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Weather-based rescheduling for outdoor jobs in Jobber

Weather-based rescheduling checks the next day’s outdoor visits against the forecast for each job’s location. When the weather breaks your limits, it suggests new dates for the office to approve and texts customers once their visit has moved.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From a bad forecast to customers told in good time.

  1. Step 01

    Afternoon check

    Each afternoon, list the next day’s visits in Jobber that are marked as weather dependent.

  2. Step 02

    Forecast compared

    Check the forecast for each job’s location from a weather data service against the limits set for that kind of work.

  3. Step 03

    New dates suggested

    Find the next suitable days with room in the schedule and propose a new date for each affected visit.

  4. Step 04

    Office approves

    A person reviews the suggested moves, keeps any jobs they are happy to risk and confirms the rest.

  5. Step 05

    Customers told

    Text each customer whose visit moved with the new date and a number to call if it doesn’t suit.

The result

Customers hear about changes in good time, and crews aren’t sent out to stand in the rain.

No visit is moved and no customer is messaged until a person approves the change. Each visit can only be moved once per check, so a changing forecast can’t shuffle the same job back and forth.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for window cleaners, landscapers, roofers, exterior painters and outdoor fitness or activity providers whose work depends on dry or calm weather. A sensible first version sends the office a daily list of at-risk visits with suggested dates, leaving every move to a person.

What we need to connect

  1. 01Jobber access to read upcoming visits and update them where its API allows, with a way to mark which jobs depend on the weather, such as a tag or job type.
  2. 02A weather data source with an API, such as the Met Office Weather DataHub, and limits for each type of work, such as rain, wind speed or frost.
  3. 03A Twilio account for text messages, your approved wording, and the person who approves moves each day.

What needs careful handling

Forecasts change overnight, so the check runs at a set time and each visit is only moved once unless a person chooses to look again. Some jobs can go ahead in light rain while others can’t, so limits are set per job type rather than one rule for everything. If the next suitable days are already full, the visit is flagged for a person to arrange rather than squeezed in.

Questions people ask.

Will it cancel jobs on its own?

No. It suggests moves and a person approves them. Customers are only told once the change is confirmed, so they never get a message about a visit that then goes ahead.

How reliable are the forecasts?

Next-day forecasts are a useful indication, but local showers and gusts are hard to predict precisely. That is why the check suggests rather than decides, and why the limits can be adjusted as you learn what works for your jobs.

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