ShapardResearch goes green with CNG fleet

ShapardResearch will now be using a fleet of Compressed Natural Gas vehicles to conduct business all across the state.The fleet will be used by ShapardResearch’s team of trained mystery shoppers, as they conduct research on-site at various client locations.“We have always been proud of the fact that all of our mystery shoppers are direct employees of ShapardResearch,” Bill Shapard, CEO of ShapardResearch, said.Shapard went on to say that the fuel cost savings of the new fleet will allow ShapardResearch to continue to the kind of quality mystery shopping that distinguishes ShapardResearch from other mystery shopping companies.“This makes it affordable for us to train and supervise our own employees in our Oklahoma City offices and then send them out to conduct research all across the state,” Shapard said.Shapard’s commitment to maintaining a staff of professionally trained mystery shoppers differentiates ShapardResearch from the competition.“So often, our competition hires independent contractors in other cities using Craigslist or newspaper want-ads, who get very little training and no supervision,” Shapard said.The fleet has many benefits that extend well beyond all the ways it helps ShapardResearch’s mystery shopping program. The cars used in the ShapardResearch fleet received an Advanced Technology Partial Zero-Emission Vehicle rating, which means it has a tailpipe that is 90 percent cleaner than the average new 2004 automobile and has near-zero evaporation emissions.“Natural gas is the future for transportation fuel in Oklahoma and eventually the rest of the nation,” Shapard said. "It's American, abundant, cleaner burning and cost effective. This decision was not difficult to make at all."ShapardResearch plans to document how much money it is saving by using the CNG fleet. The results of this study will be available on the ShapardResearch website.“We are saving money as we deliver a superior product to our customers and all the while we are helping to make the world a cleaner place,” Shapard said. “Who can argue with that?”