Scheduling software with a weird request
January 18, 2022 12:50 PM Subscribe
Say I have a pool of clients. I need to schedule a session with exactly two of them, any two, but there needs to be two for any given slot. Is there an easy way for people to be paired, given their availability overlapping with any other person, to be slotted into a meeting on my calendar. The expectation is that both people would show up at the same time and I wouldn’t have to coordinate all this by myself.
I might have done a crap job explaining my needs, so please feel free to ask follow up questions.
I might have done a crap job explaining my needs, so please feel free to ask follow up questions.
Response by poster: I have checked Calendly but I think no dice. They will allow you to make an event with participant slots but nothing regarding pairing people depending on their availability
posted by vocativecase at 1:35 PM on January 18, 2022
posted by vocativecase at 1:35 PM on January 18, 2022
It’s easy to have a set of clients who can’t be paired up (it only takes one person with a terrible schedule, after all) so anything to do this is only going to be hinting or suggesting.
If no software does this already, can you get the relevant data into a simple format that you could drop into a scheduler script?
posted by clew at 1:45 PM on January 18, 2022
If no software does this already, can you get the relevant data into a simple format that you could drop into a scheduler script?
posted by clew at 1:45 PM on January 18, 2022
Oh, hang on, you don’t need to pair all of them, you just want to pair them when they can be paired?
posted by clew at 1:46 PM on January 18, 2022
posted by clew at 1:46 PM on January 18, 2022
Do you *already* know the times that the clients are available? If so you could probably script it.
But if you need the clients to pick their own time, you could choose a piece of scheduling software that supports multiple bookings per slot. Then for this kind of booking, you could set it to two per slot and then let your clients just pick the times they want from the times available. The pairings would be 'random' in that clients wouldn't know what other times the other clients have picked, and the times would go away as they became unavailable.
posted by dis_integration at 2:21 PM on January 18, 2022
But if you need the clients to pick their own time, you could choose a piece of scheduling software that supports multiple bookings per slot. Then for this kind of booking, you could set it to two per slot and then let your clients just pick the times they want from the times available. The pairings would be 'random' in that clients wouldn't know what other times the other clients have picked, and the times would go away as they became unavailable.
posted by dis_integration at 2:21 PM on January 18, 2022
Response by poster: Oh, hang on, you don’t need to pair all of them, you just want to pair them when they can be paired?
This is correct! Anyone can be waiting in the wings!
If so you could probably script it.
How would I script this kind of thing? With what service?
posted by vocativecase at 3:23 PM on January 18, 2022
This is correct! Anyone can be waiting in the wings!
If so you could probably script it.
How would I script this kind of thing? With what service?
posted by vocativecase at 3:23 PM on January 18, 2022
I was imagining your having everyone's availability for next week and then you telling them when to show up, which I could set up for you in, say, Excel.
But dis_integration's idea is better. The little gym I used to go to had scheduling software exactly like that, for small to tiny group classes. As a client, I saw a list of classtimes that still had space; I think the software was Mind-Body.
posted by clew at 3:33 PM on January 18, 2022
But dis_integration's idea is better. The little gym I used to go to had scheduling software exactly like that, for small to tiny group classes. As a client, I saw a list of classtimes that still had space; I think the software was Mind-Body.
posted by clew at 3:33 PM on January 18, 2022
Doodle does this when you get to the options menu. Just click “limit the number of participants,” and set it to 2.
posted by mai at 5:57 PM on January 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mai at 5:57 PM on January 18, 2022 [2 favorites]
I don't see anything forcing there to be two clients in each class in most of the above. It seemed like you did not want to hold single client meetings.
My suggestion- Take half of your clients, let them schedule anytime. Then make an availability chart that you setup for the other half of the clients to book.
When you're left with a bunch of unpaired first round and unscheduled second round, just reverse the process. Open the remaining potential slots to the second round and ask the first round to reschedule based on those.
posted by noloveforned at 4:41 AM on January 19, 2022
My suggestion- Take half of your clients, let them schedule anytime. Then make an availability chart that you setup for the other half of the clients to book.
When you're left with a bunch of unpaired first round and unscheduled second round, just reverse the process. Open the remaining potential slots to the second round and ask the first round to reschedule based on those.
posted by noloveforned at 4:41 AM on January 19, 2022
This situation comes up all the time in team sports. Maybe one of these league schedule generators would work?
posted by nicolaitanes at 4:52 AM on January 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by nicolaitanes at 4:52 AM on January 19, 2022 [3 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by MonsieurBon at 1:33 PM on January 18, 2022