I worked with Coyle. . .2 shops. . .and said, "No More!" I got the same garbage you got from them. Their survey did not FIT the restaurants, and when they did not get the answers THEY WANTED to get, they gave me a hard time. It was not worth my time and energy.

I did 2 shops for them. They seem alright but there instructions before applying for an assignment is very generic. They assume you know what to do. Only question they asked me back for was what time did I go to the restroom. So they're that detail oriented for people who want to sign up. They require 4x more details than others. Plus, it's very hard to get one assigned to you. I had applied for like 10 of them since then and got nothing.

@DTrump wrote:

I did 2 shops for them. They seem alright but there instructions before applying for an assignment is very generic. They assume you know what to do. Only question they asked me back for was what time did I go to the restroom. So they're that detail oriented for people who want to sign up. They require 4x more details than others. Plus, it's very hard to get one assigned to you. I had applied for like 10 of them since then and got nothing.

Your grammar is atrocious. Did you purposely try to use "there" and "their" incorrectly every time?

Coyle writing is not for everyone. Actually they prefer highly educated, articulate, upscale society people who already frequent the fine dining establishments and hotels they evaluate.

@Nikkik wrote:

Coyle writing is not for everyone. Actually they prefer highly educated, articulate, upscale society people who already frequent the fine dining establishments and hotels they evaluate.

Oh snap. You’re about to get slammed.

But, I like it. You’re correct. If I say it, I’m snooty.

@Nikkik wrote:

Coyle writing is not for everyone. Actually they prefer highly educated, articulate, upscale society people who already frequent the fine dining establishments and hotels they evaluate.

If you ever tell them you are an actual mystery shopper they will never give you an assignment. They believe mystery shoppers are beneath them and prefer rich people who are cheap enough to prefer writing over paying.

@bgriffin wrote:

@Nikkik wrote:

Coyle writing is not for everyone. Actually they prefer highly educated, articulate, upscale society people who already frequent the fine dining establishments and hotels they evaluate.

If you ever tell them you are an actual mystery shopper they will never give you an assignment. They believe mystery shoppers are beneath them and prefer rich people who are cheap enough to prefer writing over paying.

True. I guess it's their game, their rules.

Absolutely, but I don't understand why they are even discussed here. Most of the people here are mystery shoppers. They look down on mystery shoppers. They should be discussed somewhere else.

@bgriffin wrote:

Absolutely, but I don't understand why they are even discussed here. Most of the people here are mystery shoppers. They look down on mystery shoppers. They should be discussed somewhere else.

Ideally, where would you have them discussed?

Ideally they would cease to exist so we wouldn't have to hear about them anymore.

#BitterPartyOf1

I'd say, "Give them a chance", but perhaps the inverse rings much more true. Sorry it's been frustrating to get assigned.

Like your sign off hashtag.

@bgriffin..."Actual" mystery shopper?

Like I just pretend to be a mystery shopper? I think you meant to say full-time mystery shopper.

Considering the fact that probably over 98% of actual mystery shoppers do this part time, I don't think think Coyle is excluding a particularly large number of people with that qualification. It may be a pissed off and highly vocal group who partake in this forum, however.

I couldn't say for sure what the current official policy is, but here's my take on it: If you MS for a living, this company is not a good fit for you. The overall low pay and compensation-in-kind incentive for the lengthy reports is absolutely based toward people who make a living outside of the MS industry. Their own employees are not allowed to take the assignments!

You may be even more bitter if you were actually given an assignment...It's a lot of work (said as someone who will be sitting at his desk all day today, yet is procrastinating by responding to this).

You and I have had a lot of discussion about this company. I agree, 99% of their shops are ones that I would not be a good fit for. My problem is their arbitrary belief that a, because I am a full time shopper I am not good enough for them, and b, that I would be unqualified to do assignments that I am highly qualified for based on the fact that I have not done shops for them that we both agree I would not be qualified for. It's just stupid. I'll give 2 examples.

1. They had a contract with a hotel chain that was specifically an audit of brand standards. It was not a customer service report and required no or little narrative. At the time I was doing about 400 brand standards audits per quarter, but because I had never done a lengthy meal report that I would not enjoy and would not be very qualified for and because I am a full time shopper I was not considered for one.

2. They had a contract with a line of 3 and 4* hotels that are geared towards business travellers as opposed to their more luxury type offerings. I was a business travellers for IBM for several years. To the point that I was top tier in the major brands based on nights. I had over 100 nights one year in the exact same brand. I was as close to being the target audience as would be possible. But because I am a full time shopper and had not done meal shops that I would not have enjoyed and would not have been very qualified for I was not considered.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

It's a lot of work (said as someone who will be sitting at his desk all day today, yet is procrastinating by responding to this).

Raises hand.

I had a similar first experience with Coyle; they sent me to a hotel "cafe" that was much more small coffee shop than any sort of sit-down establishment; the issue was that the report was set up for a 3-4 course meal with waitstaff and the whole bit. There was one guy behind the bar who happened to cook up cafe food on the side and bring it out. I did the report and got a long list of questions back because I'd marked a lot of questions as N/A because the staff members they were talking about weren't there (hostess, cook, busser etc.)... They didn't like that... so basically had to apply all the different positions they asked about to the single guy, and repeat the same story about 4 different ways even though he basically tended bar, asked if I wanted some food, cooked it up on a small grill by the bar, brought it out, and went back to the bar... Ended up they barely passed it -- but I did get paid... gave me a bad taste, however. The attitude from the editor was absolutely awful, she didn't seem to get what I said, and I really felt I had to stretch that experience out really far to make it fit in all the spots they wanted -- but they seemed to want that rather than have any N/A marks.

It did get better the second time around -- a new upscale restaurant chain opened up that I'd been wanting to try -- sure enough, Coyle popped up as having the shop. One of my schedulers that works with another MSP I love was scheduling for them too and asked me to give them another shot. It was a similar survey, but all the right positions were there -- and I got high marks. I shopped that place every two weeks until the contract ran out a year later -- my schedule gave it to me whenever it was open, and Coyle wasn't bad with the grading -- as long as you re-state everything they seem to be fine.

My only gripe is that even after shopping a restaurant that I liked 1-2 times a month for a year, they STILL won't assign me any hotel or travel shops which was the primary reason I applied to them. The scheduler I like said she could only assign certain clients, and for travel shops I had to apply from the website... it's always radio silence. The ONLY shop I ever got from them on the website was the first one that was a nightmare -- the rest came from my scheduler.

I think the sentiment about them not wanting "shoppers" is correct; they want travellers -- funny thing is, I'm a traveller and a shopper -- my shopping pads my travel fund and isn't my full time job although sometimes it feels like it -- you'd think I'd be exactly what they want lol I've done hotel shops for other MSC's (Sights on Service, B Business etc) and have always had high marks. I wonder if there's some secret format I need to use when requesting shops.

N

Like me, you are a person they simply have decided are never getting assigned a shop. They're the only company I have ever requested to delete my account.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

Their own employees are not allowed to take the assignments!

They let HSBrands employees do a few of their shops for the experience. I only know this because a senior manager over there (who is highly intelligent, experienced and educated) told me that she got a 16 on hers. If you are an 18 or 19 Coyle Shopper, you might mention it when you're applying for the better HSB shops.

I am lawyer so I write for a living and the one I recently did for them, was difficult. They require a lot of information. I understand their need and why the clients want what they do, but it's a lot of work.

How can an assignment from Coyle be worth it if the work is so intense? There has to be some sort of balance with time and enjoyment.

I would much rather go on my ow own, out of pocket, than to have my entire night taken hostage by a report. Again, where is the enjoyment in that? One shopper said his report took nine hours. How was that worth it?

Agreed. When a mystery shop has a 9 hour report, I think I'm done mystery shopping for that MSC and just pay for a nice meal on my own. I think that MSC's need to remember that, some shoppers do a shop when it's a convinience to them, unlike a full time employee time of job.

I just completed one and I too was "penalized." My score was reduced a tiny bit along with non-reimbursement for a 2nd appetizer. So the $15 fee and then some was spent on it. The report took me about two hours with some family interruptions and not fun. We didn't enjoy the restaurant all that much. It was fine, but nothing to rave about.

I haven't shopped Coyle, but I do think some of you and Coyle are having unrealistic expectations of the op..How are they suppossed to call to make reservations when there isn't a phone at the location? Also if the op was expected to pay over $100 for the meal..wouldn't you also expect more than a glorified Subway? Just for an example, I used to live close to Denver and my family every now and then would visit an Aquarium and they did have a restaurant inside that it wouldn't be that tough to spend over 100 dollars on. Also if it isn't mentioned in the guidelines how is the op supposed to know to mention it? To me, it sounds like the op did what they were suppossed to do, but because it's a negative report;Coyle is trying to find a reason to invalidate the report. Op, like I stated before I haven't shopped Coyle, but if it was me, I would shop at least 4 more shops for them . That should give a more objective view to see if Coyle is a good fit for you. I know Coyle is well known for the hotel shops, but other msc's do offer hotel shops if that is the ultimate goal....

Gave it a bit more thought; and if this msc's standard practice is allowing for stretching the truth to turn a negative report into a postive one, I'll most likely avoid this msc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/29/2018 02:14PM by dawnhu.

I have done a few other fine dining jobs for Coyle that my husband and I enjoyed immensely. I see some other restaurant visits that I would not apply for as we know we would not patronize them at our own expense. I have never had questions from the editors with my fine dining shops. Their sample helped me a lot as I saw the time stamps and style of writing they wanted. If I were Op, et al., who had these unpleasant experiences, I would be through with Coyle too. I can understand the mismatch of restaurant type/environment and survey. BTW, I am not interested in performing their hotel/cruise/whatever shops, lol.

My two cents is that Coyle is one of the better companies to work with. The properties and restaurants they offer are second to none within the industry. For me, getting to experience hotels and restaurants I'd never be able to afford otherwise is well worth the lengthy reports. That being said, the reports are long, tedious, and take a lot of organizational skills to successfully accomplish. The reports get easier and easier for me and if you plan out each day, I think it is easy enough to find time to enjoy yourself and relax. I'm very thankful to work for Coyle, but like the rest of you, I wish that scheduling was more timely.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2018 04:53PM by naraiford.