Scheduling Shops

I was wondering how you typically schedule shops. Do you wait for schedulers to contact you? Wait for emails from the msc or do you go online and grab them? If you are working for 50+ companies, it doesn't really seem practical to check online for the jobs. At the same time, sometimes the jobs online are much better than the ones I get emails about.

What do you do? I would love your tips or advice on this!

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I filled up December with shops that I got just from e-mails, wait...3 of the shops were from getting calls, the rest were all that I replied to via emails. I would think maybe a day, or part of a day when your not filled with jobs, then search. I'd like to hear what others have to say too.

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"Answers are easy. It's asking the right questions which is hard." (The Fourth Doctor, The Face of Evil, 1977)

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I log in and check the websites on some companies. Some of the best jobs are taken before an e-mail goes out.

Couponmo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was wondering how you typically schedule shops.
> Do you wait for schedulers to contact you? Wait
> for emails from the msc or do you go online and
> grab them? If you are working for 50+ companies,
> it doesn't really seem practical to check online
> for the jobs. At the same time, sometimes the jobs
> online are much better than the ones I get emails
> about.
>
> What do you do? I would love your tips or advice
> on this!

I do all three. My favorite way to get shops is when a scheduler emails/calls me to offer the shops before telling other shoppers or posting publicly.

1) I check the boards of the companies not on the Jobslinger. I have my favorite MSCs and check those every couple of days while cleaning up my emails.
2) Jobslinger
3) e-mails

It really is something that just takes time until you get a feel for your area. There have been some ideas which included sorting MSC bookmarks by sites to check daily or weekly. I have a couple of folder labeled "Idle" and "E-mail only." They designate MSCs who either do not post jobs or who have jobs that I would never consider for the starting rate. I also like keeping self-assign companies in their own folder, it is handy for filling in a route.

Equal rights for others does not mean fewer rights for you. It's not pie.
"I prefer someone who burns the flag and then wraps themselves up in the Constitution over someone who burns the Constitution and then wraps themselves up in the flag." -Molly Ivins
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It's a waste of your time and it really annoys the pig.

All of the above at tmes. Once you get well established with 50 or more companies, you will probably be getting enough email to help with your schedule. Also, keep adding MSCs until you are above 100. But, I know that the shops that I like best will go fast, so I "dog" those job boards starting about the thrid week of the month, looking for postings of the next month's jobs. And, I call or email certain schedulers to let them know that I am looking to fill routes in certain areas.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I'm getting some great tips here.

What I do is open most of the boards in tabs in a single browser window when I'm trying to plan a day, see who has stuff I might be interested in but the dates don't align, close the other tabs, then keep refreshing those tabs until I have my route set up. It's hard to plan routes very far in advance because most companies offer the jobs to be done in the next few days and only extend the days if they don't book them sooner. If it's a job I really want, I have had some luck with contacting the scheduler and letting them know, "If you don't get this job done by its deadline of the 4th, I'll be in the area on the 8th and can do it then." Sometimes they just change the date and assign it to me.

But I don't want to bother them too much so sometimes I just check back as my route date gets closer and grab them when the change the dates by themselves.

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I pray it does not occur that the last thing I did before I died was vacuum the house or eat broccoli.

Two companies I work with are free to assign me shops without checking with me since they are in full agreement with my terms. I just let them know what states I will be in and when each month.

A bunch of others are continous route shops that are done on a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis so I can choose the dates to get them done as long as they are done before deadlines.
This is where I will look at the self assign companies to fill in the routes to make them more profitable in order of my preference and the msc's willingness to work within my guidelines.

Companies that are hard to communicate with or have unfriendly schedulers are at the bottom of my list. Because I complete so many shops, communication is huge for me. If I can't contact you and get a response within 15 minutes if an issue arises, then chances are I won't be doing a route for you. In other words, if you expect me to do a shop on a weekend or at night, I better have a way to contact you during that time.

All MSC's I route shop for, I have a way to communicate, rather it's a cell phone or email they have fast access too.

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There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots
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When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody

I've worked out a system with a couple of schedulers where they contact me and ask me where I'm going to be and when. I let them know, and they give me what they have. With another MSC, I have an ongoing deal where they get ahold of me to clean up their unfilled assignments at the end of the month with bonuses.

I have a tickler file to check certain job boards at different rates of frequency, and pick up some assignments that way. Others I pick up via the email notices that go out. If I miss out on one of these that I really want but it's been picked up by someone else, I let the scheduler know that I am available as a backup or in the future as needed.

I've done my best to develop my business as a trusted "go-to" source for schedulers. Sometimes my schedule is crazy, but it all pays off in the end.

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"Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
~Viktor Frankl

70% of my work is responding to emails
10% is from calls I have received
20% is from searching the job boards.

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