How to ensure Intellishop oil change shop is sucessful?

I don't normally put my own funds at risk doing shops requiring a largish purchase and hoping for reimbursement. However, in this case I need an oil change anyway and the shopper pay is $25. So if all goes well, I get paid a bit of cash and get a "free" oil change in exchange for my work in completing the shop and report. The reimbursement is "up to $60".

I HAVE done one of these before, but it was a few years ago. The bill for just an oil change was a whopping $56 at the dealership, which is more than twice what I expected. I did get paid, but I remember worrying about it then as well. So, my question is: aside from the obvious (being observant and doing a thorough job with the report), how can I maximize my chance of having the shop accepted and paid? What are the most important things that Intellishop and the client are looking for with these?

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That report requires timings down to the second if I remember correctly. I do about 8 of these a year (2 cars)
Just detail in your narrative if they offer synthetic oil, the filter warranty and if they go over the inspection results with you. I have done these for almost 3 years and have never had one even returned for additional info.

Thanks! Good to know.

I got it for $30

I did one of these this week (first oil change shop for me). The guidelines said something about being sure to pre-read everything because it’s a “long report,” but it was short & sweet IMO. I would say the report took me 10 minutes, and they had it accepted/graded an hour later.

Thanks everyone. I was worrying for nothing, followed the guidelines to the letter and the shop was approved in less than 12 hours. Intellishop comment: "Thank you for your report. A score of 10 has been given. Thanks again and keep up the good work!"

I'll keep an eye out for more of these!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2018 05:17PM by BlueMoose.

those really are one of the easiest shops out there
even without a bonus they are well worth it

Yeah, been doing IS oil shops for over a decade, always accepted, always a 10 score...there are negative things that people say about IS but the oil change shops are not one of them. Really glad for "free" oil changes!

I have completed 19 oil change shops over a 12+ year period for this MSC, all without the slightest hitch. My last was in Feb. of this year, had a $15 fee and was paid in three weeks. I would not hesitate to apply for such a shop tomorrow IF the need existed and the pay were acceptable.

I love those shops. I get them every 6 months and never had a problem. I am glad your shop was approved! They are very easy to fill out too.

I so need an oil change shop and can't find any within even 50 miles. I did a couple dealership oil change shops locally, but they're not coming back up. Not sure what the rotation is. I'm actually going to have to pay for an oil change lol. Dang.

Just out shopping around...

mselle, I am glad no clients were mentioned so I can tell you of another company that does oil change shops other than Intelli-shop--Service Sleuths does them too, though not in my area. Service Sleuths has them in the southern US in some areas, my sister-in-law lives in Texas and has done a few. Now other shoppers can chime in if they know of other MSCs who do oil changes, too. Hope that helps!

Bestmark has a few but they mostly cater to a specific vehicle model.

@Mum wrote:

Bestmark has a few but they mostly cater to a specific vehicle model.

Yes, I have done two for them. I'd like to know what that rotation is because they haven't popped back up. My reports were accepted and paid. Admittedly, the first one was my first mystery shop ever. I did a great job with timings, but my narratives ... well.... not great. I put too much opinion in them and was properly schooled about it.

I don't think they cut me off from that dealership, because I did see same dealership in cities ~100 miles away.

On another note, I did find an Intellishop one. Reimbursement only so that's a drag but my own fault for waiting too long to look and assuming it'd be easy to find one. Should've prob grabbed one of those Jiffy Lubes that were so predominant when they were. Live and learn.

I do dread the Intellishop oil change report. I hope it isn't as time sucking as the Bestmark one.

Just out shopping around...

I never did the ones on Bestmark because I don't have the car they want. I see them every month and there are two in my area. Not sure about the rotation. I have done two for Intellishop and the report is very easy. I do dealership visits for Bestmark and I know what you mean by the reports. Definitely time consuming. I typically wait for them (Intelli oil change) to be bonused. They pay $60 initially and then almost always they come back with a bonus of $15 or $20.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2018 05:00AM by Mum.

Confero does the same shops that Service Sleuth does and the pay is double.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

mselle, I am glad no clients were mentioned so I can tell you of another company that does oil change shops other than Intelli-shop--Service Sleuths does them too, though not in my area. Service Sleuths has them in the southern US in some areas, my sister-in-law lives in Texas and has done a few. Now other shoppers can chime in if they know of other MSCs who do oil changes, too. Hope that helps!

It's an easy shop and an easy report, takes about 45 minutes onsite (usually) and about 30 minutes to report. I don't mind doing them for reimbursement only because the location is about 2 miles from my house. And I didn't have to pay out of pocket for an oil change.

@mselle wrote:

I do dread the Intellishop oil change report. I hope it isn't as time sucking as the Bestmark one.

I have not done an oil shop since I purchased my new car but now it is off the free service period and I will have to start to pay for the service. I did a Jiffy Lube a few years ago and the location insisted I needed synthetic oil and charged me more than the reimbursement. I was already there and it was not worth it to me to just leave and flake on the job when my out of pocket amt was covered by the small fee. In any case I now have a Prius and the manual says I should use 20 weight oil I am wondering if any Prius owners can chime in to let me know if the chain oil change locations that are shopped even have that oil. I do not want to mess up my engine using the wrong oil on a car that is still relatively new.
Thank you oil change crowd.

After the oil change, check all your fluid levels immediately while you're in the parking lot. They're often high or low. One Jiffy Lube drained my transmission fluid instead of the oil. Then they overfilled my oil. Many places say they checked fluids but they didn't. So view all their work in progress.

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