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Post by Deleted on May 29, 2014 11:36:53 GMT -5
My interview is scheduled next week. SATO contacted me more than a week ago, had literally already made all travel, lodging, arrangements quickly and very easily and have since received multiple confirmation emails as well as follow up phone call and today a satisfaction survey as to their service. Very professionally done.
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Post by 71stretch on May 29, 2014 13:06:00 GMT -5
Forgive me Hal, but not sure what you are asking. I got an email confirming the interview date and time given to me on the phone. There was an attachment to it that had instructions on how to book travel. I got that within an hour of the phone call. As an insider, it was easy. We were instructed to just use E2 to book like any other official travel and I already did that. I didn't pay too much attention to the instrux for outsiders as they didn't apply to me. Are outsiders waiting on some additional email? Did I miss something and we are all waiting on a second email? Or are you asking about the email from odar with the instrux I referenced above? Outsiders are waiting on an additional e-mail before we can actually book travel. That's a change from before. ODAR did the flight, and we just took care of the hotel reservation ourselves. No email required.
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Post by peb239 on May 29, 2014 13:08:29 GMT -5
Just made my travel arrangements. Flight in (very early) and flight out (late) the same day. Was getting a little paranoid until I received my travel email from ODAR a little before lunch.
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NP
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Post by NP on May 29, 2014 14:40:06 GMT -5
I still haven't gotten a call, and I'm not sure whether I've gotten an email or not. I got an email with a link to set up an E2 account, which I did, but it wouldn't let me book anything. I'm assuming you guys are talking about something different. If I don't hear anything by early next week (just over 7 days from interview), I may break down and call or email.
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Post by wclj on May 29, 2014 15:06:20 GMT -5
I received an E-mail earlier this afternoon, (in both my personal and work addresses), with my authorization number to book travel. My interview is on 6/10, so I would guess they have moved on to arranging travel for the second week of interviews.
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Post by 71stretch on May 29, 2014 15:08:16 GMT -5
Just made my travel arrangements. Flight in (very early) and flight out (late) the same day. Was getting a little paranoid until I received my travel email from ODAR a little before lunch. You are in for a long, tough day. Good luck!
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Post by BagLady on May 29, 2014 19:51:42 GMT -5
I received an E-mail earlier this afternoon, (in both my personal and work addresses), with my authorization number to book travel. My interview is on 6/10, so I would guess they have moved on to arranging travel for the second week of interviews. Ditto all of the above. EDIT: I just called Sato to book my travel. I'm happy that they keep late hours and that the agent was so pleasant.
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Post by Missundaztood on May 29, 2014 21:12:20 GMT -5
Just made my travel arrangements. Flight in (very early) and flight out (late) the same day. Was getting a little paranoid until I received my travel email from ODAR a little before lunch. You are in for a long, tough day. Good luck! I'm very thankful that I read previously that if they can, they'll make you do all the travel in one day, so when I scheduled my interview, I made it for the 8:30 a.m. slot so they'd have to fly me out the day before. Definitely not my preference (especially given a time difference from home) but I have a greater fear of flight delays...
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Post by 71stretch on May 29, 2014 22:21:58 GMT -5
You are in for a long, tough day. Good luck! I'm very thankful that I read previously that if they can, they'll make you do all the travel in one day, so when I scheduled my interview, I made it for the 8:30 a.m. slot so they'd have to fly me out the day before. Definitely not my preference (especially given a time difference from home) but I have a greater fear of flight delays... Precisely. As I recall, they didn't give me a choice of times or days. A late afternoon interview, and the way the flights set up from my starting point, they had to fly me in the afternoon before and fly me out the morning after.....
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Post by privateatty on May 30, 2014 5:56:41 GMT -5
You are in for a long, tough day. Good luck! I'm very thankful that I read previously that if they can, they'll make you do all the travel in one day, so when I scheduled my interview, I made it for the 8:30 a.m. slot so they'd have to fly me out the day before. Definitely not my preference (especially given a time difference from home) but I have a greater fear of flight delays... IMHO, mucho better than waking a zero dark hundred and hoping you fly out on time and have a seamless connection. However, for those who are doing an all day travel/interiew gig the adreneline will keep you truckin'...
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Post by 71stretch on May 30, 2014 9:11:41 GMT -5
I'm very thankful that I read previously that if they can, they'll make you do all the travel in one day, so when I scheduled my interview, I made it for the 8:30 a.m. slot so they'd have to fly me out the day before. Definitely not my preference (especially given a time difference from home) but I have a greater fear of flight delays... IMHO, mucho better than waking a zero dark hundred and hoping you fly out on time and have a seamless connection. However, for those who are doing an all day travel/interiew gig the adreneline will keep you truckin'... Until it drops you like a hot potato while you are waiting for the return flight, and you fall asleep at the gate and miss the plane.
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Post by cubbietax on May 30, 2014 10:25:50 GMT -5
June 11 interview. Just got Travel accounting data a few minutes ago. The process continues.
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NP
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Post by NP on May 30, 2014 13:31:52 GMT -5
Got mine squared away this morning, too. Do they just reimburse you for hotel and rental car? The booking lady didn't know.
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Post by sealaw90 on May 30, 2014 13:50:45 GMT -5
Bulldog, if you are authorized a rental car, your travel orders will say so, and you can be reimbursed for the car. If you are authorized a hotel, you will be reimbursed for the hotel. The hotel may or may not be reimbursed, depending upon how far you are traveling, i.e., if you are only 250 miles from Falls Church, normally a hotel would not be required, unless SSA gave you an early morning interview and they authorized it. If you have to drive 500 miles to Falls Church, you will probably get a hotel room that will be authorized on your orders. If the booking lady didn't know, my question to you was what was she suppossed to book for you? If she told you "I have reserved a car for you and a hotel room", she did that because your orders authorized - therefore it would be reimbursable. If on the otherhand she told you she was booking you a flight and you asked her to add a rental car and hotel room - well, those might not be covered. Not sure if this helps, but if have other questions, there's plenty of us who are fairly familiar with the federal travel regulations and/or SSA to help you out. BTW - good luck on your interview!
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NP
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Post by NP on May 30, 2014 15:26:19 GMT -5
Thanks, sealaw! The booking lady had no idea what she was supposed to book and acted like I was a moron for not knowing what was authorized. I told her the airports mentioned in the email and that a hotel was mentioned in the email, and she booked them. I am significantly more than 500 miles away with an early morning interview, so I'm sure I'm fine on the hotel. Looks like I might be paying for the rental car (which I will really just use to/from airport and to/from interview) out of pocket.
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NP
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Post by NP on May 30, 2014 15:28:01 GMT -5
In other words, she didn't seem to have any info ahead of time like some of the other booking people even though I gave her the authorization number right off the bat.
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Post by BagLady on May 30, 2014 15:41:36 GMT -5
Is a rental car authorized on your e-mail? It doesn't appear to be very far from the airport, and I thought they are reimbursing taxi expenses instead of footing the bill for rentals.
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NP
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Post by NP on May 30, 2014 16:09:50 GMT -5
It's not mentioned in the email. If they will reimburse for cabs, I will cancel the car. I thought the car might be cheaper than a bunch of cab rides.
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Post by 71stretch on May 30, 2014 16:18:39 GMT -5
It's not mentioned in the email. If they will reimburse for cabs, I will cancel the car. I thought the car might be cheaper than a bunch of cab rides. I didn't have to get preauthorized for cab rides, (I sent in my receipts for cabs and, as I recall, the metro/bus card I used to get from airport to hotel with the form I was given when I checked in for the interview) but if you are not staying too far away, it's A LOT cheaper than a car, especially with all the fees that get tacked on. It sounds to me like they have made this process A LOT more complicated.
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Post by dudeabides on May 30, 2014 16:20:06 GMT -5
If you are driving to your appointment and arriving during the morning rush hour for an 8:30 interview, be prepared for confusion and anxiety. This is the last thing you need. My advice - take a taxi. If you are staying in a hotel and have never been to the Puzzle Palace, I repeat, get a taxi and avoid the stress. Even if you have to pay for it out of your own pocket. If you are driving, give yourself plenty of time to find the public parking.
See you at the interviews! Good luck to all.
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