For my understanding, you're describing competent cell preparation, and I'm suggesting that your buffer contained CaCl2 and glycerol that are prepared in Tris buffer, as Tris has its pka as 8.0, by adjusting its pH to 8.0 will provide the best buffer range. While not necessarily in pH 8.0, pH 7.2~8.0 are an acceptable range, pH within this range should not cause any significant damage to cells or DNAs, and the buffer will protect your cells until transformation process is done.