I get a lot of PM's from shoppers who are interested in working with Coyle, but have questions that are not necessarily addressed in the assignment posts or Resource Center. For those questions, and for the purposes in giving ALL shoppers the best opportunity to succeed with them, feel free to post in this thread and I will do my best to address them.

Disclaimer:
While I am not an employee of Coyle, nor authorized to speak on their behalf, in the past I have been an editor, scheduler and VP of operations for them, and have probably evaluated more hotels and restaurants than anyone else, so I do I have a good degree of expertise regarding their assignments. These days, I work with them only as a shopper, so please do not PM me about getting assignments or their company policies. I have no influence over that.

The Resource Center
If you are logged into the Shopmetrics site, you can access the Resource Center from a link on the bottom right side of that page, but this link should also take you there:

[coyleapps.com]

Please scour the Resource Center before posting any questions. That's the official company policy and I can assure you that while it's not perfect, years of work have gone into creating and refining it. It contains a large amount of really important information and examples for those interested in working with Coyle and getting access to the best assignments.

So, on to the questions:...

Q: "I'm considering applying for a hotel assignment (which would be my first with Coyle). I've found that the average nightly rate at this particular hotel is around $300.

From your experience, do you happen to know how soon I should expect the charges will be reversed on my credit card? I have read the survey summary on the Coyle Job Portal, and while it does indicate the charges will be reversed, it offers no time frame for this to occur."

A: I believe the company policy is that it should be reversed in about 2 weeks, and while I find that to be true on average, there is no guarantee of it. Some have gone as long as 6 weeks for me and required me to follow up with accounting.

Understand that the Coyle accounting department has to communicate with the hotel accounting department to set a reversal into motion, and then follow up if that doesn't take place after 2 weeks. Know that for the few dozen hotels they have had in the past, things have often slipped by and needed a follow up. With the arrival of their newest client that seems to have currently included approximately 1,000 more hotels, with many of them being new to Coyle as client, the time frame for this to transpire could potentially be longer.

My general advice to anyone considering shopping a hotel is that if you cannot afford to carry the expense on your credit card for 60 days, or if something going wrong that resulted in you not being reimbursed for the assignment would cause you serious financial stress...do not take the assignment! It's not worth the stress. Things sometimes go wrong that you simply have no control over.

Q: (@Hoju) Does anybody have any idea how many restaurants and other jobs you need to hit before they'll start approving you for a hotel or two?

A: When I was scheduling, I liked to see 3 solid restaurant reports before considering an evaluator for hotels, but circumstances can vary. If you are in an area with more shoppers and fewer assignments, there will be more competition. If you live in an area that's desperate for evaluators, fit a hard-to-fill demographic or are available when no others are, there will most likely be exceptions.

That said, be sure that you are easy to work with, thoroughly read the instructions and reference the Resource Center for how to apply for shops if you want to get assigned future evaluations. Even a perfect score on a report will not make up for 20 different emails with questions about your shop if the details you are asking for have already been spelled out elsewhere and it appears you did not research them.

Any suggestions on which kind of shops to apply for as a new evaluator to Coyle? After contacting Coyle Support about it, it was noted that an assignment can have as many as 30 applicants. It was also detailed that priority's given to the "most experienced evaluators." I feel like I'm wasting my time putting in applications I'll never be awarded if priority's always given to what they consider "experienced" evaluators. Thoughts?

I knew I should've taken the offer from one of the schedulers on here when I was in touch with them, but I just could've fit any of those in my schedule at the time. Now that I'm applying with the most flexibility (offering "any day", I'm still not having any luck getting any assignments.

Could someone please help me understand with these abbreviations? In the description at the end, what do SSB and WS mean? Thank you. SSB One Night Stay (WS only)

@Tarantado wrote:

Any suggestions on which kind of shops to apply for as a new evaluator to Coyle?

1. Apply for shops that most others might not want (phone shops), or ones that have magically re-appeared on the board close to the due date.

2. Get set up for shopping in Nevada and take assignments there to prove yourself.

3. Visit Arizona. Tons of shops and not enough shoppers there

4. When you apply, don't say things like , "Any day." It doesn't seem realistic, even if it's true. Pick a few specific days throughout the month and block them out on your calendar so you don't have to reschedule something else if you get assigned the shop. Pick different days of the week as well. The schedulers need to rotate the shops over different days of the week to hit different staff members, and balance the shops for the editors throughout the month. Also, everyone asks for dinner on Saturday night, so avoid those nights.

@roxanne9153 wrote:

Could someone please help me understand with these abbreviations?

The abbreviations are for internal reference of no concern to shoppers. I don't know what they mean and it doesn't really matter. All you need to know is that it's a one night stay, and the other information about it being limited service in the shop description.

Why dies Coyle appear to dislike full time shoppers unlike most other companies?

@bgriffin wrote:

Q:Why dies Coyle appear to dislike full time shoppers ?

A: I'm guessing you know the answer to this, but I'll take your bait. It's not a matter of liking or disliking any particular shoppers. I like full-time shoppers very much and am friends with a number of them. Do I think they are the best choice as evaluators for high-end establishments?...not always. So your question is really about why Coyle prefers not to utilize full-time shoppers.

If you are scheduling people into high-end properties, your best bet for an evaluator is someone with a very high credit limit who potentially has even stayed at the property before on their own. They should not be concerned with the pay rate, not think they know everything about how MSing works, not have an issue keeping a charge of many thousands of dollars on their credit card for a few weeks and not compare your company to every other one. That doesn't really match the description of a full-time shopper, does it?

To be honest, I think the issue really stems from the opposite of what you stated; Full-time shoppers seemingly do not like Coyle, so they do not make good evaluators. You yourself have stated that there's no value for you in a $400 prixe-fixe meal, but there is a value for someone who was going to buy that meal anyway and can instead spend a few hours writing a report about it in lieu of payment. Hence; they are a better candidate for the assignment. They are also less likely to complain if their payment is a few days behind schedule, be upset about receiving a less-than-perfect score, be afraid of asking question about wine...or even ordering wine for that matter, etc.

Basically, full-time shoppers are not the target demographic for many Coyle clients, so why would they gear towards utilizing them if 'civilians' are available to take the assignments and have a track record of submitting superior work with fewer complaints?

Really Steve? So full time shoppers are poor dolts who could never in their entire life frequent an upscale establishment, freak out if payment is a few days late and can't ask about or order wine?

"They should not be concerned with the pay rate, not think they know everything about how MSing works, not have an issue keeping a charge of many thousands of dollars on their credit card for a few weeks and not compare your company to every other one. That doesn't really match the description of a full-time shopper, does it?"

@LisaSTL wrote:

Really Steve? So full time shoppers are poor dolts who could never in their entire life frequent an upscale establishment, freak out if payment is a few days late and can't ask about or order wine?

That's not what I wrote, Lisa. You are bending my words to fit your argument.

There are plenty of examples on this forum of shoppers claiming that Coyle does not pay well, plenty of examples of shoppers being upset about payments being a few days behind for all companies and also plenty of people concerned about having a large charge on their credit cards. That's not all shoppers, but it is a good number of them.

I have also helped to answer questions many times from shoppers here who booked a fine dining job and were concerned about ordering wine. I'm just saying that non FT shoppers are often a better fit.

I am here giving advice to anyone who wants to get a foot in the door. I'm doing what I can to change the stereotype of full-time shoppers, but that stereotype exists for a reason. I have trained hundreds of shoppers over the phone and met dozens of them, and edited thousands of reports from them. My opinion is based on that experience.

(edit for typo)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2016 03:13PM by SteveSoCal.

Their problem is they make it difficult for full time shoppers to get a track record with them. Yet two years ago they went to the IMSC conference and then complained to a shopper that nobody came to their table to talk to them. Perhaps both groups want the other to be something they are not.

There are 20-25 shops on their board right now that I would gladly take and am more than qualified for. Because they won't give me those shops until I do shops that I have no interest in and probably am not qualified for they will spend more time, and time equals money, scheduling those shops than they would otherwise.

Also I fail to understand why writing a report for a $300 meal is a requirement for writing a report for a $200 hotel room.

Yes Steve that is exactly what you wrote. You painted "full time" shoppers with one broad brushstroke. You said full time shoppers do not have a high credit limit, would not have stayed in an upscale property on their own, are concerned only with the pay rate, think they know everything about the business, could not float a few thousand on their credit card, would compare the company to every other company, complain if their payment is a few days behind, worry about scores and would be afraid to ask about wine. That is an awful lot of negatives directed at full time shoppers as a group.

Steve, What is a "Full Time Shopper"...? 30+ hours a week? Less? More? My "Stereotype" is that of a youngish retired executive (with extensive Hospitality Industry experience) who does NOT need to do this for the money...it is sometimes fun, often interesting....yet, some msc's are not attractive to work for, and sometimes/often get damn close to unethical.
A typical hotel shop report for Coyle takes the better part of a day to create. Even with an EXACTING attention to detail and couching answers to fit Coyle's verbiage standards and requests, I still get multiple requests for more information. As an experiment, I produced a hotel shop that was informative but heavily 'Vanilla'...guess what? Only ONE request for more information from Coyle! Hmmm....
They DO have a select group of shoppers that get most of the assignments (even the Coyle schedulers will tell one that). All said and done, my "opinion " of Coyle is pretty negative and their client list (not mentioned here) is not satisfied. Many of their best clients use narrative reports from industry 'insiders' regularly, and are seeking alternatives. I think I'll stick with them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2016 03:37PM by winemaker.

@LisaSTL wrote:

You painted "full time" shoppers with one broad brushstroke.

I would correct you to say that that I did not state any of that as a fact, as you have implied. I said that there was stereotype that existed for a reason. The truth is that in my personal experience, some of the above is true for a majority of shoppers I have come across.

I am not making a judgement on shoppers. BG asked a question and I answered it honestly, so you now you feel like it's your duty to derail what was an attempt to make a helpful and productive thread into an extended argument. If I said that men have a higher body mass than women, you'd probably claim that was sexist.

Be real! We are mystery shoppers. We, as a group, earn less than the national average. The number of shoppers who have the credit and interest in upscale establishments is small. I have offered to give lectures at different shopper events over the years in what is required to succeed at fine dining and upscale hotels, and had the offer declined due to lack of interest. As BG has stated, Coyle showed up at a shopper event and shoppers didn't have much interest. Why are you attempting to shoot the messenger?

@winemaker wrote:

Steve, What is a "Full Time Shopper"...?

I would consider that to be someone who earns the majority of their income from MSing. The number of hours worked is not relevant.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

...You yourself have stated that there's no value for you in a $400 prixe-fixe meal, but there is a value for someone who was going to buy that meal anyway and can instead spend a few hours writing a report about it in lieu of payment. Hence; they are a better candidate for the assignment. They are also less likely to complain if their payment is a few days behind schedule, be upset about receiving a less-than-perfect score, be afraid of asking question about wine...or even ordering wine for that matter, etc.

Basically, full-time shoppers are not the target demographic for many Coyle clients, so why would they gear towards utilizing them if 'civilians' are available to take the assignments and have a track record of submitting superior work with fewer complaints?
-------------------------------

Steve, thanks for the insight. It absolutely makes sense that they are searching for shoppers to best match their client's target demographic.

Now that we have an idea of what a good candidate would be for a $400 meal assignment, can you give us an idea of what they are looking for in candidates for their cruise shops?

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

Q:Why dies Coyle appear to dislike full time shoppers ?

A: I'm guessing you know the answer to this, but I'll take your bait. It's not a matter of liking or disliking any particular shoppers. I like full-time shoppers very much and am friends with a number of them. Do I think they are the best choice as evaluators for high-end establishments?...not always. So your question is really about why Coyle prefers not to utilize full-time shoppers.

If you are scheduling people into high-end properties, your best bet for an evaluator is someone with a very high credit limit who potentially has even stayed at the property before on their own. They should not be concerned with the pay rate, not think they know everything about how MSing works, not have an issue keeping a charge of many thousands of dollars on their credit card for a few weeks and not compare your company to every other one. That doesn't really match the description of a full-time shopper, does it?

To be honest, I think the issue really stems from the opposite of what you stated; Full-time shoppers seemingly do not like Coyle, so they do not make good evaluators. You yourself have stated that there's no value for you in a $400 prixe-fixe meal, but there is a value for someone who was going to buy that meal anyway and can instead spend a few hours writing a report about it in lieu of payment. Hence; they are a better candidate for the assignment. They are also less likely to complain if their payment is a few days behind schedule, be upset about receiving a less-than-perfect score, be afraid of asking question about wine...or even ordering wine for that matter, etc.

Basically, full-time shoppers are not the target demographic for many Coyle clients, so why would they gear towards utilizing them if 'civilians' are available to take the assignments and have a track record of submitting superior work with fewer complaints?

Well, from my experience, Steve is correct. Regular guests at these hotels are generally clientele with 6 figure incomes. Most full-time MS'ers generally can't hold $5,000 on a credit card for one job (in addition to everything else on their cards) for 6-8 weeks without blinking an eye. That doesn't mean that there are not a handful of full-time shoppers that can do this. It's just pretty rare. Some of us have other income in addition to MS that allows us to do these lifestyle types of jobs. And honestly, if I am doing a $5000 job, I really don't care if I am getting $150 or $500 in pay if all of my travel is paid. I put $25,000 - $30,000 on a credit card ten times for an international client. They never found another shopper who had the credit limit to do it. So, based on that experience and my experience as a scheduler in the past, I'd say that Steve is on the money.

I think part of the problem is we are talking about two different animals. I have no desire to do, and would not apply for, the type of hotel you are talking about. They often have many $200-$300 hotel shops in the areas I travel in that I would gladly do for them.

Also their view of being able to do a shop anytime is more indication that they don't like full time shoppers. Many full time shoppers plan their routes around when hotel shops are available, so indeed "anytime" actually fits. To me I would consider it helpful as perhaps you would like this shop done earlier or later in the period. If I could do it either and put a specific date that really didn't fit, I am now at a disadvantage.

I'll give an example. I go to New Orleans every quarter. They have 10 or so hotel shops there on their board right now. I could easily take 3-6 of those between now and the due date. I am not particular about which ones, I am not particular about when, and the reports look no more difficult than the 40+ hotel shops I have done for ACL, regal, and Dataquest. The same could be said for the dozen or so in Houston, Atlanta, and Nashville.

@tralynnme wrote:

Q: Can you give us an idea of what they are looking for in candidates for their cruise shops?

There are multiple elements to that.

As far as workload goes; I think that someone who had successfully completed multiple hotel assignments, including back-to-back assignments and taking additional restaurant assignment on top of the hotels while meeting the deadlines, would be the best candidate The workload for the cruise shops can be overwhelming.

As far as demographics, that often changes for the cruises. I believe the last round wanted shoppers that had never cruised with that particular line before, so I did not qualify BECAUSE of my experience. Other times, I was required to bring a guest that had never cruised before and they wanted comparison subjective comments from both an experienced and newbie cruiser. Other times they wanted non-American evaluators, married couples, people who had higher status tiers with the cruise line, people who were local to the port and would drive in...you name it, I've probably seen it requested.

@SoCalMama wrote:

Well, from my experience, Steve is correct. Regular guests at these hotels are generally clientele with 6 figure incomes. Most full-time MS'ers generally can't hold $5,000 on a credit card for one job (in addition to everything else on their cards) for 6-8 weeks without blinking an eye. That doesn't mean that there are not a handful of full-time shoppers that can do this. It's just pretty rare. Some of us have other income in addition to MS that allows us to do these lifestyle types of jobs. And honestly, if I am doing a $5000 job, I really don't care if I am getting $150 or $500 in pay if all of my travel is paid. I put $25,000 - $30,000 on a credit card ten times for an international client. They never found another shopper who had the credit limit to do it. So, based on that experience and my experience as a scheduler in the past, I'd say that Steve is on the money.

Interesting. Forgive me if this derails the thread a bit and is considered off-topic, but has anyone (or will Coyle) find it useful to provide these kind experiences / capabilities upfront, maybe in the form of a resume?

Honestly, if information like this will be useful for the MSC (able to hold tens of thousands of dollars of reimbursed expense for long periods of time, ability of travel, accessibility to post-security of certain airports, possesses certain credit cards, etc.), I can easily furnish a "mystery shopping" resume for Coyle (or whichever MSC finds it useful), if it'll help me get my foot in for this kind of work. Like SoCalMama stated, if they're willing to cover traveling expenses like that, I can hold those kind of amounts as well lol.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2016 05:31PM by Tarantado.

@Tarantado wrote:

Interesting. Forgive me if this derails the thread and is considered out of topic, but has anyone (or will Coyle) find it useful to provide this experiences and capabilities upfront, maybe in the form of a resume?

Honestly, if information like this (able to hold tens of thousands of dollars of reimbursed expense for long periods of time, ability of travel, accessibility to post-security of certain airports, holds certain credit cards, etc.), I can easily furnish a "mystery shopping" resume for Coyle (or whichever MSC finds it useful), if it'll help me get my foot in for this kind of work. Like SoCalMama stated, if they're willing to cover traveling expenses like that, I can hold those kind of amounts as well lol.

I doubt that most schedulers want or have the time to read a CV. I would simply provide the qualifications you think would make you best suited for the assignment in your application. For example, "I have completed an assignment for this client on _______, have the ability to charge X amount of dollars/euro/XPF/pesos/dinars/etc, can pay in cash (for cash integrity audits), hold a current visa to _________, etc." It definitely helps the scheduler choose you. (And the whole visa thing is essential when doing international jobs, as it could take up to a few weeks to go through the application process and be approved, depending on the country you wish to enter and how much you are willing to spend to expedite the process.)

** Edited to correct spelling error

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2016 05:43PM by Professional Guest.

@Professional Guest wrote:

I would simply provide the qualifications you think would make you best suited for the assignment in your application.

Ding! That's the ticket. I often write things like, "I will be landing in [city] at 5:00 PM on [date] and have 2 free days in my schedule to complete this assignment." I might add the global number of hotels I have evaluated and state that the cash/credit requirements are not an issue for me.

@bgriffin wrote:

Also I fail to understand why writing a report for a $300 meal is a requirement for writing a report for a $200 hotel room.

Perhaps it's because that Bar/Dinner report is just a small part of the overall hotel report. For two-day hotel assignments, expect to write approximately 2-3 F & B reports, in addition to completing all of the other surveys as part of the assignment's package of reports for the client. Or, perhaps, there is a client that has multiple F & B assignments at one of their 5-star properties that will provide accommodations in return for you completing all of the F & B assignments, on time, one after the other, 5x, with multiple surveys due on the same day.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

1. Apply for shops that most others might not want (phone shops), or ones that have magically re-appeared on the board close to the due date.

2. Get set up for shopping in Nevada and take assignments there to prove yourself.

3. Visit Arizona. Tons of shops and not enough shoppers there

4. When you apply, don't say things like , "Any day." It doesn't seem realistic, even if it's true. Pick a few specific days throughout the month and block them out on your calendar so you don't have to reschedule something else if you get assigned the shop. Pick different days of the week as well. The schedulers need to rotate the shops over different days of the week to hit different staff members, and balance the shops for the editors throughout the month. Also, everyone asks for dinner on Saturday night, so avoid those nights.

Traveling won't be an issue to either Nevada or Arizona. Same goes for going through the process of becoming set up to work in Nevada. But will there be any leverage for traveling / lodging expenses to be covered or will this need to be out of my pocket? It'd be nice to get in touch with Coyle if this is something they're looking for, or simply state this in my applications submitted (dates I can travel, no issues with covering high dollar reimbursements, etc.)?

@Professional Guest wrote:

@bgriffin wrote:

Also I fail to understand why writing a report for a $300 meal is a requirement for writing a report for a $200 hotel room.

Perhaps it's because that Bar/Dinner report is just a small part of the overall hotel report. For two-day hotel assignments, expect to write approximately 2-3 F & B reports, in addition to completing all of the other surveys as part of the assignment's package of reports for the client. Or, perhaps, there is a client that has multiple F & B assignments at one of their 5-star properties that will provide accommodations in return for you completing all of the F & B assignments, on time, one after the other, 5x, with multiple surveys due on the same day.

I understand why it is important for shops that have F&B. I do not understand why it is a requirement for a hotel that does not include F&B.

@Tarantado wrote:

Q: Will there be any leverage for traveling / lodging expenses to be covered or will this need to be out of my pocket?

Don't a large number of shoppers pay travel and fees on their own to go to a conference in Vegas where they MIGHT get a chance to meet schedulers? If you are seizing an opportunity to prove yourself, don't expect your travel to be reimbursed.

I have told the story many times that I waited over a year until I had to be IN NYC for business before I could get enough restaurants with Coyle to qualify for a hotel. For me, that was worth it. Vegas and Arizona is where they currently need shoppers. Luckily, Vegas is an affordable destinations with other reasons to visit.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Don't a large number of shoppers pay travel and fees on their own to go to a conference in Vegas where they MIGHT get a chance to meet schedulers? If you are seizing an opportunity to prove yourself, don't expect your travel to be reimbursed.

I have told the story many times that I waited over a year until I had to be IN NYC for business before I could get enough restaurants with Coyle to qualify for a hotel. For me, that was worth it. Vegas and Arizona is where they currently need shoppers. Luckily, Vegas is an affordable destinations with other reasons to visit.

Would it be alright if your defined the quantity of Coyle restaurant and phone / web shops before you're able to "quality" for their hotel shops?

This might be more of an accountant question, but can you consider the traveling expenses for traveling / lodging to show this supposed worthiness be considered tax-deductible, where applicable? These expenses can add up quite a bit, but would like to know upfront if this can be considered applicable business expenses to write off on my taxes?

@Tarantado wrote:

Q: Would it be alright if your defined the quantity of Coyle restaurant and phone / web shops before you're able to "quality" for their hotel shops?

A: See disclaimer at the top of the thread. I don't make those decisions anymore. I'm just a shopper for Coyle these days, but liked to see 3 really good restaurants before a hotel was assigned back when I was scheduling.

@Tarantado wrote:

This might be more of an accountant question, but can you consider the traveling expenses for traveling / lodging to show this supposed worthiness be considered tax-deductible, where applicable? These expenses can add up quite a bit, but would like to know upfront if this can be considered applicable business expenses to write off on my taxes?

According to my tax professional, if the expense is a "necessary and integral component" to the shop, then it's a business expense. The primary purpose has to be shopping. So I think that flying to Vegas for a conference might be iffy. Taking a resort shop at a Texas beach with the purpose of mystery shopping it, but having a family member meet you there, would be all expensed. Ask yourself what the primary purpose of the trip is. That determines it.

Nice to know about AZ. I'm guessing that they're going to be willing to pay more travel on that then.

Thanks for putting this together, Steve. I've shopped for Coyle for a long time, but don't do a huge amount of their assignments. Getting ready to apply for a few of the WS ones, though.

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

According to my tax professional, if the expense is a "necessary and integral component" to the shop, then it's a business expense. The primary purpose has to be shopping. So I think that flying to Vegas for a conference might be iffy. Taking a resort shop at a Texas beach with the purpose of mystery shopping it, but having a family member meet you there, would be all expensed. Ask yourself what the primary purpose of the trip is. That determines it.

Nice to know about AZ. I'm guessing that they're going to be willing to pay more travel on that then.

Thanks for putting this together, Steve. I've shopped for Coyle for a long time, but don't do a huge amount of their assignments. Getting ready to apply for a few of the WS ones, though.

Thanks for your input!

I don't see why traveling to a work-related conference would be an "iffy" business expense if the sole-purpose of the conference would be to furnish your skills, increase your network and better your relationships with schedulers all with the intent of advancing your mystery shopping business.