UUUGH!! Scheduler Rant

Hi Everyone!

While this certainly isn't the majority of shoppers at all, I'd like to take a moment to help out some less experienced shoppers...

Deadline day, 4 hours before the location closes, is NOT the time to cancel your shop that was due the day before! I totally understand that life happens but, at the very least, give us as much time as possible to get another shopper!

Luckily, a very reliable shopper is going out of her way to bail me out on this. I didn't need the mini heart attack though.

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Yikes!
I thought you were experienced enough not to give an inexperienced shopper a shop that close to a hard deadline.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Well, it depends upon why. They may have had an excellent reason!

They missed the shop yesterday, when it was due, because of the LA traffic. Like I said, life happens and I understand that. My issue is that I contacted her today to see if she had done the shop yesterday, and was told about 30 minutes later that she had not and couldn't go today. That would have been VERY useful information yesterday when she missed the shop from traffic.

I've had shoppers let me know in plenty of time for several different reasons such as emergency room visit, child being born, sudden death in the family, etc. I could certainly understand those shoppers not telling me immediately, as they have something more important going on in their life. Traffic is not an excuse to not let your scheduler know until hours before their deadline.

This shopper actually has some decent experience with us too. I targeted this post at inexperienced shoppers mainly because it is much more likely to happen with a new shopper rather than one that has been around a while.

I feel your pain. I did a last minute shop 3 hours before it was due tonight. 125 mile round trip, after working a 9 hour day with a 2 hour commute. I knew she needed it done. She knew I’d come through for her.

Ugh!...not accounting for traffic in LA is rookie mistake, though...as is over-scheduling yourself.

Not contacting your scheduler immediately when you can't make a shop scheduled at end of month is just rude, though. I'm actually guilty of cancelling a shop in Pete this month, but it was unavoidable and I emailed him from the airport the minute I realized I couldn't access the location.

Traffic is no excuse (well maybe), as accidents happen, construction happens especially on the 405. I, just like Steve couldn't find a restaurant at SFO due to the new construction and would have been late for my flight.
Happens the flight was an hour late for me and we sat on the runway for another hour...that airport is huge and flights always late, but one doesn't know before. I felt horrible, first time that ever happened. My MSC understood and had time to re-assign. They just assigned me another job (not at airport). These things CAN happen to experienced shoppers, it is rare, but still.....Newcomers may lose opportunity for more work, old timers
have records to show they're not flakes.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2019 03:08PM by Irene_L.A..

I read this last night and then had a nightmare that I was on vacation in Florida and had a scheduler call me and tell me that my shop was late. I had totally forgotten about it and there was obviously no way that I was going to be able to make it up. She was crying and I felt so bad. Yes, these are the things my nightmares are made of.

Shopping the South Jersey Shore

This all worked out just fine!

Steve, you almost never cancel, and never flake. You contacted me immediately to let me know, and it was not in your control at all. If this shopper did that, there'd be no rant at all. If all shoppers could be like the ones I've worked with that commented on this thread, my job would be the easiest on the planet!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2019 07:50PM by KSSPete.

Your one of my favorites Pete...no kissing up here...seriously, if all schedulers were like you, our job would be easier.

Live consciously....

This is true. I had my first ever apartment shop with Pete and he was so nice and patient. I had no idea what I was doing LOL. Thanks Pete!

This is especially egregious since you make yourself so readily available by text.

I did several shops for Pete. Always a pleasure. As said above, always responsive to communications, always understanding/patient. I remember taking the first photos for a shop for him on my cell phone. When I got home to do the report, I could not for the life of me figure out how to get that photo off my phone onto my PC. E-mailed Pete, and he said to just e-mail it to him and he'd put it in the report for me! Saved the shop!

Unfortunately, two or three years later, and I still have not learned how to get photos off my phone (tech dinosaur here). And I am no longer really motivated to learn, because I haven't done those shops again since they changed schedulers for them. I just continue to accept shops that I can use my digital camera for. None of the schedulers since Pete left that client has been responsive to e-mails, offers, or bids. When a shopper is trying to build a route, she (or he!) needs responsive schedulers.

Pete's tops in my book.

Wish I had a list of the clients you handle now, Pete! I would actively search for them on the job boards, LOL!!!

@ceasesmith wrote:

When a shopper is trying to build a route, she (or he!) needs responsive schedulers.

Absolutely!

I have found that some schedulers value route shoppers and some only work with local people and don't understand how route shoppers work.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I know you say you don't really want to learn but it is so easy to get phone pictures on report.
Open report on phone, click upload, it takes me to area on my phone where I select photo gallary then click picture, then click done. Photo uploads into report. I haven't transfered photos to my computer for years.

@ceasesmith wrote:

I did several shops for Pete. Always a pleasure. As said above, always responsive to communications, always understanding/patient. I remember taking the first photos for a shop for him on my cell phone. When I got home to do the report, I could not for the life of me figure out how to get that photo off my phone onto my PC. E-mailed Pete, and he said to just e-mail it to him and he'd put it in the report for me! Saved the shop!

Unfortunately, two or three years later, and I still have not learned how to get photos off my phone (tech dinosaur here). And I am no longer really motivated to learn, because I haven't done those shops again since they changed schedulers for them. I just continue to accept shops that I can use my digital camera for. None of the schedulers since Pete left that client has been responsive to e-mails, offers, or bids. When a shopper is trying to build a route, she (or he!) needs responsive schedulers.

Pete's tops in my book.

Wish I had a list of the clients you handle now, Pete! I would actively search for them on the job boards, LOL!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2019 02:43PM by prince.

@ceasesmith I work with two clients now, but the vast majority of the shops are on the east and west coasts. The only ones that may be in your area have an age requirement for tobacco compliance. Hopefully it lines up so we can work again some day!

Thank you to everyone for the kind words! I've found that not only is it beneficial for you to have a scheduler that responds in a timely manner, but it is also beneficial to me to be that kind of scheduler. As I said on another thread, it saves me tons of time and energy to take an hour out of my day off to respond to emails, or a few minutes to reply to a text. I would rather that than 3 hours of calling shoppers to beg about a location that could have been done already.

@KSSPete It seems as if you are a reasonably-minded scheduler who actually cares about not just the overall company monthly goals and objectives, but also shopper circumstances. I can respect that.

I can't say the same thing about your boss, though. I really wish that this aspect of her would change.

"I know you say you don't really want to learn but it is so easy to get phone pictures on report.
Open report on phone, click upload, it takes me to area on my phone where I select photo gallary then click picture, then click done. Photo uploads into report. I haven't transfered photos to my computer for years. "

Oh, it's not that I don't WANT to learn. I just cannot. I cannot access websites on my phone, so opening the report on the phone isn't possible. Also, many of the rural locations I shop don't have networks, so can't use apps (or browsers).

My hands are severely arthritic, which makes typing on the phone a real problem -- even if by some miracle I could get the app and/or website to function.

I only do it once I am home and on wifi. Don't pay for data, and I am very rural so not really useful to me.

@ceasesmith wrote:

"I know you say you don't really want to learn but it is so easy to get phone pictures on report.
Open report on phone, click upload, it takes me to area on my phone where I select photo gallary then click picture, then click done. Photo uploads into report. I haven't transfered photos to my computer for years. "

Oh, it's not that I don't WANT to learn. I just cannot. I cannot access websites on my phone, so opening the report on the phone isn't possible. Also, many of the rural locations I shop don't have networks, so can't use apps (or browsers).

My hands are severely arthritic, which makes typing on the phone a real problem -- even if by some miracle I could get the app and/or website to function.

@Eric in Tampa... I will say this, and then drop it before it turns into a 3,000 comment post with you... You obviously don't know her at all.

Prince, I have tried that. I do have wifi at home. But I can't get the browsers to work, even on my home wifi.

HOWEVER, I recently acquired a "new-to-me" iPhone, and when I get that activated, I will try again. It's a 4whatever, and my old phone was only 3whatevers.

@KSSPete I know enough about her to have the current impression that she is not what she advocates, even when it comes down to offering multiple opportunities to "clear the air" on any misconceptions while in multiple different countries on my time, my dime.

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UUUGH!! Scheduler Rant

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