triple5soul wrote:
bschbound, sorry to hear. I was in a similar situation; I gave my recommender a deadline and he did not submit in time. Thankfully, I gave myself a buffer before the official date.
What I did, and what I would suggest, is to call him/her immediately and let the person know that "at this point, I don't care if you chose to write/not write, but I need a letter today/tomorrow. Therefore, tell me now (over this phone call), if you're on board. If not, I'll find someone else".
My ultimatum worked...
Ultimatums are a bad idea, IMVVHO. However, I am glad that it worked out for you.
I can actually picture, or hear in this case, your call....trust me man, I have been there and I know exactly how it feels to deal with one of these type, who would promise...but when it comes to delivering...it's always next week...
I gave one of my recommenders 3-4 months to work on my recs, with a full dossier on what to address in the letter...short of writing it for him, I gave him everything i could...still he would not move....eventually, tired of his lazy behind ...i pulled the plug on him, a few weeks before the deadlines....but no ultimatums though..