I've only ever done a revealed de-brand. I didn't know that covert ones were available so thank you for the info!

@sestrahelena wrote:

I find revealed easier because it's all above board. I'm not so good at sneaky. Plus, from my understanding, the debrand audit is covered in the contract that the station held with the previous brand. But the pay still has to be better than peanuts.

The revealed debrands are fine usually, It's just every so often an irate station owner wants to give you an earful about how badly they were treated, etc., and often demands you leave the property. Not that big a deal for veteran shoppers, but not a pleasant time either. I'll do them for enough money, but many people have a hard enough time revealing on a regular inspection. I remember my first regular reveal -- thirty pages of guidelines and a two-pump station. I almost turned tail and ran.

I did a revealed debrand not so many months ago. I followed the instructions just like the the shop said, I got something to buy and I brought the LOA with me because it didn't say that there was any part of it that was a mystery shop. It just said to buy something and get a receipt to verify the name of the business when you offer the LOA.

So silly me, I went into the store with my money and LOA and try to buy a candy bar, and as soon as the owner saw the LOA he said get off my property. He refused to sell me anything, he said, "do not take any pictures get away from here, you are not welcome here. I am not dealing with that company anymore." He kept yelling until i got in my car and drove away. I ended up taking about 40 pictures from across the street and around the sides of the building and the property. Some of them from the high school parking lot next door.

I explained to the mystery shopping company what happened, because I followed their instructions. They said I should have treated it like a regular gas station mystery/audit shop. But that is not what their instructions and the guidelines said.

I used to like doing debrands, now I am just a little hesitant. And they don't seem to bonus the debrands the way they do the regular mystery shops. So they can just sit on the boards.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2022 08:25PM by Morledzep.

Yep. Last three years I've picked up a total of three. First was an el cheepo vest. Second was a decent windbreaker jacket. Third was an upgraded vest with decent pockets with closures. Both the last two I picked up when keeping my eyes open for discounts at truck stop travel centers I frequented on road trips.

I keep safe because "I" am aware of "my" surroundings. It may take a total of 120 seconds total to look both ways during a shop that takes about 30 minutes, but it's worth it to avoid getting hurt or worse.

@Francie82 wrote:

Do you really have to wear a saftey vest? I have been hesitant because of that. I know it sounds silly but I do not want to wear one.

They just upped it to $`2, but the majority went for the lower fare. Now you see why IPSOS is getting these shops. Can get them done cheaper.

Correction: I presumed the shops on the board was for this quarter and their regular shops. However, they're for debranded sites. My bad.

I think these will be somewhat easy. However, most of the ones left are remote. They are going to end up paying much more than $8 or $12 for many of the remaining locations.

It appears that the regular audits are now on the job board starting at $8.

@thunderdeacon wrote:

It appears that the regular audits are now on the job board starting at $8.

New today? I'll look when i get home.

I have done a debranding shop for one location twice. And another time, I was doing a new rebranded shop and a debrand shop at the same time. I just took a few more pictures.