Hey there @Dan70630 - thanks for posting! I am terribly sorry for all the frustration. Let’s get this fixed for you!
So -- while this all seems very convoluted, it is actually a simpler issue (and fix!) than you’d think!
There is one super important factor when it comes to buffers that leads us to recommending users choose to apply either before or after buffers -- not both on any given event type.
When you apply both before and after buffers on the same event type they “stack” -- meaning a 30 minute before and a 30 minute after buffer will result in an entire 60 minutes between bookings.
This will also lead to confusing things like seeing “before” as the error as you use the troubleshooting tool when you expect to see “after” -- and the other way around -- they are both there because the “after” buffer from one time slot will run into the “before” buffer for the next time slot and so on, creating that “stacked’ 60 minutes.
Note: while Calendly event type buffers do not apply to your personal calendar events, there’s a loophole. Your personal calendar event ends at 1030 > your Calendly booking starts at 12 and has “stacked’ before/after buffers in place > this means that 11am to 12pm is blocked off by the resulting 60 minutes of buffer time. Your 11-1130 time slot is not available for this reason. Likewise, your 1030 time slot showing as unavailable due to a “before” buffer would not technically be incorrect, as it’s pulling the “before” buffer attached to your next time slot that stacks with an “after” and so on.
You can learn more about buffers and how they work in our help center, here.
Okay -- so, what is the solution?
You will want to go into your event type and choose which buffer to remove -- before, or after. Make sure to save your changes!
Tip: these changes will immediately apply to all future bookings and will reflect on your booking page moving forward, but the changes will not apply retroactively to bookings already made. This means that bookings already made will still block off 60 minutes of time between bookings. In order to fix this you would need to cancel those bookings and reschedule them for your invitees (by heading to your booking page and inputting their info to book as though you are them).
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be glad to assist further! Rest assured these are not bugs and this is expected behavior -- it’s just a little confusing at first!
p.s. check out our New User Guide - it’s full of tips + tricks to help as you learn the Calendly ropes and get started!
Yes, that helps, thank you.
One problem that I see doing only a before buffer is this. Let’s say I set a before buffer for 30 minutes. That means a Calendly event will only be scheduled 30 min (or more) after a personal calendar event - great! But it also means that a Calendly event could bump up directly against a personal calendar event. For example, someone could book 10:30-11:30 on Calendly, and I could have an 11:30 meeting on my personal calendar. Does that make sense?
What I’m trying to achieve is a 30 minute buffer between all events, regardless of Calendly or personal.
Hey again @Dan70630 -- yes, that does make perfect sense, and I totally get that need.
Unfortunately, Calendly buffers do not apply to events on your connected calendars, and as you can see, using before/after buffers will result in stacking, limiting your availability in a way that does not suit you.
My best suggestion would be to add buffer time directly to your personal calendar before those personal calendar events. If you mark this buffer time “busy” then Calendly will not be able to book over it, ensuring you always have that time before meetings on your personal calendar, as well!
I hope this helps!
