Coyle
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Never completed a shop for them. I keep contemplating doing a take out Chicken restaurant shop for them, but I am a little weary of the horror stories myself.
Lady Marius
Canadian Mystery Shopper
Canadian Mystery Shopper
I've done maybe 3-4 shops for them since 2003. You can do a shop and see for yourself. Maybe this one shop you are looking at isn't so bad. I'm not a fan of Coyle myself. Their reports are generally longer and much more detail required than the other reports I do. But some people like Coyle. So give it a shot. If you think it sucks, you won't do it again.
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Liked by: meanviking, maverick1
I’ve done a ton of them - they are heavy on the narrative so if you don’t like to write, they may not be for you. I occasionally get a question or two back.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2022 01:37AM by Mel41099.
San Diego - CA
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2022 01:37AM by Mel41099.
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Liked by: meanviking, breathingdeep1
@meanviking wrote:
Anybody have anything good to say about Coyle?
Friendly, appreciative schedulers. Prompt payments.
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Liked by: meanviking, Susan L., Madetoshop
I've done several urgent care shops since the first of the year that were nicely bonused.
These require very little narrative. But even though you check N/A, you still have to write a comment such as "This does not apply". Sometimes for a whole section. Copy and paste works well.
You also have to write down an answer if you answer yes to the question. For instance, "Were the windows clean?"; Mark yes, but still have to write "The windows were clean" which to me should be unnecessary, but it's required. That's why I wait for them to be bonused.
Having to quantify your answer to questions marked "no" I can understand, but not "Yes" and N/A answers.
These require very little narrative. But even though you check N/A, you still have to write a comment such as "This does not apply". Sometimes for a whole section. Copy and paste works well.
You also have to write down an answer if you answer yes to the question. For instance, "Were the windows clean?"; Mark yes, but still have to write "The windows were clean" which to me should be unnecessary, but it's required. That's why I wait for them to be bonused.
Having to quantify your answer to questions marked "no" I can understand, but not "Yes" and N/A answers.
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Liked by: meanviking
Coyle is very narrative heavy. What works for me is to keep their questionnaire open on one screen. Then in a word processing or grammar program on another screen develop a narrative that addresses all the questions. I keep track of all times during the encounter with a program called ShopIt by Tarushi that allows me to discreetly make notes and take pictures on my phone as a third screen. Cut and paste. For those crashes that always seem to occur at the worst possible time you no longer have to regenerate your narrative. Recheck the instructions to make sure you did not miss anything.
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Liked by: meanviking, ColoKate63, Mel41099, Mystique1
Unless you are familiar with the restaurant and food offerings and LIKE them, do not do these. The reports are EXREMELY time intensive and the editors and EXTREMELY picky.
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Liked by: loveyhowel, meanviking, ColoKate63, maverick1
Its a lot of writing, but if you've done shops for ACL, that is pretty similar. I haven't had a bad experience with them and usually get high marks from the editors and no follow up questions. The times I have gotten follow up questions, its usually a pretty quick clarification and they've never stiffed me on pay even when my clarification probably wasn't what they wanted. They aren't my bread and butter company, but I do shops for them if they are bonused enough to cover the time it takes to fill out the report (e.g. recently did some chicken shops for $40+reimbursement, so $20 for an hour to shop and $20 for an hour to write).
I’ve done fine dining, chain restaurants and hotels for Coyle. Reports are irritating to write (they want a specific style that is stilted and unnatural) and the pay above the reimbursement is low when compared to the amount of time it takes to write up the evaluation. I’d rather cash my earnings, pay my own way, go home and have a nightcap than do their fussy detail-heavy reports.
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Liked by: hbbigdaddy, patman9760, MsJudi, maverick1, Mystique1
I totally agree with the above..why is there a thumbs down button and no thumbs up?
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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
That's a good question! Maybe they want us to click on the "Like This" tab at the bottom of a post....the more likes, maybe the more attention it will get or something, I dunno. But good question!@MsJudi wrote:
I totally agree with the above..why is there a thumbs down button and no thumbs up?
This is how irritating Coyle is. In Nevada, I did a bar shop in a hotel/casino. It was very simple to do the shop. Then I had to fill out 3 forms, but really 1 form was the shop and the other 2 forms were all N/A and I had to explain the N/A. Why couldn't they just have given me the 1 form that pertained to the shop I was doing instead of giving me all 3 forms and expecting me to fill out 2 forms for no reason? There were 3 forms because there were 2 other locations in this hotel/casino. But I was only assigned to do 1 of them. I'm sure whoever else got one of the other ones was having to put N/A on their other 2 forms as well. Such nonsense.
Coyle BLOWS. If you like doing COYLE, great. You wont have to worry about competing with me. I will spend my time doing more productive things.
Coyle BLOWS. If you like doing COYLE, great. You wont have to worry about competing with me. I will spend my time doing more productive things.
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Liked by: Maryanne J
Unfriendly, non-responsive, opinionated editors; ...basically a "check in the box "MSC for restaurant companies who want to "think" they are doing something about quality.
Well I made it through, turned out it really was an easy in-and-out! This one was a dispensary, so no timings. It really was similar to an ACL report, and pay was decent. Thanks everyone for your input!
Coyle has hit a new low. They are offering a washington DC hotel shop and it only reimburses up to $120 for the room; the evaluator is responsible for the difference. They want to be high end but that's so tacky.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2022 01:52PM by hotsauce1.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/13/2022 01:52PM by hotsauce1.
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Liked by: Crunchynerd, mkellyma
Same here in the Tampa area. There were two of them that just sat there for a while, but they're gone now. Only $120 reimbursement, and the rooms are around 350-400 a night.
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Liked by: Crunchynerd
I did one shop for Coyle, a restaurant at a high-end hotel. It was rather narrative-heavy, but nothing terrible. I received a good grade, but since then I've applied for two steakhouses and have not been assigned either 
I have done around 50 Coyle shops. Since Covid, I have not gone near them. The reports would take me five hours. The shops reimbursed over $200, so I was okay with it. I would need to earn like $400 to pay $200, so it was fair. Now, I would rather cook at home. We have been there done that with enough fancy places.
Years ago they had 4 Star eating establishments and hotels I could never stay at on my dime. I did many shops even though they are narrative and observation intense.
Now they have the national Mexican chain, run of the mill hotel chains.
Don't know what happened, but not taking applying for any of them.
Too much work for mediocre food and lodging.
Now they have the national Mexican chain, run of the mill hotel chains.
Don't know what happened, but not taking applying for any of them.
Too much work for mediocre food and lodging.
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Liked by: LindaM, Crunchynerd
Some years back, Coyle was my hands down favorite MS. At the time, I had an awful stress ringing day job that paid well, and I was stalking Coyle to help fund as many weekends away as possible. I was all about their hotel shops. They seemed to have a fair number in my region. I am a tech writer, so the narratives suited me fine. I don't get out quite so much these days. My shopping is now a side hustle, and I haven't shopped them in a while. They are not much of a money maker. A lot of whether you like them or not will likely depend on both your motivation for shopping and whether or not you like to write.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2022 09:34AM by GinnyLynn.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2022 09:34AM by GinnyLynn.
@Msilk wrote:
Coyle is very narrative heavy. What works for me is to keep their questionnaire open on one screen. Then in a word processing or grammar program on another screen develop a narrative that addresses all the questions. I keep track of all times during the encounter with a program called ShopIt by Tarushi that allows me to discreetly make notes and take pictures on my phone as a third screen. Cut and paste. For those crashes that always seem to occur at the worst possible time you no longer have to regenerate your narrative. Recheck the instructions to make sure you did not miss anything.
I love that app!
San Diego - CA
I like Coyle but their fine dining restaurant choices have diminished. Many years ago, the restaurant choices were wonderful. Yes, the reports are long, detailed and so boring to write but easy to me. I can count on one hand the follow-up questions I have received. Those were always due to my omissions and not due to nitpicking on their part.
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