The (unofficial) Coyle Q&A thread
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@PasswordNotFound wrote:
Nice to know about AZ. I'm guessing that they're going to be willing to pay more travel on that then.
My point was that there are tons of restaurant shops in AZ and not enough shoppers, so it's a good change to get your foot in the door.
Fewer resort shops there, but I did have one in Scottsdale last month that offered enough travel for both me and my guest to fly there and back, including our Uber between the airport & resort.
To clarify, if the purpose of your trip is for anything other than the shop, it's not deductible FOR THAT SHOP. It doesn't mean you couldn't deduct it for another reason.@Tarantado wrote:
I don't see why traveling to a work-related conference would be an "iffy" business expense if the sole-purpose of the conference would be to furnish your skills, increase your network and better your relationships with schedulers all with the intent of advancing your mystery shopping business.
Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
The IRS does not make a distinction on if it is deductible for a particular shop or not. It is strictly either deductible or not deductible.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I hope I have put this question in the right place! I am just about to submit my first report for Coyle-it was an email reservation. I am not sure how to input the response times for the emails? The method listed is N, NN, :NN, N:NN, NN:NN, N:NN:NN. Does anyone know what this means?
Thanks
Thanks
@elizhd wrote:
The method listed is N, NN, :NN, N:NN, NN:NN, N:NN:NN. Does anyone know what this means?
That's probably a question for support.
I haven't seen that before, but would assume Hours : Minutes : Seconds
(edited for emojis appearing)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2016 07:33PM by SteveSoCal.
Thanks, that solved the problem for me
So I am returning to mystery shopping after an extended break. I probably haven't done anything for coyle in about 5 years, but prior to that I did hotels, restaurants, etc. I can't seem to get my credentials to work - did they move to a new site/platform? does anyone know if my old shopper history would be carried over with that?
They moved to the shopmetrics program.
coyle.shopmetrics.com
I have no clue about history. Someone else will have to answer that one.
coyle.shopmetrics.com
I have no clue about history. Someone else will have to answer that one.
There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind
At the moment only demons come to mind
I applied for a few assignments. They are no longer on listed under "My Applications" and I don't see them on the list of assigned shops for the specific client. Is that because I had applied for them and wasn't assigned them, so can't see them? Or were they "pulled" and are no longer available?
What gives?
TIA
What gives?
TIA
I think all of the login info from the old site was carried to the shopmetrics site, but it doesn't show your history from the previous site.
As far as not seeing assignments, it's my understanding that with Shopmetrics it will disappear once it been completed by another shopper, or removed from the system. I can't say for sure what happened to the assignments, but I believe all shoppers can see all assignments that are available.
As far as not seeing assignments, it's my understanding that with Shopmetrics it will disappear once it been completed by another shopper, or removed from the system. I can't say for sure what happened to the assignments, but I believe all shoppers can see all assignments that are available.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
As far as not seeing assignments, it's my understanding that with Shopmetrics it will disappear once it been completed by another shopper, or removed from the system. I can't say for sure what happened to the assignments, but I believe all shoppers can see all assignments that are available.
Thanks, Steve.
#GoodbyeMaldives
Sorry to hear that previous history was not carried over. It does explain a few things, though.
Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
As far as not seeing assignments, it's my understanding that with Shopmetrics it will disappear once it been completed by another shopper, or removed from the system. I can't say for sure what happened to the assignments, but I believe all shoppers can see all assignments that are available.
Follow up questions:
In your experience, what percentage of assignments are "removed from the system"?
What are some reasons why an assignment would be removed?
TIA
@Professional Guest wrote:
Q1: In your experience, what percentage of assignments are "removed from the system"?
Q2: What are some reasons why an assignment would be removed?
A1: I can't accurately state a percentage, since the number of available assignments and clients is constantly in flux, but it happens regularly.
A2: It's no different than any other mystery shop. Sometimes a client cancels the account. Sometimes they sell or remodel a location. Sometimes they have a management change and want to take a quarter off. Sometimes they realize that the expense of shopping a few particular outlets just isn't worth it. Since the client you are interested in still remains, but the location has been removed, I'm guessing it's one of the later options.
I had an assignment given to me for the Maldives last year (different client) and then cancelled after I had purchased the airfare. I also had a storage shop once cancelled and I received the email about it right when I pulled up in front of the location. In both instances, the MSC gave me a stipend for my time/costs, but obviously one was more expensive to wind out of than the other.
Thank you very, very much for your help. Your advice and information is invaluable. I think that sometimes, while this is not your intention, the information you give allows the company to lower their fees. For example, you stated how much easier the larger company limited hotel shops were and that the fee was a very good value, and voila, they lowered the fee for this round. While you are certainly not responsible, is it possible that your estimation and opinion gave them the "push" needed to pay even less?
I think fees are going down all around, not with just Coyle.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@LisaSTL wrote:
Really Steve? So full time shoppers are poor dolts who could never in their entire life frequent an upscale establishment, freak out if payment is a few days late and can't ask about or order wine?
That's not what I wrote, Lisa. You are bending my words to fit your argument.
There are plenty of examples on this forum of shoppers claiming that Coyle does not pay well, plenty of examples of shoppers being upset about payments being a few days behind for all companies and also plenty of people concerned about having a large charge on their credit cards. That's not all shoppers, but it is a good number of them.
I have also helped to answer questions many times from shoppers here who booked a fine dining job and were concerned about ordering wine. I'm just saying that non FT shoppers are often a better fit.
I am here giving advice to anyone who wants to get a foot in the door. I'm doing what I can to change the stereotype of full-time shoppers, but that stereotype exists for a reason. I have trained hundreds of shoppers over the phone and met dozens of them, and edited thousands of reports from them. My opinion is based on that experience.
(edit for typo)
Why would Coyle want someone who can't afford a overnight venture at Motel 6 staying at their clients luxury resorts? A few full-time shoppers I met live out of their RV and park in our local Catholic Church's lot to save on costs while showering at the YMCA or Public Swimming pool. Its a bad fit, Steve is not being harsh, he's trying to make people see the economic reality and match his client with a realistic shopper who can afford to stay there. There are shops based on demographics, this has nothing to do with insulting full-time shoppers. There are shoppers who are great shopping at Walmart and shoppers who have no problem buying a expensive pair of shoes because the luxury stores reflect their spending ability.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2016 06:51PM by GuyFawkes.
@helpmehelpyou wrote:
Q: is it possible that your estimation and opinion gave them the "push" needed to pay even less?
A: No.
I am under the impression that the person who sets the fee structure is neither a member of this forum, nor has much interest in what's written here. The shops pay less because they either scheduled very easy, or some extra money had to be moved over to accommodate bonuses on the hard-to-scedule ones....or the client dropped the fee structure.
While I have been called in to help decide shopper payments for projects in the past, It's been a while since my input was solicited. Since I have always pushed for higher payments to shoppers when asked, they stopped asking...
(edited for poor formatting)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/03/2016 10:41PM by SteveSoCal.
Thank you for looking out for all of us.
I have been registered with Coyle for months and have been unable to get any assignments. I applied for seven email and chat assignments several weeks ago and have yet to hear from Coyle although several applications have disappeared from my request list. I mentioned that I have successfully completed 75 shops in various industries. Any thoughts on why I am getting assignments and why I receive no communication from them? Thank you.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2016 09:07AM by sdbens2.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/04/2016 09:07AM by sdbens2.
That wasn't the question.@bgriffin wrote:
The IRS does not make a distinction on if it is deductible for a particular shop or not. It is strictly either deductible or not deductible.
Now scheduling travel shops for the day after Christmas through mid-January.
Did Coyle lose the fine dining clients in Las Vegas? There used to be quite a few posted every month. Now, there are none month after month, just 2-3 hotel shops on the outskirts of LV.
@ShopperFun99 wrote:
Q: Did Coyle lose the fine dining clients in Las Vegas? There used to be quite a few posted every month?
A: They have multiple clients with fine dining outlets there. I know one of the clients has gone more international and closed/sold some of it's restaurants, with a majority of them being in Vegas. Another one is shopped quarterly and I saw them posted somewhat recently, so I assume those shops will reappear next quarter.
Overall, clients come and clients go. There are some clients gone by the wayside that I miss dearly, but new ones are always cropping up as well. I tend to jump on the new clients quickly because you never know how long they will last. I've also shopped almost all of the existing clients generally don't repeat restaurants or hotels, so my only option is the new clients.
How many days should I make sure I'm available to answer questions after a report is submitted? I've been looking on their site and can't seem to find that answer. I submitted a report (my first for them) on Wednesday evening and tomorrow is my 10 year old & 2 year olds birthday parties so I'm sure I won't have my phone next me to me most of the day.
@luckygirl0100 wrote:
Q: How many days should I make sure I'm available to answer questions after a report is submitted?
A: I don't think they specify the number of days, but I know they like to have the reports to the client within a week.
It's almost never the next day that a report gets edited, and it really depends on how busy the editorial staff is. Last week I had a question on a hotel report that came 8 days after I checked out. That's the longest I ever waited with them to hear back about a hotel, but it was the end of the month and I'm guessing they were very busy.
That said, if you got a question on Sunday and answered Monday AM, I can't imagine that would be a problem.
I generally try to steer clear of taking assignments within a week of my traveling to somewhere where I will be away from email, except when I am traveling somewhere for Coyle, since that at least gives me a decent excuse for not being available quickly.
I have found that the editors are not very keep on doing the detective work to figure out where you may be, based on your assignments with them, which it seems would be an easy thing to check. If you give ma an assignment in Hong Kong on Saturday and Paris the following Monday, don't expect to be able to get a hold of me on Sunday. I'm on a 14-hour flight.....
Thank you. I'll check my email in the morning & before I go to bed (if I don't just drop from having 25 ten year olds in my pool all morning and my in laws here all afternoon!)
Gee, I have a good credit card limit and have stayed in much nicer hotels than they shop. Some better some not so much.
What does that have do with who is picked. honestly, as long as you look the part and fulfill the assignment it is just like any other shop.
That being said several times I have followed their example EXACTLY and the editor doesn't like something or wants something that was not included in the survey that they give you.
Biggest pet peeve is that they want a time for every sneeze and every time any small thing happens yet that is not in the example. I counted (for example) 8 times in example but then they wanted more like 20!
Ask for what you want and you will get it. Make your examples match what you REALLY want in narrative.
That being said my scores have been good. If I have hotels in the same city from other companies they are not my first choice.
What does that have do with who is picked. honestly, as long as you look the part and fulfill the assignment it is just like any other shop.
That being said several times I have followed their example EXACTLY and the editor doesn't like something or wants something that was not included in the survey that they give you.
Biggest pet peeve is that they want a time for every sneeze and every time any small thing happens yet that is not in the example. I counted (for example) 8 times in example but then they wanted more like 20!
Ask for what you want and you will get it. Make your examples match what you REALLY want in narrative.
That being said my scores have been good. If I have hotels in the same city from other companies they are not my first choice.
@LindaM wrote:
Q: Do you write out "ten" or use "10" in the narrative?
A: The rule is that you can use numbers for 10 or above, so "10" is correct, but the way examples are listed in the newly formatted resource center is unfortunately wrong:
[coyleapps.com]
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