What “no blockout” does and doesn't tell you
Blockouts are how volunteers tell Planning Center Services when they can't serve. They are useful, and they are easy to over-read. A person with no blockout for Sunday is not necessarily free on Sunday.
How blockouts work
- Volunteers add them from My Schedule on the web (“Block Out Dates”) or from the Schedule page in the app (“Add Blockout”).
- A blockout can be all day or, with “All day” turned off, a specific start and end time. It can repeat.
- A blockout can include a reason, which team leaders can see.
- Blockouts apply across all of a person's teams.
- Saving a blockout declines that person's unconfirmed requests for those dates.
- When a scheduler picks someone with a blockout, Services warns them. It is a warning, not a lock: the scheduler can still schedule the person.
What “no blockout” tells you
Only this: the person hasn't entered a blockout covering that time. That is worth knowing, and it is where a search for help should start.
What it doesn't tell you
- That they're free. People forget to enter blockouts, especially for a weekend away planned months ago or a sudden change.
- That they're not busy elsewhere at church. A small group meeting in Planning Center Groups at the same time doesn't appear as a Services blockout.
- That they've seen the request. If their scheduling email is still a prepared notification, it hasn't been sent, and they can't see the plan yet.
- That they need a break or don't. No blockout says nothing about how many Sundays they've already served.
- That they're willing. Only they can say that.
Use careful words
When you share a list of people who might help, say what you checked, not what you assume. “No blockout or schedule overlap found” is accurate. “Available” promises more than the data knows. And if a repeating blockout couldn't be read, or a check didn't finish, say that too rather than guessing.
Where Ozzie fits
Ozzie uses exactly this language. A person is shown as “No overlap found” when no blockout or other schedule overlap was found, “Possible conflict” with the reason when there is one, and “Availability needs confirmation” when Ozzie couldn't check, for example because a blockout repeats or a read didn't finish. It lists people alphabetically and leaves the asking to you. How to see who could cover an open role.
Sources
From Planning Center's help center, checked when this guide was published. Planning Center changes its product from time to time, so check these pages for the current details.