Request ASAP assigned a few days before.
Is there anyone out there that can assist me with finding away around this frustrating and annoying habit. I usually take a few hours at the end of the month to plan extensively when, where and what kind of shops I will request. I will request shops on the 24th of the previous month for the 1st-8th days of the next month. I do this because I travel and am often able to position myself in certain areas through out the month. Is seems to be habitual that I will receive a notice 3-4 days before the date that I requested, that I have been assigned the shop.
By this time I have rearranged my schedule based on their lack of replying in a timely manner.
Is there anyone that can assist me with this dilemma?
I agree, it's very frustrating. If you have rearranged your schedule just go in and cancel the applications that are outstanding. The other thing you can do, depending on your relationship with your scheduler, is to ask to reschedule to a later date if you have the time. Some of the shops on ISS can be rescheduled by the shopper but if you can't do that try reaching out to your contact person. A lot of the shops are put out at the beginning of the month but they have till the end of the month to get them all done. If you don't have time, just decline them.
I do a couple of things to help with that...
- If I am planning ahead and my application is still pending one work day after I apply, I'll email the scheduler and simply explain that I need to know one way or another whether or not I get the shop.
- After a day, I begin looking for alternate shops. If you are not assigned the shop within a work day, you are usually not the "ideal" shopper for the job - due to whatever preferences the MSC might have.
- Once I am no longer available for the shop, I cancel the application I might reapply for a different day.
I agree with MF Johnston that you are not the "ideal" shopper if they do not assign the shop in a day. Once you have rearranged your schedule, cancel your application to the shop. This is better than cancelling the shop after it is assigned.