What shops do you see on ACL?

November 18, 2015 07:59PM

I've learned through this forum that ACL has a hidden hierarchy for its shoppers.

Anyone want to compare what types of offerings we have to gain some insight on your standing? Below are mine without breaking the rules by giving the names away.

Offerings in my immediate area - Santa Barbara, CA:
- Large fast casual pizza chain
- Sit-down gourmet-ish burger and booze restaurant
- Sit-down restaurant known for its pizzas, but other offerings available too
- Chicago-style pizza chain

Offerings in Los Angeles and San Diego,CA:
- Hot dog chain
- Casual sit-down farm to table/homestyle meals with salad or steak
- Farm to table style sandwiches and salads
- Kids' play zone with pizza
- Sports bar and restaurant - multiple different ones
- Chain with wine bar and grill, offers lighter dishes

I'm not a big pizza lover, so I don't shop my immediate area very often. Also, I've done 5 shops total.

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2015 09:04PM by gojiberry.

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November 18, 2015 08:05PM

I can see:
high end hotels
limited-service hotels
miscellaneous retail
quick service restaurants
high-end restaurants ($150+ reimbursement)

I see these kinds of shops in a variety of regions but they are all available within 100 miles from my home in South Carolina.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2015 08:47PM by elynbeth.

November 18, 2015 08:21PM

I can see restaurants in the $50-75 range but not very many. I did my first shop with them recently and it hasn't been approved yet.

November 18, 2015 08:34PM

It would be more helpful of shoppers include their shopping area. Also, are you referring to this month or next?

November 18, 2015 09:06PM

@LindaM The shops I shared are for this month and I updated the original post so you can see my regions!

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

November 18, 2015 09:08PM

@elynbeth I would love to see hotels. Have you performed any before?

I wonder if anyone else in California sees hotels?

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

November 18, 2015 09:21PM

I've completed two assignments for ACL so I wouldn't expect to see much variety yet. I'm in Oregon, but for comparison's sake, in Santa Barbara right now I see two pizza chains and a decent-looking burger restaurant. That's all. In South Carolina, I see a slew of restaurants I've never heard of, a bar, two hotel shops that look to be mid-range, a handyman, a retail shop, and a "lifestyle" shop. What the heck?--oh, I guess that's a senior living community. I'm pretty sure we just call those retirement centers round these parts.

We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.

--W. H. Auden

November 18, 2015 09:30PM

@gojiberry wrote:

@elynbeth I would love to see hotels. Have you performed any before?

I wonder if anyone else in California sees hotels?

The majority of shops I complete for ACL are hotels. I find them very straightforward with clear instructions and reasonable requirements. I have stuck to the mid-range hotels so far just for convenience and what has been available where I am going. However, I'm looking and booking some higher end ones with them in a nearby large city soon. I don't know what your experience level is with hotel shops, of course. I have pretty extensive experience with incredibly detailed reports (I just turned one in this morning that had 45 pages of narrative.) So, the ACL hotel shops are a walk in the park for me and a great way to rack up loyalty points at hotels.

Oh, and I do see hotels on the board in California. All are booked right now for the end of November. None in December but I think that is because shops haven't been released yet.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2015 09:33PM by elynbeth.

November 18, 2015 09:44PM

Oh wow, when I change my location to South Carolina I actuallly see two hotels! @elynbeth The shops in your area look like such fun!

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

November 18, 2015 09:45PM

@Alter_Ego I tried looking at SC too and I see the same shops!

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

November 18, 2015 09:50PM

The ones I am seeing are in Western WA and British Columbia.

November 18, 2015 09:57PM

I've only done two shops for them, but I see everything from pizza to high end hotels depending where I look. I have searched areas I am familiar with in Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

November 18, 2015 09:57PM

Casual pizza place X10000

November 18, 2015 09:59PM

When I put in CA w/o putting in a City I see that loud game place young kids like to go to. I also see that pizza chain with a state's name in it and a couple other pizza places. I have both the loud game place and that pizza with a state's name in my area but i never see those two shopped by ACL in my area. Maybe different franchise owners? I have only done one shop for ACL it was a jewelry store. There is another thread about ACL not paying a fee for the restaurant shops and sometimes no covering the full amount so I have yet to do restaurants for them when there are quite a few other MSCs that do actually pay a fee and the reimbursements are high enough to cover the whole meal.

November 18, 2015 10:23PM

@aayaey I've seen the jewelry shop too, though I've never done it.

The restaurant shops don't fill up in my area, so there is often a bonus. I got at least $10 extra on one of those pizza shops, and it was an online order. I ordered the pizza for lunch and a salad, which I ate for dinner.

All of my restaurants shops have been completely comped. It's never been a problem and I have a lot of discretion of what to order.

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2015 10:23PM by gojiberry.

November 18, 2015 10:46PM

I'm in southern Kentucky and ACL hasn't posted any December shops within a 50-mile radius of me.

November 18, 2015 10:49PM

@DareWright wrote:

I'm in southern Kentucky and ACL hasn't posted any December shops within a 50-mile radius of me.

I'm pretty sure the December shops aren't out yet. They state on the front page of the site when to expect the shops but I find that it is usually later in that range of dates they state.

November 18, 2015 11:19PM

I have seen only a couple of December shops already posted in Los Angeles. There are none in my region either.

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

November 19, 2015 01:13AM

I've shopped for ACL in Minnesota (I lived there) and in Southern California (now I live here). The selection of shops in SoCal is very different from Minnesota, but I see exactly the same ones you do here in SoCal. They had high end restaurants in the Twin cities area and got regular shops with them. Now not so many since they're not as attractive except for a few.

November 19, 2015 03:34AM

I see several hotels in California when I click to see the entire state. Most of them seem to be in Northern California with an occasional one down here in LA or Orange County. The one nearby my house seems to be taken quickly. The others are too far to do unless I want it as a vacation trip since there is no fee.

November 19, 2015 05:43AM

I like this thread idea =)

In MA, I see 11 shops posted for December. If anyone sees more, let me know please! =)

November 19, 2015 06:31AM

I didn't feel like cooking tonight, so I went to ACL and sure enough, they had a restaurant that had 1 1/4 lb Maine lobster as the dinner special. My guest ordered a steak. Surf and Turf was better than the ground beef I tossed into the freezer that I would have cooked.

Hamburger Helper or Surf and Turf. That was a tough decision.

From the time I clicked on self assign to arriving at the restaurant was only 1 1/2 hours. I'm sure a scheduler was smiling when I picked up this last minute shop, as it was lingering on the board due to it being within spitting distance of Disney World.

I'm not going to describe what jobs I have access to, but I don't think they are holding anything back from me. I have a reservation for a $180 reimbursement dining shop scheduled for my next job.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2015 06:36AM by scanman1.

November 19, 2015 05:03PM

@scanman1 That shop sounds amazing! I wish... I am in a similar boat for tonight. It's either leftover gumbo (which I've been eatinf the whole week) or a steak at an ACL client.

Shopping Santa Barbara and Goleta, CA.

November 19, 2015 05:07PM

For the entire state of MA with no cities listed. I see 47 for Nov. and 13 for Dec. with most taken only 4 available at the same beer establishment.

@LindaM wrote:

I like this thread idea =)

In MA, I see 11 shops posted for December. If anyone sees more, let me know please! =)

November 19, 2015 06:37PM

This is actually really encouraging! I started shopping in September and I'm having a blast! I would like to find more fine dining shops, since I love trying new foods. In my area, southern IN, there's a lot of pizza shops on ACL, but not much else. I guess I ought to pick up a couple so I can get the other shops from ACL!

November 19, 2015 07:36PM

I don't think ACL hides shops from anyone based on their "experience". I was able to see high end restaurant shops from them as soon as I signed up. If they have an issue with scheduling you (rotation, not enough experience), the shop will say that you can't be scheduled but you can still apply. It really has to do more wiht the geographic location of their clients.

November 19, 2015 08:32PM

In MA, I see 56 for November and 39 for December. Of course they are in the process of adding shops for December, so that number keeps changing.

November 20, 2015 12:19AM

Well, now, it's over 100

@aayaey wrote:

For the entire state of MA with no cities listed. I see 47 for Nov. and 13 for Dec. with most taken only 4 available at the same beer establishment.

@LindaM wrote:

I like this thread idea =)

In MA, I see 11 shops posted for December. If anyone sees more, let me know please! =)

November 20, 2015 04:53AM

Pizza, pizza, and pizza. Did I mention pizza?

November 20, 2015 05:23AM

I like pizza. In fact there was a shop sitting on ACL for a while that I was very sad about. Pizza delivery for a nice looking place whose delivery area ended about a mile from my place.

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