‘What’s Your Availability….?’

[Chewbacalava]

When asked this and I replied ‘Wed’s morning 9am until 11:30am along with some other days/times - AIBU to expect the other person to realise that after 11:30 on Weds I am not available?

They have booked a meeting for 11:30 on Weds.
This has happened before with other people so I’m now thinking the problem is me.

No it's them. They are being rude and if it is a job interview it might even be a sort of test. Either way, I would avoid them.

It's pretty clear to me but perhaps they read it as you are free at 9 and 11.30

They've skim read the times and not the words. Decline.

Do you put that information in amongst text or in, for example, bullet points?

I’ve found that the layout can make a difference.

Even then I’ve had people suggest a date I’ve specifically singled out as unavailable 😤

I find people do this too so now I just whack a bit of time off my availability. If I was really free 9-11.30 I’d say 9-11 as no doubt they’ll say 11

I've had this hapepen to me before so Ive started adding the words from and until e.g from 9.30am until 11.30am. Just to be implicitly clear!

They haven't read it properly. They thought you were busy 9-11:30.

People don't read things properly and just focus on the numbers, without the extremely relevant surrounding context.

Most of the time, it's not you, it's them.

It’s you, you’ve given them until 11.30 as available to start a meeting.

No, it's not you. Peoples' reading comprehension these days is shockingly poor. I'd reply and point out their error. I know that's supposed to be rude, but how are people ever going to learn otherwise?

Unless it was a thing that runs for a set time, where it could read as you could do an 11:30 appointment, then the problem is them.

When I provide my availability, I state the times I am available for a meeting. For example, if I am free till 11.30 but I anticipate the meeting to take an hour, I would put my availability as 9-10.30.

It's not you, it's them and their poor comprehension skills.

I would reply pointing out their mistake.

This happens to me sometimes - your only option right now is to go back and say, ‘oh sorry I think my message wasn’t clear, I have a commitment at 1130 but am available beforehand’

I’ve started to go with detailing the times I cannot do which sometimes works better, eg ‘I currently have commitments at x and y but am otherwise available’ … and depending on the audience and confidentiality I sometimes screenshot my diary.

It’s them. 9:30-11:30 is the window in which you are free and means “I am free until 11:30 and at that time I stop being free.

They are interpreting it as : 'I can accept an appointment that starts within this range'

To me, and I think 90% of people on the thread, that reads as though you need the meeting to be finished by 10:30.

If you're free until 11.30 that means the meeting needs to finish by 11.30, not start at 11.30.

@Fimofriend yes its an interview and I’m now stuck with changing my other meetings as I don’t want to annoy them given that it’s clearly interpreted differently on here 😁

This is a them issue that I come across all the time in my business.
if someone messages asking for appointments and I say “my next avaliable date and time is 20th May at 2pm” that is my next appointment, I can’t magic more time out of my butt!
you are absolutely in the right here.