The (unofficial) Coyle Q&A thread
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@JASFLALMT wrote:
I was just reading in the resource center that an average full service 2-night stay report should take about 6 hours. Mine's more like 15, LOL. Am I giving them too much detail or am I just slow because I am so new with them? I have a great typing speed, it's not like a hunt and peck.
I'm in your boat.
I feel that I have a duty and obligation to provide insights that they might not be aware of without my report.
www.mysteryshopforum.com/read/2/559038/559893#msg-559893
Steve:
What an amazing thread. Thank you so much for your invaluable insight. I especially want to thank you for pointing out that Arizona needs shoppers. I travel there a couple of times per year, so I will definitely look out for that.
Once again, you are such an awesome help on this forum, even to us long-time shoppers!
What an amazing thread. Thank you so much for your invaluable insight. I especially want to thank you for pointing out that Arizona needs shoppers. I travel there a couple of times per year, so I will definitely look out for that.
Once again, you are such an awesome help on this forum, even to us long-time shoppers!
The 6 hour quote from the resource center is outdated as far as I'm concerned. I used to be able to do a medium-service 2 night stay in 8 hours, but then the writing requirements changed, and then it moved to Shopmetrics.
I'm lucky to get one done in within 12-hours now. If you did 15 hours as a newbie I think you are doing fine.
I also think Linda is correct. It may be midnight the day after check-out. It's been so long since I turned in a hotel report on time I can't recall
I'm lucky to get one done in within 12-hours now. If you did 15 hours as a newbie I think you are doing fine.
I also think Linda is correct. It may be midnight the day after check-out. It's been so long since I turned in a hotel report on time I can't recall
@SteveSoCal wrote:
The 6 hour quote from the resource center is outdated as far as I'm concerned. I used to be able to do a medium-service 2 night stay in 8 hours, but then the writing requirements changed, and then it moved to Shopmetrics.
I'm lucky to get one done in within 12-hours now. It's been so long since I turned in a hotel report on time I can't recall
Okay - WHEW! That makes me feel better. Thanks for your candor, Steve.
When doing back to back to back hotels, it's almost a super-human feat to submit them all in time. I've done it. Once.
I have done 5 hotels back-to back before. Super-human would be a good choice of words to describe the workload. I continually got further behind throughout the week until my last report was turned in about 6 days after checking out.
I did a round of 6 hotels with an awesome shopping partner where we traded off being the one reporting. That was easier. I have also split hotels with that same evaluator and the experience was even better. I think sharing the workload with someone equally qualified is the best approach to taking on multiple properties.
I did a round of 6 hotels with an awesome shopping partner where we traded off being the one reporting. That was easier. I have also split hotels with that same evaluator and the experience was even better. I think sharing the workload with someone equally qualified is the best approach to taking on multiple properties.
@SteveSoCal wrote:
I have done 5 hotels back-to back before. Super-human would be a good choice of words to describe the workload. I continually got further behind throughout the week until my last report was turned in about 6 days after checking out.
I did a round of 6 hotels with an awesome shopping partner where we traded off being the one reporting. That was easier. I have also split hotels with that same evaluator and the experience was even better. I think sharing the workload with someone equally qualified is the best approach to taking on multiple properties.
Way to go Mickey B.!
@Professional Guest wrote:
Way to go Mickey B.!
Yes, she's WAY more focused than me when it comes to reporting. I think she emailed me her half of the reports on her flight home and I didn't get the rest finished until 2 days later....but I had a cold and was trying to bake it away on the beach for much of that trip...
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@Professional Guest wrote:
Way to go Mickey B.!
Yes, she's WAY more focused than me when it comes to reporting. I think she emailed me her half of the reports on her flight home and I didn't get the rest finished until 2 days later....but I had a cold and was trying to bake it away on the beach for much of that trip...
If it was the Maldives trip, yeah, I would try to bake whatever away on the beach, too.
In all seriousness, many of my assignments are international, so by the time I check into the property, I need a nap to recover from the grueling travel. And with international travel and clearing customs, that cuts into the time I have to report after checking out.
Edit: Had to add "would".
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/29/2017 04:21AM by Professional Guest.
Has anyone received a 1099 from them yet?
@LindaM wrote:
Has anyone received a 1099 from them yet?
Not yet. Expect them to come on the last possible day. I think they just have to mailed out by tomorrow....right?
@SteveSoCal wrote:
@LindaM wrote:
Has anyone received a 1099 from them yet?
Not yet. Expect them to come on the last possible day. I think they just have to mailed out by tomorrow....right?
Correct, must be postmarked by 1/31.
Shopping central Arizona.
They were totally cool and did not ding me for being seven hours late on my third survey, YAY! I got another 95.56% on the third one. I am so happy!
@SteveSoCal wrote:
I have done 5 hotels back-to back before. Super-human would be a good choice of words to describe the workload. I continually got further behind throughout the week until my last report was turned in about 6 days after checking out.
I did a round of 6 hotels with an awesome shopping partner where we traded off being the one reporting. That was easier. I have also split hotels with that same evaluator and the experience was even better. I think sharing the workload with someone equally qualified is the best approach to taking on multiple properties.
That six hotel trip was the BEST! Still goes down for me as epic. It wasn't too bad at all. We had plenty of time to see the sites we wanted to see, we both had downtime when we got sick (you go to India, you get sick!) - and we had each other. This was the trip when Steve became one of my closest friends. I miss you buddy... when we going to do another one of these?
So 15 hours for a $100 shop? What I see on the Coyle site is always $100 for the hotel shop, so am I missing something? Is there a different fee? Also, from what I've read it sounds like the charges are reversed so do you actually get hotel points for the stay? If the charges are reversed it means no credit card points either. Please enlighten me why ppl like hotel shops? Are there other MSC that don't reverse charges so you can keep hotel points or credit card points?
My understanding is that the people who love to do the fine dining, hotels and resorts use them for life-style enhancement, not monetary profit. I've done a few for Coyle, but it's not my thing. It takes me too long to do the reports...way too much work for my frazzled brain, but they do have some great clients. Maybe someday
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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..
Mark Twain
You almost always keep the hotel points, often get $$ for travel and are usually fed throughout the hotel stay. Most of the hotels I review are out-of-state at luxurious locations.
The $100 fee is icing on the cake because I take the shops fort the experience, not the money.
The $100 fee is icing on the cake because I take the shops fort the experience, not the money.
@aayaey, I agree its not "worth the money/time", but most of us don't do it for the money. I do it for a "free" hotel stay and to see a new city. The $50-$100 can help cover the cost of gas, if travel wasn't included, or just be a bit of a perk.
That being said, I choose at this time not to do the 2 night stays, because I don't want to write for 15 hours. When they have 1 night stays available, it is the perfect perk. I think it took me 5-6 hours to write, and I got a "free" weekend trip to a cool new city that I wanted to see.
That being said, I choose at this time not to do the 2 night stays, because I don't want to write for 15 hours. When they have 1 night stays available, it is the perfect perk. I think it took me 5-6 hours to write, and I got a "free" weekend trip to a cool new city that I wanted to see.
I definitely don't do any of the shops I do for the money. $100.00 doesn't even begin to cover the time and effort I put into writing the narratives and completing the surveys. If anything, the $75.00 - $100.00 covers parking at the airport and the gas getting there, and maybe the very, very short cab ride to the property, if transportation is not being evaluated.
I do it, and I prefer stays of two nights or longer - because if you're going to get on a plane, you don't want to do it for just one night, for the experience, and the opportunity to stay at beautiful, many times, five-star properties that offer attentive and anticipatory service, with reversible charges sometimes in the thousands per night.
I do it, and I prefer stays of two nights or longer - because if you're going to get on a plane, you don't want to do it for just one night, for the experience, and the opportunity to stay at beautiful, many times, five-star properties that offer attentive and anticipatory service, with reversible charges sometimes in the thousands per night.
When you do shops that include travel expenses, do they include transportation for a companion?
How do you know which shops cover travel expense? Are we talking about airfare? I travel a lot for pleasure, so is this like you know you will be visiting x place then u go about setting a search to see if there are any hotel shops at that location for the dates you will be there? Or do you guys see a location you want to visit then ask the scheduler if they will pay for the airfare for you to do the hotel shop?
@aayaey wrote:
I travel a lot for pleasure, so is this like you know you will be visiting x place then u go about setting a search to see if there are any hotel shops at that location for the dates you will be there? Or do you guys see a location you want to visit then ask the scheduler if they will pay for the airfare for you to do the hotel shop?
Yes, and yes.
I usually do the latter, but have also done the former. The latter usually works out better for me.
I think many more evaluators do the former, though.
I scan the job board for places I would like to go, then price out the travel and make an offer. Some shops are posted with travel expense limits, but the expense can be applied to any travel related costs: Airport parking, mileage, airfare, train tickets, cabs, Uber, etc.
It's usually not enough to cover airfare for 2, but sometimes it is. For shops that specifically don't cover dual airfare, I will usually take 2 properties, put one in my guest's name and apply one plane ticket to each.
It's usually not enough to cover airfare for 2, but sometimes it is. For shops that specifically don't cover dual airfare, I will usually take 2 properties, put one in my guest's name and apply one plane ticket to each.
So I know this thread is for guidance for Coyle shoppers, but do these negotiating tactics described here for getting travel work for other companies as well? I do some hotel shops for several other companies and most of the shops I have seen specifically say that shoppers must travel at their own expense. It has never occurred to me to make an offer that included travel. I have just assumed that it would be refused. I have seen shops for Regal Hospitality, for example, go past their due date without being accepted by anyone. If I had made an offer that included my travel for one of these, might it have been accepted?
@OHGuy wrote:
So I know this thread is for guidance for Coyle shoppers, but do these negotiating tactics described here for getting travel work for other companies as well? I do some hotel shops for several other companies and most of the shops I have seen specifically say that shoppers must travel at their own expense. It has never occurred to me to make an offer that included travel. I have just assumed that it would be refused. I have seen shops for Regal Hospitality, for example, go past their due date without being accepted by anyone. If I had made an offer that included my travel for one of these, might it have been accepted?
[www.mysteryshopforum.com]
I did a shop for the same hotel client. I put a different address in for my Rewards because it kept autopopulating, and i needed to show an address over 150 miles away from my real address. I changed my address in the Rewards account to my home address after the visit.
@OHGuy wrote:
. I have seen shops for Regal Hospitality, for example, go past their due date without being accepted by anyone. If I had made an offer that included my travel for one of these, might it have been accepted?
Yes on international, no on domestic
Winemaker, your "stereotype" describes me perfectly! I'm doing it more for kicks than to make a living, though I do about 10 shops a week. I keep wondering if I want to sign up with Coyle, but overall, the negative posts about them are tuning me off completely. I'm not into endless reports, for one thing!
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