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Gas Station Inspection Pushback

April 19, 2026 03:05AM
@purpleicee wrote:

No rejections. Just bribes offered.

To get you to rate them better? Did they do that before or after you showing the letter?

Have you had shopped the same place and they recognize you?
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More About Gas Station Mystery Shopping
April 21, 2026 04:14PM
@purpleicee wrote:

No rejections. Just bribes offered.

LOL, I had one try to "gift" me a lotto ticket just last week!
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April 21, 2026 04:22PM
When I was doing Marathons, I would be offered a drink (pop or water) very now and then. Only a few of the offers seemed like the goal was a better report. A couple were consistent in that manner.
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April 21, 2026 04:28PM
I'm offered soda or water fairly often. Happened more than a few times over the past week. I always say no, but if I'm still doing stations in South Florida a month from now I'll be tempted to say yes. I'm big on avoiding heat stroke.

I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
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April 22, 2026 05:30AM
I've had to explain to a few owners that taking a soda or bottled water from them could be construed as a bribe. I've had a couple say they understand, and another said he wouldn't tell anyone, but I still refused (I'm single at 65 years old because men lie).
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April 22, 2026 06:04AM
A soda is not a bribe. I would take the soda. Take the soda after the inspection

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/22/2026 06:15AM by johnb974.
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April 23, 2026 11:29PM
No john, it's still either a bribe or payment for getting the report they want.. It's not professional, and it leaves ethical questions. I will NOT put myself in a position where I may have to explain away an ethical dilema.

I do NOT, absolutely will NOT, purchase anything at all from the gas station that I do revealed audits for.

If it's a mystery shop and reveal situation, I will purchase what I want, I've bought chicken tenders and/or pizza slices instead of the cheapest thing in the store if I needed to eat to take my meds or because it's lunch time. And I've had editors question why I spent so much, even though it's really none of their business.
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April 23, 2026 11:59PM
Its legally a bribe. Now we know your price.

@johnb974 wrote:

A soda is not a bribe. I would take the soda. Take the soda after the inspection

Shopping South Jersey, Southeast Pennsylvania, and Delaware above the canal since 2008
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April 24, 2026 12:28AM
@Morledzep wrote:

No john, it's still either a bribe or payment for getting the report they want.. It's not professional, and it leaves ethical questions. I will NOT put myself in a position where I may have to explain away an ethical dilema.

I do NOT, absolutely will NOT, purchase anything at all from the gas station that I do revealed audits for.

If it's a mystery shop and reveal situation, I will purchase what I want, I've bought chicken tenders and/or pizza slices instead of the cheapest thing in the store if I needed to eat to take my meds or because it's lunch time. And I've had editors question why I spent so much, even though it's really none of their business.

It's not a bribe. They offer it AFTER you finish the report and they don't know what you said in the report.
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April 24, 2026 02:16AM
I stopped doing them, because I was threatened by one and walking into the men's room looked like I needed a tetanus shot. The whole bathroom was lined up with a months worth of filled garbage bags.
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April 24, 2026 04:11AM
It's usually more of a butter you up kind of thing. Not exactly a bribe. Just good business practice, from their perspective.

I never take the offer. Not really for ethical reasons, but for more practical reasons. If I mark them down for a bunch of stuff, I don't want them to be resentful. And I especially don't want them to go blabbing to the MSC about it.

Okay, I said I never take the offer but that's not exactly true. I have on a couple of occassions taken a cup of coffee early in the morning to drink with the clerk when it is clear they just want someone to talk to for a little bit while things are still slow and don't give a rat's tail about what I put into the report. I'm not perfect, lol.
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April 24, 2026 05:46AM
How can you call offering you a soda, a bribe? You're done with the report, they don't see the report. It's not like they said, "Here is a soda if you give us a good report"
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April 24, 2026 11:18AM
@johnb974 wrote:

How can you call offering you a soda, a bribe? You're done with the report, they don't see the report. It's not like they said, "Here is a soda if you give us a good report"

They don't know that I've already submitted it and it can't be changed. Yesterday, after I submitted my report and told the dude I was done, he asked me to let Exxon / Mobil know people can't see the numbers at night, can they send something or other, etc , and I had to tell him twice I submitted the report already and I can't add anything.

I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Reply
April 24, 2026 06:30PM
I think some of the gas station shops specifically say in the guidelines that you're not allowed to accept anything for free from the location. Out of principle, I never accept any gifts from the location. I do not find it to be professional, and I try to be as professional as possible when I do these jobs.
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April 24, 2026 07:38PM
@thunderdeacon wrote:

I think some of the gas station shops specifically say in the guidelines that you're not allowed to accept anything for free from the location. Out of principle, I never accept any gifts from the location. I do not find it to be professional, and I try to be as professional as possible when I do these jobs.

I have never seen that before. I remember on restaurant shop that actually told you to not ask for a doggie bag. I always did, took my leftovers home.
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April 25, 2026 09:18PM
I got a Grape Blitz Powerade Big Gulp at a 7-Eleven Mobil station after doing some stations today.. Forgot to bring water with me. Went to counter to pay, dude won't take my money. We went back and forth a bit with "No, you don't pay!" and "I have to pay for this.". I eventually left $1 on the counter and left.

I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks


Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2026 09:18PM by retrodaddy.
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April 26, 2026 12:20AM
If there is a food counter with a tip jar, even better.
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April 26, 2026 01:54PM
I was handed $100 during a gas station audit. I declined. He insisted, saying we were not paid enough. I somehow got him to rescind the offer.

Do not read so much, look about you and think of what you see there.
Richard Feynman-- letter to Ashok Arora, 4 January 1967, published in Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track (2005) p. 230
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April 26, 2026 06:55PM
@whosear wrote:

I was handed $100 during a gas station audit. I declined. He insisted, saying we were not paid enough. I somehow got him to rescind the offer.

Lmao, wow.

I mean, he's right, but we can't take that money.

I don't think there are any Russians / And there ain't no Yanks
Just corporate criminals\ / Playin' with tanks
Reply
April 26, 2026 07:03PM
Just have him drop it on the floor next to you. Than say, "hey, look what I just found"
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May 01, 2026 12:15PM
On the hottest day of the year, 2019, I was in Louisiana doing some Citgo's and Marathons. This man offered me three bottles of cold water, because he did not want me to hyperventilate. I politely told him I could not take them. Explained the bribe thing and tried to pull out. When I was getting ready to pull out onto the main road, he taps my passenger window and I roll it down. He drops a bag of 5 or 6 of the coldest water bottles and ran back inside. I called the scheduler and told her what happened, she laughed and said, if it wasn't a bribe don't worry about it.

I opened one up and drank that bad boy like I had not drank water in days.


@Morledzep wrote:

I've had to explain to a few owners that taking a soda or bottled water from them could be construed as a bribe. I've had a couple say they understand, and another said he wouldn't tell anyone, but I still refused (I'm single at 65 years old because men lie).
Reply
May 01, 2026 12:16PM
You do realize the MSC's read these threads and will deactivate you right. Especially IPSOS who happens to do the majority of gas stations.

@johnb974 wrote:

Just have him drop it on the floor next to you. Than say, "hey, look what I just found"
Reply
May 01, 2026 03:43PM
Well here’s a new one for you…this is my report from a station done this weekend..Carey Medina may be interested, LOL
I had to complete the reveal as the associate was not wearing a uniform shirt or name tag. As soon as I presented the letter, the associate became very upset. He said they had already had their shop, they had to get an email telling them I was coming, the letter has a date of "January 1, 2026," so it wasn't valid, and then he called the station owner. He handed the phone to me, and the owner demanded my first and last name and the phone number to my "director."
I explained that my visit was complete. I photographed the counter, left the letter and went to my car. The associate followed me out to the car and took a photo of the license plate. There was a comment made about it being a "scam" and my being "trespassed" from the site.
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May 01, 2026 06:28PM
I would trespass myself from that site.
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May 01, 2026 07:14PM
Yeah, I will not be taking that one again. I would love to say it doesn’t bother me, but being yelled at and photographed like I’m doing something I shouldn’t? Of course it bothers me
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May 01, 2026 07:43PM
Unfortunately, it comes with the job. But fortunately, it is a rare occurrence. No doubt you got over it by the time you reached your next shop and hopefully, found a pleasant attendant.
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May 01, 2026 10:37PM
When they tell you that they have been shopped before. Politely apologize and say something to effect of, I'm sorry, I picked this shop up from a job board. There may have been some issues with the other report. Every station I am assigned I have a printed LOA for, if I don't use them fine, if I do there are extras. If they want me to talk to their manager fine, give me that phone. If they refuse me, I leave the letter, take any required photos and leave. Not my problem at that point. If they harass me once I am inside the car and trying to leave as requested, I have absolutely no problem documenting that in the report as I am calling the cops.

I've talked to so many store managers or owners on the phone. I leave the letter, explain myself and move on. I have had customers call the cops on me, I've been followed from one location to the next, and I have had my photo and my car, and my license plate photographed.

@Mousegal wrote:

Well here’s a new one for you…this is my report from a station done this weekend..Carey Medina may be interested, LOL
I had to complete the reveal as the associate was not wearing a uniform shirt or name tag. As soon as I presented the letter, the associate became very upset. He said they had already had their shop, they had to get an email telling them I was coming, the letter has a date of "January 1, 2026," so it wasn't valid, and then he called the station owner. He handed the phone to me, and the owner demanded my first and last name and the phone number to my "director."
I explained that my visit was complete. I photographed the counter, left the letter and went to my car. The associate followed me out to the car and took a photo of the license plate. There was a comment made about it being a "scam" and my being "trespassed" from the site.
Reply
May 02, 2026 04:16PM
@Dino29 wrote:

I've talked to so many store managers or owners on the phone. I leave the letter, explain myself and move on. I have had customers call the cops on me, I've been followed from one location to the next, and I have had my photo and my car, and my license plate photographed.

I don't do gas station shops just because of instances such as the one listed above. There are many other instances with gas station shops that I've read about over my 20 years of MS'ing, both on this forum and on the old Volition forum. So I'm just wondering......what is it about these gas station shops that mystery shoppers find worth doing? Just curious. TIA!
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May 02, 2026 04:52PM
2 gallons of reimbursed gas, for me. And it doesn't count as income.
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May 02, 2026 05:29PM
Volume. There are just so many. Go to any town and count the places that are shopped, and most will be gas stations.
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