This a good place to start reading. To be able to record freely you need to be in a one-party consent state unless you or perhaps an employer has obtained the permission of the other party. [www.dmlp.org] Here is another: [www.detectiveservices.com]

@hopey wrote:

How do you know if you're in a state you can audio record in?

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@JasonHunter79 wrote:

When you visited them was the political instability starting to build up?

Actually, the very first time I landed in The Maldives was the day after president Nasheed was forced to resign in a coup d'état back in 2012...so that was a little more than just starting to build up.

Ahh!! The memories - "how can I have been so unfortunate to have scored a trip to the Maldives and now there is a coup!" For what it is worth - I second Steve's advice to take the assignment in the Maldives (there actually have been four different properties offered up as opportunities in the Maldives) if at all possible. I have either done, or been the guest of the person who was doing, each of the properties and they are all amazing. But the ones that are currently up for grabs are my two most favorite of all time (anywhere, bar none). I'm now waiting for the Seychelles...

@MickeyB wrote:

Ahh!! The memories - For what it is worth - I second Steve's advice to take the assignment in the Maldives (there actually have been four different properties offered up as opportunities in the Maldives) if at all possible. I have either done, or been the guest of the person who was doing, each of the properties and they are all amazing. But the ones that are currently up for grabs are my two most favorite of all time (anywhere, bar none). I'm now waiting for the Seychelles...

Mickey, Steve - How did you handle the seaplane transfer(s)? Was that included with your accommodations? Did the client take care of it? Because at $590.00pp, it's a significant expenditure.

@PasswordNotFound wrote:

I think it depends upon where you live and where you're willing to travel, Elyn. I'm guessing that if you're anywhere near Steve, you have zero chance. However, there are some shops sitting on their boards that are getting close to expiration. I would suggest finding one that is close enough to you (or cheap enough to stay under the travel reimbursement) and then applying, following it up with an email to the scheduler explaining what you just said. Good luck!

Assuming that SoCalSteve is in Southern California, we have different territory I'm on the East Coast in the Southeast. I'm not sure I can even tell how to identify who the scheduler is for any particular shop in order to email them. But, I'll try to figure that out next time I apply.

@Professional Guest wrote:

@MickeyB wrote:

Ahh!! The memories - For what it is worth - I second Steve's advice to take the assignment in the Maldives (there actually have been four different properties offered up as opportunities in the Maldives) if at all possible. I have either done, or been the guest of the person who was doing, each of the properties and they are all amazing. But the ones that are currently up for grabs are my two most favorite of all time (anywhere, bar none). I'm now waiting for the Seychelles...

Mickey, Steve - How did you handle the seaplane transfer(s)? Was that included with your accommodations? Did the client take care of it? Because at $590.00pp, it's a significant expenditure.

I have been to the Maldives twice. The first time was as Steve's guest. If I remember correctly - the transfers were paid (for both of us) under his evaluation. I know I didn't pay for it, and I am not certainly not Steve's GF, so I am pretty sure he wouldn't pay for me. When he did his evaluation, I was finishing up my own (in a different area of the world) and so I was pretty busy with writing - but we got all of our meals and he got a spa treatment (I think I did too now that I think about it)... but we wanted for nothing. The second time I went, I took my BF (non-shopper) and we did three different assignments - two were food and beverage only and one was a full hotel. I negotiated and received full sea plane travels as part of the assignment for each property that I was assigned. This was for both me and my BF. Not sure if it has changed. Obviously the sea plan transfers are significant (they are $600 per person) and that is on top of just getting to Male. I think even paying those - at least for one resort (not for three in one trip - silly) is worth it though...

Thanks for the info, Mickey. Much appreciated. Will cross my fingers for you and the Seychelles.

In all instances for the Maldives, everything was covered from the time we reached the airport in Male. If you are doing the full hotel evaluation or the restaurants only, there is an expectation that you will write a narrative about the arrival and departure process in lieu of paying for the transfers, however. Same with the meals that aren't evaluated. They will cover them but you are expected to provide a short write-up on the service and food.

Not all hotels have that policy, but it seems to be standard in the Maldives. I negotiated for the transfers in Nevis + all of the hotels in China and the managers were okay with it at the time, but the manager in Lankgawi was a pretty hard negotiator. He ended up covering cab fare to/from the resort (Which is about $6 US each way) and let me tell you that cabs in Malaysia are not up to US standards....and they don't have Uber there.

I woud have been happy to pay the $12 on my own because the resort was awesome, though.

...and now a word of warning:

If you are looking at doing a crazy far off destination like these, make sure that the guest you bring is awesome and can help out (MickeyB is an awesome guest, BTW). The travel, cuisine and stress of the trip can often leave you incapacitated, and you will need a guest that can "pinch-hit" for you. Both Mickey and I were out of commission for at east a day under some type of gastronomic distress when we were traveling together. Luckily it was at different times. It was really comforting to know that I could tap out in the middle of a meal and she could take over the reporting when I had to run back to the hotel room and roll around in pain for a few hours. For the rest of the trip, I wasn't sure if my stomach still hurt from the food or from us laughing about it.

Thanks, Steve. Your and Mickey's insight has been very informative and helpful. I appreciate your generosity.

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the insight. So to get to Mali, were you able to get any travel reimbursement to get there?

@SteveSoCal wrote:

In all instances for the Maldives, everything was covered from the time we reached the airport in Male. If you are doing the full hotel evaluation or the restaurants only, there is an expectation that you will write a narrative about the arrival and departure process in lieu of paying for the transfers, however. Same with the meals that aren't evaluated. They will cover them but you are expected to provide a short write-up on the service and food.

Not all hotels have that policy, but it seems to be standard in the Maldives. I negotiated for the transfers in Nevis + all of the hotels in China and the managers were okay with it at the time, but the manager in Lankgawi was a pretty hard negotiator. He ended up covering cab fare to/from the resort (Which is about $6 US each way) and let me tell you that cabs in Malaysia are not up to US standards....and they don't have Uber there.

I woud have been happy to pay the $12 on my own because the resort was awesome, though.

...and now a word of warning:

If you are looking at doing a crazy far off destination like these, make sure that the guest you bring is awesome and can help out (MickeyB is an awesome guest, BTW). The travel, cuisine and stress of the trip can often leave you incapacitated, and you will need a guest that can "pinch-hit" for you. Both Mickey and I were out of commission for at east a day under some type of gastronomic distress when we were traveling together. Luckily it was at different times. It was really comforting to know that I could tap out in the middle of a meal and she could take over the reporting when I had to run back to the hotel room and roll around in pain for a few hours. For the rest of the trip, I wasn't sure if my stomach still hurt from the food or from us laughing about it.

All of the trips that I have taken there had some travel reimbursement included. It wasn't enough to get there, but helped. I'm not going to go into the details or exact amounts here, but there was an article I wrote which was published by Jacob that discussed the specifics of me getting the finances to make the trip happen.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I've been holding out on the Bora Bora assignment, actually. Waiting 'till I had the frequent flyer miles for 2 first-class tickets there and back. I guess that's my new pick-up line...

I've thought about applying for a Bora Bora assignment but despite the fact that I'm a little over half the distance away compared to evaluators on the mainland, I'd be at a distinct bidding disadvantage as the direct flight between HNL and PPT only runs once a week.

Has anybody done one of Coyle's apartment shops? If so how are they? There are many in my area and I am thinking about applying to some to build up a reputation with Coyle so that I can get other shops. I don't do many dining shops as I lack a reliable partner.

Hi guys,
Has anyone noticed hotel shops posted in India by Coyle. I used to do a few of them years of ago but not any recently. Have they given up on hotel clients in India. They seem to have two portals one called the shopmetrics and the other the regular Coyle hospitality portal. My login on the once active( later) is no more in use, however I am able to log in to the shopmetric portal and most there are only restaurant shops. I am more of stay oriented person than just eating out. Anyone can out there to help ... waiting for your suggestions.

@sureshsurveys wrote:

Hi guys,
Has anyone noticed hotel shops posted in India by Coyle. I used to do a few of them years of ago but not any recently. Have they given up on hotel clients in India. They seem to have two portals one called the shopmetrics and the other the regular Coyle hospitality portal. My login on the once active( later) is no more in use, however I am able to log in to the shopmetric portal and most there are only restaurant shops. I am more of stay oriented person than just eating out. Anyone can out there to help ... waiting for your suggestions.

They still offer assignments in India, as early as last year, and the year before that for a luxury brand with properties in Mumbai, Chennai, Agra, Bangalore, Calicut, Cochin, Hyderabad and New Delhi, if memory serves me correctly. None posted this year - yet.

I'll be honest; I'm always rather shocked at how Coyle low-balls for travel reimbursements. I, for instance, got an email today asking for me to go to a couple's resort in the Dominican Republic before easter (I turned it down because my girlfriend was uncomfortable with one of the provisions of the trip) and they were only giving about $300 round trip, which is really pushing it for such a shop that requires two guests and is on such short notice. I've always been curious how they come up with these numbers.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/16/2016 06:55AM by Misanthrope.

I don't think anyone is intentionally trying to make it difficult for the evaluators, but it's a balance between the client requests and how desirable the assignments are...and to be fair, that assignment has been on the board for weeks. They only sent the email out because they didn't have any qualified applicants. if my schedule was open this week, I would have taken that one when it was posted and you never would have seen the email.

While I certainly can't purchase 2 standard tickets to the DR for $300, I could use air miles earned on other assignments and apply the $300 to the airlines taxes/fees, plus transportation to/from the resort and probably break even. The resort in question is all-inclusive and he assignment itself seems pretty simple, so it's a good value for what you get out of it. To me, it would be worth burning some air miles. If it was an assignment where I was working the whole time I was there or had to pay for food & drinks, I would want a higher reimbursement. If you live in a cold climate, an investment in some flights for a 3 night all-inclusive tropical vacation with minimal reporting would be a good deal.

Now, if they told the client it would be $1,000 travel to get a couple there, there may be no opportunity at all. I am happy they at least give us these opportunities and we always have the option to decline.

The bigger issue is probably your girlfriend's discomfort with the assignment, which I find interesting because my girlfriend was gung-ho to take the assignment, and we are nowhere close to considering marriage (the assignment is to pose as a couple planning a wedding). I find that so much more comfortable than posing as a married couple considering the purchase of a timeshare (which we have done many times).

I guess it also depends on where you are at in your relationship and in MSing experience together. The first time we checked into a high-end resort and the staff referred to my girlfriend as, "Mrs. [SteveSoCal]," she was freaked out, but then got used to it over time. She now likes the spy aspect of pretending to be something that we are not.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I guess it also depends on where you are at in your relationship and in MSing experience together. The first time we checked into a high-end resort and the staff referred to my girlfriend as, "Mrs. [SteveSoCal]," she was freaked out, but then got used to it over time. She now likes the spy aspect of pretending to be something that we are not.

Yeah, we haven't been together long enough for that to even be on the table. We also had the whole luxury hotel thing where they referred to her as "Mrs. Misanthrope" and she, too, freaked out... but that happened only a few months ago.

Right now she's content to stick to fancy dinners in New York and the occasional hotel within the city

She does realize it's just pretend right?

@Misanthrope wrote:

Right now she's content to stick to fancy dinners in New York and the occasional hotel within the city

Give it time...and on an entertaining note, when a bellman used my last name on my GF recently during check-in, she looked him square in the eye and said, "I'm his mistress, not his wife!" Nobody at the hotel called her by last name for the rest of the stay....

Did this go in the report?

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I guess it also depends on where you are at in your relationship and in MSing experience together. The first time we checked into a high-end resort and the staff referred to my girlfriend as, "Mrs. [SteveSoCal]," she was freaked out, but then got used to it over time. She now likes the spy aspect of pretending to be something that we are not.

I kept my last name when I got married, so my husband gets my last name all the time on shops. He doesn't care at all. This last weekend I took a friend on a hotel assignment because my husband couldn't go, and he got the Mr. Elynbeth treatment as well. We realized that since we were both wearing wedding rings, it was a pretty fair assumption to make.

@elynbeth wrote:

He doesn't care at all.

But your husband being mistaken as your husband, only with a different name, is a totally different issue.

@LisaSTL wrote:

She does realize it's just pretend right?

I have to say, in the least sexist tone than one can possibly imagine; It's confusing for many of the girlfriends I have brought to honeymoon locations, even when they knew it was pretend. When I brought people that were just plutonic friends or other mystery shoppers, it was never an issue.

The girlfriends get caught up in hearing everyone else's stories about their weddings, and people telling us what a cute couple we are, and the room service, and the champagne, and it gets them thinking about it too much.

It's the same principle that can ruin a perfectly good relationship if you take your significant other to a wedding early on and then end up in the conversation about when you might be ready for that.

I think the shop in question is a hard assignment to find the right match for because you want a couple that's not married, but will seem like a real couple, and not have issues with the concept of marriage being discussed at a romantic destination.

Because women always romanticize weddings and marriage? Not all of us do you know.

I think that men can get caught up in all that, too. Really depends on the person.

Women are more brainwashed by society to want to get married. Funny thing is that divorced men are more likely to remarry quicker, so it seems their needs are better met in marriage.

@LisaSTL wrote:

Because women always romanticize weddings and marriage? Not all of us do you know.

Please see above where I specifically stated that my intent was NOT to be sexist. I'm just reporting on my particular experience with women whom I was romantically involved with and took on assignments. I can't speak as to how men would react (outside of own reaction) in a similar situation...and my reaction is not standard, since I'm the shopper and have done this many many times before.

It is also a stereotype for men to woo women before proposing by taking them on a romantic vacation. I don't think there are a lot of men who have those same expectations from a woman whom they are dating. It may also be related to the choices I make in my dating life, and I don't think it is indicative of ALL women in any way, but as was said to me by the person whom I most recently took to the Maldives (not Mikey, even after I was very careful to explain that it was just pretend, "You just don't take a girl on a trip like that and not propose at the end of it!"

You'll have to excuse the double-negative in her quote. It came out in the midst of a somewhat heated discussion....hence my recommendation for Misanthrope to take his time.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The girlfriends get caught up in hearing everyone else's stories about their weddings, and people telling us what a cute couple we are, and the room service, and the champagne, and it gets them thinking about it too much.

Dear, God.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

"You just don't take a girl on a trip like that and not propose at the end of it!"
.

Again, dear, God.

@Professional Guest wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

The girlfriends get caught up in hearing everyone else's stories about their weddings, and people telling us what a cute couple we are, and the room service, and the champagne, and it gets them thinking about it too much.

Dear, God.

I can one up that; before I grew facial hair my girlfriend and I were always mistaken for a lesbian couple. I had plenty of people remarking about recent politics and legalization or fights against it around us.


It's not my fault my ass looks so good in heels.

I finished my first Coyle shop today, a phone enquiry. I have yet to see any grade of course, but I found it easy to perform! It took about one hour and that included checking things over many times. I only realize now though that I didn't revise any of my contractions! :O

Brainwashed into marriage? Wow. Cynical. Marriage is the best thing possible when it's done right. Very sad for those of you who have been brainwashed into thinking it is a burden.