Is this the Shell shops posted on Presto? It looks like the regular audit.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/22/2023 07:36PM by Belle.

shhhh

Oh, that would be a pain. Not showing in my area in any platform but the feeding frenzy usually happens after other areas see them.

oops extra posts.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2023 12:58AM by ServiceAward.

oops extra post, keep scrolling.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2023 12:58AM by ServiceAward.

My local ones were gone - that may or may not mean anything. Typically, they come out in phases. I did claim ones in the areas I travel to, hoping I can pair it up with E/M. We'll see. ALL pump photos are still required, so not streamlined like the E/M magic jobs.

I saw them on Presto yesterday, today they are all gone. I did pass the qualification test and saw that the shops don't even start until Jan 16. So they probably pulled them back off the board for now? I guess, the mysteries of Presto...

I hope they pulled them because someone accidentally posted them on the wrong platform! Presto bites. It's dysfunctional in too many ways. For a "mobile" platform, it works way better on a computer, go figure.

Whenever I see Presto! I automatically Change-o! Cannot imagine doing a gas station with a bunch of pumps. That app is the worst.

Belle, thank you! I rarely look at Presto and block notifications but with your heads-up I got me some before my competition took them!

These just showed up in my area. How in the world do they expect you to do this in Presto as you go? I'm still having flashbacks from the last gas station audit I did, and that was without Presto even being involved...

And $14? I thought these shops were usually high-dollar?

They expect you to use Presto because they believe (erroneously) that it is user friendly. Just use it to check in as required but bring everything else home and do the reports on a computer, where you can actually see what you're doing, use your own restroom, eat snacks and resize or organize photos as you please.

The shop pay is definitely not high dollar but the reimbursement is, compared to most. Also, what we're reimbursed does not count as taxable income, whichever way you claim it, so I consider that a big plus.

ses, on average, how long does it take you to do one of these? I did maybe four (non-Presto) gas station audits in the past, both yellow and Blue/Red/White, and they literally took me close to two hours each. I know there's a learning curve, but how long does it take to reach the point where you can breeze through these and actually make a profitable route out of them? The ones I did were not good experiences, and I swore I'd never do another one, but I hear people talk about big money with gas station audits and how they help fill in holes and cover gas costs...

I did two of the "customer first" mostly-mystery shops the other day. I can handle those, but the others make my anxiety level go through the roof.

Onsite is about 20 minutes. Less if it's a really small station. But that time is only photos and data gathering. I do all the online stuff at home, one after another, so I've never really timed it individually.

Can anyone tell me if you actually have to wear the safety vest and reveal yourself? Or is it one where you can get it done without doing that?

@alucegoose wrote:

Can anyone tell me if you actually have to wear the safety vest and reveal yourself? Or is it one where you can get it done without doing that?

Per the guidelines, this requires a safety vest. It's a mystery shop then a revealed audit.

And you have to take a picture of yourself wearing the safety vest, on site, with the metadata matching your shop time.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Onsite is about 20 minutes. Less if it's a really small station.

I waited 45 just for a guy to move his horse trailer that was blocking two pumps. Must have been reading Cowboy Quarterly in the bathroom.

I don't wait. Take the best pic I can, even if it's the side of the pump and explain in the comments section. If the shop is highly bonused, I might wait a few minutes, 5 or so, otherwise....time is money. Gotta move on.

Be aware PRESTO is very flaky. It took my wife more than3 days to get an audit that requires a lot of pictures submitted. The system would not accept the full report. Because PRESTO has such a short timer the survey may get stuck and then denied as not timely. Its really a nightmare. Shell requires a lot of pictures so I would bet this may become an issue with this Audit as well.

Presto works best on a computer via website and browser.

doggie, a Shell station usually takes me right at an hour, including submitting the report, which I do onsite more often than not. The smaller stations take less, and the larger stations sometimes go over the hour.. but it's a good average, at least for me.

Up until last year? I think? The base pay was $12.50, plus reimbursement for 2 gallons of gas and $2 purchase inside. The base pay recently, as in either 2022 or 2023 was increased to $14, but they don't add bonuses as quickly or as often as they used to, and in 2023 they quit using schedulers for Shell stations.

When the newbies started doing mystery shopping after the shutdown all of the gas station shops started flying off the boards, especially the gas station shops on the "Ishopfirst" program, because they could hoard them, and let them go back onto the board only often enough for the bonuses to be added without any penalty.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2023 12:51AM by Morledzep.

@alucegoose - Safety vest is a must. Shell, E/M, BP, Phillips 66/76, Valero, all require a vest, and you must provide a photo of you wearing it while on site. All of those have revealed inspections after the shop. With as much data as is required, I don't think you could do it without revealing yourself. Plus, several of those require photos of uniforms (or lack thereof).

@drdoggie00 - Timing varies depending on which brand, and the type of location. I have several E/M that I do that are a couple of pumps and no c-store. Those take less than 10 minutes on-site, starting from the time I drive up to the pump to start pumping my fuel. An 8 pump E/M with c-store takes about 20-minutes. It might take longer or less, depending on customer volume at the time. I don't know about everybody else, but when I go back in to do the reveal, I stand-off to the side and the employee finish helping customers. This can add a few minutes to my time, if the store is busy. Shells take longer than E/M. This is mainly because there are numerous interior c-store pictures that are required. Up until recently all the c-stores had gambling machines, which made the stores crowded and difficult to avoid capturing customers. This added to my time. Those machines have now been outlawed, so I expect the time on-site to be somewhat better. Generally, Shell takes me around 30 minutes on-site. I'm hoping without the machines drawing more customers, I can get the interior photos quicker and shave a few minutes off that time. For comparison, Bp generally takes me 40 minutes to one-hour for locations that have numerous issues. The time is longer because BP audits are more detailed. I used to do those in app, but I created my own cheat sheet, of sorts, and go in the order that makes sense for me, taking all the mandatory photos first, then going back and grabbing the infraction photos. That's really help to cut my time back to 40 minutes on-site. Regardless of brand, I do all my reports from home. This helps me to cram more into my day. That said, the experimental E/M shops from the summer I did on the app while on-site. Those shops required fewer photos, and the form on the app had a normal flow to it. I was able to do the shop, audit, and submit the reports, even for larger stations, in 20 minutes or less. Those jobs paid a few dollars less, but I was okay with that because I was able to fit more of them into my route and also take on non-fuel jobs that do pay more. Unfortunately, it appears the same amount of work is required for the Shell. I think if you try to do it while on-site in the app, the time will take much longer than it otherwise would.

I only managed to get a few of the Shell, and I'm okay with that. It will give me a chance to see how much of a headache they are. That clock is what will get people, just like the clock with the BP does. People will wait til the last day to do them, then find they can't get the data entered. That's assuming people remember to do them come January 16th. I am betting people grabbed them thinking they could do them right away and earn some last minute Christmas cash. Now they are having to wait over three weeks to start. Look for a bunch of shops to pop back up on the 20th.

Speaking of the clocks, can ya'll check to see if you have two clocks counting down? I have one counting down the start time to January 16? The other clock is counting time to an end time of January 9? Is this just me?

ServiceAward gives great advice and feedback!

Gulf and Chevron (revealed) also require vest photos.

I wasted too much time in the past waiting to present the LOA on the return trip to the cashier, especially when lotteries have big jackpots and lines are long. Now I use a shoulder bag with my stack of LOAs and vest inside. As soon as I get that receipt, I whip 'em out, quickly explain my purpose and ask for the lights to be turned on (for certain brands) then step away and begin. I'll come back later for the counter photo when the line is shorter.

@sestrahelena wrote:

ServiceAward gives great advice and feedback!

Gulf and Chevron (revealed) also require vest photos.

I wasted too much time in the past waiting to present the LOA on the return trip to the cashier, especially when lotteries have big jackpots and lines are long. Now I use a shoulder bag with my stack of LOAs and vest inside. As soon as I get that receipt, I whip 'em out, quickly explain my purpose and ask for the lights to be turned on (for certain brands) then step away and begin. I'll come back later for the counter photo when the line is shorter.

@sestrahelena I knew I was forgetting a couple of fuel brands. Thank you!
Also, I have considered a similar tactic as yours when it comes to saving time. I wasn't sure whether I would be going too far out of the guidelines though. It would certainly make things more streamlined for all involved to get it out of the way as soon as you get the receipt for the mystery shop. It also doesn't allow for someone to swap uniforms if they are tipped off when one asks for a receipt worth 60 cents.

I think if I tried this, I'd grab the counter photo right away. Otherwise, I might forget. I try to go in the order of the data sheet I made. As a guy, I am not comfortable with a shoulder bag. My clipboard has storage. I wonder if I could carry that with me and nobody would pay any mind. My safety vest fits in my pocket.

You've given me something to ponder over vacation.

Service,

maybe a briefcase would work, though I still don't think anyone would carry a briefcase into a convenience store? My uncle carried a shoulder bag after his stroke so that he could carry his meds and the important papers he needed in case of an emergency. And he NEVER left that in his car..

I also reveal myself right after the purchase. Sometimes if there are only one or two customers behind me who have been waiting a while, I might step aside and wait. I also try to get the uniform photo at the same time. The exception is the yellow station. That one requires so much note taking, I prefer to get my binder from my car before I begin.

Would a male carrying a shoulder bag make them think I was about ready to five-finger discount them?
I have thought for a while that revealing right after purchase would be the best way to do it, but I always have gone back to the car. I suppose it does not matter as along as you don't tip your hand. Then again, there is a lot of turn over in c-stores and in my experience, probably 70% either have no idea what a mystery shopper is or they only vaguely remember being told about it when they were hired. I have even met "managers" who don't know what it is.

Service, just get one of those "we're not calling it a fanny pack anymore, but it's still a fanny pack" bags that go around the waist and be done with it.

Look at it this way: you're not likely to ever see any of the customers ever again, and as you said, employee turnover tends to be high, so chances are you'll never see the employee again on a reshop.

Do what benefits you, man, and to hell with what people think.