wow, 45 minutes for a Coyle report? I spend several hours.

Me, too! I thought it was incredibly detailed, right down to the minute and second I got up to use the restroom. Wow!


vloglady Wrote:
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> wow, 45 minutes for a Coyle report? I spend
> several hours.

I found that if you just focus on times, names and descriptions, you're pretty set. If you start entering the form right when you get home, you can usually remember most of the details (did he do this, did they pull out your chair, etc.) I take my partner with me and he focuses on names and descriptions while I do the times and facility review. It gets pretty fast for me if I just have those information to look at to jog my memory.


SpyGirl Wrote:
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> Me, too! I thought it was incredibly detailed,
> right down to the minute and second I got up to
> use the restroom. Wow!
>
>
> vloglady Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > wow, 45 minutes for a Coyle report? I spend
> > several hours.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2011 04:34PM by oneofthreepaths.

I think you have to be a relatively fast typer to finish one of the reports in 45 minutes. I can usually finish the narrative in about an hour, but by the time I scan receipts and get all of the forms entered, it's closer to 90 minutes for the whole report.

I have performed many restaurants reports for them, though. I started at around 4 hours and have reduced that to 90 minutes over many years.

I've done a number of hotel and restaurant shops for Coyle, though it's been a few years. I've never had any issue with their reports and don't remember them being difficult.

I will say, certain things like "very" are what's called fluff words, meaning they add no real value to the description and so they're to be avoided. Very is too vague and oftentimes pointless. You can't be very dead or very pregnant. You either are or aren't, period. For reports, to say the food was very hot doesn't describe it better than saying the food was hot. To say it was scalding and burnt your tongue when you bit into it, THAT'S a description you can't get from "very". Avoiding "very" makes for a stronger report and that's probably why they've got that rule.

I dunno . . . not too long ago I did a bank shop with a very pregnant personal banker. She was having trouble breathing because of the lateness of the term and I suspect some early stage contractions. I kept my fingers crossed she wouldn't need to rush off to the delivery room before she finished telling me about their checking accounts. :-)

Flash, you are too funny!
I had read both positive and negative about Coyle, but decided that I wanted to do the upscalerestaurantss, hotels, and cruises. So I applied (for the second time) and was accepted and assigned my first job at a nice upscalerestaurantt. I "panicked" because I was thinking I only had 12 hours to get the report instead of the 24, and so I did not do my best on the report. Much to my pleasure andsurprisee, I got an email stating that I had done an excellent report but that there were some issues. The person was nice and professional about it. I replied as soon as possible according to herinstructionss. It appeared that she was understanding and tolerant since I was new.
I agree that they want detail, detail, detail. But that iOKok, it is what we are supposed to be doing. If you don't like the requirements, don't do the job. I love writing grammatically correct narratives that include great spelling and punctuation. If a person does this every time, it gets to be a habit and it quite easy. It can also get to be a habit to be sloppy and forget how to spell! Which is what happened to me after I left school! the hardest thing for me is to NOT usparentheseses and exclamation points.
I think it is making me a better person and a better writer. I loved doing the shop for them and hope I get many more along with spas, hotels, and those awesome cruises.
Anyone else willing to share who does the upscale shops besides Coyle?

Flash Wrote:
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> I dunno . . . not too long ago I did a bank shop
> with a very pregnant personal banker. She was
> having trouble breathing because of the lateness
> of the term and I suspect some early stage
> contractions. I kept my fingers crossed she
> wouldn't need to rush off to the delivery room
> before she finished telling me about their
> checking accounts. :-)


Ha ha! Ok, so you've found an exception to the rule but only because of your following description, which is hilarious.

When I was an editor and as an editor trainer, we always went by the policy that we were to remove the word very from reports if it was there. I still sometimes include it in narratives though, almost without thinking. When one is not allowed to include any kind of emphasis (exclamation point, bold, underlining) it is so tempting.

Regarding Coyle - I agree 45 minutes is awful fast for their reports, although possibly some of the shorter ones if you were a very fast typist and very used to their reporting style. (yes, I realize I just used the word very twice)!

I don't do a lot of Coyle's restaurants anymore, but I think the last one I did, took me about an hour and 15 start to finish.

ArizonaShopper - I would suggest ACL if you do not already shop for them.

They have a specific format and if you follow that you will be fine. On every page of the report, there is a place to click on and bring up an example for that specific section. Tedious? Yes. They do have some fine restaurants that are nice nights out. I don't otherwise have the opportunity to spend $80.00 on lunch and get reimbursed for it! It is worth a couple of hours of my time.

mariuche Wrote:
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> You are right they are exhausting and extremely
> detailed. They take points off for a lot. Last
> report they took off for my spelling when I used
> their spell check. Don't see how that was
> possible. They took points off because I use the
> word "very" too much when I was describing the
> food. I do a lot of restaurant shops and no other
> company has done that. This one really had me
> scratching my had, on top of the report to descibe
> "no" answers they took off because I started the
> sentence with a capital letter. I thought that
> was what you did in the English language.

I appreciate their requirements are different from many other shops. I haven't done one of their shops yet but when reading through the instructions, it does say that "no" answers are supposed to be answered with 3-5 words, and with no capitalization or punctuation. It also says that you are not allowed to use the word, "very".
I don't have a problem with rules, as long as I know what they are before I start the job. Their instructions seemed quite clear. I guess I'll find out once I do my first assignment. I plan on starting with some telephone shops.

I don't get the whole capitalization and punctuation deal. Wouldn't reports like that look terrible to their clients? I'd love for someone from the company to give some insight on that.

TechSavvy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't get the whole capitalization and
> punctuation deal. Wouldn't reports like that look
> terrible to their clients? I'd love for someone
> from the company to give some insight on that.


I wonder the same thing. The only reason I can think of is that you are only writing 3-5 words, so they aren't sentences, they are points. If you used capital letters and punctuated a non-sentence, it would look far worse than lowercase points.

It might be in the output to the customer, so if you answer "No" and "the eggs were runny" the final product to the customer might look like this:

"No, the eggs were runny."

Bena Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> TechSavvy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I don't get the whole capitalization and
> > punctuation deal. Wouldn't reports like that
> look
> > terrible to their clients? I'd love for someone
> > from the company to give some insight on that.
>
>
> I wonder the same thing. The only reason I can
> think of is that you are only writing 3-5 words,
> so they aren't sentences, they are points. If you
> used capital letters and punctuated a
> non-sentence, it would look far worse than
> lowercase points.

I do not find Coyle to be consistant. I did a shop recently and the report instructions stated that no description was necessary if a name was given on the report. I gave the name of the server and the name of the manager. They sent the report back to me wanting a description of both. I gave them the description but that is not what the instructions said to do.
Also, I was specific that the sous chef who delivered our appetizer did not speak but "smiled, nodded and made eye contact" Coyle asked me what he said.
This particular shop was in a cafe that is located in a museum, which is staffed by volunteers. (the museum, not the cafe) Coyle (after the report was submitted) wanted to know the name of the "lobby attendant" and specifics of my conversation with him. I had to explain twice that the "lobby attendant" was a volunteer who did not work for the cafe and that I had no need to ask him anything. That was not even a question on the report. The cafe lobby is not the same as the museum lobby.
I'll probably do a couple more shops for them but if things don't start being more reasonable, then I will no continue to do so.

How do their hotel evaluations compare with those of other MSCs?

Ditto. I signed up for them a while ago. And apparently I'm in a dead area as far as shops go, but it was obvious that they wanted me because of my background. I've been trying to get on their hotel shops, but it sounds like they don't "trust me" to complete those yet.

As much as I respect Coyle for the caliber of their shops and high-quality reports, I find them a bit "inhospitable." Even though I have always received perfect scores on my assignments, I feel like a second-rate citizen when I post my availability on a listing ... and it sits there ... and sits there ... until suddenly it disappears without a word to me. So many other companies at least send out automatic "closed" emails to let you know not to keep your calendar open for a potential shop. Unless I have a shop assigned and am communicating about that, I feel like I am shouting into a deep, black hole with Coyle ... and I hear only my own echo.

Pizza, are you talking about restaurant requests?

Their system used to send out "Closed" emails to all shoppers that were not assigned. Perhaps they changed it, since I no longer get them either.

I know a lot of shoppers were annoyed at those emails and just wanted to know which shops had been accepted. Guess there's an argument for having it both ways. It would be nice if the system gave you the option to receive them or not, however.

As far as getting assignments goes; It can be tricky. If you have evaluated a restaurant previously, they will be more apt to put a newbie in than send you back again. They don't like to repeat evaluators. If you are truly getting perfect scores and requesting similar assignments, but not getting them, I think that seems strange. Perhaps you live in an area that has a surplus of evaluators.

For getting the first assignment like americangeiko had asked in the other thread; you may have to wait for a client to surface in your area, or try to request a less desirable asignment when traveling to get your foot in the door. When I started with Coyle many years ago, they had only one shop in all of SoCal. After I had done that one, I ended up requesting assignments in NYC each time I was there on business so I could prove myself and get a hotel evaluation.

I have done many shops for them and they are No. 1 in this sector by any measures. Their reports are tough to write but if you follow their directions, they are not bad. The first took me hours to write but after that it has been much easier.

Unfortunately the locations are not close to me otherwise I would have no hesitation in doing these shops.

For me, they are the kings in the Mystery Shopping universe!

Steve, thanks for sharing your experience. My frustration regarding the "black hole of communication" on potential shops applies to all types of shops. I have not yet done a hotel or cruise shop for Coyle, but my other shop scores have all been 20s. It's not that I *expect* to be assigned when I apply ... rather, it's that I would appreciate the consideration of being told yes or no in a reasonable time frame (a week, perhaps). That said, I certainly still hold Coyle in high regard, and my interactions with them during actual shops have been positive. I hope that makes sense.

I think their rotation on restaurants is a year, so if there are not many locations in your area you will be waiting awhile.

I was told by a scheduler you had to do X number of jobs to advance to the next level. So like 2-3 mid range dining to get a 5 star restaurant. Then 2 5 stars for a hotel, etc.

I haven't done much with them since they only have a few places in my area. Maybe someone ese knows more.

kalfini Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think their rotation on restaurants is a year,
> so if there are not many locations in your area
> you will be waiting awhile.
>
> I was told by a scheduler you had to do X number
> of jobs to advance to the next level. So like 2-3
> mid range dining to get a 5 star restaurant. Then
> 2 5 stars for a hotel, etc.
>
> I haven't done much with them since they only have
> a few places in my area. Maybe someone ese knows
> more.

So they go by levels. Whats the magic number? How many phone jobs to get a restaurant? How many lower restauarants to get a good restuarant? How many restuarants to get a hotel? Just curious on how thier system works.

There are no specific levels or magic numbers. It's all about the number of assignments and qualified evaluators in your area. If you are needed, you can quickly advance to bigger evaluations. If there are many qualified evaluators, you may need to do some favors (i.e. take a crappy assignment) to get in.

I can usually get the bigger assignments I want, since I have been with them so long, but have trouble ever getting a restaurant or smaller hotel assignment these days since they need them to vet the newer evaluators!

I have always got the restaurant shops I have asked for. I have not asked for any hotel shops as I would not like to go alone and most of them do not allow kids to go.

Do the schedulers post on this board anymore?

SteveSoCal wrote: "I happy to spend a few hours on a report if I net a $200+ dinner. If it was a lunch with a $45 reimbursement, I would burn out rather fast."

It must be your location, Steve because I have never seen a shop in my area (GA) that offered $200 for the shop and/or the dinner reimbursement. One MSC does a premium steakhouse but only offers a $12 fee + up to to $170 reimbursement for the meal, bar visit and valet parking.

It's definitely location based. LA has a ton of expensive fine dining outlets.

I put in for a ton of shops in a variety of areas this time around, but there's little to no restaurant shops that appeal to me in any of the areas I travel to. I've been considering do phone shops for them to build cred despite the fact that I hate talking on the phone, lol.

They do an amazing tappas place near me but I would never do it as a Coyle shop. The food comes so fast and furious by so many different wait staff personell I could never keep up with the timings,names, eyes, teeth and everything else they want with each interaction. The food at that place is amazing but desribing and identifying it without a menu is nearly imposssible.

The place is one of my favorites and regardless of the reimbursement, I would never do it as a shop.