Delays in receiving private requests / no emails

[Celeste Stewart]

Hi,
For about a week or two, I have not been receiving any emails notifying me of new private requests. That said, I check my requests section several times a day to be sure I don't miss anything. On Friday evening (the 10th) a brand new private request appeared. It had a start date of April 6 and a due date of April 13 (Monday). It was for 6 pages of web content. Ugh! Looks like it took a full work week for it to get approved and I either had to work all weekend or rearrange my Monday. I rearranged my Monday and submitted it.

Today, a brand new private request appeared -- it's start date was April 1st. So two full weeks apparently since it was submitted and since I saw it! I'm hoping it was just a matter of someone else declining it and then it getting assigned to me. This is a real possibility with this one as it's a new customer but doubtful with the first one since it was a "part 2" to an earlier project. This second one has a longer due date and it's short, so no worries there. However, I'm concerned about this delay in getting private requests approved and then being alerted. Makes it tough to work efficiently when the work windows are so narrow, and it's not fair to other clients who inevitably get bumped.

[Abbamay]

Sorry to hear that, Celeste!

I found two private requests the other day on my projects page but I definitely had no email notification about them. Today I received an email notification for another request, so I'm hoping the issue has been fixed. Celeste, have you contacted CC about your concerns yet?

Abba

[Celeste Stewart]

Hopefully they're fixing it No, I haven't reached out to support yet. If the long approval delays keep happening, I will. I'm hoping that part was just a fluke, someone out sick or something.

[Lysis]

They needed to go buy a new hamster.

Nothing to see here...

[Word Gypsy]

I've seen long delays in approval time off and on for about six months now. As I see it, several factors come into play with the approval process. The client does need to deposit half of the funds before the request is officially approved; so for new clients who aren't fully aware of this requirement, the delay could be caused by that. The clients are sometimes asked which author they would like to use for a private request, and it isn't approved until this selection is made. I've actually "seen" emails asking if the client wants to continue using the same author, so this can happen even if it is a regular client of yours. CC is also down one person unless they have replaced her. Plus, a glitch in the system almost invariably occurs whenever an upgrade is incorporated. I'm always hoping it isn't so, but hey, that's life.

Lysis, you might be right about that hamster........just picturing it going around and around in that wheel!

[Celeste Stewart]

That makes sense (waiting on the client to deposit funds or select a writer, etc). That said, the deadline should be extended accordingly. I'm sure the client would understand and that it's just one of those things that hasn't been thought of and addressed.

[Word Gypsy]

I agree Celeste. It only makes more sense to extend the deadline, particularly when the site promotes the offer of quality content.