I do gas shops for this one company where you have to take pictures and wear a safety vest. I always hear about these really hard, really long shops with them for a specific gas company. I always assumed it was Shell but I'm reading the stuff for my upcoming Shell shops now and though the instructions are stupidly long they don't seem like the'll take to much longer than the Valero shops. Is there another company that they do that maybe isn't in my area or something. The one's that are supposedly really long and detailed?

Also, they called me today and tried to get me to do shops that were all well over 30 minutes or 30 miles from me. I was like I can't afford to drive that far. They said they had three in Guthrie which is about 40 minutes from me. I said I'll do those with a bonus, definitely. She left, came back, and said they weren't doing bonuses right now but that it would be $33 for all three shops! (She sounded so excited for me.) I said that it may be $30 for all three but it would cost at least ten in gas so it's more like doing 3 for $20 plus all my driving. Also, the $1 reimbursement does NOT count for pay. I don't want to buy something at the gas station, that's not paying me. That's just giving me a soda for $.79 later down the road when you pay me. Now, if it was a shops where you got gas money then that counts as pay.

Gonzo, I do Valero and Shell. The Shell shop takes me a LOT longer than a Valero. Are you looking through the book they send you and all the information that you print out from the website? I don't try to rush when I audit, but the Shells are running a long time even at the relatively clean stations with no issues. I don't ignore any of the instructions and I take care to observe everything I'm supposed to evaluate. The Shell shop changed with 2013 and it now takes a little longer than it did in 2012. Be sure you print out a report and go through it carefully. I found some surprises. Good luck with these. The Valero stations don't compare and aren't even in the same league with Shell audits.

I think Shells are horrendous! But I do them. Too many questions for the mystery shop portion and I hate taking a picture of the opposite gender bathroom. But once again, I do them. They pay the bills. Not happy to hear 2013 is longer...ugh. I start my round next week.

Valero is the easiest, I think. I can do them in 8-10 minutes. I will do them all day long.

The other gas station, the one who had a burst pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico with super oil overflow, is a very in depth detail audit. It is 3 legal sized pages long, sent to you by the MSC. It can take beginners up to an hour or more to complete. Shoot, depending on how many pumps, it can take the experienced shopper an hour or more. I can do most of them in 15-20 minutes now. But this is because I have done tons. I know what is on the forms and take the pictures of infractions as I walk around for my required pictures. I still have to stand there and mark off the form and double check certain things. The evaluation gets given to the client when finished which, I think, adds a little extra pressure to get it right now vs. on review of pics when inputting a report.

Some of the Shell shops in my area are at night for this quarter. It really messes up my routes, which is the only way I make any money. And I don't like to drive at night.

mawmaw26 Wrote:
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> Some of the Shell shops in my area are at night
> for this quarter. It really messes up my routes,
> which is the only way I make any money. And I
> don't like to drive at night.


I noticed that too. I created my route and added those ones to the end. I will be catching them as soon as their time window opens up. Luckily, my routes here I go toward the main locations, out beyond them and then the main locations are on my way home. I have to pass them coming and going, so I am lucky enough to schedule them going for the timeframe.

shell is shopped by more then one company. I don't shop for the company you guys are talking about. Too much time vs pay, vs what I can make doing other stuff. Plus the other 2 companies that shop shell regionally, their shops are much quicker.

Techman, I wish ours were easier and paid more. Reality is a beach.

Techman...

Do you know if the same locations we are shopping with the company being implied in this thread are shopped with the MSC's you are shopping for? Just to be clear, location 123 Main Street is shopped by this thread MSC and the MSC you are talking about.

I am asking because, I have never seen my usual Shells shopped by another company. Just wondering if maybe different franchises or regions have different MSCs. I know Circle K is shopped by one company and BP by another, sometimes both clients are shopping the same location. Unfortunately, the Circle K says never reveal yourself and the BP say reveal yourself so I can't get a two-fer-oner! Lol.

Most stations are shopped at 3 different levels, the corporate brand, the brand of the c-store, and the wholesaler that distributes the gas to the station regionally.


Certain brands are shopped by the same MSC twice a month, so that makes the same station shopped up to 4 times a month.

MDavis - I don't know why you are assuming I don't read the instructions or try to rush my jobs. I'm a little insulted but I'm going to just decide you didn't mean that the way it came off and not be mad.

I have read the instructions, I'm still learning the process a bit but it just doesn't seem that much harder than Valero. I take two pictures or even more of everything at Valero anyway just in case. The last two I did I was unsure what was the front of the store so I took a left angled photo, front and full view photos, a right angled/another center and full view photos, and then a right angled photo. So basically I had two possible angles on each photo requirement if that makes sense. They e-mailed asking me for another photo on two different photo requirements. It took me like 10 minutes to pick out two more, resize them and upload them.

Maybe that's why it doesn't seem as bad bc I take about 5 photos of each thing anyway. Am I missing something or do I just not care about lengthy shops as long as I get paid some money?

Also, I have to shops 7/11's every 3rd month at night so I'm used to it.

I've never heard of having to wear a vest for Tesoro shops.

110mama - Not sure what Tesoro shops are but I assume they are a gas company that isn't in my area. These gas shops are a different brand. They are Shell and Valero/Shamrock.

Tesoro owns Shell and USA. Both come up as Tesoro with the Prophet company I use to shop them.

they are shopped by several different msc's 110mama.

I did a daytime Shell today and froze my little (or big) butt off. I don't want to do the night one...boo hoo...but I guess I'll pull up my big girl boots and do it tomorrow. For some reason I grab these shops, but then hate to go do 'em. They are a PITA, but I like them anyway. This quarter is quite different than last year's audit.

i like to do shops at night if I'm doing shops that have no time restrictions. No traffic on the road. Get twice as many shops done in half the time.

Gonzo, what I was really trying to find out was whether or not you had printed out the extra documentation on the website and printed out the report form, or if you were just looking at the book they mail. I didn't mean to say that you don't read instructions. I thought maybe you didn't have all the instructions printed out. The book has a lot of information, but there is a lot more in the material you print out from the website. I was unclear if you had all the information. Sorry.

When I said I don't rush, I didn't mean to imply that you rush. I meant to say that the Shell stations take me a lot of time because I don't rush. There are a large number of details to be observed on the Shell audits.

Still, for me the Valero is very simple and quick compared to the Shell. I only meant to warn you that the Shells are not as simple as they may look. I have to allow much more time for a Shell than a Valero, and I have to allow much, much more time for a Shell report.

I may have some kind of mental block on the Shell stations because they have always been difficult, and every time they revise the program I feel kicked in the head. Lots of other shoppers on the forum have commented that the Shells are a pain.
I do a lot of Shell stations. The pay is reasonable on the job and Shells are numerous in my area. I also do some of the others that are easier for me, so I believe it all balances out overall.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
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> I may have some kind of mental block on the Shell
> stations because they have always been difficult,
> and every time they revise the program I feel
> kicked in the head.


I am so glad to see you say this. Well, no glad for you, but for me. I feel the same way. I don't know why I can't get the Shell stuff into my head but it is always trying. All the stuff they want you to know and look for beyond the audit. I just seem to block it out. I have to read and re-read the instructions/evaluation form before each stop on my route. These stations take me twice as long as the greep shops by the same MSC, I have done just as many, and the green are supposed to be the PITA. ...oh so not looking forward to the start of my Shell shopping season next week. But as usual, they pay the bills and I will do them.

I love the question about how many pump side decals are on each pump...

Um, how do you even fit 10+ on each pump. It seems it would be very crowded.


I'm not so happy with the Mystery shopping portion. There's too many questions. Also, I don't want to give my opinion, thanks. I'm happy to report whether the cashier did or did not do any particular things. But really, would I recommend the station? No. I have never in my life recommended a gas station. But what does my propensity (or lack thereof) have to do with how the cashier is performing.

MDavis - I figured that maybe I was reading something into what you said that you did not mean. I have difficulty seeing tone in writing. It just seemed to me like you were implying I didn't do proper research and studying on the shops but now I know what you meant. No, I've downloaded all the stuff I need and though the instructions seem daunting I still don't see what's so bad about the Shell shops. I'm starting to worry I've missed something at this point after seeing how many people hate them.

Hi Gonzo. I don't want to discourage you from doing the Shells. I find them hard (for me) but they are very doable and I believe the fee and gas reimbursement is reasonable pay for this shop. I think I'm probably a little slow on these Shell shops. I also do the Valero stations. The Valero station audit is faster and the report is really easy, but they're not my preference due to three "across the street" pictures. Sometimes I look at my pictures of them across six or eight lanes of traffic, and I say to myself "Yep, that may be a station over there."

What are your opinions on Chevron shops/audits

I like to do the gas stations, whether for the orange people or the green ones. I can do these and get extra photos and spend no longer than 30 minutes in each one. Just to covermyself about payment decal questions and diesel and whether they match certain photos I just take extra photos of each of these things so I don't have to stand there and freeze while thumbing through the book and materials. I put the finishing touches on the paperwork while sitting in my car for a few minutes before going inside with the papers they sign--this way I know I have stuff covered and can trot over to check on things for another look.

I do a lot of Chevrons. The Chevron audit requires leaving a copy of the completed audit form with the station, so you have to line up your ducks on site. The input of the report is quick and easy because you run down the audit form and fill in the website report right off the audit form. The Chevron instructions are detailed and the audit will get faster with repetition. These audits have to be done Monday through Friday, and consist of either a daytime audit or a nighttime audit. Be careful if you're a newbie signing up for the Chevron and Shell audits. You may think you have a solid lock on your day route, and end up with one that is part night and part day scattered over the route. Guess how I learned to watch out for that? Aha!

Oh, found out today that you have to upload the two receipts separately for the Shell report, but they must be together in one photo for the invoice. So, take an extra one of both receipts while you're at it.

MDavisnowell Wrote:
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> You may think
> you have a solid lock on your day route, and end
> up with one that is part night and part day
> scattered over the route. Guess how I learned to
> watch out for that? Aha!

Been there, done that. And more than once. I get so jazzed up sometimes when I am working with multiple MSC websites and/or schedulers simultaneously to put together a route, and completely forget about the day part/evening part with some of these. Frustrating! And guess how long ago it was that I made this stupid mistake? ::sigh:: Last freaking Tuesday! I should know better by now. Aaaargh! It definitely made for some interesting scheduling.

Ugh. I just realized that these night shops are going to be hard to enter within the twelve hour window. I have a route of six of them coming up and they are over an hour from home. By the time I get home, I'm going to want to sleep, not enter reports. I really should have thought this through better before signing up for them. What was I thinking?

Has anybody found any of the Fuel rewards cards useful at all. I mean, it doesn't help to get a discount on the gas that is being reimbursed, but do any of the cards allow you to reack up points purchasing gas to use at a later date?

Not surprised. You must not do any of the green stations because that's how those are done.





MsJudi Wrote:
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> Oh, found out today that you have to upload the
> two receipts separately for the Shell report, but
> they must be together in one photo for the
> invoice. So, take an extra one of both receipts
> while you're at it.

Nope, don't do the green ones, but I was offered several routes....go figure.