I signed up with Coyle some time ago. It was my second application that did the trick. I applied for different opportunities and didn't get any, not even the telephone shops that are supposed to be the introductory ones. Along came an unusual opportunity located about 10 minutes from my home. This was a shop type that I had not seen previously on Coyle's board. I applied and was not accepted until the 11th hour. I did the job, got an "18" and kudos for obtaining a new client! Since that fateful experience, at least I thought it would be fateful and boost my ranking with Coyle, I have not been successful in obtaining even a "howdy" from that company. I have lots of hotel experience and restaurant visits with another company that has a high expectation of its shoppers. I thought I had proven I could do the job effectively and produce a timely report for Coyle, but I am back to square one despite the kudos. Maybe it is not worth trying. I noticed that previous posters were very clear about how much time is necessary to produce an acceptable report. But, if Coyle never says "yes" I will not be able to decide if I want to say "no." What is the story? Do they only give the jobs to a select few? Does one of the select few have to fall off the grid before I get a chance to show my stuff?

There's a Plasma donation shop with another company...

I have been with Coyle for years and have yet to perform a shop with them!

I've been signed up with them for the past 10 years or so and have NEVER yet been given a shop by them.

I've been with Coyle for two years and never had a job with them.

I'm not signed up with Coyle but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!

Same here. I did one lousy shop for them. (The report was a killer and very not worth it.) I never hear back from them on any of the shops I apply for.

I never get shops from Coyle for shops in Ohio. I always get shops when I spend my summers in NYC. Actually, in NY I self assign shops and can depend on them all summer. For me it depends where I am living and if that area is shopped. They offer a number of shops in NY and NJ.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2013 11:19PM by Pooch52.

I applied five years ago and never heard from them. Looks like I'll have to put in a second application.
I applied last month and already did one shop for the "other" Coyle, non-hotel site.

As Pooch52 suggested, I think it's all about location.

If you live in a area rife with qualified shoppers and few opportunities, getting shops is harder. There are many cities where Coyle is scrambling for evaluators and undesirable shops go unclaimed each month.

I have mentioned before that the only way I got experience with Coyle was taking shops when visiting NYC, since they had nothing in LA when I started with them.

If you are only applying for the desirable shops, live in a an area with a lot of shoppers and few shops, and don't have experience with them, it may take a a while to get your break. If you are desperate to prove yourself, then consider getting licensed in Nevada or moving to AZ....

Same here. I did one lousy shop for them. (The report was a killer and very not worth it.) I never hear back from them on any of the shops I apply for.

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As Pooch52 suggested, I think it's all about
> location.
>
> If you live in a area rife with qualified shoppers
> and few opportunities, getting shops is harder.
> There are many cities where Coyle is scrambling
> for evaluators and undesirable shops go unclaimed
> each month.
>
> I have mentioned before that the only way I got
> experience with Coyle was taking shops when
> visiting NYC, since they had nothing in LA when I
> started with them.
>
> If you are only applying for the desirable shops,
> live in a an area with a lot of shoppers and few
> shops, and don't have experience with them, it may
> take a a while to get your break. If you are
> desperate to prove yourself, then consider getting
> licensed in Nevada or moving to AZ....

Just curious, are there a lot of hotel shops in Arizona? I am here in Phoenix and am liking the idea of getting reimbursed for a stay somewhere.....

I've seen a timeshare in Scottsdale but don't recall where. Lots of casino shops going on in Gilbert and Tucson, some include hotel.


and let's not encourage all the hungry shoppers to move to Arizona or we'll ALL starve.....

heartlandcanuck Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There's a Plasma donation shop with another
> company...

I just have to ask....does this shop involve actually donating plamsa or is it more like just going in and finding out how the staff treats you and if they are following guidelines for new donors? Inquiring minds want to know lol.

Well, if they would give me an opportunity almost anywhere I would take it. I live in the upper south and have offered to travel north, south, and west but no bananas for me. My most recent request was for a day at Biltmore with meals. It wouldn't be a stretch as I travel in that direction frequently. I even stated in my request that the scheduler could discuss my recent achievement on that one shop they gave me when none of their super stars would take it. No, no, no. It stayed on my requested shops list for about 2 weeks and then suddenly disappeared. I guess that a person who could be depended upon to do a far better report was chosen. However, I have doubts about the far better report part.

There are numerous reasons why someone would or would not be chosen for an assignment. Your demographic, the stated date(s) you asked for the assignment, the travel expenses required, and your experience with the company. It's unusual to get anything beyond a restaurant visit without at least three high scoring restaurant evaluations. As good as you think you may be, one of the 'super stars' with multiple evaluations under their belt will most likely know the reporting format better. I have hundreds of high-scoring hotel evaluations with Coyle and still have requests declined regularly.

Why is it so hard to believe that there was a shopper better suited for the assignment? The schedulers don't want to have a discussion with you about your abilities. The want to look at a group of succinctly stated requests, and then assign it to the most appropriate evaluator. That's all. There are a minimal number of available assignments on the hotel job board at the moment, which means there are thousands of evaluators potentially jockeying for each one. You need to speak French fluently or offer to take a dinner-only assignment in Cairo with no travel expenses these days to get fast-tracked into the choice assignments.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2013 04:39AM by CAscotch.

CAscotch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm curious what you mean by the "other" Coyle?
> :/

There are assignments from Coyle posted on another software platform and usually routed through scheduling companies. They are usually not full-blown 'Coyle style' narrative assignments and therefore, the shoppers that perform them are not necessarily granted access to the main Coyle job board.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2013 04:39AM by CAscotch.

I have been signed up with them for several years as well and have yet to be assigned a shop. Of course the nearest shops to me are in Chicago, which is like 4 hours away. I wanted to do a hotel shop or two just to get on their radar, but so far it has been a no go. I have done hotel shops for a few other companies though with relatively painless reports. I've traveled through many states and had no problems getting work so they never were a priority for me. Right now I don't have as much to do just because I'm kind of starting over, but unless they have something spectacular near me, they dont' really interest me. I'm not going to do a restaurant shop 4 hours away just to get on their radar either.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2013 04:40AM by CAscotch.

SteveSoCal Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are numerous reasons why someone would or
> would not be chosen for an assignment. Your
> demographic, the stated date(s) you asked for the
> assignment, the travel expenses required, and your
> experience with the company. It's unusual to get
> anything beyond a restaurant visit without at
> least three high scoring restaurant evaluations.
> As good as you think you may be, one of the 'super
> stars' with multiple evaluations under their belt
> will most likely know the reporting format better.
> I have hundreds of high-scoring hotel evaluations
> with Coyle and still have requests declined
> regularly.
>
> Why is it so hard to believe that there was a
> shopper better suited for the assignment? The
> schedulers don't want to have a discussion with
> you about your abilities. The want to look at a
> group of succinctly stated requests, and then
> assign it to the most appropriate evaluator.
> That's all. There are a minimal number of
> available assignments on the hotel job board at
> the moment, which means there are thousands of
> evaluators potentially jockeying for each one.
> You need to speak French fluently or offer to take
> a dinner-only assignment in Cairo with no travel
> expenses these days to get fast-tracked into the
> choice assignments.


In this case there were no travel expenses offered and I requested the date that was on the the job board. Coyle's shops are known to be difficult and I don't flee from difficulty that is well compensated. I think a day at Biltmore with meals is worth about 6 to 8 hours of compilation and writing. As far as believing another shopper would be better suited to the assignment, well really how would the scheduler know unless he or she gave me an opportunity or asked me a few qualifying questions? I would answer these questions in the affirmative. "Have you completed hundreds of hotel shops? Do you live within driving distance of the asignment? Are you willing to provide another writing sample in advance? Have you previously visited the destination?" Without a doubt a super star would know the reporting format better. There is a learning curve for all companies. It doesn't mean that a first timer who studies the format can't come close to mastery on the first try. This is not brain surgery. A small mistake is not life altering and can be repaired!

squireparty Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> heartlandcanuck Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > There's a Plasma donation shop with another
> > company...
>
> I just have to ask....does this shop involve
> actually donating plamsa or is it more like just
> going in and finding out how the staff treats you
> and if they are following guidelines for new
> donors? Inquiring minds want to know lol.


Yup. You have to make a pre-call, set an appointment, and go in to donate. If you aren't eligible or don't complete the donation you won't get paid. I've never done them, and in order to find out what the pay is you have to take a training. I bet it starts at $2. (Guess the MSP??)

heartlandcanuck Wrote:
>
>
> Yup. You have to make a pre-call, set an
> appointment, and go in to donate. If you aren't
> eligible or don't complete the donation you won't
> get paid. I've never done them, and in order to
> find out what the pay is you have to take a
> training. I bet it starts at $2. (Guess the
> MSP??)

I remember seeing a Plasma shop here in Columbus and I think the pay was around $90. I don't remember which MSP it was with and I haven't seen it listed in 6 or 7 months.

I signed up Coyle about 3 years ago. They rarely had anything local and I more or less quit checking the job board. One day I got an email asking if I could do a steak shop. I was shocked. About a year later I saw, signed up for and got a different steak place. It's been a little over a year since I did that one. Maybe it's time to start looking at the job board again!

The reports ARE a lot of work. I applied for a spa/resort shop once and was kind of relieved that I didn't get it.

I have done a couple of shops with Coyle and I do not think that it is worth the hassle. I asked for my name to be removed from their shopper list even though I got good ratings. It takes longer to fill out the report than it does to eat a nice meal.