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Buckalew question from a newbie

June 05, 2016 08:01PM
I am in my second month of shopping. I have done roughly 25 shops from gas station to fine dining. I've not had any series issues with any reports. I did have to provide a little bit of additional info for one of my "A Closer Look" shops, but it was a quick fix, and didn't seem to be a huge deal.

With all that being said, I'm considering applying for a Buckalew hotel assignment in DC toward the end of the month. I do quite a bit of business travel, so fitting into the culture is no big deal. I don't mind the charge sitting on my card for a little while, BUT something still makes me nervous about doing a job for them. While the charge sitting for awhile is fine, but if something were to happen that my report wasn't accepted, that would be rough. Compared to other reports and companies, how particular are they? Are the reports reasonable? Any tips or advice before I take the leap?
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June 05, 2016 09:59PM
Most reputable MSCs will not let you accept a shop they don't think you can perform acceptably. With that in mind, if Buckalew assigns you the shop without having done previous hospitality shops for them or others, I would expect that they believe their guidelines are adequate to allow you to get the job done correctly. Of course there is always a risk with any reimbursement shop that it might be rejected, but Buckalew is not a company I have heard complaints about.

If you are assigned the shop, immediately go through the guidelines making notes especially for anything you have questions about. Ask those questions soon after you are awarded the shop so that if it is something you don't think you can handle, you can cancel with them with plenty of time for them to award the shop to someone else.

Hotel shops generally have lots of moving pieces. The more upscale the hotel, the more moving pieces. Do not anticipate that you will have time to do anything more while at the hotel than make observations and write them up. If it turns out you do get a little free time, consider it a bonus.

I have never had the opportunity of doing a shop for Buckalew because they don't have anything in my area, but as I mentioned, they are not a company I have heard many complaints about.
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June 05, 2016 11:40PM
I completed one hotel assignment for them. The Buckalew team really provided ample support to ensure that I could turn in a successful shop.

I found the instructions and report to be clear and easily understandable. There was a pre-shop call with a staff member to review the guidelines and answer any questions. In addition, Dave was seemingly available via text almost 24/7. I had a few surprises come up during my shop and my texts were answered in under 15 minutes. Payment for the shop fee was swift. The hotel charges were reversed in a few days.

That being said, the shop wasn't one of my favorites. I was busy from check in to check out with the numerous interactions.

If you do take the shop, my advice is to work out a schedule for each task after reviewing your particular guidelines. For example, there may be multiple phone calls required. Plan how you will space them out so that you are not reaching the same receptionist multiple times.
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June 06, 2016 12:03AM
@aria712 wrote:


If you do take the shop, my advice is to work out a schedule for each task after reviewing your particular guidelines. For example, there may be multiple phone calls required. Plan how you will space them out so that you are not reaching the same receptionist multiple times.

Great advice. In one hotel I evaluated, every call was channeled through the front desk, whether it was a wake up call, room service, housekeeping call, maintenance request, attempt to discover guest room number or name, concierge etc. And on top of this there were multiple in person interactions with the front desk. So it takes some organization to not be calling every 15 minutes.
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June 06, 2016 01:30AM
Some excellent advice. Thank you all very much!!
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