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Newbie, already feeling like quitting

February 27, 2017 04:17PM
I did the same shop for Bestmark and the cashier said she was the manager and refused to take pictures. I just noted that in the report and I had no problems with that. It was accepted...
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February 27, 2017 04:32PM
@7star wrote:

I don't even understand your job.

Hehe, my job is weird, but short answer is I'm a scientific writer. Before becoming a writer I worked in R&D as a molecular biologist. So... I'm not entirely stupid... lol. I just felt totally out of my element doing this. Maybe I'm not cutout to "shop."
winking smiley

@ceciditullio wrote:

I did the same shop for Bestmark and the cashier said she was the manager and refused to take pictures. I just noted that in the report and I had no problems with that. It was accepted...

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Yeah, one of the cashiers at my store was also a manager, but she stomped off shaking her head when I introduced myself and asked for a manager to thank. Then a big-strapping-male manager came over and stood, arms crossed, saying "no you can't take my photo... no, not even just my hands." I'm actually glad I took the photos of the counter cling before revealing myself, because they seemed so put-out!
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February 27, 2017 04:45PM
I have a scientific degree myself and did sales. I can understand a scientific writer/molecular biologist. Very impressive.
This mystery shopping hobby/career requires us to be like chameleons, we have to read the room and adjust to the current situation.
I used my sales background; smiled, thanked the manager for participating in the good cause and stated that the good cause would like to take a picture of a employee(s) for social media purposes. The mgr had to ask a higher up for permission and got it. But if he didn't give permission I would've been fine with taking pictures of the signage.
I've never done anything like this before but I find a warm smile and tone goes a long way.
We all got the job done, that is what counts !
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March 11, 2017 06:39AM
OMG I get it now.

I just finished my first Coyle restaurant review. It took me 2.5 hours and it's 5 pages single spaced.

o_O
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March 11, 2017 12:21PM
Only 2.5 hours? That's great! Was there a bar section? I must admit I multitask when writing reports so I could never do one of their fine dining reports so quickly.
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March 11, 2017 01:40PM
@JASFLALMT wrote:

Only 2.5 hours? That's great! Was there a bar section? I must admit I multitask when writing reports so I could never do one of their fine dining reports so quickly.

Haha, thanks. I hope that doesn't mean I did a poor job. I referred to the Coyle style guide frequently, and I followed the format of the sample report. The bar was optional because it was a lunch report, so we did not go to the bar.

"If you choose to evaluate the bar, do so after you have lunch. The client requests that the bar transaction be paid in cash so you can follow how the cash is handled. Please do not order any food or alcohol at the bar. If you choose to visit, please order a soda, coffee, tea, etc." (Posted here so people can tell me I misunderstood, lol)

I'm unsure how to submit the survey now, because I cannot leave the bar section blank. I emailed Coyle support last night, but haven't heard back. Do I just select N/A for that whole section and say "Bar was not evaluated" in all the comments?

I did not multi-task, but still, 2.5 hours is more than I anticipated. With the outstanding bar question and the time in the restaurant, it was more than 4 hours of my day. tongue sticking out smiley

Thanks for the quick reply!

[Edited to add: I heard back from Coyle this morning after I had already submitted, and thankfully I had done exactly as they later suggested (N/A for the bar). It's great to know they have a good support team!]

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2017 07:44PM by palooka.
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March 12, 2017 05:58AM
Feel okay about my Coyle score, especially for my first report. Now that I know the drill I'm hoping it won't be so stressful in the future.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2017 06:13AM by palooka.
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March 13, 2017 01:35AM
Good Work on the Coyle job. I haven't done any yet. No doubt it'll be very detailed and much more so than other companies, some of which are very easy. If there is a restaurant I want to try under Coyle, I'll sign up.
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