This mystery shopping company really wants to keep the name of this restaurant a secret so that you can't look up the prices on the menu, before accepting the shop.

Famous Restaurant - (ahem) re-imbursed $10 for meal.

"COMMENTS: Dine out on us!!! We have some fun shops available for you!
This quick service restaurant is famous for delicious chicken made with Central American/Guatemalan spices and flavors."

either el pollo loco or pollo campero. More likely pollo campero as I think pollo loco is mexican style

Hmmm.

If I Google "chicken made with Central American/Guatemalan spices and flavors" I come up with a small chain of restaurants - are they in your area?

MS companies aren't the most creative bunch; my money would be on Sertinos.I bet the scheduler just copied and pasted this phrase from the chain.

Lemme know which one it turns out to be.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/31/2012 11:46PM by MissyH71.

MissyH71 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hmmm.
>
> If I Google "chicken made with Central
> American/Guatemalan spices and flavors" I come up
> with a small chain of restaurants - are they in
> your area?
>
> Lemme know which one it turns out to be.


How clever of you to google the phrase Missy.

Meanwhile it cant be any of those 3 mentioned above cause we dont have them around here... although I'm not sure about Pollo loco

We have Pollo Tropical but I've never heard it referred to as Guatemalan and
Central America.

Mmm, Pollo Loco. I believe that was the name of the restaurant near the cruise line offices where I used to work in Coral Gables (Miami). Now I'm craving Arroz con Pollo because you don't get good Hispanic cuisine around here. No Pollo anything in my neck of the woods. It makes me think I need to learn to cook it but who am I kidding? Every time I try a new recipe, I'm ready to scream for being so stupid. I like the idea of cooking more than the act itself. It's the end product I love. My standard fare feeds my family and we've managed to survive all these years.

I wonder how many of us are now craving some excellent Central American food?

Yummmmm....


... but I just started the @#$$!!! South Beach Diet.

So instead of running out to Pollo Loco (there's one a few miles away) I will just Pinterest a bunch of good recipes.

Yummmmm.

You've peaked my curiosity and aroused my taste buds.

I got the same e-mail. The shops are located in iffy neighborhoods with lousy parking but I'm even more uptight about restaurant reports. Wish I could get a preview of number of questions, narratives etc..

marijaldm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You've peaked my curiosity and aroused my taste
> buds.
>
> I got the same e-mail. The shops are located in
> iffy neighborhoods with lousy parking but I'm even
> more uptight about restaurant reports. Wish I
> could get a preview of number of questions,
> narratives etc..

Hi Marij,

How did you find out they're in iffy neighborhoods?
Me too - about the questions and narratives...very sneaky of the MSC - big secrets. Another MSC did that to me once. I accepted and once I saw the survey for half the money but twice the amount of questions, I canceled and haven't taken another shop from them ever since. The scheduler demanded to know how I found out how many questions there were ! Purposely was keeping it a secret.Really......shame on them.

Actually I answered a previous email for a restaurant plus bonus. I had the name of the restaurant and looked up the menu online. MSC specified what you had to order for two. With cheapest possible appetizers and entrees, (fugeddabout the drinks), it would come to more than the entire re-imburse and bonus. Not a restaurant I'd normally drive to or go out of my way for. What is the point of calling it "a bonus" when what they demand you order comes to more than the re-imburse plus bonus? Just plain sneaky. I'm with you. Don't think I'll be taking these restaurants unless they're going to be straight forward about name, where, how much, and how many questions in survey. Nope.

Totally annoys me that they will not give you the name of the restaurant so that you can make a reasonable decision. What is the point? Anyway the only one I know Is Pollo Loco out of S Miami. Good fast food,

How do you know the neighborhoods are iffy? Did they give an address but not the name of the restaurant? I frequently google the address and the restaurant name comes up.

If a MS company won't tell me the name of the restaurant, I am not signing up for it...usually, on a restaurant shop the reimbursement is the only "pay." I'm not agreeing to shop it, unless I want to eat there.

AustinMom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How do you know the neighborhoods are iffy? Did
> they give an address but not the name of the
> restaurant? I frequently google the address and
> the restaurant name comes up.


Exactly. And the only reason I can name the restaurant in this thread is precisely because of that. They're not directly in my area, but I'm close enough to get the emails.

It's Pollo Campero here in Calif.

There are complete towns in NJ that are iffy, such as three of the four locations that have the Caribbean chicken restaurant shop.

To please my curious taste buds, I applied to go ie. day time only. I have not been accepted.

I shop them in the Boston area. Great lunch shops, Food is delicious and very high quality for a fast food joint. The reports are easy and get paid in a reasonable time frame.

I did a pollo campero today. I think I stood out as the MS...I was the only one not speaking spanish when ordering. lol

Is Pollo Tropical ever shopped ?

Yes Pollo Tropical is shopped though not in my area. The MSC who shops PT requires that shoppers sit for a test before applying for assignments but even after I passed the test 100% none in my area ever showed up.

sportofficial Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes Pollo Tropical is shopped though not in my
> area. The MSC who shops PT requires that shoppers
> sit for a test before applying for assignments but
> even after I passed the test 100% none in my area
> ever showed up.


Yeah that is what many of them do. Take the test, spend your time and maybe sometime in this decade, something will be available.

I know this one, its good, but I didn't get it, they go fast here.

It's Pollo Compero in NJ also!

Good crispy chicken and great yucca fries! The staff was bilingual. The radio played Latin music with English commercials.The server called me "mommy". I had fun and that's what counts!....and the report was not awful & that also counts.

I did one of these while on vacation driving through to the Keys! The area was sketchy and I stood way out not speaking Spanish. It's been too long since I was in Miami. Yipes.

Really there's a sketchy area in the Keys. Your are just lucky to be there so I am not worrying. Say hello to the sunset for me.

marijaldm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's Pollo Compero in NJ also!
>
> Good crispy chicken and great yucca fries! The
> staff was bilingual. The radio played Latin music
> with English commercials.The server called me
> "mommy". I had fun and that's what counts!....and
> the report was not awful & that also counts.

Actually, the server called you mami!

karen

>>>The server called me "mommy". <<<

I think that must be a great compliment - a little familiar, but a compliment anyway. They dont "Mommy" like you call your mother.

Big difference between mommy and mami! Googled mami and it's Spanish slang for baby or sexy

Thank you all, never knew how to spell or pronounce it. Now I know it's:
sexy- S E X Y- sexy.

No wonder I liked the atmosphere!

Riding down the street today and I saw a Chipolte or is it Chipotle ?

Could it be that one?