Removed.

For the first example, it is possible that you had an incorrect picture there.
I do have the impression the project managers recently told editors to pay more attention to details, though, and thus some holds like this.

By the way, if that sign on the bollard is tied there, it is non-compliant because it is under the canopy, regardless of its an branded promotion.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/19/2018 03:47PM by KA047.

Note that you also, probably accidentally, linked MSC and client in the OP.

You can submit Maritz reports without a photo in every spot. The first time through the report it will ask you for any missed photos. If you scroll to the bottom and "submit" again, it will take whatever you give it....photos or not.

I can't even get them to assign me to a gas station shop! (I only registered with them a couple of months ago.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2018 07:13AM by fujikochan.

OP I'm with you. They have been kicking stuff back at me left and right lately. Stupid stuff. I've done hundreds of gas station shops for them over the years, with practically no problems at all, so it would appear I know what I'm doing. So it really irks me when lately I get a shop kicked back for a "better-unobstructed-closer" photo, mostly the restroom and the overall location shots. Editors, I know how you want the pics. I take all my pics at the best angle available. I PROMISE I will ALWAYS submit the best possible pics. If trees are in the way, well, I didn't plant those and I don't bring a chainsaw along on my shops. I also can not get a pic of the toilet and the sink in a 3'x3' restroom with the toilet on the north wall and the door and the sink on the south wall. It is a waste of all of our time making me explain this to you over and over and over.

AND, while on the subject of submitting pics: when I do these stations, I use the app and input them as I go. Every question has a slot for two pics and I always take two pics for each question that requires a pic. However, only one pic per question is attached to the report. Then if an editor doesn't like the pic attached, I get notified to submit a new one. HEY EDITORS, before wasting my time looking for and resizing and submitting a new pic, how bout taking a look at the second pic I already submitted to you that didn't get attached to the report. There is a good chance that one may suit you better, thus no need to bother me with it.

Also, do you have to keep asking me to verify my time because I was at the location longer than expected? I'm not paid hourly, so what difference does it make? Maybe I'm more thorough with my shops than the next guy. Or maybe you forgot to consider that a station with 20 pumps takes longer than a shop with 4 pumps. Sometimes, I'm just not really in any kind of hurry and will leisurely do the shop without stressing to finish.

For me and the "Blue" gas stations, the requests for an additional photo has not been an issue. When they have asked, and I have not had a specific photo, I have been able to crop a photo to give them the pic of the area they wish to see.
With that being said, I typically take a photo of signs under the canopy, yard signs, etc. It doesn't matter to me if they are indeed, a "Blue" ad, I take them anyway. Other signs that are obviously not related to the brand, that's a "no brainer" - take the pic!

As for being at a station for a long time; Often, I've pumped my gas only to have another customer strike up a conversation (their doing, not mine - I'm here on business). There will be a disparity between the time on my pump receipt and the in-store receipt. But, I've not been questioned.
Other times, I have pumped way over the minimum amount of $5 due to the pump handle's release getting stuck in the pump position or a result of the conversation. Again, I've not been questioned. But, I've wondered if they look at those incidents differently.

I know that we as shoppers can turn in the debrief without some photos. When you submit, the debrief alerts you that you are missing a photo. I always check to see which one is missing. If I know that I'm missing a photo because there is nothing to submit (no restroom for instance), I'll just re-submit and it goes through.

But, most importantly, I always, always submit my invoice immediately after the last debrief! By doing that, it let's me know that my debriefs have all been received (no worries about not debriefing within the time period). If you did not debrief the "Visit" or finish the debrief, the invoice will not allow you to submit that particular "Visit ID". After submitting the debrief, I write down the date of the invoice and the invoice ID on each of my worksheets (I have a worksheet for each gas station). Lastly, I save the invoice data to a file for the year of the shops I do for each MSC. For this particular MSC, I review the invoice information before saving it.

Sure its "anal", but its my business and I'm fastidious about recordkeeping.

Thanks for the input- I didn't know it would take the report when no picture is submitted. If there is nothing to show, I'll type a little note "no public bathroom" etc- and do a screen shot of it, which I then attach to my report. As for debriefing, I always do it the same day (usually within an hour of getting home) I have never waited past the 12 hour window. I do have a problem remembering to submit my invoice. There is no other company that I work for that requires a separate form to get paid. If there is an incentive (after dusk, etc) I usually wait until I make sure there are no holds. Maybe that is what they are talking about..but that's not debriefing.. that's invoicing. I think from now on I'll enter the invoice at the same time I do the debriefing and if they place holds, I'll just answer them as I go along. I have two more to do for them this month. I'll see how it goes..

Maritz will NOT pay for closed locations. Those of you that did got lucky. They called and begged and I told them it was out. Go anyway we will =pay you. Not a penny.

They pay so little, I am surprised that anybody does work for them. Seriously. I am not trying to be mean.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2018 06:53PM by jameschicago.

@jameschicago wrote:

They pay so little, I am surprised that anybody does work for them. Seriously. I am not trying to be mean.

They're quick and easy, in my opinion. Yes, I try to get bonuses, but I will take one at base if its en route. And they pay better then a reimbursement only restaurant shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/20/2018 08:47PM by KA047.

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Maritz will NOT pay for closed locations. Those of you that did got lucky. They called and begged and I told them it was out. Go anyway we will =pay you. Not a penny.

I have always been paid for closed locations.

This is getting silly now. Today they sent me another hold on a shop from 9-5. It doesn't say what needs to be fixed- it just has the question #'s. When I went to the first one it has NULL over it- but the picture is exactly what they asked for. Went to the 2nd question #- same thing- NULL and the correct picture is posted. How am I supposed to fix something if I have no idea what they want fixed. I sent them an email asking them to define the problem- we'll see if they get back to me- It's not like I'm making big money here. I traveled 20 min to get to the shop- luckily there were 2 within a few miles of each other- I took the time to take all of the pics of both shops, 20 min ride home. Two debriefings take time too and now every few days they put another hold one of my shops and I have to take time to figure out what's wrong. For $12.50 a shop it's just not worth it. I have 2 more scheduled for today. I hate to break it to them but I'm not going to do any more of these if they are going to continue trying to find reasons not to pay me when the pictures are the correct pictures.

Emails don't work with Maritz. Call the team involved and speak with a scheduler. Some are much better than others. If necessary ask to speak with a supervisor, which probably won't work, but get one involved.

IMO, I believe it is an individual choice and a consideration of how your time is used. Everyone is different.

For these shops, I consider the fee of $12.50 plus the max gas purchase of $5 and the shop purchase of $1 as an overall payment of $18.50. If they have an additional request to check certain elements with a photo, that is another $1 added to the shop. All of that adds up to $19.50. That's without any incentives.

For me, that's almost $20 for a quick 20 minute shop and 10 minute debrief. Sure I could count my drive time of say, 20 to 30 minutes and the gas used, but, in the end, I find I'm lugging home excess gas, and I've purchased my breakfast additive that last a few days. Because the purchases are reimbursed, I figure them as part of my overall payment. Others might disagree. For the IRS, well that is a different set of rules. Whatever.

My drive time is used for listening to books on tape or an interesting program on a station with something other than music. Although, I do have to say that when I'm traveling in certain parts of the state or states, I know of radio stations that play some pretty good jazz or long play albums.

BTW, the breakfast additive is the Nature Valley oatmeal and honey granola bars that most gas stations sell for around $0.79 to $0.99 each. I crumble half of one of the 2 bars into my morning Greek yogurt and fruit.
I now have 5 five gallon gas cans that, at any time, are filled to the max. If I don't give it away, I use that gas for the days when I do non gas station shops.

Usually, I try to hit my goal of making (reimbursements included) between $80 to $100 a day or, an average of between $400 to $500 a week. When the farm work is done each morning, I have one more cup of coffee and then head out for some shops. I'm home anywhere between noon to maybe 2 PM. Before or after dinner, I'll sip a glass of wine and take maybe 30 minutes to prep for the next day's shops.

It has gotten cold here. The summer vegetables are almost done, the cherries are done, peaches are done and the apples are ready.

It works for me

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2018 07:50PM by French Farmer.

Good for you. Not for me.
They have repeatedly denied a payment and yet keep calling. And I keep saying give me the measly $7 and I will do a new batch. They surely do not want the new ones done even with daily emails. Good luck to them!

@mjt9598 wrote:

@CANADAMOMMY wrote:

Maritz will NOT pay for closed locations. Those of you that did got lucky. They called and begged and I told them it was out. Go anyway we will =pay you. Not a penny.

I have always been paid for closed locations.

I drove over 2 hours to do a shop and got similar holds like you. I answered every hold to the best of my ability. When it came time for payment, I did not receive any. I sent an email and did not get a reply. I called and was told that I was not going to get paid because I did not answer all of my holds. I bet that they were able to use my report and they were paid for the job that I didn't get paid for.

So here's the pic (I marked out the logo on the PID for posting here, obviously) :




Here's the HOLD message I received:

Your Overall Facility Photo does not meet requirements. This photo needs to include the entire canopy including the ___________ logo, the building, fueling area and the PID. Your photo did not include the entire canopy. If possible, this photo works best when taken from across the street. Refer to your guide for an example. Please capture and upload a new photo.

That's a lovely picture. I'd resubmit the same one and I bet it goes through just fine. Editor must have been daydreaming

The photo looks fine I'm just wondering why it is so wide in proportion to the height. Perhaps the viewing software is showing only part of the photo when the editor reviews the report?

I cropped it like that to make it smaller for the forum. They got it full size

I think that the problem here is that this is a new quarter for these "Yellow" shops. It seems to me that every time a new quarter presents itself, the editors get stupid and picky. Almost every gas station for the "Yellow" shops that I've done have been sent back with a hold for foolish reasons. I often wonder if they get an E-mail from their superiors demanding them to be very critical of the debriefs.
Usually, I have another photo if that's what they want. But, I've also commented disputing the editor's request.
I suppose if this behavior continues, they (Maritz) will certainly find themselves adding incentives to these shops solely because of their editor's judgements of photos. I'm already seeing incentives added to the "Night or Darkness" shops (as well they should be).

@French Farmer wrote:

I think that the problem here is that this is a new quarter for these "Yellow" shops. It seems to me that every time a new quarter presents itself, the editors get stupid and picky. Almost every gas station for the "Yellow" shops that I've done have been sent back with a hold for foolish reasons. I often wonder if they get an E-mail from their superiors demanding them to be very critical of the debriefs.
Usually, I have another photo if that's what they want. But, I've also commented disputing the editor's request.
I suppose if this behavior continues, they (Maritz) will certainly find themselves adding incentives to these shops solely because of their editor's judgements of photos. I'm already seeing incentives added to the "Night or Darkness" shops (as well they should be).

I don't think that they pay enough to begin with for the work, the time, and the cost involved. (My car uses gasoline, and it ain't cheap.) Based on the amount of grief that they appear to cause, I don't know why anybody would want to do a shop for this company. Of course, that is only my opinion.

I've done 4 of these this quarter and haven't had a single hold. I did about 20 last quarter and only had 2 holds, for good reasons.

I used to almost never have an issue with holds either - and I've done hundreds of these shops. It's only very recently that this began happening, and not one of them has been an issue on my end that I could fix. Every time, if they would have just looked at the second photo they already had, problem solved. And of course, the picture I posted here needs no explanation and is really just ridiculousness!

Well, finished shopping today, checked my email, and what did I find? Notice number two about the hold I previously mentioned. So, I uploaded the same picture and this was my response:


"Ok, I spoke with one of your picture specialists on 9/27/2018 concerning this hold. He ASSURED me that the editors were NOT smoking crack in the editing room, and that the hold on this shop would most likely be lifted in a matter of hours, since it was so BLATANTLY clear that not only was the entire canopy shown in the picture, every required element was represented as well. But since I have now received two hold notices on this shop, I guess ya'll still passing the pipe. As much as I love the lively banter we share on all my "hold" shops, I really don't have time to call your office again, so i'm going to go ahead and upload a picture that will hopefully pass muster in the trap house. Please be sure to note the similarities between the two photos. You know, except for the partial canopy, OBVIOUSLY. P.S. CRACK KILLS"