Cell service and WiFi are not always reliable or readily available. Offline check-in makes it possible to check in and out of appointments when your internet connection is degraded or completely unavailable.
When the Scout for Dog Walkers app is unable to connect to Scout's servers, the check-in data is stored on the pet sitters phone.
IMPORTANT: you will still need to have a connection to initially download your schedule for the day. If not, the app will not have access to any scheduling information and offline access becomes a moot point.
How will I know if an appointment hasn't uploaded?
If your connection is preventing appointment data from uploading, next to the completed appointment, is a pink/purple cloud with a line crossing through it.
Every half hour on the :00 and :30 mark we will send a push notification to remind staff members that they have un-synced appointments and to open their app when they have a data connection.
What happens if an administrator makes a change while a staff member is checked in but offline?
In most cases, the administrative web portal is the authority when it comes to data. This means that when you make a change on the administrative web portal it will overwrite any offline activity in the app.
When a pet sitter re-connects, if the appointment has been changed since the last time the app was synced, the app changes will be discarded and replaced with the most up to date information from the administrative portal.
Here are a few scenarios to illustrate what happens if changes are made to the administrative web portal while a sitter is offline but checked-in.
1. A pet owner or administrator cancels an appointment when the sitter is checked-in but offline.
When the pet sitter re-connects, the appointment status will change to canceled.
2. An administrator starts an appointment manually while the sitter is checked-in but offline.
When the pet sitter is back online the manually started appointment will be available on the app for the pet sitter. Any data such as photos will be lost. We suggest only manually starting the appointment after confirming with the sitter that it is necessary.
3. An administrator ends an appointment manually while a sitter is checked-in but offline.
The pet sitter's app will be updated to show the appointment was completed manually. All walk data from the pet sitter's app will be overwritten. We suggest only manually ending an appointment after confirming with the sitter that is is necessary.