And it's a mixed bag.

I was banned by the brand 2 MSC's ago for bogus reasons, but now it would appear they are being administered by an ironically named MSC that was bought by another MSC awhile back, with a suspect reputation when it comes to schedulers.

Imma gonna do 'em because I'm all about someone else paying for my gas whilst gallivanting.

But dang if the reporting process is the 2nd worst behind EPMS. Unbelievably clunky, and not really doable by phone.

To make matters worse, if I happen to open a report, it has to be completed before others can be opened. Gonna require a re-evaluation when it comes to MO, but I am all over them after not being able to work the brand for years.

I'm trying to think of an ironically named mystery shopping company, but I can't figure it out. I'm definitely interested to know who got this contract. I think they have no idea what they're getting themselves into. This gas brand has the most remote and seasonally difficult to access locations of that I know of. I certainly welcome any additional hints on the new MSC.

I think there are several ironically named MSCs. And even more questionably named MSCs!

Name's the same...

And they really need an update to their site. It looks old, and its "feature" set sucks.

While seeing locations all over my recent overnight loop I figured out how to find available shops for my routes: add a ZIP code to the profile and specify the 50-mile max range.

But when I "edit" a local ZIP sitting at the default 5-mile range that is within 50 miles of my crib which is already specified, it doesn't change the ZIP I selected, it just adds a new one to the list. Another instance of poor web design.

I did my first batch the other day and found the shops to be even easier than expected. Minimal required photos, and no photos of violations, just checkboxes. The only semi-sketchy pic is a store interior. So far I've just grabbed a quickie coming out of the restroom.

Of course the site doesn't show my recent jobs, so I have no way of knowing the status of the handful I completed the other day.

I believe that website was designed prior to the year 2000, which is when I started working with them and they had grocery stores in my area. As far as I know it has not been updated or changed in any significant way since then. Didn't they also put out an app? Which was just as bad as the website? It's been a while so I don't remember. And there were never any green dinos in my area anyway. They've been extinct all along.

I'm glad I didn't bet on who the new mystery shopping company would be for this project. I would have been dead wrong. This would have been about the last company I would have guessed, and I agree that this is a terrible platform for this kind of work. (Honestly it's a bulky platform for any type of work, but especially gas stations.)

Thank you for the hints. It will be interesting to see how much they bonus. The old contracts required that every location get done every cycle. The previous two companies would pay whatever it took to get them done.

If every location has to get done, I again feel like this mystery shopping company has no idea what they're getting themselves into. There's a reason why this gas brand is no longer with the previous mystery shopping company.

They are not as quick and easy as they seem, since I was informed by an editor that photos are required to backup infraction responses when applicable, but not for every infraction, even though there are no spots for them. She says their system allows for uploads of multiple photos in each photo slot, so we are supposed to take all of the infraction photos while remaining discreet and undetected! And as others have reported, the website is badly outdated, slow, and inefficient to have to add dozens of zip codes to find shops in other locations for routes.

@CoolMusic wrote:

Name's the same...

And they really need an update to their site. It looks old, and its "feature" set sucks.

While seeing locations all over my recent overnight loop I figured out how to find available shops for my routes: add a ZIP code to the profile and specify the 50-mile max range.

But when I "edit" a local ZIP sitting at the default 5-mile range that is within 50 miles of my crib which is already specified, it doesn't change the ZIP I selected, it just adds a new one to the list. Another instance of poor web design.

I did my first batch the other day and found the shops to be even easier than expected. Minimal required photos, and no photos of violations, just checkboxes. The only semi-sketchy pic is a store interior. So far I've just grabbed a quickie coming out of the restroom.

Of course the site doesn't show my recent jobs, so I have no way of knowing the status of the handful I completed the other day.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/08/2026 02:03PM by mjt9598.

Guess I'll have to wait to hear from an editor.

Luckily, I have infraction photos from all my stops so far, in case they require them. And if they do, it's no surprise such an outdated site would accept a report without required criteria being present.

Because of the open report "feature" I had to complete all my shops before I could complete a report. So I took the photos I would take for any gas station shopped, based on the project's questionnaire.

I did one on Wednesday but it has not been reviewed. The store I went in was basically clean, but very, very tired looking. I thought I had stepped back in time.

I imagine we will be getting an email from the MSP clarifying things soon, since I don't think most shoppers are going to know that we are supposed to put multiple photos in each spot if there are infractions. It will take them a while to work out the bugs for this huge project. This software also does not have any way for the shoppers to see when reports have been edited.

I can't think of a worse platform to do gas station shops. I can't think of a more difficult way to actually find the shops and put a report together. Smart and experienced shoppers have tried these and apparently not done them correctly, and the instructions aren't clear. Apparently they don't edit these particularly fast. I can't imagine the disaster this is going to be for this mystery shopping company.

If they need to get every location done, and the deadline is actually a deadline, they are going to be in for a complete catastrophe. They're going to need access to experienced route shoppers, and the entire process for this company makes that difficult. Route shoppers need an easy way to find jobs, clear instructions on how to complete the jobs, and easy ways to report the shops while they are on the road.

If you are a route shopper, and the schedulers are not actively working with you to put a route together, I would strongly suggest using the "leave one" method as you are doing your route. Leave an orphan at the end of your route so that you can do it for a huge bonus later in the cycle. I think it's important to be smart and try to extract as much money out of this project as possible during this transition that will almost certainly be a disaster for the mystery shopping company.

They have their work cut out for them, for sure. Hopefully the client will accept the shops where shoppers did not know they were supposed to put in photos of infractions. It was 10 days before I heard from an editor, so they probably have a huge backlog to edit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2026 02:44PM by mjt9598.

I'm getting my MO together, and I'm working actively with the scheduler to put together routes as the project only allows for 4 self-assigns per day.

I'm still going with the instructions as presented, i.e. I have yet to post any infraction photos as the wording in the various photo upload boxes call for "a" photo. Even the wording of the box for uploading the 2 receipt pix is wrong.

I have all infraction photos just in case, as I use them as a visual checklist before returning to my car and filling out a quick spreadsheet before moving on to my next job.

And to make it really fun for route planning, after inputting my ZIPs and their 50-mile radii, the resulting list is not sortable. Jobs are shown in alphabetical order by city name.

Really horrible web design...

It is not clear at all which infractions photos they want. The editor I spoke with said they did not need all infractions, but to back up "yes" or "no" responses with a photo.

@CoolMusic wrote:

I'm getting my MO together, and I'm working actively with the scheduler to put together routes as the project only allows for 4 self-assigns per day.

I'm still going with the instructions as presented, i.e. I have yet to post any infraction photos as the wording in the various photo upload boxes call for "a" photo. Even the wording of the box for uploading the 2 receipt pix is wrong.

I have all infraction photos just in case, as I use them as a visual checklist before returning to my car and filling out a quick spreadsheet before moving on to my next job.

And to make it really fun for route planning, after inputting my ZIPs and their 50-mile radii, the resulting list is not sortable. Jobs are shown in alphabetical order by city name.

Really horrible web design...

Finished (mostly) my first wave of these yesterday, with 11 scheduled. Most of the remote ones had been visited previously pre-ban, so there were lots of deja vu moments.

I had to drop one of them (and need to remember not to re-book) because it's a mostly garage operation with a teensy office/retail space and no chance to get a discreet store photo.

Things did not start off well as my first stop (a few blocks from the crib) was dark and thoroughly locked up with both roll-down protection grates in place (and the OPEN sign lit), requiring a reschedule request as my route did not have me back in time for the 10PM cutoff.

Working with the scheduler has been great, especially when I screwed up and clicked the ENTER link when I meant to click the ID link and request a reschedule for the other close to home location scheduled for the end of an out-and-back loop. Too much SASSIE muscle memory I guess.

Because of their dinosaur (pun intended) of a website, now that I have clicked the link, that report is now active, and no other reports can be accessed until it is completed. Emails back and forth from the road wound up with an effective solution, and some clarity as to who can do what.

The scheduler can reschedule shops (duh), but in the case of this MSC, they cannot return a report. That has to be done by the MSC, and because it was late on a Friday, the scheduler's request won't be addressed until next week at best.

So they extended all my assignments through Monday, which actually means by 3AM mountain time on Tuesday after more clarification.

So end result was best case scenario: I can do my reports at a leisurely pace today and tomorrow (after completing the local jobs to unclog the pipeline) and bask in the glow of my laptop screen throughout the inefficient reporting process.

The reports have been updated with some additional text indicating that multiple pics can be uploaded, but the wording and positioning remain less-than-optimal.

Moving forward, to continue maxing out my routes for this brand will require similar coordination with the scheduler to allow for an appropriate window for getting a bunch of reports done without depriving me of sleep.

They are lucky that they have shoppers like you that will bend over backwards and deal with all their stupid crap and horrible website for base pay shops. I don't mind jumping through hoops, but I am not going to go through all that nonsense and hassle until they actually start paying a decent amount of money. To each their own, however.