I like the idea of "Buffer time your customers can't book". I like to give myself 15 minutes between appointments to go to the bathroom, check email, jot down notes from the previous meeting, drive to the next appointment, etc. However, when this option is turned on, the calendar entry shows the booked start time 15 minutes before when the customer actually booked. I either show up or call the customer 15 minutes before they are expecting me - bad form! My calendar should show the exact time the customer booked the appointment, not the time minus the buffered time.
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After waiting three years for a solution, the only workaround I’ve found is to set 30-minute slots with 30-minute gaps in the Availability tab. This way, clients only see the times I want to be available. However, this approach is far from ideal—it’s tedious and time-consuming, especially since you can’t copy and paste the same schedule across days. Each day has to be manually set up, which is incredibly frustrating. It’s disappointing that such a basic functionality hasn’t been addressed after all this time.
I just don't believe it...
Almost 3 years...
32 up votes...
17 comments...
And, Bookings still can't seem to fix this issue. This is ridiculous!!!
Calendly and ScheduleOne I know have this working the way it should. With as big of a company as Microsoft is, I just do not understand what the problem is.
Not only is it the problem of just being plain confusing when you look at your calendar. There is also the issue that you wind up being able to have less appointments scheduled in a given time block... Or, you would wind up with an hour between meeting, if you are using a 30 minute buffer.
Here's a workaround for the 'buffer time issue'
Hi folks, this is indeed annoying behaviour by MS Bookings and the first time I used it, resulted in me ringing my client 30 minutes early. I've created a workaround using Microsoft Power Automate that automatically creates a buffer appointment (with reminders OFF) around the actual booking. I've got a detailed step-by-step how to on my blog here:
https://echo3.co/posts/fixing-the-buffer-time-problem-in-microsoft-bookings/I just joined Bookings and this is a HUGE problem!! I can't believe this has not been figured out. I have 3 back to back meetings today because I would rather not have a buffer time than incorrectly tell my clients when I'm meeting with them. This seems like it should be a priority for the developers to fix considering how long this thread has been active.
I'm shocked Microsoft haven't done some of the most basic functionalities with Bookings. I feel like they released it half baked to get into the market but missed some really obvious aspects and then over engineered others.
I am so glad that I found this - I'm a contractor for a business that uses Bookings, and it's a great system, but the buffer situation is making my calendar unusable. This absolutely MUST be fixed. I need a significant buffer between appointments, but I don't always have to use it. I just need my appointments spaced out - how in the world does that translate to wanting buffer time in my calendar? This is absolutely unacceptable.
Ideally, IMO, bookings would work like this:
Configured for 15 minutes buffer time before AND after meetings. This give me time to prepare for the next meeting or get to my next appointment.
A customer opens my bookings page and wants to book a 1 hour appointment. Bookings only shows time slots where there is 1 hour 30 minutes available. This provides for 15 minutes before, 1 hour meeting, then 15 minutes after. The meeting time selected is what shows up on my calendar, not 15 minutes before (ie the 15 minute buffer before meetings). The meeting time is 1 hour only so the calendar event does not include the buffer time before or after the meeting.
Everyone has different needs and schedules. This simple change in the logic would fit most people. Another suggestion would be to have user-configurable fixed time slots. For example, 8-9am, 9:30-10:30am, 11am-noon, etc.
Agree, a checkbox would be the most flexible solution. Actually, any solution would be better than the current implementation 🙂
akn93Well, there are a lot of different work types.
Some people (like me) have no appointment less than 30 min, mostly 1 hour or longer.
I need this to prepare the 3D Renderings, Material Collection etc. for the customer.But this could be easily changed by a "Checkbox" - Do I need a Buffertime event or not? Only before the event or also after the event.
I seriously can't wrap my mind around it why the implemantation is so hard, but what do I know.
