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Steak House and other casual Dining

April 20, 2011 01:28AM
Does any one care that there are Steak house shops which you pay with own money and them wait a month and a half for reimbursement? Also there is no shopping fees paid?
Well when I was in restaurant business and when shopper gave me his receipt I reimbursed him and gave him a fee on top.
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More About Steakhouse Restaurants
April 20, 2011 02:40AM
...if you were still in the restaurant business, we would probably be willing to shop for you, too >>>>

So far I haven't found any shops, steakhouse or other, that don't require me to pay with my own money and wait for reimbursement. Few of the fine dining shops offer a fee in addition to reimbursement.
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April 20, 2011 02:53AM
Thus the question boils down to: Do you want to do the restaurant shop or not? It is what it is and shoppers get to decide accordingly.
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April 20, 2011 02:10PM
In my opinion, the situation with dining assignments exists due to supply and demand; were the demand to suddenly exceed the supply, conditions would change. As Flash has so succinctly stated, "It is what it is!"
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April 20, 2011 03:41PM
Not so sure about supply in demand as I just saw my restaurants, which I do monthly (up to three) has now hired a scheduling Co. They are shopped so often, can't seem to fill them anymore..the scheduling Co.is offering a 5.00 bonus on top of the 10.00 fee. I will now use that scheduling for these jobs.

I don't see Black Angus anymore, but there is a rotation and I keep missing it.

Live consciously....
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April 21, 2011 05:39AM
i have been to plenty resturants that didn't reimburse and i just got to the point where i stoped going out all in all
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April 21, 2011 06:08AM
I don't mind these so much other than the risk of spending the money and having a report thrown out on a technicality. If I'm going spend my own money on an upscale restaurant I want to make the choice, not an MSC.
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April 21, 2011 02:26PM
And of course 'risking' your money is precisely why you start with any new-to-you company with a small, low expense shop. You will find some companies that will nit pick to the point you almost WISH they would just throw it out and stop bothering you. You will find some companies that will work WITH you to try to make this and future reports acceptable. You will find some companies that seem to reject first and ask questions later. There are companies to walk away from and companies to keep, and because our writing styles and their expectations vary, this will be different companies to different shoppers. We do a whole lot of restaurant shops and it breaks my heart when I discover that a restaurant I want to shop is with a company that deserves the proverbial 10' pole.
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April 22, 2011 11:23AM
One of these days I going to find out who does the shops for Longhorn in Florida. T
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April 22, 2011 02:05PM
They are shopped. It is a captive company that does them and some specific owned locations of another brand. You are allowed to do no more than 2 shops per year. So with limited opportunity, the company does not get discussed a whole lot. It is on the list of companies here and as soon as you go to the website to sign up you will know you have the correct company. Reimbursements do not cover dinner for 2 and the company acknowledges that. It constitutes a substantial discount and the report is very simple.
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April 22, 2011 02:37PM
WJones...pm me, I work for that MSC.

Live consciously....
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April 22, 2011 05:36PM
Both my son and I drink water with our meals and neither eat dessert, so the alloted amount covers our dinner. In addition, in my area there's a $10 fee, which would cover some overages.
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April 22, 2011 09:05PM
In addition there is a coupon in the paper for up to $5 that can be used toward the check.. I find that the form is easy and because I dont eat too much nor does my spouse, we often get an additional meal each. So where can you get 4 meals for the few dollars that goes over the fee??
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April 22, 2011 11:17PM
I agree, I do another restaurantthey have out here, there is no Longhorns. They email you when your rotation is up...very nice company and you can go alone, which more than covers a nice meal, + a 10.00 fee. Focus on that!!

Live consciously....
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May 31, 2011 04:05AM
A-Closer-Look now pays a lot of their restaurtant shops with a gift certificate to return to the restaurant in the future, rather than cash. That is very cheap of them, as it's basically like using a 50% off coupon but having to go through the trouble of doing a report.
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May 31, 2011 11:01AM
I have never seen that in my market with ACL. It may be a specific client in your market.
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May 31, 2011 03:17PM
That is called mystery shopping, how can a company expect you to write a good report after you've been paid. Work first, pay later. How can the companies trust strangers not to run off. Experienced shoppers know who they are working for and know when they will be paid. I have never had a dining establishment not pay me, and your wrong, many pay a small fee though some do not, due to the economy, ish guy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does any one care that there are Steak house shops
> which you pay with own money and them wait a month
> and a half for reimbursement? Also there is no
> shopping fees paid?
> Well when I was in restaurant business and when
> shopper gave me his receipt I reimbursed him and
> gave him a fee on top.

Live consciously....
Reply
May 31, 2011 05:47PM
I have shopped for ACL for gift certs on nice restaurants. I did three before Christmas and got $40 gift cert for each shop. I use them for getting away from Ron and Melody and the kids when I can't stand 'em anymore and need a break. lol I spent about $50 on all three shops and just finished using the last certificate. I got to use coupons from the paper to stretch and extra $15 out of the certificates. I invested $50 and got back $135 in great food.

Today I Will Choose Joy!

"Finally, whatever things are good, true, noble, lovely, of good report...if there be any virtue, if there be any praise...think on these things." ....It's a command, not a suggestion!
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June 01, 2011 03:04PM
nice.. i think the company we are talking about specifically states no coupons... most do... wish i could find one that didnt... oh well.

shopping north west PA and south west ny
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June 01, 2011 07:27PM
Flash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They are shopped. It is a captive company that
> does them and some specific owned locations of
> another brand. You are allowed to do no more than
> 2 shops per year. So with limited opportunity,
> the company does not get discussed a whole lot.
> It is on the list of companies here and as soon as
> you go to the website to sign up you will know you
> have the correct company. Reimbursements do not
> cover dinner for 2 and the company acknowledges
> that. It constitutes a substantial discount and
> the report is very simple.


I just did my first shop for them in May, and immediately afterwards, got an email saying that the client was no longer going to be doing shops because of the economy. I was bummed because the locations they shopped for that other brand were in my home town, and I was hoping I'd get one eventually.
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June 03, 2011 02:34PM
I have done Steak House for 3 different companies and casual dining for 3 or 4 companies. You just have to signup with as many MSC companies and go to their job board to find out who does what.
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