What is your excuse...

... when you are going into a gas station because the receipt didn’t print and you only bought $3 worth of gas? Five stations in a row today and not a single receipt printed at the pump. I drive an efficient car with an 11 gallon tank, so I can't do multiple shops unless i buy the bare minimums at each stop. Maybe we don't technically need an excuse (though most cashiers look at you a little sideways without one) but it feels less embarassing and is more fun to have one!

Lately my go-to is scanning for a rewards app but then sometime the staff will try to have a whole conversation about the apps.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2023 05:45PM by cortney92.

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You need the receipt because Dave Ramsey trained you well to keep all receipts. You think something is wrong with fuel line or whatever is mechanically plausible and you can put this in Excel at home... And, if you can play dumb... " "is there an app for this fuel line thing?" You are driving someone else's car and they don't need you to replace all the gas, just some of it. You want to show partner/accountant/whomever that are not such a wastrel with the credit card.

Gardening is how I relax. It is another form of creating and playing with colors. - Oscar de la Renta

I either say I need it for my expense report or I use all of my receipts for my cool app, Fetch.

I actually am letting a gas station drop off my account today because the pump was messed up and wouldn't take any type of card for payment and I REFUSE to go inside and ask for only $2 of gas. That's crazy to let it drop off!

Shopping Arkansas, Louisiana, & Mississippi.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2023 08:40PM by ArkLaMissshopping.

I don't even give an excuse -- it's not their concern *why* I need it. If they say in a questioning tone, "The one for $2???," I just say, "Yes, that's it."

For the mystery / reveal shops they will understand as soon as you go in wearing your vest and hand them the LOA. It’s no different than asking for a receipt for $1.00 item in the store.
If you pump the gas on the side of the vehicle away from the window where the cashier can’t see where you are putting the pump, you can always say you were filling a portable tank for your lawn mower or power washer. Most of the time the cashier is so busy they do not even notice what anyone is doing at the pumps.

I once said I just activated my credit card and wanted to make sure it would work before I leave for vacation.

I just say getting gas for my lawn mower.

“I’m running errands for and they are going to reimburse me for the gas.”

If it’s a larger amount, I’ll say “I’m traveling for work today and they want receipts for everything.” And give an eye roll like you are exasperated because they are such nit pickers

Say it’s for your neighbor’s father in law’s mower and the are OCD about keeping records

@teddmom wrote:

Say it’s for your neighbor’s or father in law’s mower and the are OCD about keeping records

I use the Fetch excuse all the time! I sometimes say that I try to track how I spend cash, if its a cash purchase.

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

I either say I need it for my expense report or I use all of my receipts for my cool app, Fetch.

I actually am letting an Exxon drop off my account today because the pump was messed up and wouldn't take any type of card for payment and I REFUSE to go inside and ask for only $2 of gas. Let it drop off!!! That's crazy!

What I need a receipt for is nobody's business but mine. I used to pretend and make excuses but, I just don't care who thinks what, I just need a paper receipt. None of their business why. And in about 3 minutes they're going to find out exactly why, because you're going to reveal yourself to do the rest of the audit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2023 09:19PM by Morledzep.

Haha love all the suggestions - particularly the suggestion about the neighbors lawn mower or overbearing spouse/accountant/whatever!

You wouldn't think you need an excuse, and no, and of course technically you don't - but it can be embarrassing without one! Maybe I'm extra sensitive to it since I'm actually doing this because I could genuinely use even $3 of free gas.

One of the things I love about mystery shopping is getting to make up a pretend life, so these excuses are no different really. Like when I act like I can afford that luxury watch or car and tell the sales person all about my pretend-life.

Todays excuses were: Fetch, messed up credit card, work reimbursement for even tiny expenses, and - borrowed from the first share by @Shop-et-al - a possible leaking fuel line and thus keeping close track of my gas. Lucky 13 shops today, about 8 I had to ask for receipts inside.

ETA - this particular shops is to not be revealed at all.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2023 11:49PM by cortney92.

If they ask (gas is >$5 for premium in CA because this state sucks, and my receipt is $5-$7 for one gallon of premium), I tell them one of two things:

I'm topping it off for a friend. (I don't explain why I would need a receipt. I just say that as though it makes sense.)

I am topping off a rental before I return it. (Again, no explanation for the receipt is given.)

When I am asking for a receipt inside, I just say, "I need it for work," which is technically true.

I know you said above that this shop is not a reveal, so this post will not really apply.
But for a reveal shop, if you really don't want to ask for that receipt during the MS, ask for it right after you reveal.

No excuse needed. Even if the receipt prints at the pump, I ask the cashier for a printed one, and I submit both receipts with my report.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

You need the receipt because Dave Ramsey trained you well to keep all receipts. You think something is wrong with fuel line or whatever is mechanically plausible and you can put this in Excel at home... And, if you can play dumb... " "is there an app for this fuel line thing?" You are driving someone else's car and they don't need you to replace all the gas, just some of it. You want to show partner/accountant/whomever that are not such a wastrel with the credit card.

I'm guessing you're not a newbie....

Just be cool folks.

As a mystery shopper, my job is to be as unremarkable and inconspicuous as possible. I just ask the cashier for the “receipt for pump 4,” make my purchase, ask for that receipt as well, then say thank you and leave.

No idle chit-chat about Dave Ramsey, points, receipt apps, husbands, budgets… just in and out quickly and I’m out of their short term memory within seconds.

I used to "make excuses" when i recieved weird looks or he/she questioning "only $2?" But ive since stopped because it doesnt concern them and i dont feel uncomfortable anymore. What does concern me is that there must be a new mystery shopper in my town. Because there are a bunch of those $5 gas station shops, that i dont ever do until they are $10 or more. And ive always been able to do them, but the last two months, someone has picked them up as soon as they drop for the little $5 fee. Lol.

I usually say, "Im having issues with my credit card and Im keeping all receipts." That usually does the trick and no questions asked.

@Serendipitousmoments wrote:

I used to "make excuses" when i recieved weird looks or he/she questioning "only $2?" But ive since stopped because it doesnt concern them and i dont feel uncomfortable anymore. What does concern me is that there must be a new mystery shopper in my town. Because there are a bunch of those $5 gas station shops, that i dont ever do until they are $10 or more. And ive always been able to do them, but the last two months, someone has picked them up as soon as they drop for the little $5 fee. Lol.

Sounds like the same shop. I had been waiting for them to hit $8/$10 but somebody was picking them all up at $5 so now if they are $5 and I'm close by I'll take them anyway. Wouldn't go out of my way for a $5 shop, but if it is on my route its fair game because $5 is better than $0, in my case.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2023 12:03AM by cortney92.

No habla English señora

I try to avoid doing those at base pay, but if I'm stuck away from home with less than a quarter tank of gas I am going to take the discount that I can get so that I can get my tank full so I can go home. Because of where I live, in a very rural area, we never go home with less than a quarter tank of gas, and we always fill up the tank, we don't just put one or two gallons in to make sure that we can make it there and back.

The only time I put any effort into finding and doing the "$5" gas shops is after they have gone over $20 each. And even then I won't really drive out of my way I'll just go to the local stations.

@metro25782 wrote:

No habla English señora

If you actually said this to someone, they would know tu no hablas espanol tampoco.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2023 01:36PM by a-scho.

I just wink at them.

They don't need an excuse..they shouldn't care and we do not need to feel like we owe them an explanation. Just get it and go.

*****************************************************************************
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

I needed a receipt for a bar at a ball park and the paper machine wasn't working so the bartender suggested I take a photo of the screen's receipt. well the sun glare was so high on my side of the bar I had him flip it back around and asked him to take it. They accepted the report but he may know I am the mystery shopper. I will make sure to shop a different bar tender next time I go but really he likely just thinks I am crazy (and I am).

@jazzzyjd wrote:

I needed a receipt for a bar at a ball park and the paper machine wasn't working so the bartender suggested I take a photo of the screen's receipt. well the sun glare was so high on my side of the bar I had him flip it back around and asked him to take it. They accepted the report but he may know I am the mystery shopper. I will make sure to shop a different bar tender next time I go but really he likely just thinks I am crazy (and I am).

On one of my gas station shops, the outside didn’t print and insided printer was also broken. Ultimately i did similar and took a picture of the price on the pump, and offered a bank statement in the comments with the explanation. It was an awkward couple moments really pushing the cashier for another solution to get me a receipt. Partly what prompted this thread!

The more shops I do, the less I feel weird asking dumb or illogical questions of employees.

One of the things that irks me in real life is when someone buys a six pack and chips, or something like that, at a reputable store. The clerk automatically asks if they want the receipt because they paid with a card. The customer stands there and ponders the question for a long moment, and then says yes, like they are really saving their beer and chip receipts. People get receipts for stupid reasons all the time. Asking for a $2 gas receipt will not stand out.

I am old so I am old school but also I keep a tight check on my finances. I have found mistakes on my credit card statements in the past, sometimes being billed twice for the same thing in two different month statements. I keep every receipt and check it against my statement each month. I am pretty sure I am not the only one who does this. My millennial kids do not even seem to care about errors and may not even notice if someone is using their credit card and hacked into it. If I do not have the receipt when the statement comes I wrack my brain about what or when I got something from that vendor...this happens whether it is $2 or $2,000.
Frugality was learned from my dad but seems to have skipped a generation in my kids but they stand to inherit a nice chunk because of it just like I did.

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