Approximately, how often are they posted? It's been ages since I've seen any new listings and was curious if they might be back soon.

$8.50 shops will not fly with me. If I see any, I will immediately delete those offers with predjudice.

They post quarterly. You should see some soon.

Thank you, cjbstar!

What are these shops like? I'm in an area with a heavily bonused shop, but there are no descriptions of what the shop requires.

It's a mystery shop BUT if the cashier does not have a uniform or name tag you have to reveal yourself with the LOA and take their picture for proof. That's why I quit them, it's too awkward IMO.

There are a lot of them posted now in my area. Mine are posted monthly. I have done some in the past, but I don't like taking a picture when they don't have a uniform or name tag. I got over it last month when the shops were $35. I did 6 in just a few hours. I will wait until the end of the month now.

Thank you! That helps. I remember doing one of these a long time ago, but I had to take the pic of the cashier (no name tag), and I quit doing them. I might do this one again for the bonus, though; it would be worth a little embarrassment.

I keep track of which locations don't wear a uniform or name tag. It's usually the same places every time. When the next round appears I make sure to not pick up those locations.

Beware of day parts when signing up. There are usually two: 6-3 and 3-10 but they are not shown up front on the posting until you click the "More" or "Self assign" tabs.

I actually don’t mind doing the repeat offender locations. The clerks know what’s up as soon as you tell them you’re doing a mystery shop. “Okay, I’ll get out of the way for your picture of the counter.”

I always think to myself…you know this is coming and you know you’re going to take a hit, but yet you still don’t wear a name tag… Obviously, they don’t mind being repeat offenders.

Unless something has changed, you also have to time exactly how many seconds it takes to pump one gallon of gas. If it's more than a certain amount of time, you need a picture/screenshot for proof of time. I don’t remember exactly what it was. So there you are, juggling your car keys, credit card, phone - for timing and pictures - and gas nozzle, trying not to drop anything and hoping the latch spring on the nozzle doesn’t self-engage to fill 'er up mode. It's a lot to do in the space of mere seconds.

@sestrahelena wrote:

Unless something has changed, you also have to time exactly how many seconds it takes to pump one gallon of gas. If it's more than a certain amount of time, you need a picture/screenshot for proof of time. I don’t remember exactly what it was. So there you are, juggling your car keys, credit card, phone - for timing and pictures - and gas nozzle, trying not to drop anything and hoping the latch spring on the nozzle doesn’t self-engage to fill 'er up mode. It's a lot to do in the space of mere seconds.

Nope, nothing has changed. I still find myself wishing for eight hands while I'm trying to get it all done at the pump.

What I have to laugh at is in all the hundreds of these I've done, there has only been one time (and it just happened this week) where I've stopped the pump (and my stopwatch) exactly on one gallon; most of the time I'm a little over. I'm not doing the math to figure out if 12.24 seconds and 1.18 gallons would actually be within the 11-second time frame if it was one gallon even. I take a screenshot, mark it over, and let somebody at the MSC figure it out.

These are bread-and-butter for me. Super easy and the gross revenue is well worth the 20 minutes or so it takes to knock one out and get the report in before moving on to the next location.

The latest version of the report is simpler, with fewer questions regarding employee description, and a couple of new questions about POP presence.

As for the pump timing, I've gotten pretty damned good at nailing my dismount. I release the pump and hit the stop button on my iPhone timer simultaneously, then add a bit more gas to hit a round number for the receipt. This past week I nailed it... stopping at exactly 1 gallon on the pump, a rarity for sure.

I find the conditional reveal comments to be interesting.

Do you think presenting the LOA for a full-blown gas station shop is awkward?

If not, why is the conditional reveal scenario awkward?

If so, why is your skin so thin?

Typically I only have to reveal once every 8 or 10 stops. It's so not a big deal for me.

I reveal more often than not. My locations rarely tick the box on name tags. Occasionally, I have to reveal because they’re dressed in street clothes…and the fast talking they do to explain why is pretty humorous.

The best one (from a 30-year old man): “My mom said she’s not doing laundry until next week.”



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2024 05:12PM by drdoggie00.

At first I would tap the stopwatch at exactly one gallon, and then release the dispenser, always going over by a bit. Now I have gotten coordinated enough to do both simultaneously. If I'm off by .02 gallons, I add a couple more cents.

On the reveals, if there is any hesitation or a puzzled look about the picture, I snap the counter photo surreptitiously and say never mind.

@CoolMusic wrote:

If so, why is your skin so thin?

It's a biological result of aging.

But seriously, though, it seemed like a mean thing to say. At first. But then the Morgan Freeman meme popped into my head and said, "He's right, you know." And so you are! Maybe that was the kick in the butt I needed to re-adjust my attitude and see things in a different light. Don't worry about how the employee might react, just stand tall, behave professionally, speak matter-of-factly and follow instructions. Thank you for that reminder.

PS. My area is about 50% non-uniformed.

After doing them where we didn't have to reveal for so long, I did find it a little awkward to do the reveal, mainly because it was new for the employees too and they had never been asked to take a picture. Now that the new rules have been in place for a while, it is less of a big deal. Just like when a major brand added a requirement for pictures of drug paraphernalia. The first few rounds I always saved that photo for last, hopefully when the employee wasn't looking. Now I don't even think about it and do it right in front of them without even blinking.

@sestrahelena wrote:

So there you are, juggling your car keys, credit card, phone - for timing and pictures - and gas nozzle, trying not to drop anything and hoping the latch spring on the nozzle doesn’t self-engage to fill 'er up mode. It's a lot to do in the space of mere seconds.

One word: pockets!

This is a non-issue. I hold my phone in my left hand and pump gas with my right hand. Keys and credit card are not in the equation.

I screenshot the timer on my phone when I release the pump at 1 gallon, then switch to the camera to get a picture of the screen should the receipt not print.

These are super easy, and one can knock out 3 or 4 an hour in densely populated areas, including filing the report.

I'm female and wear light dresses in summer. Females are not allowed pockets in dresses, according to those who make them.

@sestrahelena wrote:

I'm female and wear light dresses in summer. Females are not allowed pockets in dresses, according to those who make them.

ses, I have plenty of summer dresses with pockets. The issue with that would be....lightweight (or stretchy) dress....large, heavy iPhone...large key fob...with all that weight, the dress may be hanging down around my ankles, which wouldn't be pleasant for anybody. -lol- I use a crossbody bag/purse with an exterior cell phone pocket, and keep the pocket side of the bag facing outward for quick phone access.

I have LOTS of sun dresses with pockets!
Try ordering from Dresslilly

@sestrahelena wrote:

I'm female and wear light dresses in summer. Females are not allowed pockets in dresses, according to those who make them.

Good idea Viv, but I only buy what the thrift store offers. On half-price day.

Some have popped up recently. Has anyone had problems purchasing a Chevron gift card? I was so happy when they allowed you to use them a few years back. Used to be available at Publix or Kroger but the stores here in Georgia say Chevron has ended the program.

There was a time when the Chevron shops were my "bread and butter". I did lots of them each month. When they started requiring a picture of the cashier if not wearing a nametag, I quit. Last week I was doing a route that took me pretty far from home and I saw quite a few stations posted with nice bonuses. I was hoping they had solved the nametag problem, so decided to try again. I chose 10 stations. Out of the 10, only one had a name tag. That station had two registers open and one cashier had a tag and the other didn't. I chose the one with a nametag so I didn't have to take the picture. My burning question is why in the world do they pay to evaluate something that doesn't seem to matter? The majority of cashiers don't wear nametags. About half of them wore shirts with no logo. This shopper is permanently finished with Chevron. It's not as if the picture is a quickie. Once I had to wait about 20 minutes because there were so many customers and I couldn't stop the cashier from doing his job in order to read my letter of authorization and let me photograph him.

One funny thing actually happened during this experience, so at least I got a laugh. The CSR was not wearing a nametag and when I gave him the letter, he showed it to the manager. They asked me to wait a minute while he put his nametag on. The two of them opened drawers, looked under the counter, and finally gave up because they couldn't find a nametag. They used a felt tip marker to write a name, then scotch-taped it to the CSR's shirt.

They are always available in the areas I work.

Interestingly, the are no longer bonused. The fees just keep increasing until they are snagged.

I was about ready to grab a loop of a dozen or so that were up to $20 + the reimbursement, but the day parts didn't fit the map.

Bastards...

@PSE wrote:

Once I had to wait about 20 minutes because there were so many customers and I couldn't stop the cashier from doing his job in order to read my letter of authorization and let me photograph him.

"Employee refused to be photographed so I took a picture of the counter instead."

Welp. Looks like these are now the $5.00 Chevron shops. Utterly ridiculous.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/2024 10:28AM by drdoggie00.

I see a bunch for $25 and $30 in the areas I am looking at.

Customer First shops have been bonused well, the few that remain here are at $30.. but they are so far away. I do Image shops so I couldn't do them anyway and my son won't be bothered to send an email to ask to get on the Customer First list.