Just like you guys have requirements and restrictions for your shops in how you perform them, we have requirements and restrictions for how we schedule them.
A "buffer" means how many days we need between shops done at the same LOCATION. Lots of times we will have anywhere from 2-4 shops that need performed in the same month/period at the same location. However, we are only allowed to send shoppers to the same location once a week, or once every three days, etc. The length of the buffer depends a lot on the client and the location.
SO, say I have a client with 100 locations that need four shops per location to be performed in the month of August (400 shops total), but I can only have one shopper go per location, per week.
I post the shops, someone self-assigns the shop for Location 1 in California for August 1st, but I still have 99 other locations that need to be shopped for that first week in August, so I keep the due date at August 5th to get those shops done in the first week of August for all of my locations. However, if you see Location 1 on the job board and try to self-assign, it won't let you because someone already picked up for that time period.
Your answer is, well, just take the shops for that location off the job board, or change the dates for that location. Alas, we wish we could, but we can't. That's not how the software works.
So if you EVER see a shop on the job board and you can't self-assign, it means that the "buffer" is in effect and you want it, just shoot us an email. Make sure you specify the client and the city/state it's located in (please please please do this. We lose our minds every time someone says "Hi, I would like this shop. Please assign it to me," and that's it).
I hope this helps solve the issue of the "buffer." As always, feel free to PM me or shoot me an email at
sara.petersen@intelli-shop.com.
Thanks!