I am not sure how many other people are having slight issues due to time zones, but I would suggest letting users know that Import Times are EST and not the time zone that they are located in. Having something next to the “Imports will begin at the specified time(s).” would be helpful. Something like “All times are EST”.
This has not been my experience with EMP (we're in Pacific time zone). I wonder if they have your account settings setup incorrectly as a client in an Eastern time zone?