Does anyone else get frustrated with applications that are outstanding? Apologies that this is a bit of a vent. I much prefer self assign jobs but sometimes it just isn't possible. When schedulers don't get back to you quickly, or at all, or there's no portion to add a note, I find it very frustrating to just sit and wait.

I emailed a scheduler about batch of jobs that were kind of far away. I got a couple accepted but the other applications just sat. I wrote to follow up with no reply. I ended up filling out my schedule with other jobs to make a trip worthwhile. Now, after having completed those jobs and the date for which I applied for those jobs having passed, I get an **accepted** email in my inbox. And yet again, I try to contact the scheduler and zero response.

I don't want to tarnish my reputation by not completing these jobs but unless I can get another job scheduled it does not make sense for me to revisit this distant location.

I also have some other applications outstanding from a make an offer kind of site and I hate that I've given an available date and then I have to wait indefinitely seemingly to get that day scheduled.

Okay, end of vent. Wondering what kind of experiences you may have had with this and how you have handled them. Thanks.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2022 08:52PM by olympia tennenbaum.

I've only run into it with MAO's with Market Force. I've been literally on the road and approaching the casual hamburger place with no response to a MAO that I have placed the day before. I have no problem cancelling it at that point. Chump don't want the help: chump don't get the help.

That's also one of the reasons I tend to avoid Samantha offers. "She" takes forever to accept an offer sometimes.

@DRJ wrote:

I've only run into it with MAO's with Market Force. I've been literally on the road and approaching the casual hamburger place with no response to a MAO that I have placed the day before. I have no problem cancelling it at that point. Chump don't want the help: chump don't get the help.

That's also one of the reasons I tend to avoid Samantha offers. "She" takes forever to accept an offer sometimes.

I still don't know what Samantha offers are, lol! Some of these are lower pay but it's possble to make a day out of it with volume. I have to plan ahead and with a few different MSCs to make it work. It's tough when one responds right away and the other not at all.

I didn't even realize that someone would assign me a job past the date that I had requested it. I feel like if I'm sending emails, replying to job notice emails and using the internal help/contact feature and getting no responses that I'm not being treated as I ought to be.

I think I harbor some resentment for the divergence of expectations placed on us in contrast to they way that we are treated at times. We're expected to write grammatically perfect reports but have to sort through a series of confusing and poorly written instructions. We're expected to "respond within 4 hours" to editing requests (on a Saturday night, true story) while our requests are ignored. etc., etc.

Maybe I've just read a few too many "we'll prosecute you" or "you're shop will fail if x" guildlines recently.

I know there are plenty of people who do this for fun (and it seems I do sometimes too) but when you're trying to meet your montly nut and you don't hear back about applications in a timely manner it is frustrating. Maybe it is time to write this company off...

Samantha is the automated offering system that sends emails out from Market force. The emails come with her name on it but she's a robot/computer. So it takes a while when you reply to her on what dates you can do if you actually get the work.

With some MSCs you can add a note. I always add that I need to know by X time. Once that time passes, or my schedule has been filled, I cancel the application.

@Nikki21 wrote:

With some MSCs you can add a note. I always add that I need to know by X time. Once that time passes, or my schedule has been filled, I cancel the application.

This one didn't have the option to add a note. If you apply for a certain date, I would think that would be me indicating my availability. If the date passes, I would think my application is no longer applicable.

@foodluvr wrote:

Samantha is the automated offering system that sends emails out from Market force. The emails come with her name on it but she's a robot/computer. So it takes a while when you reply to her on what dates you can do if you actually get the work.

Oh, okay, got it. I only get confirmations from them. I don't get anything about jobs or offers.

Samantha is essentially Market force generated spam in.my view. YMMV.

@DRJ wrote:

Samantha is essentially Market force generated spam in.my view. YMMV.

I feel like that about so many of the emails!

There is one scheduler that I've done a pretty good amount of work for who doesn't seem to even look at the date you say you can do a job, and this is after you are required to say what day you can do it before you can even apply. I look carefully at my schedule before I request an assignment on a particular date. Then they take forever to schedule, and it is hit or miss whether you are even assigned the date that you signed up for.

It's okay on a slow day, but it is not okay when the schedule is full. I've had them get quite snippy and put me on some kind of bad shopper list, like totally out of good graces, when I said that a schedule change wasn't even physically possible. There is no doubt that such as that is a problem. But the good thing is that there are so many MSCs out there. It is easy to get in a rut dealing with the bad habits/utter disregard of any particular scheduler. It takes some doing, but one can pull away from such and there are also a lot of good folks in this business. Back to the other, I try to go back and check/pull the applications on any that lag if my schedule fills up before an assignment is filled.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2022 11:44PM by GinnyLynn.

@GinnyLynn wrote:

There is one scheduler that I've done a pretty good amount of work for who doesn't seem to even look at the date you say you can do a job, and this is after you are required to say what day you can do it before you can even apply. I look carefully at my schedule before I request an assignment on a particular date. Then they take forever to schedule, and it is hit or miss whether you are even assigned the date that you signed up for.

It's okay on a slow day, but it is not okay when the schedule is full. I've had them get quite snippy and put me on some kind of bad shopper list, like totally out of good graces, when I said that a schedule change wasn't even physically possible. There is no doubt that such as that is a problem. But the good thing is that there are so many MSCs out there. It is easy to get in a rut dealing with the bad habits/utter disregard of any particular scheduler. It takes some doing, but one can pull away from such and there are also a lot of good folks in this business. Back to the other, I try to go back and check/pull the applications on any that lag if my schedule fills up before an assignment is filled.

This is a newer (to me) MSC so I guess I'll have to learn to go back and delete my apps. Really did not occur to me that I would get a job assigned past the date I had applied for.

The stranger thing is that this scheduler is someone I have definitely seen around and thought of as being responsive. I guess we all have things come up. I'd love to know where the breakdown was but I'm sure I never will.

Deleting apps seems like an annoying thing to have to go back and do but sounds like it is necessary with this MSC.

I'm going to try to take insipration from your sense of abundance. I feel like I'm always scrapping to piece things together but maybe I need to try some new sources. Thanks!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2022 01:00AM by olympia tennenbaum.

Most are fine, and such is seldom a problem. However, sometimes it is, @olympia tennenbaum, and I try to go back on one scheduler and MSC in particular on any outstanding apps. If I don't, I'll end up with a surprise assignment three weeks after the date requested and long since forgot. I am not sure things are as abundant as I seem on paper. Sometimes I get aggravated and in a rut as well, but I try to remind myself that the list of MSCs is really quite long. Any time you pull away from one, you do have to make up the slack somewhere else. That is surely a reality, and it does take some doing, but I find it to be worth it.

@GinnyLynn wrote:

Most are fine, and such is seldom a problem. However, sometimes it is, @olympia tennenbaum, and I try to go back on one scheduler and MSC in particular on any outstanding apps. If I don't, I'll end up with a surprise assignment three weeks after the date requested and long since forgot. I am not sure things are as abundant as I seem on paper. Sometimes I get aggravated and in a rut as well, but I try to remind myself that the list of MSCs is really quite long. Any time you pull away from one, you do have to make up the slack somewhere else. That is surely a reality, and it does take some doing, but I find it to be worth it.

I'm sure I need to keep digging. I haven't been at it that long so I'm definitely still learning.

Wow, three weeks! That would really make things tough! I have been lucky and gotten a great deal of what I've applied for. I have a feeling, the way some of the jobs sit around, that my taste could be a little different.

If you have applications outstanding, but have filled the route or have already gone to the area and can't go back, cancel the apps as soon as that situation arises. MSCs are not going to cancel them for you if the date passes for which you requested them!

It's very frustrating to put in an application well ahead of time, then see the date approaching or even a little past, and have gotten no response. I cancelled an application after holding it open longer than I usually do, only to see the same job come up the next week. At that point, I couldn't get to the out-of-town location, so I didn't re-apply.

athPower used to be notorious for this! At least for shops in my area.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2022 05:44PM by BirdyC.

@BirdyC wrote:

If you have applications outstanding, but have filled the route or have already gone to the area and can't go back, cancel the apps as soon as that situation arises. MSCs are not going to cancel them for you if the date passes for which you requested them!

It's very frustrating to put in an application well ahead of time, then see the date approaching or even a little past, and have gotten no response. I cancelled an application after holding it open longer than I usually do, only to see the same job come up the next week. At that point, I couldn't get to the out-of-town location, so I didn't re-apply.

athPower used to be notorious for this! At least for shops in my area.

I'm newer to doing this and had no idea that an application didn't expire when the date you applied for passed. What is the point in inputting a date if they don't respect it?

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

I'm newer to doing this and had no idea that an application didn't expire when the date you applied for passed. What is the point in inputting a date if they don't respect it?

I doubt it's a matter of not respecting it. My guess is that most MSCs don't have an automated way to delete all open apps once the shopper-requested dates pass. If you have, say, 50 apps for one shop, and there are seven open dates, all of which have applications in for them, you, as a scheduler, probably would have to manually go into the job, look at each date, then delete each application if that date has passed. Multiply that by the dozens of shops each scheduler has on her/his plate at the same time.

I'm not entirely sure that's how the process works, but even if there is some degree of automation involved, it's still a lot of work for a scheduler.

@BirdyC wrote:

@olympia tennenbaum wrote:

I'm newer to doing this and had no idea that an application didn't expire when the date you applied for passed. What is the point in inputting a date if they don't respect it?

I doubt it's a matter of not respecting it. My guess is that most MSCs don't have an automated way to delete all open apps once the shopper-requested dates pass. If you have, say, 50 apps for one shop, and there are seven open dates, all of which have applications in for them, you, as a scheduler, probably would have to manually go into the job, look at each date, then delete each application if that date has passed. Multiply that by the dozens of shops each scheduler has on her/his plate at the same time.

I'm not entirely sure that's how the process works, but even if there is some degree of automation involved, it's still a lot of work for a scheduler.

I would think that you would not show as an avilable shopper if the date you applied for had passed. The whole system feels like it is old and rickety. I'm sure there would be a major cash outlay to modernize the way that it is done.

My day got screwed by scheduling snafus but I was able to move around part of my week. I ended up doing some admin stuff but that doesn't pay the bills.

I don't know that what I imagine happens is actually what happens. But bottom line is that the application stays active until the shopper cancels it. At least for the companies I do the most work for.

I keep track of every shop I apply for in the same spreadsheet that I record assigned shops. I got burned early on by a few MSCs that did not notify me of shops that were assigned to me, or assigned me a shop for a later date. So, I track them. When it gets close to the date I requested, I look at the MSC website to see what is going on. If it has disappeared (like on Sassie), I just delete the entry in Excel. If it has been assigned, I change the cell color of the date I plan to do it from yellow to light green. If it is the day before or the day of my planned shopping visit, I delete the application from the MSC website and I delete the row in Excel.

Sometimes I apply for multiple shops from the same MSC for the same date. In that case, I only enter a single "placeholder" row for that MSC on that date so that I know to look at the MSC website to see what is going on. If I find assigned shops, I enter each one in the spreadsheet. If all of them have disappeared, I have one row to delete in Excel. If the MSC has not done anything about my application and the date is close, I delete all of them on the MSC website and the single reminder row in Excel.

@BirdyC wrote:

I don't know that what I imagine happens is actually what happens. But bottom line is that the application stays active until the shopper cancels it. At least for the companies I do the most work for.

That's good to know. I'm newer and I assumed that the date I put is what it would be or nothing.

@myst4au wrote:

I keep track of every shop I apply for in the same spreadsheet that I record assigned shops. I got burned early on by a few MSCs that did not notify me of shops that were assigned to me, or assigned me a shop for a later date. So, I track them. When it gets close to the date I requested, I look at the MSC website to see what is going on. If it has disappeared (like on Sassie), I just delete the entry in Excel. If it has been assigned, I change the cell color of the date I plan to do it from yellow to light green. If it is the day before or the day of my planned shopping visit, I delete the application from the MSC website and I delete the row in Excel.

Sometimes I apply for multiple shops from the same MSC for the same date. In that case, I only enter a single "placeholder" row for that MSC on that date so that I know to look at the MSC website to see what is going on. If I find assigned shops, I enter each one in the spreadsheet. If all of them have disappeared, I have one row to delete in Excel. If the MSC has not done anything about my application and the date is close, I delete all of them on the MSC website and the single reminder row in Excel.

Thanks for sharing your system; that seems like a great way to handle it. I'll need to start doing something similar if I do more application shops.

That is a really good idea @myst4au. I use Excel for accounting records, but I didn't even think of a tab for outstanding apps. I got burned by "flaking" on a shop I didn't know that I had been assigned years ago as well. A notation about me flaking is still at the very top of my shop log for that company. It has been there since 2007 or there about. It never goes away.

When you put a date that you could do the shop and the date passed by and you are still assigned...this happens because the system they use only cancels the application when the actual shop date expiration arrives. Yes, it is not a good system. They can code the parameters to also drop the applicant's date that has passed by. I think they do not have that built in because they are hoping all who applied would consider still doing the shop, while they drag their feet deciding on who to choose or when they get around to looking at the applicants they received. Like everyone has stated, this is not how we plan our routes, waiting for the last minute to pop up and go do it. We try our best to plan the most cost efficient and logical way as possible and in advance.

I had a few shop applications recently, that sat there, too. I really wanted to do them and the pay was good. But I am sick of waiting and the inconvenience as well. So, this morning I logged on and withdrew those applications. After all the years I have been doing this business, I still have to remind myself that I work for me.

Applications don't make bank. I don't put my life on hold for any application. If another shop (or whatever) comes up during the time I applied for, I move on and cancel the application without hesitation or remorse.

@purpleicee wrote:

When you put a date that you could do the shop and the date passed by and you are still assigned...this happens because the system they use only cancels the application when the actual shop date expiration arrives. Yes, it is not a good system. They can code the parameters to also drop the applicant's date that has passed by. I think they do not have that built in because they are hoping all who applied would consider still doing the shop, while they drag their feet deciding on who to choose or when they get around to looking at the applicants they received. Like everyone has stated, this is not how we plan our routes, waiting for the last minute to pop up and go do it. We try our best to plan the most cost efficient and logical way as possible and in advance.

I had a few shop applications recently, that sat there, too. I really wanted to do them and the pay was good. But I am sick of waiting and the inconvenience as well. So, this morning I logged on and withdrew those applications. After all the years I have been doing this business, I still have to remind myself that I work for me.

It is annoying/frustrating when the applied shops would make or brea a route. The idea of working for yourself while having to work with all of these variables can make it a little tough.

I've been learning some valuable, if expensive, lessons this week. I need to be more thoughtful about planning longer distance routes. If it hinges on getting one particular job or piece and that falls apart it makes for a difficult day. Hopefully I'll smarten up as I go.

You'd think on the applications expiring on the stated recruitment date, but that does not seem to be consistent across the board. I have been assigned shops weeks after I thought a project was over, and nowhere close to the day that I said that I would do the shop. I try to keep an eye on my calendar and check back and cancel any applications that are listed as pending and that I know I will not be doing, especially if my schedule has since booked, and/or the due date has passed.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/02/2022 02:27AM by GinnyLynn.