The short answer
While Gaffr offers your booking to crew, it shows "Finding crew". Offers go out in rounds, starting near the venue and widening. If nobody accepts in time, the booking reads "Nobody took it" and your card hold is released. If crew were free above your maximum, the app says so. To try again, use "Book the same" and change what you need.
What does "Finding crew" mean?
Gaffr is offering your booking to crew who fit it. The screen says: "You don't need to keep this open. We'll send a notification when someone's booked."
It also shows:
- what you're looking for, such as "Looking for a rigger."
- your maximum, as "Open to crew charging up to" that amount "an hour."
- how long it's been looking, such as "Looking for 3 min"
- a map of the venue
The map doesn't show crew, and the app never says how many crew have been offered it.
Who gets offered my booking?
Crew whose documents Gaffr has checked and who have the role you asked for. Their rate has to be at or under your maximum, and they have to be free.
- On-demand bookings go first to crew who've gone live in Gaffr Live. If it hasn't filled after a short while, it also goes to crew whose availability covers the start.
- Scheduled bookings go to crew who are live, and to crew available for more than half the shift.
For an on-demand booking, the app may ask: "What's the latest they can arrive?" Crew whose estimated travel time wouldn't get them there by then aren't offered it.
How far does Gaffr look?
Offers go out in rounds. Each round reaches crew within a circle around the venue, and the circle widens.
- The first round reaches 8 km, the second 20 km and the third 40 km.
- Later rounds stay at the widest circle.
- No round goes more than 50 km.
These distances can change. Within a round, crew who haven't been offered your booking before come first. Crew you've asked to see first, or who've asked to see your bookings, come next. Then crew Gaffr can reach right now, then distance.
What does "Nobody took it" mean?
Nobody accepted before Gaffr stopped looking. The booking reads: "Nobody took Sat 07:00. Your card hold of £125 has been released." You also get a notification.
You aren't charged anything.
Why does it say crew were free above my maximum?
Sometimes crew were free then but charge more than your maximum. At least two had the right role and could reach the venue in time. Then the booking adds: "Crew were free then at rates above your £25 an hour maximum. A higher maximum reaches more crew."
It never says how many crew, or what they charge. It isn't shown on a booking you cancelled yourself.
What can I change?
A booking can't be edited once it's placed. On a booking nobody took, the main button is "Book the same", or "Book again" for a scheduled one.
"Book the same" shows the booking on one screen. You pick the time, and "Change details" opens the full form.
"Book again", on a scheduled booking, opens the full form filled in. You pick the date.
Either way, you can change the maximum on the full form.
Your maximum rate, and counter offers explains how the maximum decides who's offered a booking.
What happens to my card hold?
It stays while Gaffr is looking. It's released when:
- nobody takes the booking, or
- you cancel before anyone accepts
When the release shows on your card is up to your bank.
Can I cancel while it's looking?
Yes. The app says: "Before a crew member accepts: nothing to pay." What you pay and cancellations covers cancelling once someone has accepted.
Is it different for scheduled bookings?
Yes. Crew have longer to answer each offer, because the booking is further away.
A scheduled booking also says how far away it is. For example: "Sat 10 Oct is 4 days away, so crew can plan around it."