It seems like many of the Coyle shops just use the same template. If you've done a few, I'm sure you're familiar!

The pay cash at the bar is not my favorite aspect but I do it. However, I keep noticing that many places will no longer take cash. I have had this happen at the last few shops that I've done. I have had several variations on this - one said that they can not make change and advised me to go to the hotel front desk and ask for change, another said they can not make change and I could pay by exact change only, while others will accept cash they will not give coins (and I got reprimanded over tipping less than a quarter to much by an editor once!), while others still will not accept cash at all.

I'm a rules person and this always freaks me out to a certain degree but Coyle has always reimbursed me and scored my reports well overall. Do we think they know some places no longer accept cash? I guess the idea is we're supposed to be checking if bartenders are just brazenly pocketing cash.

Anybody else get frustrated by this? Maybe it's just me. Luckily at the last place I happened to have exact change but I'm not sure what I would have done had they not.

Also, do you experience that sometimes the cash is not picked up? That you can wait a really long time with the cash just sitting there and no bartender comes around for it? What do you do in those situations?

You'd never guess I have a dinner shop and am pre-worrying. lol

For bar shops with cash payment, I've had the same experience and ran into all variations you mentioned when it came to the payment and change part. For the shops I've done for Coyle, I believe it's always been tip based on the pre-tax amount.

Some places say they're cash-less and only take credit card. I don't think I've ever had an issue with reporting this. If it's a location that's been shopped long enough, I think they know.

If there's a check presenter/mini-clipboard, I'll leave the cash in there. If there's no check presenter, I'll leave the cash next to my drink half-way towards the bartender's side of the counter. Maybe if it's crowded, set the cash under a clean coaster at your seat.

Some bar shops ask that you request a receipt, some say not to request a receipt. I found that the coffee/cafe shops are more likely to give exact change, where there's a tip jar, and bars tend to round up to the nearest dollar, in the customer's favor.

For the places that give back change including coins, I'll try to give back all of the coins in the form of a tip. It the tip guidelines state a range of like 15-20%, I'll pick the highest amount with the coins included.

For the places that round up or down to the nearest dollar, I'll calculate the difference between the actual change amount that should be due versus what was given, and factor that difference into the tip. So far, I've haven't had any issues with editors on this.

Some transactions, where the amount is small due to happy hour, like a $3 beer, I round the tip up to the nearest whole dollar. I haven't had any issues with editors on this.

I think the only time I've ever received a comment about a tip amount, was an online order, where I went with pre-selected tip percentage options, which was pre-tax. But the guidelines specifically stated post-tax.

@Okie wrote:

For bar shops with cash payment, I've had the same experience and ran into all variations you mentioned when it came to the payment and change part. For the shops I've done for Coyle, I believe it's always been tip based on the pre-tax amount.

Some places say they're cash-less and only take credit card. I don't think I've ever had an issue with reporting this. If it's a location that's been shopped long enough, I think they know.

If there's a check presenter/mini-clipboard, I'll leave the cash in there. If there's no check presenter, I'll leave the cash next to my drink half-way towards the bartender's side of the counter. Maybe if it's crowded, set the cash under a clean coaster at your seat.

Some bar shops ask that you request a receipt, some say not to request a receipt. I found that the coffee/cafe shops are more likely to give exact change, where there's a tip jar, and bars tend to round up to the nearest dollar, in the customer's favor.

For the places that give back change including coins, I'll try to give back all of the coins in the form of a tip. It the tip guidelines state a range of like 15-20%, I'll pick the highest amount with the coins included.

For the places that round up or down to the nearest dollar, I'll calculate the difference between the actual change amount that should be due versus what was given, and factor that difference into the tip. So far, I've haven't had any issues with editors on this.

Some transactions, where the amount is small due to happy hour, like a $3 beer, I round the tip up to the nearest whole dollar. I haven't had any issues with editors on this.

I think the only time I've ever received a comment about a tip amount, was an online order, where I went with pre-selected tip percentage options, which was pre-tax. But the guidelines specifically stated post-tax.

I was admonished about the tip and had something like $.23 taken out of my reimbursement lol.

I guess I’ll just state if they are cashless. If I have $70 with a $59 and $20 and it’s $58 and they have no change i guess il’ll just pay with a card. I can’t have a cash drawer on me.

I guess I feel concerned about leaving the bar with the cash sitting there because I can not say I know the bartender didn’t pocket it. This is in the instance of having exact change on me. I always slightly worry something like this will cause my shop to be rejected and I won’t be reimbursed for $300 of medicine food. Let’s hope not!

Yikes, I don't think I've ever run into a situation where the MSC adjusted for cents on the dollar. I think most MSCs, even though the stated tip maximum amount is 18% on some shops, they've reimbursed me for a 20% tip I left.

On some of the teller shops recently, after the required transaction is over, I'll ask the teller to break and provide change for me. Lately, I've been carrying smaller bills on me.

Sometimes, if you already know the tip amount, you can give them a set initial amount. When they give your back your change, you can tell them to keep the change right then and be done with the transaction. Or ask them a question or engage with them for a bit, and then give them the tip right then. It depends on the situation though. Good luck!

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@Okie wrote:

For bar shops with cash payment, I've had the same experience and ran into all variations you mentioned when it came to the payment and change part. For the shops I've done for Coyle, I believe it's always been tip based on the pre-tax amount.

Some places say they're cash-less and only take credit card. I don't think I've ever had an issue with reporting this. If it's a location that's been shopped long enough, I think they know.

If there's a check presenter/mini-clipboard, I'll leave the cash in there. If there's no check presenter, I'll leave the cash next to my drink half-way towards the bartender's side of the counter. Maybe if it's crowded, set the cash under a clean coaster at your seat.

Some bar shops ask that you request a receipt, some say not to request a receipt. I found that the coffee/cafe shops are more likely to give exact change, where there's a tip jar, and bars tend to round up to the nearest dollar, in the customer's favor.

For the places that give back change including coins, I'll try to give back all of the coins in the form of a tip. It the tip guidelines state a range of like 15-20%, I'll pick the highest amount with the coins included.

For the places that round up or down to the nearest dollar, I'll calculate the difference between the actual change amount that should be due versus what was given, and factor that difference into the tip. So far, I've haven't had any issues with editors on this.

Some transactions, where the amount is small due to happy hour, like a $3 beer, I round the tip up to the nearest whole dollar. I haven't had any issues with editors on this.

I think the only time I've ever received a comment about a tip amount, was an online order, where I went with pre-selected tip percentage options, which was pre-tax. But the guidelines specifically stated post-tax.

I was admonished about the tip and had something like $.23 taken out of my reimbursement lol.

I guess I’ll just state if they are cashless. If I have $70 with a $59 and $20 and it’s $58 and they have no change i guess il’ll just pay with a card. I can’t have a cash drawer on me.

I guess I feel concerned about leaving the bar with the cash sitting there because I can not say I know the bartender didn’t pocket it. This is in the instance of having exact change on me. I always slightly worry something like this will cause my shop to be rejected and I won’t be reimbursed for $300 of medicine food. Let’s hope not!

I was admonished as well for over-tipping by 10 cents, and the 10 cent reimbursement was withheld. I picked the auto tip on the card reader, and apparently it wasn't accurate.

@bradkcrew wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@Okie wrote:

For bar shops with cash payment, I've had the same experience and ran into all variations you mentioned when it came to the payment and change part. For the shops I've done for Coyle, I believe it's always been tip based on the pre-tax amount.

Some places say they're cash-less and only take credit card. I don't think I've ever had an issue with reporting this. If it's a location that's been shopped long enough, I think they know.

If there's a check presenter/mini-clipboard, I'll leave the cash in there. If there's no check presenter, I'll leave the cash next to my drink half-way towards the bartender's side of the counter. Maybe if it's crowded, set the cash under a clean coaster at your seat.

Some bar shops ask that you request a receipt, some say not to request a receipt. I found that the coffee/cafe shops are more likely to give exact change, where there's a tip jar, and bars tend to round up to the nearest dollar, in the customer's favor.

For the places that give back change including coins, I'll try to give back all of the coins in the form of a tip. It the tip guidelines state a range of like 15-20%, I'll pick the highest amount with the coins included.

For the places that round up or down to the nearest dollar, I'll calculate the difference between the actual change amount that should be due versus what was given, and factor that difference into the tip. So far, I've haven't had any issues with editors on this.

Some transactions, where the amount is small due to happy hour, like a $3 beer, I round the tip up to the nearest whole dollar. I haven't had any issues with editors on this.

I think the only time I've ever received a comment about a tip amount, was an online order, where I went with pre-selected tip percentage options, which was pre-tax. But the guidelines specifically stated post-tax.

I was admonished about the tip and had something like $.23 taken out of my reimbursement lol.

I guess I’ll just state if they are cashless. If I have $70 with a $59 and $20 and it’s $58 and they have no change i guess il’ll just pay with a card. I can’t have a cash drawer on me.

I guess I feel concerned about leaving the bar with the cash sitting there because I can not say I know the bartender didn’t pocket it. This is in the instance of having exact change on me. I always slightly worry something like this will cause my shop to be rejected and I won’t be reimbursed for $300 of medicine food. Let’s hope not!

I was admonished as well for over-tipping by 10 cents, and the 10 cent reimbursement was withheld. I picked the auto tip on the card reader, and apparently it wasn't accurate.

I find it extremely awkward to try and do math when the card reader is at the table. It’s awkward and embarrassing to have to scroll or change amounts with the server holding the damn thing.

@Okie wrote:

Yikes, I don't think I've ever run into a situation where the MSC adjusted for cents on the dollar. I think most MSCs, even though the stated tip maximum amount is 18% on some shops, they've reimbursed me for a 20% tip I left.

On some of the teller shops recently, after the required transaction is over, I'll ask the teller to break and provide change for me. Lately, I've been carrying smaller bills on me.

Sometimes, if you already know the tip amount, you can give them a set initial amount. When they give your back your change, you can tell them to keep the change right then and be done with the transaction. Or ask them a question or engage with them for a bit, and then give them the tip right then. It depends on the situation though. Good luck!

Thank god they had cash so it worked out.

Very random and funny story. I fell asleep with the tv on last night as ancient aliens came on. I usually stress a little about waking up to a report. Somehow the stress and audio during my sleep made me think when I woke up that I needed to explain the supernatural dessert and I don’t remember seeing it anywhere on the menu. Lol.

Sadly, the dessert was good but not actually supernatural.

Take it easy on the reports! (Also, on the drinks, too.)

After a dinner evaluation I completed last week, I am starting to feel like I am over the cash bar shops. With Coyle, at least.

@olympia tennenbaum may have done this location, but the bar seats at the restaurant are reserved for diners who could not get a table reservation, so the bartender made me check in with the host about sitting at the bar, and the host tried to seat us early at a table. I had to decline and ask to sit at the bar...and then the bartender insisted on transferring the check to the table. I refused that, placed exact change on the bar after our drink, and went to the host to be seated. Of course, when the dinner check arrived, the drinks from the bar were on it, so thus ensued the struggle to have the drinks removed from the check.

When we were sitting at the bar, my wife looked at me and mouthed, "We look so stupid..." and I had to agree, she was right. We were literally prohibiting walk-in customers from sitting at the bar and spending money. The client does not want that. The bar tab also put me over the reimbursement for a meal where we ordered pretty modestly, and my thought was that the client probably came up with the reimbursement based on an average dinner check, and someone at Coyle probably decided it was a good sales tactic to throw in a bar evaluation for a place where the bar does NOT need to be evaluated.

At the NYC location for this client, one could conceivably go to the bar ahead of the guest, have a drink and wait for them, which would make it look more natural, but the L.A. location is down a dark alley in a part of town where nobody is walking at night. Much less alone. And it's strictly valet parking (not reimbursed).

Booze aside, we paid $300 for a small salad, some basic tacos and nice dessert. I would not normally have wanted the cocktails form the bar, either, so I felt like I paid $40 for some tacos and ended up working a few hours for free.

I have also done a few where the restaurant doesn't accept cash, and on my last one, the bartender told me they could take the cash, but not give change. I ended up putting down 3 x $20 bills for a $42 bar tab and wrote to Coyle that I wanted the full $60 reimbursed, which they agreed to. You have to spot those tip overages in advance and point them out, and they will reimburse. This includes the payment machines that tip on the post-tax total.

My thought in the end is that the people making the decisions about how these shops operate have very limited experience in the field actually performing them.

I am taking a few weeks off from my day job starting tomorrow and realizing that I probably need some time away from MSing as well.. Some time off to reset.

peace

@ Steve How is it determined that a bar evaluation is needed/necessary? Every fine dining shop I have completed required a cash bar evaluation. I detest going to the bar. My last shop was especially annoying as the bar was packed with the office crowd after work. A Manager came up to us and asked that we check in with the hostess who would seat us at a bar table. We ignored her. I asked a guy crowd blocking 3 seats if I could sit in one of them. Made room and we were OK. Cash has been always accepted. Another stress factor if it isn't for sure.

...someone at Coyle probably decided it was a good sales tactic to throw in a bar evaluation for a place where the bar does NOT need to be evaluated.

Great point OT. What did you do with the bartender leaving the cash on the bar top forever? Another stress factor to be prepared for.

@Madetoshop wrote:

How is it determined that a bar evaluation is needed/necessary?

A: The client asks for one
B: The MSC offers one

The idea is that the evaluator is fully evaluating the restaurant, but some clients recently have been asking for serpent bar shops, which I appreciate. The traditional thought was that it was such a small component, that they would package it with dinners to force an evaluator to do the bar, or nobody would take it unless it paid really well.

For the client I visited, they should do a dinner at the bar 1 out of every 3 visits and it would be more effective, but what do I know...

This:

"serpent bar shops"

made me chuckle.

I realize it's a typo but I am sure many bartenders perceive us that way

@MMMM wrote:

I realize it's a typo but I am sure many bartenders perceive us that way

Yes...SEPARATE bar shops, where you can get two rounds and an appetizer or two. Like a normal bar guest.

As much as I sometimes complain about Coyle, I had a realization today; I have one MSC that emails me about 5-10 times er day. I have done 1 assignment for them this year and made $10. I receive less than 1 unsolicited email from Coyle per month, and they are my main employer in the MSC world.

While the reports may be tiresome and the instructions out of date, the money earned vs. time spend wading through offers is decent. I am also on track to exceed my usual $50k in reimbursements from them for 2024.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

@MMMM wrote:

I realize it's a typo but I am sure many bartenders perceive us that way

Yes...SEPARATE bar shops, where you can get two rounds and an appetizer or two. Like a normal bar guest.

As much as I sometimes complain about Coyle, I had a realization today; I have one MSC that emails me about 5-10 times er day. I have done 1 assignment for them this year and made $10. I receive less than 1 unsolicited email from Coyle per month, and they are my main employer in the MSC world.

While the reports may be tiresome and the instructions out of date, the money earned vs. time spend wading through offers is decent. I am also on track to exceed my usual $50k in reimbursements from them for 2024.

Nice flex.

*faints*

When I was doing my 2023 taxes, I started tracking the total reimbursement amount from shops to analyze. I was surprised how high the reimbursement amount got to. I started doing the sit-down dining and hotel shops last year, but it made me reevaluate and reconsider the reimbursement element for tax purposes.

@Okie wrote:

When I was doing my 2023 taxes, I started tracking the total reimbursement amount from shops to analyze. I was surprised how high the reimbursement amount got to. I started doing the sit-down dining and hotel shops last year, but it made me reevaluate and reconsider the reimbursement element for tax purposes.

Yes; That's $50k I did not have to earn or pay tax on. I think my 1099 will be closer to $2k

@steve. Thanks for also sharing about getting reimbursed when there was no change. I'll have to try to remember that one in the future.

The scenario you described with the alley and tacos doen't sound like anything I've done but, I have an idea of the location you might be referring to. I'll take heed for that one. Sounds like some taco truck tacos might have been an easier night.

Sounds like you need a break if your volume nets $50k in reimbursements. I'm trying to evaluate which shops make sense for me. I definitely prefer when there's not a bar component involved. One I did earlier this year gave the option of visiting the bar at dinner or going for lunch and no bar. That was way easy for me to decide. Some small places where the bar is just an edge of the dining room seem fairly awkward to have to visit.

Along with the pay in cash issues like when they don't accept cash or don't carry change is the phone call requirement when no one answers the phone. I've freaked out in the past when I'm not able to get anyone on the phone for a reservation. I feel like half of these are set up to test the shopper as much as the location.

If would be nice if Coyle would allow a comments section to share some of this. Although it sounds like they don't care.

Steve, I also like your idea of bar shops that are separate from dinner shops. I know at least one in our area that offers that. Like you said, it just seems more natural and organic than visiting the bar quickly and then dinner.

@olympia tennenbaum the Mexican place in the alley is one of those that doesn't answer the phone at night.

I called at noon the day after the assignment and finally got someone. They open at 5 PM, so I think they only answer when closed? I tried 3 times during business hours with no answer.

And the $50k is not as many shops as one might think. I probably have 50 dinners at $200 average, and half dozen shops that were over $5k, and the rest are hotels that were between $2-3k. I was averaging one dinner per week for the first 10 months of the year.

My one remaining shop for the year has zero cash requirements, but it's a 2-night stay with 4 restaurants, room service and 2 bars, so it's enough food for a month.

I love reading these Coyle threads. It reminds me every time I am tempted to not bother to apply for one of their shops. I am not interested in these headache scenarios..

@bradkcrew wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

@Okie wrote:

For bar shops with cash payment, I've had the same experience and ran into all variations you mentioned when it came to the payment and change part. For the shops I've done for Coyle, I believe it's always been tip based on the pre-tax amount.

Some places say they're cash-less and only take credit card. I don't think I've ever had an issue with reporting this. If it's a location that's been shopped long enough, I think they know.

If there's a check presenter/mini-clipboard, I'll leave the cash in there. If there's no check presenter, I'll leave the cash next to my drink half-way towards the bartender's side of the counter. Maybe if it's crowded, set the cash under a clean coaster at your seat.

Some bar shops ask that you request a receipt, some say not to request a receipt. I found that the coffee/cafe shops are more likely to give exact change, where there's a tip jar, and bars tend to round up to the nearest dollar, in the customer's favor.

For the places that give back change including coins, I'll try to give back all of the coins in the form of a tip. It the tip guidelines state a range of like 15-20%, I'll pick the highest amount with the coins included.

For the places that round up or down to the nearest dollar, I'll calculate the difference between the actual change amount that should be due versus what was given, and factor that difference into the tip. So far, I've haven't had any issues with editors on this.

Some transactions, where the amount is small due to happy hour, like a $3 beer, I round the tip up to the nearest whole dollar. I haven't had any issues with editors on this.

I think the only time I've ever received a comment about a tip amount, was an online order, where I went with pre-selected tip percentage options, which was pre-tax. But the guidelines specifically stated post-tax.

I was admonished about the tip and had something like $.23 taken out of my reimbursement lol.

I guess I’ll just state if they are cashless. If I have $70 with a $59 and $20 and it’s $58 and they have no change i guess il’ll just pay with a card. I can’t have a cash drawer on me.

I guess I feel concerned about leaving the bar with the cash sitting there because I can not say I know the bartender didn’t pocket it. This is in the instance of having exact change on me. I always slightly worry something like this will cause my shop to be rejected and I won’t be reimbursed for $300 of medicine food. Let’s hope not!

I was admonished as well for over-tipping by 10 cents, and the 10 cent reimbursement was withheld. I picked the auto tip on the card reader, and apparently it wasn't accurate.

I’ve been doing high end dining and hotel shops for Coyle for a couple of years now. I have to say, the level of communication from them seems to have declined recently and nitpicking like this seems to have increased. I hope it’s not going to be a long term trend.

I have one more shop scheduled with them for this year. I’m going to take a few months off after that. I just don’t feel like they respect shoppers. I know that’s an issue with mystery shopping overall, but I hadn’t had that experience as much with Coyle until recently.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I was averaging one dinner per week for the first 10 months of the year.

This is how we got chubby.

@redpanda711 wrote:

I have one more shop scheduled with them for this year. I’m going to take a few months off after that. I just don’t feel like they respect shoppers. I know that’s an issue with mystery shopping overall, but I hadn’t had that experience as much with Coyle until recently.

I know a few others who feel that way (as far as taking a break). Myself included,

I also think it goes a bit deeper than general disrespect for shoppers. I feel like the company as a whole is a bit overburdened with the workload and number of shops they now have. The decision to take on shops that were previously not part of their profile (jewelry, parking, etc.) probably nets them a a lot more money in the end, but brings a slew of new issues along with it.

Around a decade ago, a similar thing was happening, and I mentioned it to the people on top (basically sending an email telling them why I was taking a break), and they actually got back to me, apologized, and made some changes. That was back when they were still 100% dining & hotels, though, and I am skeptical if I would get the same response pushing back these days. They owe me too much $$ right now to poke that tiger...