As some of you may have noticed by my number of Coyle threads, somehow I have started doing a bit of Coyle shops.

I have received two scores, had two shops that were not scored (but "okay for pay", and have a few upcoming assignments with them.

I even asked the editor what my score was for the last shop that was "okay for pay," and I have not heard back.

Do they sometimes give scores and sometimes do not?

Thank you everyone for your patience and answers!

If you email support, they will provide you with your previous scores. Seems like some editors provide them and some do not

Thanks. I emailed them. I tried my hardest on the last one. I cannot get higher than an 84 (except for the "easy" restaurant). It is so frustrating. I write for a living.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2018 05:08AM by Niner.

It's Coyle. I think they instruct their editors to be the biggest jerks they can be just because they think it's funny or something. They are the only company I have ever dealt with that as dinged me for not answering questions that weren't on the form in the first place. You learn what they want pretty quickly. Don't worry too much at first. Learn.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/06/2018 09:04AM by weatherman2111.

Thanks.

I look at it as a challenge, but it is frustrating. For the last report, the follow up questions were all in the report, and my score was decreased. They asked for things I answered. Lesson learned- save thr report.

I just got a 92. I can't remember the last time I didn't get 100%. I got dinged for follow-up, yet, they did not follow up with me. WTH? So, in the long run, my money will be deposited into PP just as if I got 100% (or 50%).

Could be new editors brought on due to too much work?

@SoCalMama wrote:

I just got a 92. I can't remember the last time I didn't get 100%. I got dinged for follow-up, yet, they did not follow up with me. WTH? So, in the long run, my money will be deposited into PP just as if I got 100% (or 50%).

Could be new editors brought on due to too much work?

I noticed the last editor I got was Word Smith Pros. That is new I think.

I got a 93 - the only thing that they noted I was dinged for was where I put the food comments (it is not a normal form). Pretty sure that I put them where I always put them, but oh well...

Niner - you are officially in good company. Cheers.

I stopped reading the scores. I enjoy the shops I do for them and give them my best work and I think we are both happy with my work. I do shops for them monthly for the last 1-2 years.
Don’t take it personal. That’s what I’ve learned.

Did you always get 100's or did your scores increase?

@Niner wrote:

Did you always get 100's or did your scores increase?

I think that MickeyB and I pretty much always got 100’s. Now we’re getting 92-93

Nice

@tinker2128 wrote:

I stopped reading the scores.

That's the key. Having a deduction here or there will not prohibit you from getting assignments, and you get paid the same no matter the score.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@tinker2128 wrote:

I stopped reading the scores.

That's the key. Having a deduction here or there will not prohibit you from getting assignments, and you get paid the same no matter the score.

Did you get a 92 or 93 lately? Inquiring minds want to know.

@SoCalMama wrote:

Did you get a 92 or 93 lately? Inquiring minds want to know.

I had a 88 a few weeks back...and I wrote the guidelines for correct submissions!

I think the editors get pushback if they have too many perfect scores.

I spent five hours following their directions. They sent me an email asking for information that was absolutely in the report. I made sure to include everything. They lowered the score, after saying my score would not be affected.

This time, I saved the text of the report. We will see what happens. The most recent one took me about 2.5 hours.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@tinker2128 wrote:

I stopped reading the scores.

That's the key. Having a deduction here or there will not prohibit you from getting assignments, and you get paid the same no matter the score.

That's true. They sign me up for anything I have been applying for. It's the principle.

Coyle Reports: Can you share how you save their reports before submitting? For Sassie ones, there is a button for "Save a PDF copy for your records", so it is very easy. The button is even available even after you forgot to do it and had already Submitted the report. Not with Coyle. I did copy all, then paste it on Word, but it is very cumbersome.

How do you deal with editors that asked the same questions in the questionnaire that you have painstakingly responded to in detail? I suspect they are testing us, or in most cases, they are new editors, and need to show the MSC how hard and tough they are screening reports? This is not limited to this company, by all means. Sometimes I get it from other companies as well. I do get great scores most of the time from seasoned editors. Just the newbies are a pain.

You can probably print it to a PDF, it may not be formatted the prettiest, but you'll have a copy of it lol

@BetteL wrote:

How do you deal with editors that asked the same questions in the questionnaire that you have painstakingly responded to in detail? I suspect they are testing us, or in most cases, they are new editors, and need to show the MSC how hard and tough they are screening reports? This is not limited to this company, by all means. Sometimes I get it from other companies as well. I do get great scores most of the time from seasoned editors. Just the newbies are a pain.

I will usually just answer them, or depending on the tone of the email (lol) I'll likely say something like "as i stated in the narrative......."

@BetteL wrote:

Coyle Reports: Can you share how you save their reports before submitting? For Sassie ones, there is a button for "Save a PDF copy for your records", so it is very easy. The button is even available even after you forgot to do it and had already Submitted the report. Not with Coyle. I did copy all, then paste it on Word, but it is very cumbersome.

I have been cutting and pasting the major narrative sections into an Evernote document. It's a tedious process. I would use a Word document if I was on my computer.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 12:17PM by Niner.

@Niner wrote:

I would use a Word document if I was on my computer.

I'm lost on how you write for a living and don't have Word on your computer...but the general process I use for submitting assignments is to write everything in Word and then paste the appropriate sections into the form. For dining shops, that's about 5 times you have to cut/paste. It's not that cumbersome as far as I'm concerned, and the benefits of writing in a professional writing software far outweigh the extra steps involved.

And yes...I often get asked questions for items that were present in my narrative. I simply cut and paste the appropriate sections of the narrative in my reply. That's the price you pay for working for this MSC. Their system is far from perfect, but if you can let it roll off and not worry about scores and needless follow-ups, you can enjoy some great assignments.

As far as software goes, just about everyone on this forum writes for a living. Meaning; they are mystery shoppers. We operate a business that relies on submitting quality narratives and keeping track of budgets/schedules. Not using a software package like Office to do that is running your business in a less-than-professional manner. If you want a professional results, utilize professional products in your business. I think I paid $100 for the full Office suite and it includes a version for my iPad as well....and it's tax deductible.

@weatherman2111 wrote:

It's Coyle. I think they instruct their editors to be the biggest jerks they can be just because they think it's funny or something. They are the only company I have ever dealt with that as dinged me for not answering questions that weren't on the form in the first place. You learn what they want pretty quickly. Don't worry too much at first. Learn.

I wanted to comment on this too. I have recently started doing shops for Coyle, and this has been my experience, as well. I had a very belligerent and rude editor come at me very aggressively about a shop I just recently completed. He also asked me for multiple things (mostly timestamps/timings) that were nowhere on the guidelines or questionnaire. I went over the requirements and screen shot them to protect myself, but I am very worried about this. Is this how they normally operate? They have great shops, but if I am going to be chastised like a 12 year old for every shop, I don't find this acceptable or worth it.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@Niner wrote:

I would use a Word document if I was on my computer.

I'm lost on how you write for a living and don't have Word on your computer...but the general process I use for submitting assignments is to write everything in Word and then paste the appropriate sections into the form. For dining shops, that's about 5 times you have to cut/paste. It's not that cumbersome as far as I'm concerned, and the benefits of writing in a professional writing software far outweigh the extra steps involved.

And yes...I often get asked questions for items that were present in my narrative. I simply cut and paste the appropriate sections of the narrative in my reply. That's the price you pay for working for this MSC. Their system is far from perfect, but if you can let it roll off and not worry about scores and needless follow-ups, you can enjoy some great assignments.

As far as software goes, just about everyone on this forum writes for a living. Meaning; they are mystery shoppers. We operate a business that relies on submitting quality narratives and keeping track of budgets/schedules. Not using a software package like Office to do that is running your business in a less-than-professional manner. If you want a professional results, utilize professional products in your business. I think I paid $100 for the full Office suite and it includes a version for my iPad as well....and it's tax deductible.

I have Word on my laptop. I typically write the reports on my phone.

Coyle does take some getting used to, but they appear to have some of the best shops.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/12/2018 06:14PM by Niner.

@Niner wrote:

I typically write the reports on my phone.

Seriously, if you are writing and submitting Coyle reports on your phone...that's the problem. I have Word on my phone and iPad as well, BTW. I have (with a remote keyboard) on occasion written and submitted the reports that way, but it takes longer, and the results are not as good.

I find that having a professional workspace with multiple monitors, a standard keyboard and all of my shop components well organized on my computer allows me to submit fairly flawless reports with the least amount of effort. The phone and iPad submissions are reserved for the few trips a year I make without a laptop.

Coyle expects you to use their time and date formats exactly. Check the sample shops and you will see what they expect.

I write the narratives using Google Docs. It is also helpful to write the narrative in a different window so you can see the questions, especially anything you answered "no" to as I write the narratives.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@Niner wrote:

I typically write the reports on my phone.

Seriously, if you are writing and submitting Coyle reports on your phone...that's the problem.

I feel like we were punked.

@jellyfishgirl wrote:

@weatherman2111 wrote:

It's Coyle. I think they instruct their editors to be the biggest jerks they can be just because they think it's funny or something. They are the only company I have ever dealt with that as dinged me for not answering questions that weren't on the form in the first place. You learn what they want pretty quickly. Don't worry too much at first. Learn.

I wanted to comment on this too. I have recently started doing shops for Coyle, and this has been my experience, as well. I had a very belligerent and rude editor come at me very aggressively about a shop I just recently completed. He also asked me for multiple things (mostly timestamps/timings) that were nowhere on the guidelines or questionnaire. I went over the requirements and screen shot them to protect myself, but I am very worried about this. Is this how they normally operate? They have great shops, but if I am going to be chastised like a 12 year old for every shop, I don't find this acceptable or worth it.

Yeah, they like pulling surprises. I think they think it justifies their existence or something. I only really do one shop for them on a consistent basis that is not as strict or detail heavy as their fine dining and hotel shops. Same pay and my life is a lot easier this way.