How are shops assigned? When you request them, what order/method does the scheduler use to determine who gets what?

Some, I get approved/rejected right away, but others may sit in limbo for a while. Just curious, there's got to be some method to the mayhem.

I feel sure that there is not an industry wide standard and strongly suspect there is not even a standard within a given MSP or outside scheduling company.

I can anticipate that something like the following occurs: There is a shop that needs to be done during a 4 day window two weeks away. The shop gets posted and an email sent out to all registered shoppers in the area. Two days later the scheduler visits the applications and finds 7. The first shopper has never done a shop before, the second shopper has never done a shop before but bought an MSPA silver certification, the third shopper has performed 40 shops for the scheduler in the past with an average score of 9, the fourth shopper has done two shops in the past year but both were 10s, the fifth shopper has done 30 shops with an average score of 9 and gold certification, the sixth shopper has flaked on 1 of the last 3 shops assigned, the seventh shopper has a record of rescheduling shops. The scheduler needs to figure out which shopper is mostly likely to do a decent job of the shop without causing complications. If I were in their shoes I would select the third shopper, who has performed 40 shops with an average score of 9 because they obviously 'get it' and have been reliable.

Some outside schedulers leave the shop open, collecting more applications and leaving the applications that did not get the job in 'pending' status so they can use them as backup and select again if the shopper they chose flakes or screws up.

All schedulers need to be cognizant of the fact that shoppers on average do not stay in the business long. They do need to try new shoppers in jobs so that they will always be developing a group of shoppers among whom to choose. The best jobs for that purpose are ones that have soft deadlines so that the new shopper has a chance to perform but the scheduler still has time to easily find someone else without needing to pay last minute bonuses in case the new shopper turns in unacceptable work or just flakes on the job.

Yes I get that same feeling, I feel I was the first to apply and then several days later get an email the shop was close or assigned to another shopper. It happens to me always with the same assignment I apply and get rejected the next time I won't apply anymore even if I get an email that it's urgent/rush.

I get rejected right away and then sometimes by the time I'm accepted, I've completely forgotten about the shop I was just assigned.

I agree with Flash, though. Makes sense. I personally just like shops I can schedule my self, and pick the day.

Many companies have both 'self assign' and 'request' shops. Try to grab some 'self assign' to start building your rating with the company.

Also, keep in mind that there is more that just the shoppers to consider when scheduling. MSCs with an editing staff need to have the work parceled out evenly over the course of the month so the shops can be completed in a timely manner. That is why many don't allow self-scheduling.

A scheduler may have many great shoppers to choose from on a particular shop, but consider that shoppers often apply for multiple assignments with the same company for the same day. The scheduler then has to consider the rotation and assign the best candidate for the optimal editorial window, while trying to assign the hardest to schedule shops first, then following up with the easier ones. It's like solving a giant puzzle if you have 250 shops that get posted on the 1st of the month.

When I was scheduling, I would have a giant poster board at the beginning of each month with the calendar on it. I had cards with each of the shoppers names on them and would watch the requests come in online and start assembling the calendar. When I had it flowing well, I would go in and start assigning, but often that took about 3 days!

I'm sure each scheduler has their own method, but just know that it can be a difficult and time-consuming process. I had to make sure that each of my faithful and talented shoppers would receive at least one choice assignment before I started scheduling any doubles.