Convenience Store Mystery Shopping:
What Shoppers Need to Know
Convenience store mystery shopping can involve much more than buying a snack and putting gasoline in your car.
I've seen assignments that evaluate customer service, store cleanliness, fuel pumps, product displays, restrooms, receipts, and employee interactions. Other assignments may include an audit or a specific compliance requirement.
The assignments can look simple, but don't assume that means they're always quick or easy.
As with every mystery shop, the instructions determine what you're actually being paid to do.
Want more help getting started? My book, Take That Job And Mystery Shop It!, walks you through finding assignments, completing shops, writing reports, and avoiding many of the mistakes new shoppers make.
What Does Convenience Store Mystery Shopping Involve?
A typical assignment may require you to make a small purchase inside the store. Some gas station mystery shopping assignments may also require a fuel purchase.
While you're there, you might be asked to observe things such as:
- Condition of the parking and fuel-pump areas
- Overflowing trash cans
- Cleanliness of doors and windows
- Condition of coolers and displays
- Product availability and pricing
- Number of employees working
- Employee greeting
- Customer service
- Checkout procedures
- Whether you received a receipt
- Restroom cleanliness
Those are only examples. One assignment might concentrate heavily on customer service while another focuses more on the condition of the property.
Read the questionnaire before you arrive so you know what you're expected to observe.
Mystery Shops, Audits and Compliance Checks
It's also important to know what type of assignment you're accepting.
A traditional mystery shop generally requires you to remain anonymous while evaluating the customer experience.
An audit can be different. You may be instructed to identify yourself to an employee or manager and then examine specific areas, verify displays, or take photographs.
Convenience store assignments can also involve age-restricted products. Those projects may have very specific shopper qualifications and procedures.
Don't assume that every convenience store assignment involves alcohol, tobacco, vaping products, or identification checks. If you're completing a compliance assignment, follow the exact instructions provided by the mystery shopping company.
I've covered alcohol-related assignments separately in my article on Alcohol Compliance Checks for Mystery Shoppers.
Read the Instructions Before You Go
Years ago, I often recommended printing the questionnaire and taking it with you.
Today, many shoppers can review assignment information on a phone or another device. The method has changed, but my advice hasn't:
Study the questionnaire before you enter the location.
You don't want to finish the shop and suddenly discover that you were supposed to check the condition of the fuel pumps, count employees, look at a particular display, or visit the restroom.
And be discreet. If you're supposed to remain anonymous, don't stand in the store obviously reading a mystery shopping questionnaire.
Keep Your Receipt
A receipt can be one of the most important pieces of documentation from a convenience store mystery shop.
Depending on the assignment, it may confirm the location, date, time, amount spent, and items purchased.
Before you drive away, make sure you received the required receipt and that you can read it.
If the assignment requires a photograph or digital copy, check that your image is clear before submitting the report. I recommend keeping the original receipt until the assignment has been accepted and you've been paid.
Gas Station Mystery Shopping Can Involve Photographs
Some convenience stores are connected to gas stations, and those assignments may include observations outside as well as inside.
You may be asked to check fuel pumps, signs, trash cans, lighting, promotional materials, or other areas of the property.
Some assignments may require photographs.
If photographs are required, read the instructions carefully. Know what to photograph, whether you should remain anonymous, and whether the assignment changes from a mystery shop to a revealed audit at some point.
Don't start taking obvious photographs during an undercover portion of an assignment unless the instructions tell you to.
Can You Complete Several Locations?
One advantage of convenience store mystery shopping is that a client may have numerous locations in the same area.
I've known shoppers who traveled extensively and completed several mystery shops along their route.
That makes sense when the locations are reasonably close together, and the reports are manageable.
But don't accept ten assignments simply because ten are available.
Before building a route, consider the driving distance, required purchases, time at each location, reporting requirements, and deadlines.
Ten short visits can still create a lot of work when you get home and have ten reports waiting.
What Does a Convenience Store Mystery Shop Pay?
Fees and reimbursements vary too much for me to give you one useful number.
Some assignments reimburse a required purchase and pay an additional shopper fee. Others may be structured differently. A difficult-to-fill location may sometimes become more attractive if additional compensation is offered.
Look at the entire assignment before deciding whether it's worthwhile.
Consider the shopper fee, reimbursement, mileage, required purchases, time at the location, reporting time, and any photographs or audit requirements.
A nearby assignment with a straightforward report may be more worthwhile than a higher-paying shop that requires a long drive and considerably more work.
Don't Let a Simple Shop Become a Careless Shop
Convenience-store assignments can be a good way to gain mystery shopping experience because many involve everyday customer interactions.
But “simple” doesn't mean unimportant.
Read the instructions. Make the required observations. Keep your receipt. Take required photographs correctly. Complete the report accurately and meet the deadline.
If you approach convenience store mystery shopping with the same attention you would give a complicated restaurant, hotel, or video assignment, you'll be much less likely to overlook the small details the client is paying you to observe.
About the Author
I'm Mystery Don (Donald J. Servais, Jr.), and I've completed mystery shopping assignments for restaurants, hotels, apartment communities, automobile dealerships, new-home builders, and other businesses.
I created MystShopper.com to share what I've learned from my own experiences, help new shoppers avoid common mistakes, and explain how legitimate mystery shopping really works.
I'm also the author of Take That Job And Mystery Shop It!, which includes beginner-friendly advice, real-world mystery shopping experiences, and a directory of more than 150 mystery shopping companies.
Drawing on my 45-year career in television, I've also written 7 Keys to Success in a Changing Television Industry, a guide for people interested in building a career in television and video.
My goal is simple: honest guidance without the hype.
We're always looking for new faces to visit different places.
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