A rain-day policy for mobile detailers (and how to reschedule a washed-out day)

A rain-day policy tells customers, before they book, what happens when the weather stops you working: who decides, how late you'll decide, how they'll hear, and how they rebook. Write it down once, show it where people book, and when a bad day comes, cancel the whole day with one message and a link to pick a new time.

If you detail outdoors, bad-weather days come with the job. What wears you down is usually the hours spent texting each customer, answering "so is it still on?", and juggling the rebooking afterwards. A clear policy and a simple process turn that into a few minutes of work instead of an evening of messages.

What should a rain-day policy say?

Keep it to a few lines that answer the questions customers actually ask:

1. Who decides. Usually you do, because you know what your products and your setup can handle.
2. When you decide. For example, "by 20:00 the evening before" or "by 07:00 on the day". A fixed time stops the guessing.
3. What counts as bad weather. Heavy rain, wind, freezing temperatures, or extreme heat in direct sun, depending on the service. Some work, like interiors, may go ahead in light rain if there's cover.
4. What happens to the booking. It's moved or cancelled at no cost to the customer.
5. What customers can do. If they have a garage, carport or covered parking, say whether that lets the appointment go ahead.

Here's a version you can adapt:

Weather

We work outdoors, so heavy rain, strong wind or freezing temperatures can stop us. If the forecast looks bad, we'll decide by [20:00] the evening before and let you know by email. You won't pay anything for a weather cancellation, and you'll get a link to pick a new time straight away. If you have a garage or covered spot we can use, tell us when you book: we can often still come.

How do you decide whether to cancel?

Make the call by your stated time, not at 07:45 in the customer's driveway. Some practical points:

• Check the forecast for the hours you'll actually be working, rather than the daily summary. A wet morning and a dry afternoon might mean moving bookings later instead of cancelling them.
• Think about the service as well as the weather. A maintenance wash in light drizzle is different from a paint correction or a coating that needs a dry surface and time to cure. Follow the product maker's instructions on temperature and moisture.
• Ask about cover. A customer with a garage or carport may be happy to keep the slot.
• Decide once for the whole day. Calling it booking by booking means more messages and more uncertainty for everyone.

How should you tell customers?

Tell everyone affected at the same time, as soon as you've decided. A good bad-weather message:

• says plainly that the appointment is cancelled or moved because of the weather;
• confirms there's no charge;
• gives a link to pick a new time, or offers specific alternatives;
• comes from you, in your normal tone.

Hi [name], the forecast for tomorrow is heavy rain all day, so we can't do your [service] at [time]. Sorry about that, and there's no charge. You can pick a new time here: [link]. If you have a garage we can use, reply and we'll see if we can still come. Thanks, [your name]

Sending this one by one to eight customers is where the evening goes. If your booking system can cancel a whole day with a single note, use it.

How do you refill the schedule afterwards?

A washed-out day pushes demand onto the next dry days, so plan for it:

• Keep some slack in the week. A buffer day, or a shorter day after a rain-prone forecast, gives cancelled customers somewhere to go.
• Look after the customers you cancelled on. Message them first with a few dry-day times you've kept free for them, before those times fill up.
• Use buffers. If you're squeezing extra jobs into a dry day, make sure there's still travel time between them, or you'll be late for everyone.
• Keep a waiting list. People who couldn't get a slot earlier in the week are the quickest to fill a gap.

What if the customer cancels because of the weather?

Sometimes it's the customer who looks at the forecast and wants to move. Decide in advance how you'll treat that, because it will happen most on the days you'd have worked anyway:

• Before your cancellation cut-off, treat it like any other change: free, and they pick a new time.
• After the cut-off, be generous when the forecast really is bad. A customer who moves a booking because of a storm warning is being considerate, and charging them rarely pays off.
• When you'd have gone ahead, say so kindly ("we can work in light rain under your carport"), and let them choose.

Whatever you decide, put it in the same policy, so customers and you are working from the same rules.

How Okayset handles a rain day

Okayset has a few tools made for businesses that travel to their customers:

• Clear a day. In your calendar, pick the date and whose bookings, write one short note, and confirm. Every customer gets a cancellation email with your note and a link to book another time, and the day can be blocked so nobody books it again. You see how many bookings it affects before you confirm. See Clear a day.
• Customers move their own bookings with the link in their confirmation and reminder, up to the cutoff you set. See Booking rules and cancellation policy.
• Travel buffers per service keep a packed dry day realistic, and a waitlist emails people when a time opens on a full day. See the mobile detailing guide and Waitlist.

You can put the short version of your weather policy in your business description, which appears on your booking page. Okayset doesn't check the weather for you; you still make the call, but telling everyone is one form in your calendar instead of an evening of texts.

Quick checklist

• Write a five-line weather policy with a fixed decision time.
• Show it where customers book.
• Decide once for the whole day, by your stated time.
• Send one clear message with a rebooking link and no charge.
• Keep slack in your week, and offer a few dry-day times to the customers you cancelled on first.