1. Narratives are notorious - the worst. I don't even want to take a shop with a bar visit any more - almost doubles the amount of work, and asks as much for the 20mins at the bar as it does for the 2hrs at the table.
2. The grading is so inconsistent: one editor will ask follow ups and still give you 100, another will say nothing and give you a 70, maybe because they're new and have something to prove... anyone recently get Aashna?
3. They make you wait forever before assigning; you can apply, weeks go by and you make plans, and then you get assigned. Thanks for nothing.
4. Even if you have a good history with them, you can apply for a particular unpopular shop over and over, month after month, and they'll keep passing you over, while leaving the job posted, until it expires. Hello? Anyone home?
5. Taking an assignment during a trip will assuredly ruin your trip.
6. Whoever constructs their postings is just lazy: if the pay rate is $10, then why still mention bidding? Bidding I think was introduced during Covid, but only applies to the least popular shops now (not ALL shops).
7. Valet - ugh. Now I just SAY i took uber to avoid answering yet another slew of questions. If you want me to review valet, make it a separate shop with separate pay.
8. THIS ONE DRIVES ME CRAZY: they use the 'shopmetrics' booking engine that other companies use, but it never works properly! And Coyle KNOWS this, because every now and then when they're desperate to fill jobs they'll send an email explaining how to make their sh**ty site usable ("You may need to remove your postal code and change the number of records to 500 to see local evaluations." Idiots!! Why not just have it so that when I log in, the stupid site actually REMEMBERS where I live, and doesn't begin by showing me opportunities in Dubai and Hong Kong. It's been YEARS of this, and I don't know a single other MSC that has this issue.

Honestly, I have no idea why companies hire Coyle - they are such a complete train wreck.
Coyle should hire another (competent) company to 'mystery shop' THEM!

...but I'll never give them up. I've been meaning to write a post shouting out ACL, even though they seem controversial as well. BUT I can self assign. The filters are easy to use. The reports are broken down to pages to easily filter and jump around as well. They show you assignments others have taken. I just really think they do a lot of things right.

For me Coyle isn't one I do for the money, it's for the experiences. I've been to a number of places I never would have tried do to the expense or other aspect. I've also experienced fairly consistent high grading from them, but it does come at the expense of my time typing.

For your #4, is it a shop you've already done for them? Rumor has it they don't allow you reshop restaurants/anything depending on the thread. I have reshopped valet sites (these can be worth it for thr money and not the experience lol) so they allow at least that.

I will wholeheartedly agree their booking platform is a dumpster fire.

# 3 is a big deal for me. I like to plan my calendar in advance.

Agreed Shopmetrics sucks...and they way they utilize it doesn't help. There are ways to have a whole section be N/A but some forms require you to N/A every single checkbox...with a comment of N/A too, in order to have it submitted. And then there's the dizzying amount of errors on the forms.

Main issue for me is that editors/salespeople are no longer allowed to take assignments, because they are trying to distinguish contractors from employees, so there is nary an editor there who has ever attempted to actually perform a mystery shop, and the people making up the instruction sets don't have a good concept of the clients, or what a realistic scenario is.

I saw a clip from a movie on social media this AM where two guys sit at a table in a fine dining restaurant, order a half bottle of wine and two glasses of tap water, and the server runs over to the manager to tell them the Michelin reviewers are there...and that kind of sums up the experience with Coyle. (Dose anyone know what movie that is?)

You order bottled water...strike against you. Refill on wine at dinner...evaluation gets rejected. But please be natural and not obvious! The scenario they require is so obvious that it makes it easy to spot the shoppers. I go back to the same clients on my own with a third person and order a bottle of wine, and get a completely different experience. Same thing with hotels. Book anything longer than 2 nights in a room that's not the cheapest one in the hotel and they know you are not the shopper....

Their budgeting mentality is left over from the economic crash of the late 2000's when clients started pushing back on fees and reimbursement levels. Prior to that, reimbursement levels were never an issue, and they were paying higher shop fees in 2003 than they are now. Although unemployment has dropped back to the levels of 2000 and their clients are now charging 50% more for a meal, with living expenses probably being close double what they were 20 years ago where I live, pay rates and reimbursement levels have not changed.

But every time I make up my mind to walk away, they land one good client in my area that keeps me coming back. I am extremely picky about the assignments I will take with them now, but am in regular rotation for one of their high-end clients that make all of the above somehow still worth it.

Coyle is at the very top of my 10-foot $hit list.

SteveSoCal is back!

They had a very attractive shop down here once...the hospitality hour at a local hotel. You were supposed to go there and essentially crash the buffet. The pay was incredible as I recall. But it didn't "feel" right to me. Glad I didn't do it.

I used to do a couple of restaurant chains for them, but they don't have them anymore. I've done two shops this year. One was a Chipotle-like fast casual chain where the fee had gone up to $50 (originally $8). It was a terrible shop, with lots of photographs that were impossible to take without being obvious. Not sure if I'd do it again, even for that price.

The other was last week, nice Italian place near me where the fee had gone up from $14 to $40. with a $150 reimbursement. Not sure that I'd do it for $14 but I'd definitely do it for $40.

I was looking at their airport shops since I'll be flying in February and won't have lounge access at the terminal. Has anyone done them? Are they as much of a pain as the other shops?

I do exactly 1 client for them in my area, a grilled chicken place with great food and an honest-to-G_d reasonable report. I won't do anything else for them and I still the occasional weird response from the editors and recently they assigned me a shop on the wrong day. They ended up accepting it but reamed me out for their mistake.

@MisterBill wrote:

I was looking at their airport shops since I'll be flying in February and won't have lounge access at the terminal. Has anyone done them? Are they as much of a pain as the other shops?

I recently flew through an airport where they had a ton available, but never on your flight away (see #5 above - will ruin your vacation), and even if it’s in the way back there’s so much stress with making it to your plane on time already that it’s hardly worth the $14. Also so hard to know if it’s at the whole other end of the terminal. I passed, especially knowing I’d be doing a Coyle report.

@non sequitur wrote:

@MisterBill wrote:

I was looking at their airport shops since I'll be flying in February and won't have lounge access at the terminal. Has anyone done them? Are they as much of a pain as the other shops?

I recently flew through an airport where they had a ton available, but never on your flight away (see #5 above - will ruin your vacation), and even if it’s in the way back there’s so much stress with making it to your plane on time already that it’s hardly worth the $14. Also so hard to know if it’s at the whole other end of the terminal. I passed, especially knowing I’d be doing a Coyle report.

Well, I was wondering if maybe the airport shops weren't as painful as their other shops. But it's Coyle, so probably not.

#1 Narratives - Yes, intense but I can pretty much do them in my sleep now WITH the RIGHT GUEST i.e. A family member.

#3 - Shop applications - I hear you. I now make a note on my calendar for the date I have applied for. If I have set plans, I will log in and cancel my application. PITA!!!!!

#6 - Bidding. I don't understand this either. I never bid.

The guidelines for all restaurants state the timing/stamps required. Yet, I had received feedback requesting additional timings for one shop. I am used to taking them so was able to reply but it was annoying as I thought they relaxed the timings. I now include ALL timestamps regardless. I am talking about when the table was cleared, by whom with opening and closing statements, descriptions.

We enjoy certain Coyle clients but will only select those.

@Madetoshop wrote:

#1 Narratives - Yes, intense but I can pretty much do them in my sleep now WITH the RIGHT GUEST i.e. A family member.

#3 - Shop applications - I hear you. I now make a note on my calendar for the date I have applied for. If I have set plans, I will log in and cancel my application. PITA!!!!!

#6 - Bidding. I don't understand this either. I never bid.

The guidelines for all restaurants state the timing/stamps required. Yet, I had received feedback requesting additional timings for one shop. I am used to taking them so was able to reply but it was annoying as I thought they relaxed the timings. I now include ALL timestamps regardless. I am talking about when the table was cleared, by whom with opening and closing statements, descriptions.

We enjoy certain Coyle clients but will only select those.

If you don't bid, how do you get paid for your time?

They have a fee posted with the shop.

@Madetoshop

You don't have to bid...but I have bid higher than the posted fee several times AND been scheduled it. I just put in the note "I'm willing to do it for $xx on XX/XX/XXXX." They can either accept or reject it. If I like the shop and the payment that is being offered, I might just accept it, but the last few, I have asked for MORE and received it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2023 08:42AM by hbbigdaddy.

Hi,
I believe the video you saw was from the movie ‘Burnt’ from 2015

I have done many Coyle shops, all with heavy bonuses and report requirements which were realistic. Scheduling has been simple; the schedulers have always thanked me for taking up shops they cant otherwise schedule (I work a collection of restricted access locations) and I've never heard from editing - except once when I uploaded thecwrong receipt. Importantly, payment has always been punctual.

Shopmetrics is my favorite of the shared platform. Sassie is #2. ClientSmart is #3. I avoid shops on ISS except when they pay exceptionally well.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2023 08:48PM by Rousseau.

Chipotle i in CO hires mystery shoppers themselves.

You are trained up North, at a special store.

They are arrogant and CO was happy when they left the state.

I was trained there.

Anyone know why they’ve gone from regularly having 2000+ visits available constantly to having under 300 the past few weeks? Seems really odd.

@Binkyb wrote:

Anyone know why they’ve gone from regularly having 2000+ visits available constantly to having under 300 the past few weeks? Seems really odd.

They no longer show shops that have been accepted (waitlist shops) so that reduces the number of shops.

Some clients intentionally susoend shopping during holiday rushes. Others may have exhuasted their calendar year budget already.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/2023 10:55PM by Rousseau.

There are two lounge shops... one is labeled a lounge shop, but is really an entire airport experience shop - including the lounge (this is one where you have to be flying a particular airline). I've never done that one - but have seen the instructions and they are significant. The other is just a lounge and I've done that one - it takes a lot of pictures and a lot of very detailed standard checking... it's not just a "how's the service shop" - the fee for this one varies from $50-$150 - probably worth it on the higher end (but don't expect to lounge in the lounge) but definitely not worth it on the lower end.

ETA - this is in regards to the MrBill above asking about airport lounge shops- sorry, I meant to quote but it doesn't seem to be working for me.

As far as Coyle overall, I'm in SteveSoCal's camp - there is one client that I find worthwhile that is shopped twice a year, i will continue with that one and maybe another here or there but few and far between.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/31/2023 06:10AM by MickeyB.

did a dealership CC job. the instructions do NOT STATE what to do IF you aren't offered the app... the scheduler told me when I emailed what I should have done - why wasn't it IN the INSTRUCTIONS? I live in a lackadaisical, very slow paced state . I was so mad at all that time (everything else was perfect, down to pics!)

@non sequitur wrote:

3. They make you wait forever before assigning; you can apply, weeks go by and you make plans, and then you get assigned. Thanks for nothing.!

I guess I got lucky. I put in for an April shop and got assigned it pretty quickly. The payment is only $14 vs the $40 I got for doing a last-minute shop of another restaurant owned by the same people, but I wanted to try this Michelin Bib Gourmand rated restaurant and the $150 reimbursement is generous enough.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2024 03:46AM by MisterBill.

MisterBill opines--.............and the $150 reimbursement is generous enough.

Bob comments--My last fine dining shop was in Aug. of 2007. There was zero fee, it was necessary for me to ante up $8+ from my pocket and the reimbursement took 101 days. In addition, the plates were approx.12", with a scant amount of food in the middle the was not satiating. In comparison, I have always departed the Roadhouse full and taken food home.

If one has ever read any of my postings, you know it is adage time: What ever floats one's boat.

Shopper Bob,

Fine dining at $8 out of pocket? I'm sorry, but that must have been a lot longer ago than 2007?

Rosie,

I have a log dating back to the beginning in April of 2003. The eatery I mentioned was completed on 08/16/2007. I was to be paid net 45, but, due to two broken promises, it took 101 days. The reimbursement was $60, but ordering the cheapest meals, the bill was $68+. It was one of those shops one does not forget, as the guidelines stated I was not to use paragraphs; I wrote in a long paragraph. What was meant, though, was for me to use outline form.

After the reimbursement check cleared, I deactivated my account. When a few yrs. later I was contacted by a scheduler, I emphasized I was devoid of the slightest interest in a reestablishment of a relationship.

Okay, I misunderstood you to mean the whole meal cost $8. Not just the amount over reimbursement.

Even back in 2007, most Coyle fine dining meals were reimbursing over $200, though, and I would regularly have dinners in the $300-400 range that were fully reimbursed. This was all in CA/NY so perhaps it's different elsewhere.

Point being @shopperbob that's it is not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison. You can't paint all fine dining evaluations with the same brush. Even wholly within Coyle there are both good and bad options. I know one fine dining client that reimburses $225, and I would never take it again, but my wife and I had an amazing meal for $152 last week that was a breeze to write up, and a great experience. The reimbursement was $150, but we both opted (and were allowed) to have a second glass of wine, since we were not driving. I was happy to spend $2 from my fee to cover the additional wine. I was able to write and submit the entire assignment from the airport while waiting to board a flight home, so well worth 65 minutes of my time.