Who does hotel shops besides SQM?

I am looking for a hotel in Southern California Coastal Cities (San Clemente, Newport Beach, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point area). Does anyone know MSC that might have a shop in that area? SQM does not seem to have shops in CA. Thank you for reading my post.

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More Discussions About SQM Mystery Shopping - Sensors Quality Management Inc (All Companies)

More About Hotel Mystery Shopping

Check these MSCs: ACL, BBusiness Solutions, Coyle, Data Quest, TNS, Buckalew, Merc off the top of my head.

"Let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?” ~Walter Williams

TrueGuest

@MickeyB wrote:

TrueGuest

Keep in mind, why does OP want a hotel in the area? Traveling for business? Vacation?

I would not wish a True Guest shop on my worst enemy.

There are a lot of boutique hotels in those cities. They are intense. You can't do them and go to Disney during the day.

I see an occassional 3 star hotel in those cities. There are a lot of shoppers and very few opportunities. In 10 years, I've probably shopped a San Clemente hotel twice.

Oh wait, True Guest does have a hotel. My friend works there. They know all of the shoppers. It's a hoot. Name pops right up on the screen as a shopper.

The work that Trueguest requires isn't that much more than any other MSC that offers high-end properties. The difference is the nit-picky BS and busywork they require. Is it seriously necessary to have all of the photos uploaded in the exact order you require?? That is asinine. Their instructions are literally all over the place. You can never find one place that tells you everything you need to do in order so you spend all day hunting for all of the details. Once you figure them all out, though, it's really not that different than anyone elses.

The biggest problem, though, is the constant hassling you get from Roldan. If that guy could finish a sentence instead of talking like a 13 year old valley girl, you'd probably have a better idea of the work that needs to be done. He's straight-up infuriating to deal with. I've written them off because of him and ONLY because of him, which is unfortunate because Adam, the owner, is a very nice and reasonable guy. He just has this fool handling all of the contractor interaction for him. I THINK Roldan is responsible for all of the above, not Adam.

______________________________________________________________________
Seriously, nobody cares that you're offended.

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/24/2018 11:14AM by Hoju.

@Hoju wrote:

The biggest problem, though, is the constant hassling you get from Roldan. If that guy could finish a sentence instead of talking like a 13 year old valley girl, you'd probably have a better idea of the work that needs to be done. He's straight-up infuriating to deal with. I've written them off because of him and ONLY because of him, which is unfortunate because Adam, the owner, is a very nice and reasonable guy. He just has this fool handling all of the contractor interaction for him. I THINK Roldan is responsible for all of the above, not Adam.

That's why most of us who have other similar opportunites choose not to work for them. You hit the nail on the head.

@Hoju wrote:

The work that Trueguest requires isn't that much more than any other MSC that offers high-end properties. The difference is the nit-picky BS and busywork they require. Is it seriously necessary to have all of the photos uploaded in the exact order you require??

In landscape, while writing in the third person and reiterating almost word for word what you just checked off on the previous question.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2018 08:45AM by Professional Guest.

The issue I have with True Guest is that they don't post the name of the client or property, nor do they confirm the number of days the assignment is for. Kinda hard to make a commitment, when you don't know these things.

And when your application is accepted, you are made to feel beholden to them after you find out who the client is/what property it is. You don't even know what the assignment truly entails with regard to the type and number of interactions/scenarios/audits until a few days beforehand.

Immediate transparency is not their forte.

Reminder to hotel newbies....
Always check out the Trip Adviser reviews for the hotel before committing. I just declined a nice hotel shop offer when I saw the pictures on several recent TripAdviser reviews: bug bites galore, stained sheets, hair on many surfaces. And, this was NOT a low cost brand or location. I didn't even bother to go on to check it on the bedbug alert site!

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I think ACL's shops are probably the least time intensive of all hotel shops, so I would check them first (depending on the purpose of your stay in these cities). And if I were going somewhere for a trip where I wanted to actually spend time exploring the area or spending time with friends and family, I would be very careful on which MSC and brand I was shopping--check the requirements for your stay to see if you are going to be spending a lot of time completing observations and writing your report.

I agree, and ACL hasn’t had a hotel in any of those cities in over a decade.

Right...I live in NE US so if I were going to Southern California, I wouldn't do any shops at all because I would want to enjoy myself 100% of the time doing other activities (this does not include driving in traffic, ha!). I would probably hang out with my friends in Cardiff-by-the-Sea for awhile, jump on the train and go explore up and down the coast, hang on the beach, go to interesting places to eat and drink...on my own dime, no shops. Period. But hey, that's just me!

@JASFLALMT wrote:

...if I were going to Southern California, I wouldn't do any shops at all because I would want to enjoy myself 100% of the time doing other activities

C'mon, JAS...we're shoppers! Like the scorpion that stings the frog, it's our nature to take on work, even while vacationing. If you see a shop that gets you two entrances to an amusement park for turning in a credit application, are you really going to pay the $300 instead of doing 10 minutes of work?

I have a vacation coming up in April. I told myself I would make it a real vacation...and not even bring my computer. No mystery shopping at all! And then one of the easiest assignments ever showed up that gave me 2 nights at an amazing resort I could never afford to stay at on my own. I crumbled. Now, I will drown my shame in the private pool of my hillside villa...

Well if it was an easy assignment with 10 minutes of work, yes, I retract my statement on that. Not sure on the hillside villa, it would depend on a lot of other factors. I don't blame you, though.

BTW, @FiveDiamond, please just read this thread through so you have a better understanding of why you may have trouble keeping experienced and qualified hotel evaluators. Compared to other companies, your assignment process is uniquely frustrating.

@JASFLALMT wrote:

Not sure on the hillside villa, it would depend on a lot of other factors.

Two dinner assignments in exchange for the hillside villa. Should be a $4k tab with meals.

The assignment fees will just cover my rebooking fee from AirBnB. I'm still not bringing the laptop and will submit from my iPad.

Live consciously....

The last promo hotel I did for ACL was anything but simple. Maybe it depends upon the editor. BBusiness Solutions has simpler ones, or Buckalew's Beginner shops.

Five Diamond and Regal are currently on my 10' pole list.

I never really had a problem with Regal's shops other than the twist of writing in 3rd person and the lengthy wait on payment. I've never shopped for 5 Diamond but have read enough in the forum to not look into it any further.

@SoCalMama wrote:

@MickeyB wrote:

TrueGuest

Oh wait, True Guest does have a hotel. My friend works there. They know all of the shoppers. It's a hoot. Name pops right up on the screen as a shopper.

TrueGuest has at least eight different hotels in SoCal. But the one that you speak of, pretty sure they don't have anymore... that said, true dat regarding what you say, I have been there twice after regularly shopping them for years. Both times I have been upgraded (paying myself - not shopping) to club level, which is great - cause the upgrades cannot be had via any kind of status and are way more than I would pay. And they fall all over me using my name and offering strange things like seeds so I can grown oranges at home. Amusing. Must be the Toyota Yaris rental car I am always arriving in...

I'm one of those people that doesn't mind TrueGuest. Yes, they have their annoyances - but I can deal with it for some of the perks.

Thank you for your posts. I appreciate it very much. I have done some hotel shops here and there, mostly in So Cal, so I am familiar with what they require. I'll be staying there while my child takes college exams, and I don't want to drive the morning of the exam, so I have no plan to look around, play, or visit Disneyland. I'll be just hanging out either at the hotel, Starbucks, or at a school where they administer the test, so I've got plenty of free time.

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Who does hotel shops besides SQM?

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