I recently did an audit that asked for an island (the pump, bumper, and trash can), dispenser, and canopy, etc. So I took the island, but the trash can was not on the island it was in the middle (forecourt area but nowhere near any islands). The editor sent it back to me and told me to send a picture with the trash can!
I think this is absolutely dang bogus. And what if they don't have an amenity bin or trash can? then what?? I think the MSP needs to clarify what to do if there is no trash can is on the island. So I guess we take the pump island at an angle so they can see the trash can in the middle of the forecourt! Absolutely, ridiculous if you ask me especially since you have to put a picture of the trash can on the infraction ANYWAY!

I did a bunch of online shops and had been submitting them without any issue - they were all getting approved. Then an editor returned a shop to me and told me I had done one part of the assignment incorrectly - but she was wrong. I didn't feel like fighting her, so I did that part over and re-submitted it. I had a few more to do and, just to be on the safe side, took that extra, unnecessary, time-consuming step with the rest.

Next thing I know, another editor sends me an email to very condescendingly "help" me by letting me know that she had approved one of my shops but, that I didn't have to do that extra step. She confirmed that I only needed to keep doing it the way I had originally.

Grrrr. I do my best to always leave emotions out of it, when it comes to work, but this was rather irritating. I wanted the person in charge of editors to know that at least one of them doesn't know what the eff they are doing, but I didn't know whom to contact and realized it would probably make things worse to complain, so I let it go.

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Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/2023 08:45AM by shopnyc.

I'm certain I know which MSC and gas station to which you are referring.
When the trash bin is located somewhere between the 2 pumps and just as a matter of taking that photo, I always take an angled photo that includes the pump, its island or curb, the bollard and the trash or amenity bin. Often that phot is very, very angled in order to include the bin. I've never had an issue.
In the event that the trash and or amenity bin was missing, I take the same shot to show it was never nearby. I've also included in the comments that the bin was not present or was at a far distance.
No problems.

@shopnyc wrote:

I did a bunch of online shops and had been submitting them without any issue - they were all getting approved. Then an editor returned a shop to me and told me I had done one part of the assignment incorrectly - but she was wrong. I didn't feel like fighting her, so I did that part over and re-submitted it. I had a few more to do and, just to be on the safe side, took that extra, unnecessary, time-consuming step with the rest.

Next thing I know, another editor sends me an email to very condescendingly "help" me by letting me know that she had approved one of my shops but, that I didn't have to do that extra step. She confirmed that I only needed to keep doing it the way I had originally.

Grrrr. I do my best to always leave emotions out of it, when it comes to work, but this was rather irritating. I wanted the person in charge of editors to know that at least one of them doesn't know what the eff they are doing, but I didn't know whom to contact and realized it would probably make things worse to complain, so I let it go.

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The good news is the second editor took the time to help you.

I still grind my teeth every time I take a second photo of a gas/diesel pump at the station that requires three overall photos from different angles. I'm sure it is not required, and was even told by the editors from the old company to stop including it. The form and guidelines state, "(if a separate dispenser) and "if ... sold through a separate dispenser." They just want to look for the sticker on stand-alone pumps. But some new editors insist it must be done and if I leave it out I am sure to get complaints.

Yes, I absolutely agree the inconsistency between editors is phenomenal. What is especially aggravating is when you've been doing it one way for 5 years and then all of a sudden the editor say, oh its wrong do it this way BUT it was never put into the update letter!
I also believe certain editors "pull techs". The way you did it is perfectly acceptable but they will want it precisely this way.
Also, if I opened up a gas station it would NEVER be a BP! I'd go unbranded first. The guidelines state 20% of the element but the editor will send it back saying add the infraction even though clearly it's less than 20%! For BP you have to take a lot of extra pictures, just in case. If there is one mark on the valance or skirt or slightly faded take those pictures just in case. Take every single bezel just in case. In the case of a bad dispenser (infraction-wise) make sure you take bezels from different angles. Take the 3 pictures of the amenity bins (one for paper towels, one for squeegees and water, and one for the trash can. We take extra forecourt pictures from different angles as well.BP's are so much more work than any other branded wholesaler they should START at $25!
Also, if you didn't notice there are new stipulations for the "easy" blue one. Now not just the empty pop frame is an infraction, now it's an infraction if they have no pop frame at all!
Also, it's not the shopper's fault if the store doesn't put an amenity bin on the island. The shopper should not be penalized for it! (For the so-called "easy" blue shop!
Then they say: "this is the way the client wants it" when in fact I seriously doubt the client has even thought about that unique situation and I doubt the MSP even asked the client, "What do we do in this situation?".

@mystery2me wrote:

The good news is the second editor took the time to help you.

Nah, they weren't helping me. The "helpful" editor's language was very condescending. They were lording their "knowledge" over poor little me, whom they thought of as ignorant and in need of their so-called help. I knew which way was correct and was only taking the extra steps to appease their idiot colleague who wanted it done their way. I didn't need help and didn't need extra instruction; the guidelines were clear. I replied to tell them about the other editor, saying "I can't win," and they apologized.

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Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2023 02:56AM by shopnyc.

That's another thing. Editors you say are condescending. I almost said to one: I hate when people talk to me like an imbecile. I limited myself to just saying I know where the trash can is.
But in my head, I'm like I know exactly where the trash can is better than you I was there! (expletive expletive!)

One brand asks if there were windsheild supplies at the island... or available in the store. Well, no matter how dry and empty the bucket is, I always answer yes because if inside the store there is ANY TYPE of running water and ANY TYPE of towel, technically those can clean a windshield. The survey question should really just be eliminated if they don't care whether windshield supplies are easily accessible.

Yes, the condescending wording is the worst. And like was mentioned, they were not there. But most importantly, the sporadic variations of direction on a shop from an editor is ridiculous. I think when I add something extra in the comments in the future, I will include a blurb explaining my reason for now including such extra detail with a cut and paste from an editor that said I needed to do that, showing their name, so the current editor can hopefully, stop and pause before they think to add their "helpful" comments. So tired of this. I wonder how many average scores are inaccurate due to this problem. I know some do not care about it. I do.

@sestrahelena wrote:

One brand asks if there were windsheild supplies at the island... or available in the store. Well, no matter how dry and empty the bucket is, I always answer yes because if inside the store there is ANY TYPE of running water and ANY TYPE of towel, technically those can clean a windshield. The survey question should really just be eliminated if they don't care whether windshield supplies are easily accessible.

I know. On certain brands, I don't even bother with the towels question because they always have some type of towel available inside. I do take exception if there is no squeegee anywhere. What gets me are the ones where we are supposed to check for a squeegee near the pump, and then ask inside. Like I dummy I went and asked inside the first time, and was told to get one from one of the other islands. Duh.

I have gotten to the point that I will stop and argue with the editor when I am positive they are wrong. I have been told that lighting was different than the picture showed, that non-ethanol pumps were not gasoline pumps, that I should get a second picture of a blank screen... so many different issues. Editing has gotten much worse lately.

Last month I was advised by an editor I missed graffiti on the fire extinguisher and record it as dirty canopy columns. I had to go back because the spare pics didn't do the job. It was a 45 minute drive each way...but one picks up other work along the way. I was having a problem with Presto and the shop timed out. I picked it up again(with bonus.) I had to resubmit all new images requiring a third site visit. When I included the fire extinguisher graffiti I was advised they don't evaluate fire extinguishers. Fine. Whatever. Never did figure which information was not correct but overall I did have to make THREE trips to include the graffiti that was edited out in the final submission.
Editors are human, like us. You can challenge but you just run down the clock sometimes and it does not always serve you well.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2023 07:32PM by emm2131.

I had a multiple choice A, B, C, D. D was N/A as in not applicable. That's what I chose.

The editor told me I had to explain why I had not chosen A, B, or C. I asked if they were serious.

It was Wordsmith or Wordpro or whatever that editing company is.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/2023 07:37PM by wrosie.

I no longer do gas station shops. It's just not worth the aggravation to me.

Silver lining - the editing department comes in handy when you want to throw somebody under the bus.

Example - After I presented my LOA at a gas station, the manager got angry and said, "You flunked me last time!" I explained that any negative issues that were in the report were backed up with photos and even if I had not reported an infraction, the editing department would have found it in the pictures and changed the report because they look through those photos for every little thing!

I did a shop on Presto yesterday for a company that supplies plants in decorative pots to large retailers. The task was to go to a large store that has a gardening department to audit their indoor potted plants, with pictures and notes on the colors and types of pot they were in, prices, and the names of the growers. Each type of pot would get its own separate entry on the form. It didn't pay an awful lot, but this being early spring in northern New England, I figured there wouldn't be many potted plants on display yet and it would be quick, so I took it. Well, the guidelines did not state what to do if there are no potted plants in the store yet, which is what I found when I got there.

Presto would not let me submit the report without making at least one item entry, so I did so by submitting pictures of the rows of empty pots and answered every question in the form with "There are no indoor potted plants at this location," again and again. I don't know if I'll be partially paid for it, or not at all - since what I encountered was not addressed in the guidelines - BUT perhaps the most irksome thing about it is that the editor sent an email to me asking me to go back and create separate entries for each of the empty pots that were in my pictures. Additionally irritating was her terrible grammar and poor way of expressing what she wanted. And she's an editor??!!

I wrote back saying, "The purpose of this shop is to audit potted plants, NOT empty pots. I will not go back." We'll see what happens!

@shopnyc - I think you did the right thing, because you evaluated the location and found through your auditing they did not even have the inventory. So, you did do the work of looking for the products. I remember reading the guidelines for that shop and how you have to check for the different types, etc. You looked and they were not there. I would find someone up the chain to contact about this, although a pain. You were right, the guidelines did not cover the scenario you encountered and the editor does not make the guidelines, nor can they make up a guideline after the fact!

ShopNYC: "Additionally irritating was her terrible grammar and poor way of expressing what she wanted. And she's an editor??!!"
Apparently the editor is well matched with the guidelines writer! -- "There is no standard for measuring pot size, so you will need to capture both the units and the unit type (e.g. 2 quarts, 1 litter, 4 pints) etc."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2023 10:29AM by Treeline.

Thanks, purpleicee and Treeline! The shop was accepted two days later and I just received notice today that full payment for the shop was sent to PayPal. Looking back at the editor's remarks to me, I still marvel at the fact that this person was hired as an editor at all. Their comprehension and writing skills are clearly deficient. It's appalling!

@shopnyc wrote:

Looking back at the editor's remarks to me, I still marvel at the fact that this person was hired as an editor at all. Their comprehension and writing skills are clearly deficient. It's appalling!

I once took some editing jobs for a major MSP. It was midwinter and I was exhausted from battling road conditions. I was paid $1.75 for each edited report.
($1.75!!!)

I did my first batch of 10 assignments, realized that the $17.50 I was receiving was less than i was getting paid for a single ten minute cellphone inquiry, and quit on the spot.

You get what you pay for.

I enjoy editing, and it works for me. I travel for work and can edit anywhere, at any time. I know the projects I work on and what is required for each. In the time it takes someone to read the guidelines, drive to the shop, take the pics, and fill out the report; I have edited 10-15 reports. I will say some shoppers have no attention to detail regarding anything. They don't follow instructions, put too much of their opinion (comparing one brand to another) in the comments, or just don't do the shop correctly. Overall, it is not for some people. Thankfully we have people who enjoy shopping and some who enjoy editing.