So how are they to work for please ???

Many Thanks

I completed a few shops for Regal a few years back, and everything was fine. However, the last time I shopped for them, they docked my pay. I was not given notice of this, and I did not find out until I received my less-than-expected payment. When I made multiple inquiries about this situation by email and voicemail, no one ever responded to me. I would have argued that I followed the written guidelines exactly, but no one gave me the chance.

So, yeah. I haven't shopped for them since.

I like them. The reports are easy. They are clear about docking if you don't write in their format or if you are late. You can check your grade to see how you did with them. The reversal takes 2 weeks and the payment takes 30-90 days.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2017 01:25PM by audrialyn30.

I like them quute a bit. They're friendly and easy to get along with and their shops are not as difficult as some others.

I find it awkward writing in third person and the pay is slow, but otherwise just fine.

Edited because I'm typing on my phone.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/2017 02:43PM by JASFLALMT.

I have to sort of get into the groove of writing in the 3rd person, but once I do I appreciate the shops and love the rewards point plus fee.

If I did them more often it would easier to switch writing tenses. But they don't have much in my area often.

Writing in 3rd person, I don't think I wil ever get used to it Lol like the hotel stays thou

Just say no. The hassle is not worth the money.

Ah, but it IS worth the fee PLUS a ton of hotel rewards points. And, I build other shops around a hotel shop because it makes a good "hub" for a 2 day route.

None of mine ever get reversed. It's always 90 days for payment. I rarely even check their job board anymore.

I'm pulling $250 -$500 fees for hotel reports, which get paid in 30 days every single time. That's a better deal for me. For others, they may like to wait 3 months.

Hi everyone, I am pretty new to the board but have been shopping since the end of last year. I have done well over 200 shops from QSR to fine dining to amusement parks and signed up for Regal a few weeks ago. I have not found anything that I could sign up for until today and that is for a shop, starting today, in San Salvador. Is there any way to get my foot in the door to be able to view some shops in the US? Do they just have shops for hotels? I don't mind doing long reports with lots of detail but need to be worth my time and would love to do some hotel shops. Thanks for any advice that you can give.

@SoCalMama wrote:

None of mine ever get reversed. It's always 90 days for payment. I rarely even check their job board anymore.

I'm pulling $250 -$500 fees for hotel reports, which get paid in 30 days every single time. That's a better deal for me. For others, they may like to wait 3 months.

Their 3* line reverses charges. A lot depends on what you're looking for. For a 2 day route i can easily schedule a 3* regal shop with $6-700 in video over the 2 days. The video has no reports, the regal report is fairly easy, and the shop takes out all of my expenses for the route besides lunch amd mileage.

On the other hand I have little desire to stay in the type of property that pays a $500 fee nor do I have the desire to write the report. And I would make less.

Do you always qualify for points for this company and others? I remember reading in the past there were certain types of reimbursements/reversals of fee etc where there were no hotel points available.

I've only had one hotel stay not give me the award points, and I think that's because the folio reversal was just too fast, like 2-day. This wasn't a Regal shop.
Since Regal does MOSTLY reimbursements for room expenses, you get all your rewards points AND if you use the hotel branded credit card, you get those points too.

If the job is a folio reversal, you typically still get the reward points, but not the bonus points you get if you use the hotel branded credit card, because it's reversed off the card.

@walesmaven wrote:

Ah, but it IS worth the fee PLUS a ton of hotel rewards points.

That's one of the beauties of MSing; we can choose what works for us. There are a lot of companies that do hotels that are worth it to me. Regal isn't one of them.

Not necessarily the most posh properties, but works if you are going to be in the area where they need a shopper. As others have noted, writing in the third person takes some getting used to if you've been working for the other MSCs that specialize in hotel/resort properties. Reversals are timely. 90 day payment for the shop itself is a relatively long time to wait compared to the payment time for the other MSCs I work with.

All the shops in my area are already claimed except for one location that's way too far.

I've been missing these shops for months. The shops for September have already been claimed.

I listed another city/state in my profile as another place I'll shop but I can't see any of them.

I checked and my rating is a C, is that standard for newbies with this msc?

PG,
More experienced Regal shoppers get a chance at more posh properties.

Also, I want no part of the reports for hotels with $500 fees. I have friends who do them, all over the world, and both the number and intensity of the interactions, not just the volume of the report, just makes me shake my head. I can do 2 or 3 $250 mortgage shops in much less time and with no risk to me. (True, the food at banks is not as good as some of those high end hotel restaurants, but I do not have to write a report on it, either, lol.)

@eyelove2shop wrote:

I checked and my rating is a C, is that standard for newbies with this msc?

I didn't know you could see your rating. Where did you find it?

@walesmaven wrote:

I want no part of the reports for hotels with $500 fees.

Well...using that logic there are a number of other jobs I could do that would earn me $500 even faster and easier than 2 mortgage shops.

The appeal of the job is getting paid to stay at posh resorts...isn't it?

I think the majority of shoppers would be doing something else if their sole purpose was to make money.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

@eyelove2shop wrote:

I checked and my rating is a C, is that standard for newbies with this msc?

I didn't know you could see your rating. Where did you find it?

It's in your profile, right underneath the 'Optional Address B' tab where the link for the ICA is located.

Yeah, I found it. I guess C must be default for no shops, because mine is A. I never thought to look. I think some Sassie companies give a 5 automatically for new shoppers who haven't completed shops, don't they?

Yes, I emailed a scheduler and they confirmed because I have not completed any shops. C is so insulting tho. I need to do a shop because it's bothering me looking at it lol.

Steve, we are clearly talking about very different mortgage shops. 20 minutes on site (sometimes less) and 30 minutes (sometimes less) for the report.

I've seen and done the types of mortgage shops walesmaven is talking about. It really doesn't get much easier even if I'm not quite as speedy on the report. From reading the forum it seems the shoppers in it for the money tend to outnumber the lifestyle shoppers. Even if it is equally divided, saying the majority of shoppers aren't in this solely for the money is misleading.

Right, it's a divided line, with the majority of my shops being about the money. It's about 10% lifestyle and 90% about me wanting to make money, maybe 5% and 95% now that I think about it.

I do enjoy many of the hotel shops that I do that have upscale dining included, as well as great bar visits, Concierge Lounges, and breakfasts. But I do not need to file a Coyle type of report, or anything near that, even for those resort level shops. I can both enjoy my stay AND use those hotels to anchor a lot of very well compensated video shops, with little or no written report for those.

I shop for Regal as often as I can but there is not much in my area. I find that their communication is timely. Since they are clear about the pay/reimbursement schedule, I don't mind the wait.

@LisaSTL wrote:

From reading the forum it seems the shoppers in it for the money tend to outnumber the lifestyle shoppers. Even if it is equally divided, saying the majority of shoppers aren't in this solely for the money is misleading.

Basing your opinion of reasons why shoppers partake in this on forum participants or conference attendees is misleading. Please remember that I was director of operations for a MSC at one point in my career so I was privy to statistics about mystery shoppers that you may not be. My comment was not based on opinion.

The forum is a small percentage of shoppers. Less than 10% for sure. The number that partake in the conferences is even less...and the number can earn a living wage doing this is fewer still.

Just about everyone is interested in money...obviously. It's just that most shoppers do this for "free stuff", which is why we see the growing trend of reimbursement-only shops. Most shoppers also complete less than one assignment per month, do not partake in forums, training or conferences for shoppers either. They may not be our equals in terms of their knowledge of the industry, or desire to make money at this, but they are our peers, and they are a majority.

Most shoppers do not require MS income to sustain their household. More often than not, they are the stay-at-home companion to a significant other and shop to add value to their household. The next largest percentage are workers employed outside the MS industry that shop to add value to their lives (lifestyle shoppers included). If I recall correctly, the next group are shoppers who rely on the income to augment passive income they receive, followed by people who are unemployed and using MSing to help them get to through a hard time, followed by professional shoppers who make a living at this. I have been each of the later four at one point in my life, so I understand that plight.

As for the topic at hand; I have had access to the higher end properties offered by Regal and I can promise you that it's simply not the same experience as a Coyle shop when you are on assignment. I recently declined one of their shops because you are not allowed to check in as a member of the rewards program or receive any of those benefits during the stay. Don't get me started on the inability to order premium liquor...

The companies that pay $500 per shop are generally not lifestyle shops either. I have worked for those companies and did the shops that paid 100% of my travel, mainly for the money. The properties were not that glamorous, but I was guaranteed a certain amount of work annually and the assignments guaranteed my platinum status with my preferred airline carrier. That, in turn, made the lifestyle shops more...lifestylish!

If you have a company that can guarantee you 8 of those mortgage shops a month then kudos to you, but again, my point was that you are opening up a debate about how easy money can be earned, and I was arguing that there are wars outside of MSing to earn that type of money with even less work. Not everyone can do the mortgage shops, not everyone can do the high-end hotel assignments, and we each just need to find our own path that works best for us. Some full-time workers can call in sick 2 days a month, order a reimbursement-only pizza and come out way ahead from where a mortgage shopper or hotel shopper ends up!