Well, this is a new one!
Over the years when performing gas station shops I've been admonished by the editors for missing a sign on the site's property or any type of non gas station related advertising, stickers and graffiti on the pumps or anywhere on the site. During election years, with all the signs, etc, it has always been a problem.
This was not such a big problem until IPSOS came along. Previously, I might get told about it by an editor and the shop was approved. As the years went by, I became more diligent, taking the photo and noting the infraction in the debrief or report or whatever it has been termed.
With IPSOS it impacts your score - meaning, of course, your ability to self-assign.
So, under IPSOS, I continued my diligence, yet still sometimes missing the minor ones. Of which, were the stickers on the pumps with an image of the president of the US pointing to price saying "I did that".
I was told about those, that they were considered graffiti.
My bad - I did miss them! And, I agreed, they were not related to the gas station, they were a political statement - just like the political signs during election years.
So, I became even more diligent, and always ensure that I looked for them (as well as anything else stuck to the pump itself that in the past, I might have let go).
But now, I see, with the December shops or any others that are performed November 24 through the end of the year, those particular stickers are allowed.
So in this long explanation, I have 3 comments:
1 Those times when I missed those stickers and it impacted my scores, do I now get my score updated and improved?
2 Does this mean that since these are now allowed that the station's employees are careless in their housekeeping?
3 On a more existential thought, no matter a personal political preference, one way or another, could we get away from politics?

I see them at about every other station. I think it would be difficult to keep them off the pumps without checking the pumps several times a day, and even stations that are not careless would get penalized.

I was kinda waiting for this announcement from them. These stickers are "killing" stations, and the client probably understands that. Like mystery2me, I think these get put on pumps on a near daily basis and they are also likely not the easiest things to remove.

Thanks for pointing out the 11/24 update. I did some stations on the 23rd and one that had 3 political stickers on a pump that I considered graffiti. They were three Biden stickers. One was whited out and a second partially scraped off. The third appeared new and unaltered and obviously not placed by a Biden fan. It simply said "F**K Biden". I guess that qualified as graffiti as I got a 10 on the shop.

I haven't seen "I did that" or, for that matter "Let's go Brandon" stackers on the pumps.

Wow..I've never seen political stickers on pumps. Maybe 'cause in NJ we don't pump our own gas, thankfully. I hate that smell on my hands. But that's quite interesting and good to know. I wish they would update to UP the gas reimbursement...geesh..well over $4 a gallon here for Premium which I need.

I much prefer to pump my own gas. My cover is immediately blown when I ask for a receipt for a gallon+ of gas. I stopped doing the brand where I would ask for a receipt for a half gallon of gas ($2.00). I did routes of that brand for the former MSC but I don't like the set up for this company.

Of course my cover gets blown a few minutes later when I ask for a receipt for my $1.00 purchase. But then the LOA is produced shortly after that, so it doesn't make much difference.

I only go to gas stations when I need to fill up my car, but have never seen any with graffiti stickers on them.

Thank you, FF. When I was reading your original post I thought I might have written it. My experiences have been the same.

I’ve also never seen them. I wonder how the people placing them would feel if someone put hard to remove political propaganda on their property.

I see those awful stickers everywhere, on every gas pump and other places too. It seems as if the station owners don't mind them or want them there.

The glue might damage the pump facing when removed.

Most of the ones I see have been partially removed, even in areas you might expect to support the politics. Sometimes with a knfife or oher item that leaves gouges or scratches.