Bartaco shop maximum age reduced from 64 to 45

I went to take a Bartaco shop this week and was shocked when I was unable to apply for it because the age limit was 45. It used to be 64, and while I was getting close to that, I figured I had a few more shops before I aged out. I guess I can see where they would want younger shoppers since that is their main customer, but there have been plenty of older folks when we go there, so we did not stick out. And they never manage to get all their shops scheduled (which I think is more the fault of the scheduler than the shop, since the shops are fairly easy with a decent reimbursement in highly populated areas), so you'd think the last thing they would want to do was reduce their shopper pool. But they have.

This is just an informational post, obviously I am not looking for advice how to keep shopping them. It is what it is. Maybe they will realize their mistake and change the age back. Or maybe they don't care if they don't all get done.

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There is a retail shop in my area that used to require someone a couple of decades younger than me. When they had trouble filling them (and the bonus got high enough) I would ask the scheduler and she would make an exception for me.

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. Eleanor Roosevelt

@KathyG wrote:

There is a retail shop in my area that used to require someone a couple of decades younger than me. When they had trouble filling them (and the bonus got high enough) I would ask the scheduler and she would make an exception for me.

Given that this particular scheduler rarely responds to emails, and that they just reduced the age, I figured it wasn't worth trying.

I'm not sure how they're going to be getting 45 and under to do weekday lunch shops. Good luck to them. Also don't understand why age matters for a take-out shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/2021 11:56PM by MisterBill.

the bartaco phone shop was one of my favorite shops. No close locations to do the in person shop. I normally do very few phone shops but they were easy and worth the few bucks. Hope they come back. As for the OP it never hurts to ask for the age requirement to be waived.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

@BuffaloNY101 wrote:

the bartaco phone shop was one of my favorite shops. No close locations to do the in person shop. I normally do very few phone shops but they were easy and worth the few bucks. Hope they come back. As for the OP it never hurts to ask for the age requirement to be waived.

I never did the phone shops, but their current service model is very much self-service, ordering from your phone with the former servers just delivering food and the managers interacting with guests. So I'm not sure that how they answer the phone is of much interest to them beyond getting the info when you do an in-restaurant shop.

The phone shops were just seeing if they directed you to the app for reservations which was more a call ahead list as they are not supposed to accept reservations.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

I wish I was in the Denver area. Looks fun.

I was pretty steamed about this change too. I turned 50 this year, and this was my first experience of 'age discrimination'. I especially don't understand the logic being applicable to ONLINE (or phone) orders - in what possible way could age matter when you don't even interact with staff?! And the shops near me regularly went unfilled, and appealing to the scheduler got me a 'sorry dude' (as in: no exceptions made; they'd rather it not be shopped at all, even online order, then give it to an 'old man' 50yo).

@non sequitur wrote:

I was pretty steamed about this change too. I turned 50 this year, and this was my first experience of 'age discrimination'. I especially don't understand the logic being applicable to ONLINE (or phone) orders - in what possible way could age matter when you don't even interact with staff?! And the shops near me regularly went unfilled, and appealing to the scheduler got me a 'sorry dude' (as in: no exceptions made; they'd rather it not be shopped at all, even online order, then give it to an 'old man' 50yo).

I'm surprised she even responded. I agree that it's a stupid change, but that's life I guess.

Update -- I just checked, and the age limit is now 55, so you should qualify. I still don't.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/17/2021 10:55PM by MisterBill.

@MisterBill wrote:

I'm surprised she even responded. I agree that it's a stupid change, but that's life I guess.

Update -- I just checked, and the age limit is now 55, so you should qualify. I still don't.

If anyone on my team is unresponsive, please reach out to me so I can investigate.

We are also unhappy with the decision to limit the age ranges. They told us that it is because their "target market" is 21-45. Older shoppers tend to be more critical of the loudness of the music, etc. Don't shoot the messenger. I am 53 and I also cannot shop the location that is only 7 miles from me (and I like loud music!).

The first month like that went badly, as that is not really the type of person that can afford to eat there regularly. Our client (the MSP) went back to them and pushed to get it to 55. We have scheduled it that way for December. It went moderately better.

The MSP that has this account is providing this information to the client. We are hopeful that the program may change in the near future, but there are obviously no guarantees.

When a restaurant asks for something specific, and the MSP does not give it to them, they leave and go to another MSP that will. It sucks for all of us, but someone will always say yes. This is a long term client for this MSP and they are trying to save the business. Given the current situation with most bars and restaurants, we are lucky that they are still shopping. Let's all give it a little space?

--------------->> KSSJeff

@Lorri Kern KSS wrote:

If anyone on my team is unresponsive, please reach out to me so I can investigate.

@Lorri Kern KSS wrote:

If anyone on my team is unresponsive, please reach out to me so I can investigate.

We are also unhappy with the decision to limit the age ranges. They told us that it is because their "target market" is 21-45. Older shoppers tend to be more critical of the loudness of the music, etc. Don't shoot the messenger. I am 53 and I also cannot shop the location that is only 7 miles from me (and I like loud music!).

Hi Lorri, thanks for responding. I understand this is client-driven, and I understand their target market (although it seems like the music level is such a small part of the experience). But why would they change the age range for take-out and delivery shops as well, when the music level and general atmosphere is not an issue? You have two take-out shops at my location with $15 bonuses (not to mention a lunch and two dinners) and I can't even be considered for them.

As for the scheduler, I have always had a hard time getting a response from her, when I did it was never prompt. She also did not reach out when shops for a location that I had previously done were still available at the end of the month. The previous scheduler did a MUCH better job trying to get shops filled, and actually let shoppers know that she appreciated them helping her out.

Obviously anyone should be able to do the take-out shops. But I understand the policy for dine-in as at 43 I’m routinely one of the older customers at my local location, which is located in an affluent young professional neighborhood. I have no idea why the mystery shopper pool skews older, but I’ve heard other MSC owners mention this as an issue, especially when shopping bars and nightclubs with a generally younger clientele. On the flip side, once I saw a local bar I love on a job board but I wasn’t old enough to shop it. They were specifically looking for an older shopper to come in and see if they were given poorer treatment compared to how the staff served the younger crowd that usually patronized the place.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/28/2021 04:07PM by NinS.

So sad they closed the location near me (though now I wouldn't be able to shop them anyway). Absolutely loved their food.

Shopping domestic and international locations since 2003.

Interesting to hear more about what goes on behind the scenes! Thanks for giving some insight, Lorri!

Shopping the Greater Denver Area, Colorado Springs and in-between in Colorado. 33 year old male and willing to travel!

I noticed the age was 55 as well this month. I would think the brunch shop target audience might be different than the dinner shops. When I've done the brunch shops the crowd was pretty diverse in age and other demographics.

Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994

@RobinMarie wrote:

I noticed the age was 55 as well this month. I would think the brunch shop target audience might be different than the dinner shops. When I've done the brunch shops the crowd was pretty diverse in age and other demographics.

Are you talking about Bartaco or Barcelona? Barcelona does brunch shops, and they did not add an age limit to their shops (or at least had not when I checked). I've never seen brunch shops at Bartaco. Just dinner for any day, weekday lunches and take-out and delivery shops.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/01/2022 09:07PM by MisterBill.

@MisterBill wrote:

@RobinMarie wrote:

I noticed the age was 55 as well this month. I would think the brunch shop target audience might be different than the dinner shops. When I've done the brunch shops the crowd was pretty diverse in age and other demographics.
Are you talking about Bartaco or Barcelona? Barcelona does brunch shops, and they did not add an age limit to their shops (or at least had not when I checked). I've never seen brunch shops at Bartaco. Just dinner for any day, weekday lunches and take-out and delivery shops.

Correct. We do not do brunch shops at Bartaco and right now there is no age limit on Barcelona.

I am also bummed at being aged put of BarTaco. Used to be one of my favorites to do. Hopefully, they will backtrack and let us in.

Sorry - the location I've shopped has both side by side - spaced on the difference.

Evaluating and mailing packages since 1994

The Bar Taco near me is in a huge mall, and I see all ages. They are definitely narrowing their dining base at this particular mall.

@marg704 wrote:

The Bar Taco near me is in a huge mall, and I see all ages. They are definitely narrowing their dining base at this particular mall.

Seems like the big thing is older folks complaining about the noisy environment.

Great news, there is a new scheduler for Bar Taco and Barcelona shops as of May. I took a Barcelona shop this week, and it took three emails to get the old scheduler to respond to my emails to reschedule my shop (and I never got a return email, I just noticed that the date had finally changed on the website). The new scheduler responded quickly to an email that I sent last night, so hopefully things will be much better.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2022 11:19PM by MisterBill.

@MisterBill wrote:

Great news, there is a new scheduler for Bar Taco and Barcelona shops as of May. I took a Barcelona shop this week, and it took three emails to get the old scheduler to respond to my emails (and I never got a return email, I just noticed that the date had finally changed on the website). The new scheduler responded quickly to an email that I sent last night, so hopefully things will be much better.

I had trouble getting MK to respond to emails too... not sure what the deal was.

@boridi wrote:

I had trouble getting MK to respond to emails too... not sure what the deal was.

I was literally in the process of writing an email to Lorri this past week when my shop had not been rescheduled. I finally checked the website one last time and noticed that it had been moved and didn't end up sending the email, and now this. The previous scheduler also never sent emails about available shops, then all of a sudden she's scrambling to get shops done the last week of the month. And I actually lost out on a $5 bonus that she added a couple of days after I took the shop. Oh, and I had only taken the shop because the subject said Lunch, but it turned out to be dinner. She never corrected that or responded to my email about it. There are not many schedulers that I say this about, but good riddance to her!

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2022 11:17PM by MisterBill.

Update -- they finally removed the age restriction for the take-out shops. Dine-in are still age limited.

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Bartaco shop maximum age reduced from 64 to 45

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