BusyBeeBuzzBuzzBuzz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> beatlesfan1964 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A TIP TO HELP COVER FINE DINING REIMBURSEMENT:
> > When you call to make your reservation,tell
> them
> > you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary.
> In
> > almost all cases, you will get your dessert for
> > free, saving you $8 - $12.
>
> I don't think that's a good idea. This may affect
> how the staff performs. For example, instead of
> asking if you would like dessert, the server may
> just bring you a slice of birthday cake or
> something similar for free. The host/hostess and
> server may also change other behavior because it's
> your special day, such as making small talk.


Not really. I went on a fine dining restaurant on my birthday, and they did not get it right. Unless the guidelines specifically states not to tell the staff it's a special occassion. Then it is fair game. BTW regular guests celebrate birthdays.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2013 01:16PM by audrialyn30.

audrialyn30 Wrote:
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> Not really. I went on a fine dining restaurant on
> my birthday, and they did not get it right. Unless
> the guidelines specifically states not to tell the
> staff it's a special occassion. Then it is fair
> game. BTW regular guests celebrate birthdays.

No one said that regular guests do not have birthdays. They certainly do. I sometimes go out on my birthday and sometimes I do admit to a restaurant that it is my birthday. My point was not that no shopper should say it is his birthday when it is not, that's up to the individual shopper. My point was that there are a number of things you can say at restaurants to get discounts and freebies, and, if the guidelines do not specifically state not to do them, perhaps they are fair game if a shopper chooses to use them. I personally do not lie to get a discount or a freebie: I view saying it is your birthday when it is not as the same as saying you are military personnel when you are not (to get a freebie or a discount) and I personally would not do it. Others may. However, if I accepted a shop and the guidelines required me to lie and say it was my birthday, anniversary, or that I was military personnel, I would follow the shop guidelines in order to do the job according to the guidelines.


edited to add: The "military personnel" seems to be the latest scam about town. A number of restaurants in my area now offer 10-20% discounts to military personnel to honor those who are serving our country. There is little or no verification when a customer identifies himself as military personnel. My neighbor, who does not and has never served in the military, identifies himself as military every time he eats out to get the discounts. There are also a number of restaurants in town which give a 10-15% discount to the employees of Dell Computer and I know many non-Dell employees who identify themselves as Dell employees to get the discount. I'm not going to report anyone for doing it, but I would not. I think LisaSTL's signature line says it best: "ethics are what you do when no one is watching."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2013 04:43PM by AustinMom.

My point is that it most likely will not alter the behavior of the staff. Birthdays and anniversaries are a dime a dozen to the staff. Now on the point about the free dessert for your birthday or anniversary. I don't think that is wrong per se. I know some companies encourage it. Additionally, there are some fine dining shops, where you have to say it is a special occassion. Bottom line the mystery shopping companies know their clients. If they say its fine, it's fine. However, to each there on.

I would be cautious though. While I have had a shop which says to say it is a birthday, if it doesn't that would potentially give a company grounds for refusing the shop. If a dessert is required, they may feel that you were getting an extra $5-10 from them. If you are thinking about it, I would check with the scheduler first.

I am new to Mystery Shopping. I have done two jobs for ACL so far, the first one was a lunch shop that took me literally hours to do. I suppose this is an learning experience for me. Do all Mystery Shopping companies have such extensive reports to complete. I did 5 shops this weekend which was too much for me as a beginner. Does anyone recommend a software to keep track of things?

Sthom094,
Fine dining shops are a bit advanced for new shoppers because they require detailed reports and many timings. That is not typical of all MS reports. Be sure that you are signed up with 50-75 companies, minimum, in order to see a wide variety of shop types.

Sthom094 Wrote:
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> I am new to Mystery Shopping. I have done two
> jobs for ACL so far, the first one was a lunch
> shop that took me literally hours to do. I suppose
> this is an learning experience for me. Do all
> Mystery Shopping companies have such extensive
> reports to complete. I did 5 shops this weekend
> which was too much for me as a beginner. Does
> anyone recommend a software to keep track of
> things?


Fine dining reports are generally more extensive than other dining shops, as walesmaven said. I do a lot of ACL fine dining shops. Actually, I find ACL's fine dining reports to be shorter, easier and less extensive than other MSC reports. Until you get a little experience, try a few fast food and casual dining shops. Market Force, while not my favorite, is a very good training ground for new shoppers. Their instructions are usually (not always!) clear and their reports are short, fast, ans easy, with little narrative. Try a few of
them until you get to feeling a little more sure of yourself.....it won't take long. Happy shopping!

I really like them. I do not like one of their clients though. Making me wait 2 years until I can shop again for them! -sigh- lol

I love A Closer Look, though they didnt seem to post any new dining, let alone find dining in my area this month

I did a shop for ACL today at an "adult themed restaurant" for lunch. They required me to buy a beer, soda, appetizer, 2 entrees and a dessert. The bill came to over $55 (plus an $8 tip) and they are only reimbursing $25! What a crock! Will not be doing anymore shops for them anytime soon.

Bearclaw14 Wrote:
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> I did a shop for ACL today at an "adult themed
> restaurant" for lunch. They required me to buy a
> beer, soda, appetizer, 2 entrees and a dessert.
> The bill came to over $55 (plus an $8 tip) and
> they are only reimbursing $25! What a crock!
> Will not be doing anymore shops for them anytime
> soon.


Why would you accept such a shop in the first place?

I had no idea how much the food cost or that it wouldn't even cover half of the ticket. Typically in my experience other MSC reimburse at least close to what they require you spend. Lesson learned.

When accepting a shop for any MSC at a new-to-me place, I always check it out. Many restaurants/bars/etc post their menus online and I can get an idea of what I will order and how much it will cost. If the menu is posted without prices, I check Yelp and a couple of others on the internet. From the comments posted, I can usually get a pretty good idea of their most popular dishes and a clue to the prices.

That is a great idea AustimMom. I am pretty new to this, so am learning new things every day. This message board helps a lot and provides a lot of great input from people with more experience than me.

I am changing my tune and do feel reports way too long for a lunch, however, will continue working for them in Vegas where pay is a bit more. Wouldn't hurt to receive some sort of report fee.

Bearclaw14 Wrote:
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> I did a shop for ACL today at an "adult themed
> restaurant" for lunch. They required me to buy a
> beer, soda, appetizer, 2 entrees and a dessert.
> The bill came to over $55 (plus an $8 tip) and
> they are only reimbursing $25! What a crock!
> Will not be doing anymore shops for them anytime
> soon.


I did the same shop for a dinner last month with the same ordering requirements and they paid $40. Our total was about the same as yours. ACL is great to work with, but I don't do any shops for them unless it's a place I really want to eat at anyway. I don't mind the write up for the reimbursement, but in my experience, their reimbursements are never enough for all you are required to order - it turns into a coupon that you have to work for, not a true reimbursement!

I like their take out and delivery shops best. Much shorter reports with entire sections to skip. :>

I look at it that they helped pay for a dinner I may not have otherwise had. The reimbursement varies, I have had trouble spending enough, and had times where it paid less than half. But that is my choice. I love their schedulers and their editors, if you don't feel the reimbursement is enough, there are plenty of companies that will pay for all of your burgers and fries. I wouldn't say it is a special event to get something free, if you can't afford the dinner, pass up that shop.

My sister and I both shop for ACL. We are going on a 10 day sister trip (ROAD TRIP !!!!) in June and will have several lunches and dinners on ACL along the way. And, 10 nights of hotels paid for from "frequent sleeper" hotel reward points from our last 12 months of doing shops (independently). Not all of those points came from ACL shops, but a ton of them did. So, we are turning those points into "cash" and no taxes will be due.

But you had to imagine that a beer, soda, and one appetizer with the tip would be $17-$20 anywhere you go. Add two entrees and a dessert to that and it isn't hard to figure out that the bill is going to be $50 or more. If the bill came to less than that for that much food, I would think that the food there must not be very good...but yes, I can't imagine why the reimbursement would be so low unless they expected you to dine alone! At any rate, I shop for them fairly frequently, and generally they reimburse pretty close to what the bill comes to. I wouldn't cut myself loose just yet if I were you, just pick and choose more carefully in the future. They do a casual Italian restaurant shop that pays between $50 to $65 (depending on what meal period you choose) that I like to do.

Bearclaw14 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I had no idea how much the food cost or that it
> wouldn't even cover half of the ticket. Typically
> in my experience other MSC reimburse at least
> close to what they require you spend. Lesson
> learned.

markowi3 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I love A Closer Look, though they didnt seem to
> post any new dining, let alone find dining in my
> area this month


Your posts are limited by your rating with ACL. If you are new and have not proven yourself, you will not see any Fine Dining shops.

I love ACL and agree with AustinMom. Their FD and hotel reports are easier than other msc.

Ooohh, walesmaven, that must be totally fun - I would LOVE to do something like that with either (preferably both) of my sisters! Have fun - and a couple of margaritas for us!

We sure will! Cheers!

Mystery Shopper Magazine published an article about this MSC in Issue 9. You can check it out here: [www.mysteryshoppermagazine.com]

beatlesfan1964 Wrote:
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> I have been working closely with a
> scheduler/editor on a pricing audit. She has been
> amazing! What a great company to work with. I
> don't think she ever sleeps. She answers my
> e-mails immediately or apologizes that she answers
> the next morning. This continues to be a top MSC
> in my book.


I know what you mean. I am so impressed with this MSC thus far. I have taken a lodging shop from them and had to make the reservation for the shop and the associate who picked up the phone asked if she could take my name and number and call me back as she was with a guest. She never did call back. I sent an email as to what happened as their guidelines seem exacting and I wanted to get it right. I asked if I was right in waiting to call back the next day and at 5:30 AM or so I got a reply on a Sunday morning! I am used to having to wing it with common sense if something is amiss with one of my shops over the weekend. Nice that they take shopper support seriously - the way I see it as they have the right to be exacting if they are providing me with shopper support.

Bay Wrote:
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> ACL keeps sending emails for a local extended stay
> hotel. They are paying a bonus so the pay is $15.
> This just doesn't seem like much for a shop that
> will take me all night plus however long the
> reprot takes. I don't get why they send me email
> after email on a hotel close to me. Staying there
> is of no benefit since I live here.
>
> But, I agree, their schedulers are nice and
> respond quickly. I just think they want too much
> for what they give for many shops.

If it's the same long term stay place, the bonus here in Phoenix is now $25. That $25 and a night away and the chance to live temporarily in 60F air (cranking the AC down as soon as I can) is worth it to me. But I can understand for other folks that YMMV.

I just took a last minute local extended stay one for $30. I wouldn't want to do a local one just for reimbursement, but I'm trying to build a good history with them so that I can see the nicer shops. It's also close enough that if I forget something, I can just run home and get it.

Lately in my area their "fine dining" shops include lots of medium priced dining where the meal is covered for $25-50 depending on lunch or dinner rather than $100 and up. I have done a few of these to try them out and find the reporting for some of them is just as long as for the $100+ dinners. Some of them say you can go alone on the shops and this is the only way it seems you can do them and stay within the $$ guidelines. I did one lunch with a $25 limit where my lunch alone with one glass of wine(required) and one of the smaller choices on the menu came to almost $18. I was hungry 2 hours later and still had a lengthy report to do, the same exact one required for a high end dinner. I plan to stick with the dinners (sometimes the same menu and same job but with a higher reimbursement allowance). But it is really job by job. I read each instructions and check menu prices before accepting a job.
The way I manage fine dining within the price allowed is, if I can, arrive for the bar part during happy hour thereby saving $4 or so on that drink requirement. If we would like to have more of the expensive wine I might just order a second one in the bar and carry it into the restaurant if allowed and then just order an inexpensive drink for the dining room drink. But mostly I just have water and allow my husband to drink all the drinks since I don't really care that much. Then, I check to see if soup qualifies for the appetizer requirement. These expensive places have appetizers that are over $12 where if allowed, a soup is only $5-6. For entrees, one cheap and one on the expensive side if you are with someone who will share means you each get to eat a half portion of the more desired one but stay under the reimbursement amount. I have noticed too in some places they have a very reasonable dessert of one scoop of sherbert or the like but it is not always on the online menu. Look for those cheap desserts. Sometimes they do not show you the menu but just bring over the tray where everything is $8 or more but the sherbert is often $3-4. I almost never order anything but the entree when I eat out on my own dollar so this does not bother me. After a good dinner I feel the dessert ruins the feeling...but i do like to taste it and take the rest home to enjoy at a later time.

sandyf Wrote:
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> After a good dinner I feel the dessert ruins the
> feeling...but i do like to taste it and take the
> rest home to enjoy at a later time.


Hopefully you don't do this with sherbert.

I did one shop for a-closer-look and will not do anymore. The report was ridiculous and so were the editors. Apparently, I was supposed to order 2 desserts, and I was supposed to taste my date's wine flights and appetizer! Really? Oh, and I didn't notice a rug at the host station. And, I had to describe the chat with the valet guys. And on it went until finally I just said that my report was as good as it gets from my part. The editor said that he had submitted it to the client but that it was incomplete. I figured that I wouldn't get paid, but I did. But, they used my 'work product' so really, they didn't have a choice. Another issue I have is that most of their restraunt shops don't have a shop fee, so all that intense report writing and being hassled by the editor for days has no value to them, I guess.