Not meaning to be rude, they do seem to sound friendly in the multitude of voice mails they keep leaving for me but am I the only one who finds they are getting way too many calls from this company?

I just signed up recently and they keep calling me about the shops I did, even if they've sent me emails or already left a message. I've never had such a phone-intensive mystery shop company before. I understand they won't give you an email to reply back to either and email is my preference for contacts (for one thing, that way I have a record as to what was agreed to which I don't when communications take place over the phone...) Mind you you can still log onto their website and leave a general message there but I prefer being able to contact the person who left me messages by their specific email (which they don't allow.)

They seem to be extreme nit pickers, nice, but nitpickers. I've worked with a lot of companies and done this for a few years now but most companies don't seem to need to call me about shops I've done and certainly not this much. lol I don't know, just wondering if anyone else finds this the case. I do wish they'd come into the modern age and allow you to email them back!

I work for them, in fact they are one of my favorites. Yes they are very old school, they like their telephones. I have not seemed to have any problems nit picking though. One on of my first assignments they sent a snarky email about something. But since then, they are happy with the work I do. Sometimes there are questions, but usually not. If there is a question it is because I missed something and it showed up in a different picture. My fault.

IDK I like them. IMHO they are very easy to work with after you get the first couple of shops done.

When I have an issue with a shop, I click on the letter beside the shop number not in general email and I get answered promptly. Usually by phone, but right away.

I prefer email, and I usually don't like for my phone to ring. That said, I can get along with Maritz.

Maritz operates by telephone rather than email. They're a solid company, and if we want to work for them we have to adjust. The upside is they are a company we can call in an emergency, and someone there will talk to us. Maritz has full time employees and is open for business on a normal business schedule. Unexpected, quaint, and convenient.

I've considered doing shops with Maritz but is it just me, or is their pay very low? I've never seen bonused shops with them and the normal fee just isn't enough for me. I've been a little disappointed because they do have shops in my area. Ohhh, and the idea of wearing a safety vest just seems a little ridiculous to me. No thanks

I agree that they're nice enough, just too many phone calls for my taste personally. I also prefer email and I'm not the kind not to act/respond to an inquiry so I don't need to be called a few times a day.

Safety vest?

Yes you are required to wear a BRIGHT Orange Safety vest to do their gas station shops, AND you are requried to submit a picture of you in the vest to prove you wore it! I have worked for them for years and never seen a bonused shop. I was told to request one, one time, but it was rejected and I did not get the shop. You get used to the phone calls. The pay is on the low side, but after you do enought of them, it becomes a fair enough price for the work done.

Now, about them being nit picky, I think that depends on the editors, and it may be just the newer editors. I have done some phases of shops where they question every single shop, and it is always a new editor. Most of the time it is things that are in the report or pictures and the editor missed it. Even with the quirks, I do enjoy working for them and continue to do them.

Maritz does not put bonuses on their job board. They will call you with them or ask you to request them.

The safety vest isn't a big issue for me. In fact, on other jobs for other companies doing gas station audits I wear it. Not because of the great fashion statement but because it makes me more visible to drivers when I am popping in and out of gas pumps taking pictures. I have almost been hit several times without the vest because people need to pull into a pump as fast as possible. Not to say the vest will save me one day, but I think it may help.

Here's a big thumbs up along with my vote for the safety vest. I believe a person should always dress for the occasion. I don't look cute, but I look bright and visible. I've also picked up some warm winter coats in safety blaze orange, a couple of orange puff vests, and a blaze toboggan cap that I treasure. And here's my latest great find: I now have blaze orange shoe laces. WooHoo.

The more of the Maritz stations you do, the more efficient you'll be. Work with a purpose and you can tighten up the times and still do a good job.

I agree with the posters who would like to see these stations pay a little more money, but I accept reality. I spoke to a Maritz person about this, and was told "Well, all of them get picked up." And that's so true. I can't think of a logical reason they should pay more from their point of view. Generally speaking, these shops fly off the boards immediately on posting.

Maritz is a really good company and I'm very happy doing their stations. They have treated me well and I always recommend them to new shoppers. Experienced shoppers may have better offers and want to move on to more lucrative jobs, but I still do a lot of Maritz stations, and wish I could get more.

I can understand why the fee is not higher if they have no problem filling the shops. I've never done one of their shops, but it does look like their fuel reimbursement is higher than other gas station shops. BUT, with that said, I've done shops with other MSCs in the $40-$50 range. After that, it's tough for me to consider the Maritz shops.

Yes, Snuffy, I get it. I've done those $40 - $50 bonus stations, too, and it ruins me for a while. Problem is, I can't get enough of them and getting them isn't dependable. It's a maybe maybe not situation, and the Maritz stations are regular as clockwork. I get all the Maritz stations I can that are on my rat track, but I keep an eye peeled on the CRI board all the time. I'll work the regular stations heavily now through the first week in June, but won't take any in July and August that aren't heavily bonused. Those months are hot enough down here to melt your lipstick.

you make great points...there is a lot to be said for regular, dependable work every month. i've definitely considered them and will most likely continue to...probably at some point i'll give them a try. the biggest draw for me would be the fuel reimbursement. if i could work them into one of my routes it would certainly help keep down fuel costs.

To me, they are one of the least nitpicking msc out there. However, I only do their bank and gas station ms, not audits. I have done thousands of shops for them in the last six years and not once, had they contacted me about any report I submitted.

Haven't done a shop for them in a while. The only issue I had with them is the fact that their website does not work properly (or it didn't the last time I submitted a report). The save function did not work and I ended up re-entering the thing three times. When I said something to a scheduler, he told me they were aware of the problem but didn't sound like the were going to do anything to fix it. Very annoying that I had to waste my time re-entering the report.

I have another thread on here about them being a PIA. They really are harassing, with caller after caller calling for the same job. That being said, it is nice to be able to talk to someone when you have a question or concern. With the exception of their gas jobs, they are a nice group of people to work for and pay consistently. Their gas jobs are such a bother. You have to keep re-certifying. Every three month. New test, and their new one, I feel like I'm back in grade school. What is wrong with this picture? What infraction does this picture show? It got to be too much for the little amount they pay.

Maybe one of the reasons why I'm finding them to be a PIA is because I don't like the computer system and find it cumbersome and hard to use efficiently.

They have many gas station shops in my area and do call quite a bit leaving me messages. One night when I returned home after a long shop route, I went to their job board and then sent a message requesting more information about a shop. I specifically asked to be emailed because when I am at my place of employment my cell has to be turned off and they are closed by the time I am able to call back. The next day I received a voice mail telling me to call them for the answers to my questions.

The one time I did answer the phone, I was driving. The scheduler wanted me to send in a test picture before assigning me a shop. She said she could not give me the email address to send in the test picture because I was driving. Of course that is understandable and the right thing to do. I asked her to text me or email the address and I would send in the test picture when I returned home that evening. She told me no, that I needed to call her back and she would give me the address over the phone. So, I have not had a chance to call back when they are open. I get a lot of voice mails from them. The jobs in my area remain on the board. I wonder why it is they will not email.

I've done huge numbers of the Maritz gasoline audits. After you do a few you know what to look for and what to expect. The Maritz system may be a little outdated, but I find them great people to do work for.

They do require that you wear an orange saftey vest for all of the gasoline audits, except for the Green ones. I can only surmise that they don't want you to get hit by a car when you are doing the Red/Blue, Red/Black, and Yellow shops, but don't care if you get run over doing the Green shops.

If you think Maritz is bad with the phones, you should try dealing with Certified.

sassyshopper Wrote:
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> They have many gas station shops in my area and do
> call quite a bit leaving me messages. One night
> when I returned home after a long shop route, I
> went to their job board and then sent a message
> requesting more information about a shop. I
> specifically asked to be emailed because when I am
> at my place of employment my cell has to be turned
> off and they are closed by the time I am able to
> call back. The next day I received a voice mail
> telling me to call them for the answers to my
> questions.
>
> The one time I did answer the phone, I was
> driving. The scheduler wanted me to send in a test
> picture before assigning me a shop. She said she
> could not give me the email address to send in the
> test picture because I was driving. Of course that
> is understandable and the right thing to do. I
> asked her to text me or email the address and I
> would send in the test picture when I returned
> home that evening. She told me no, that I needed
> to call her back and she would give me the address
> over the phone. So, I have not had a chance to
> call back when they are open. I get a lot of voice
> mails from them. The jobs in my area remain on the
> board. I wonder why it is they will not email.

Ya, you understand what I mean. I am much more easily available via email than phone and find it much more efficient. Someone told me that Maritz had said that they are not allowed to give out specific emails so seems there's some sort of rule they have about email communication for some reason. Not sure why since I don't know of any other companies that are like that and frankly it does impede efficient communication in my opinion. People are not always available by phone and whatsmore, it really helps to have information in written format so that you can easily refer to it.

Maritz is one of the first companies I signed up with and I think I have probably done about 3000 jobs with them with 95% of those being petroleum industry-related.

My five favorite things about Maritz are:
(1) They pay on time, every two weeks like clock work.
(2) They almost always have jobs available and I can schedule jobs for weeks in advance.
(3) The gas I have to buy for some shops keeps me supplied with gas for the lean times or I can sell it to my friends for a discount and pocket the extra cash.
(4) They do pay bonuses on shops--you just have to be patient and wait for the right times to request them. Some brands are easier than others to get bonuses.
(5) The online forms are easy to fill out and seldom do I have any problems with them.

My five worst peeves about Maritz are:
(1) They pay only by check--no direct deposit--no PayPal.
(2) They only allow a certain number of shops to be requested for a given weekly period and while jobs might be available on the website, you can't assign them because they have not opened up a new week for shops, yet.
(3) Many of the forms have typos and program flaws and some of them expect audits to take a full 30 minutes when even a moron could complete one in 20-25 minutes. If you enter a time of less than 30 minutes, it triggers a flag and you have to explain why you took less than 30 minutes. I can do most audits in about 20 minutes and I am very thorough.
(4) They do bombard me with repeated calls when they have stations in my area (within 75 miles) and they are approaching the end of the shopping period. However, I won't do shops more than 25 miles unless I (1) get a bonus for the shop or (2) there are at least 10 shops in a circuitous route that I can get assigned for one day.
(5) The various sections with Maritz have a hard time working together. While all of the petroleum shops are under one team, each separate brand has a sub-team and the schedulers of each sub-team don't handle the shops of the other sub-teams and have a hard time working together. If they worked better together, they could arrange routes for shoppers that combined all of the available brands making it more cost effective and lessening the chance that they would have offer bonuses.
(6) Emailing Maritz, in most cases, is a complete waste of time, especially for urgent issues. The schedulers seldom read the emails or if they do, it might be 2-3 working days before they call you about it.

All in all, Maritz is a great company to work for and I have a good relationship with most of the schedulers, some of the editors and some of the ladies in the payroll department. They may not pay as well as some companies but they have many gas stations brands (at least five), most of which they have been doing for as long as I have worked for them. Of the 3000 or so shops, I have only had pay issues for about .5%, if that, and their employees go out of their way to ensure and quick and satisfactory resolution to any issue.

hey, how are their bank shops? i'm considering requesting a couple but was hoping for some input first.

The bank shops are easy - the first few rotations. They get suspicious after you've been in there for four months in a row. LOL!!! I try to expand my territory and do 6-7 in a new town, every once in awhile. But after doing this for 1-1/2 years, I'm need a new disguise.

I even did a shop for a famous chocolatier (did I spell that right?).

They lost the chocolate shop and it went to another msc.

I love Maritz. The gas audits typically pay 10 or 11 dollars PLUS 2 gallons or $6 in gas....that's $16-$18 and once you get used to them they should take no more than 30 minutes, and I can upload the pics in 10 minutes. The reports have no narratives so they are easy.

The fast food shops are drive through only, take less than 10 minutes and pay $9 plus food. Compare this to the arches....$7.50 (non bonuses) and 2 meals plus having go inside and sit for 15 minutes.

To each his own I suppose!

cpburt Wrote:
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> They do require that you wear an orange saftey
> vest for all of the gasoline audits, except for
> the Green ones. I can only surmise that they
> don't want you to get hit by a car when you are
> doing the Red/Blue, Red/Black, and Yellow shops,
> but don't care if you get run over doing the Green
> shops.


I just did one for them and it did not mention anything about a safety vest. This is a (mostly midwestern?) farmers coop company.

> I just did one for them and it did not mention
> anything about a safety vest. This is a (mostly
> midwestern?) farmers coop company.

It's just the national brands that require the vest photos and then only the audits, not the mystery shops. As to why the Greens don't require them I don't know as I have not done any of their shops in over 3 years.

The Greens do require the vest and the photo of yourself in the vest. At least the ones I do.

mawmaw26 Wrote:
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> The Greens do require the vest and the photo of
> yourself in the vest. At least the ones I do.


Agree 100% , just did one recently on a nice bonus.

You have to take a picture in the mirror of you wearing the safety vest and you name tag!

LOL......Its about as anti-mystery shopping as you can get...... bright orange vest with a name tag with your full name on it!