midnight without really worrying, but I do worry about those reactions. (Most of the aggressive or violent interactions have been daytime),

@patman9760 wrote:

I posted a link in another thread that allows you to blur out faces in a photo but a lot of other shoppers said it’s easier to use paint. Regardless, I took the photos without waiting for customers to move and blurred the faces out when I got home (I answer the survey on-site and upload the pics at home when I have Wi-Fi). I don’t know if this helps or not, but you can also edit the pics on your phone and scratch over the faces with a white marker.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2022 10:09PM by Notme2021.

@Notme2021 wrote:

Thanks, but that’s not the issue. The issue is customers thinking I’m taking their photo when I’m not. Even when they’re not even in the shot. I’ve had aggressive, and even violent, confrontations with drunk and disturbed individuals on shops because they think I’m taking their pictures. Maybe I’ll start using judgment about the situation, and occasionally not wait and blur or otherwise cover their faces for the report, but I’m pretty wary. The same at pumps: I make sure not to point my camera towards anyone or towards their license plate because I’ve had confrontations there, too. I go to extremely sketchy urban areas at midnight without really worrying, but I do worry about those reactions. (Most of the aggressive or violent interactions have been daytime),

I’m sorry to hear that - I’ve had some folks that were inquisitive but never downright mean like what you have described. I don’t know what is legal in your area, but maybe you could have some pepper spray or mace handy to give you time to contact the police (especially if you’ve been treated violently while trying to legally perform a contracted job). Stay safe out there.

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