@Hoju wrote:
Well yeah, of course scheduler relationships matter. What I mean is how do you know which MSCs offer these? I can’t imagine a gas station scheduler offering me a $10k resort because I never flake on a gas audit.
@Hoju wrote:
Well yeah, of course scheduler relationships matter. What I mean is how do you know which MSCs offer these? I can’t imagine a gas station scheduler offering me a $10k resort because I never flake on a gas audit.
@Niner wrote:
One day. Goals.
Thank you Steve and Mickey for posting. What you both do is my dream retirement job.
@Runnindemredlights wrote:
What ratings do you typically have such that you have a good reputation to be asked for resort opportunities?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@Runnindemredlights wrote:
What ratings do you typically have such that you have a good reputation to be asked for resort opportunities?
It's not just about getting good scores, and many of the companies that offer resort shops don't even work on 10-point grading scales.
It's about consistently hitting your mark over a period of time. Never cancelling, rarely rescheduling, taking hard-to-fill assignments and mostly showing good judgment and communication when issues arise on shops.
There are so many things that can go awry on a resort shop and it's not a simple process to decline the shop and reschedule if things go wrong like on a smaller shop, so the MSC's want someone who's proven themselves.
@Hoju wrote:
If they’re not publicly posted, how are people getting them?
@Hoju wrote:
Well yeah, of course scheduler relationships matter. What I mean is how do you know which MSCs offer these? I can’t imagine a gas station scheduler offering me a $10k resort because I never flake on a gas audit.
@iShop123 wrote:
It's also largely about demographics. A cruise line might want a retired shopper, one who speaks Chinese as a first language, a black male, two middle-aged women, a veteran, a first-time cruiser, etc. Also, depending upon the company, your pre-shopping profession can tilt the scales toward/away from you.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
Most of the companies that do higher end properties don't have job boards where shoppers can apply for and/or assign themselves resorts. It's usually a core group of evaluators who work with a scheduler.
Coyle seems to ride that line between those two worlds and that's probably at the core of why their travel reimbursement is often far from enough. They pit shoppers against one another with travel bidding while the other companies seem to be more generous and will often cover all expenses.
@ap7isback wrote:
@Hoju wrote:
Well yeah, of course scheduler relationships matter. What I mean is how do you know which MSCs offer these? I can’t imagine a gas station scheduler offering me a $10k resort because I never flake on a gas audit.
In my experience, most of the time it's an outfit contacting you that you've never heard of. Seriously, more people are paying attention to what's going on, or not, than is commonly appreciated. You will see the results so long as you keep your nose clean and get the job done. My advice is to be diversified and reliable to a fault.
@ap7isback wrote:
@iShop123 wrote:
It's also largely about demographics. A cruise line might want a retired shopper, one who speaks Chinese as a first language, a black male, two middle-aged women, a veteran, a first-time cruiser, etc. Also, depending upon the company, your pre-shopping profession can tilt the scales toward/away from you.
Aha, you really hit the nail on the head on that... Nobody gets offered the cream puff stuff unless they're a known quantity, proven reliable and with a documented history. There are those who keep track of us very very closely, just like those of us who do the tracking... Travel and professional history is often critical, too.
@tlin wrote:
@ap7isback wrote:
@iShop123 wrote:
It's also largely about demographics. A cruise line might want a retired shopper, one who speaks Chinese as a first language, a black male, two middle-aged women, a veteran, a first-time cruiser, etc. Also, depending upon the company, your pre-shopping profession can tilt the scales toward/away from you.
Aha, you really hit the nail on the head on that... Nobody gets offered the cream puff stuff unless they're a known quantity, proven reliable and with a documented history. There are those who keep track of us very very closely, just like those of us who do the tracking... Travel and professional history is often critical, too.
ap7isback - can you elaborate on travel and professional history? I'm middle management for a consulting company and travel infrequently for work. I also know how to behave in luxurious surroundings, have stayed in high end hotels, traveled internationally, etc - but how would a shopping company know any of that?