Hello,

I have done two shops for Regal so far. I have a couple of others coming up. They seem to have really good clients - and I love doing hotel shops.

I don't think their forms or requirements are too cumbersome (after doing Coyle shops everything seems easy). Feedback, emails etc from them seem to be very minimal. So far no questions on my shops - though I do see that they have graded them. I am assuming that means they were accepted.

I don't like the fact that Regal requires shoppers to pay in cash for room service, bar, dinner etc...especially since it take 90 days to get paid. That is a lot of cash out of pocket for a long time. Also they do not reverse hotel charges like a lot of other MS companies do for hotel/resort lodging.

Question: If you have worked for Regal....any problems getting paid? When you do get paid are you getting paid in full (reimbursement plus fees)?

All input is appreciated! Relatively new here...great resource! I noted that there were some discussion in regard to Regal some time ago...not all good. Anyone have positive feedback about them?

The only thing negative I have found so far from them is getting paid after three months.

I have found them to be very reliable about correct pay and reimbursements. It just take about 90 days.

Secret Girl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello,
>
> I have done two shops for Regal so far. I have a
> couple of others coming up. They seem to have
> really good clients - and I love doing hotel
> shops.
>
> I don't think their forms or requirements are too
> cumbersome (after doing Coyle shops everything
> seems easy). Feedback, emails etc from them seem
> to be very minimal. So far no questions on my
> shops - though I do see that they have graded
> them. I am assuming that means they were accepted.
>
>
> I don't like the fact that Regal requires shoppers
> to pay in cash for room service, bar, dinner
> etc...especially since it take 90 days to get
> paid. That is a lot of cash out of pocket for a
> long time. Also they do not reverse hotel charges
> like a lot of other MS companies do for
> hotel/resort lodging.
>
> Question: If you have worked for Regal....any
> problems getting paid? When you do get paid are
> you getting paid in full (reimbursement plus
> fees)?
>
> All input is appreciated! Relatively new
> here...great resource! I noted that there were
> some discussion in regard to Regal some time
> ago...not all good. Anyone have positive feedback
> about them?


I have shopped for Regal and I have to agree with pretty much everything you said. They do have great clients and I have definitely enjoyed performing their shops. Reporting requirements are very reasonable and I have enjoyed communicating with their schedulers. I was not aware that shops were graded. I have been commended for my reporting but have not seen shops "grades" online. I also agree with you that I don't like the 90 day payment schedule and I would prefer the convenience of paying all shop expenses with credit cards.

As for the payment issue, I have been paid in full for all completed shops (Except one completed very recently) but had a payment issue as detailed in the following thread:

[www.mysteryshopforum.com]

I was not happy with the way they handled my last payment and stated I would not be recommending them to friends and family. After discussions with the company and acceptance of my most recent shop, I am prepared to take back that statement and recommend them whole-heartedly pending a successful, on-time payment of the latest shops fees. Aside from that one blip, I have had positive experiences with Regal and although I don't enjoy their 90 day payment schedule, I have enjoyed working with them.

Shop grades are posted about 1/2 down on your profile page.

Good to hear (so far) that no one has experienced not getting paid if the work is done correctly.

I completed a few shops for Regal in a hotel dining room 3 years ago, but didn't see any additional work until this year, After applying for a breakfast, I noticed the pay period had increased from 45 to 90 days and one was no longer permitted to use a credit card. I wrote and requested the job be given to another shopper and I be deactivated. When an MSC takes 90 days to pay, they either have a cash flow problem or they're playing with the shopper's money; one's bad and the other isn't good.

Just wanted to update on my previous post. I just got paid for a shop completed at the end of November so it was definitely within the 90 days. The experience was good throughout and I'm accepting the single bad experience as an anomoly and miscommunication. I would fully recommend Regal as a quality company.

This shop was different than previous in that the hotel bill was credited back to my credit card. This happened two months after the stay was completed which seems to somewhat explain the need for 90 days to complete payment.

Excellent company...a little slow on pay though

Great shops that pay ok w bonus 90 days pay. If you can't wait for the money, find another company. I have had great experiences.

Has Regal started using a scheduling company for their overnight hotel assignments, or am I just missing the boat on these every month lately? What I see on the Regal site is just bar and meal shops, not over night stays.

OR, has Regal lost the account for the overnight stays at ALL of the hotel chains? Not llkely, I think!

If they have started using a scheduling company, which one, please? I do hotels in DC, MD, and VA, so if you are not in that area, I am not your competition, btw.

I've shopped Regal before and not had a problem. I don't like the cash requirement and don't like the 90 day pay cycle, so they're low on my priority list.

walesmaven Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Has Regal started using a scheduling company for
> their overnight hotel assignments, or am I just
> missing the boat on these every month lately?
> What I see on the Regal site is just bar and meal
> shops, not over night stays.
>
> OR, has Regal lost the account for the overnight
> stays at ALL of the hotel chains? Not llkely, I
> think!
>
> If they have started using a scheduling company,
> which one, please? I do hotels in DC, MD, and VA,
> so if you are not in that area, I am not your
> competition, btw.


One in my area still shows up quarterly, but there used to be several in the area.

I think that some of their hotels have dropped back to quarterly shops AND made the rotation 12 months. I now see a few hotels in my area this month but only as "back-ups".

i agree with cake. They are great, pay in full and when they say they will and have good companies. Personally I am paycheck to paycheck so don't have lots of cash on hand. Can't afford to be out of money for three months so unless there is a bonus or I am having a really good month I don't do them.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:33PM by CAscotch.

Their hotel shops are really quite easy. I usually have 75% of the report complete by the time that I checkout.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:32PM by CAscotch.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:29PM by CAscotch.

Yup.
You will have plenty of time to enjoy the hotel amenities. And, the report isn't due for 24 hours after check out, so you don't have to write much while on site if you want to play more and write later. Just take good note, be able to quote greetings, get names, and then write later. Remember...third persn narratives!

I find I have more free time on their one night hotel shops than Coyle's two night hotel shops.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/13/2013 09:27PM by CAscotch.

OMG...I'm still waiting to get ANY pay from these folks and my first jobs with them were back in mid-November.

I think I may move on...haven't seen much in the way of hotel stays and the company is really bad responding to emails -- unless THEY want something.

They reimburse and pay 60-90 days after the shop is accepted. Not unusual for hotel shops.

I am doing my first overnight hotel shop for this weekend, and was told that the hotel room charges get reversed fairly quickly...hopefully that is true. Last time I did a breakfast shop for them they took about 3 1/2 months to pay me! I like the schedulers, they are very helpful.

Secret Girl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Shop grades are posted about 1/2 down on your
> profile page.
>
> Good to hear (so far) that no one has experienced
> not getting paid if the work is done correctly.

Thanks for pointing that out - I did not know they grade, and I got an "A."

I haven't worked for Regal, but with the other MSCs I've shopped hotels for, the room charges were reversed as soon as the report was passed through editing and on to the client. This generally has taken no more than a week in my experience but I would assume that would vary widely from MSC to MSC and even dependent on the editor's workload. As soon as my reports were reviewed and OK'd, they notified the hotel. I can understand this position as they wouldn't want to reverse your charges and then find out your report wasn't usable. I find my hotel reports are some of the fastest reviewed/edited reports out there, with other MSCs.

Yes the credit card charges for hotel are reimbursed quickly. However, many of the shops involve using ONLY cash, so not only am I waiting on the fee, but I'm out qute a bit of cash for each shop. One of the other hospitallity MSCs I work with not only reimburses expenses (yes, even cash), but mails a check for the fee in about a week. Seems like a better deal.

I've done a lot of shops for Regal Hospitality for years. Their report was long and it requires comment for every simple yes/no question, but it got easier after you did a bunch of shops. The payment usually takes 3 months or more, which is slow, but I've always got paid the promised shop fees until recently. Two months ago, three shops were short of $5 fee each, and then another one I just received was $10 short. The first time I thought it was an accounting error, which happened before. However, when I asked why the payment was short, I was told 'Your overall score was a “B”- which leads to a deduction of $5.00. A “C” would be ½ pay.' This was absolutely news to me. Nowhere on their guidelines or website stated that the shopper might not receive full shop fee due to lower ratings. I got good grades all the time, but for the few exceptions that I received lower grades, I've never been deducted shop fee by any other mystery shopping companies. Also, Regal never contacted me about any issues or told me about the ratings until I questioned them about the payment. I followed their samples and wrote narratives pretty the same way for all the shops I completed, and I used word to check spelling on all the reports. It would be impossible that my recent 4 reports all of sudden became so bad. For the most recent one that I was deducted $10, I saw the check came with a comment “You marked the answer as 'No' when it should have been NA”- which was a perfect reason for them to put additional $10 in their pocket!! They didn’t post the rating of the shops, and since they didn’t tell you which question was not marked correctly, there’s no way to contest it, and the shopper may mark the same question as ‘No’ again and gave them $10 again next time. It appeared to me that they were trying to use higher shop fees to lure the shopper into doing them, and then use whatever excuses they could come up with to pay them less than promised. A reputable company would have stated their payment policy clearly and pay the shop fees as agreed. I have a feeling this company is heading toward Freeman Group’s path. Think twice before taking another shop from them, and don’t be surprised if you don’t get paid the full shop fee or not get paid at all.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2013 01:53AM by shumystery.

I just feel badly that their clients don't learn about their "company's" shoddy tactics. I actually LIKE the company I was shopping.

walesmaven Wrote:
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> They reimburse and pay 60-90 days after the shop
> is accepted. Not unusual for hotel shops.


I gotta say that 90+days IS unusual for a full hotel shop reimbursement...unless you are considering companies like Freeman in the equation. The hotels I have done for Regal always involved a relatively significant amount of cash outlay for the shop and reimbursed the hotel charges, rather then having them reversed.

The reimbursement and cash outlay policy is too similar to the poor business pattern we saw that got Freeman into trouble and I'm not willing to put out money that long for any company that will require a follow up after 90 days to get me a payment. I work for a half dozen or so hospitality companies that get me my money back within 15-45 days without a hassle. That's what I consider to be the norm.