Fixing Schedule Overrides Not Appearing or Working Correctly

Symptoms of an Override Problem

You've created a schedule override in Tellspin, but you're observing one or more of the following issues:

• The Slack user group (@on-call-group) still contains the original person, not the override person.
• Daily reminders announce the wrong on-call person.
• The schedule preview in the Tellspin App Home doesn't show the override.
• For schedules synced from PagerDuty or OpsGenie, the override in Tellspin doesn't seem to take effect.

Common Causes and Fixes

Cause 1: Incorrect Start/End Times or Timezone

The most common issue is that the override's time range is not configured as expected. This is often due to a misunderstanding of the schedule's timezone.

Resolution:

1. Go to the Tellspin App Home and find your schedule.

2. Click the three-dot menu (...) and select Edit.

3. Verify the Timezone setting for the schedule. All handoffs and overrides are based on this timezone.

4. Delete the incorrect override.

5. Create a new override, ensuring the Start Date & Time and End Date & Time are correct for the schedule's configured timezone.

   

Cause 2: Slack User Group Caching

Sometimes, Slack's user interface can be slow to reflect changes to a user group's membership. Even if Tellspin has correctly updated the group, your Slack client might show outdated information.

Resolution:

1. Go to any channel and type a message mentioning the user group (e.g., Testing @on-call-group).
2. Sending the message often forces Slack to refresh the group's membership, and the correct user will be mentioned.
3. You can also try restarting your Slack client (Cmd+R or Ctrl+R).

Cause 3: Sync Delay with PagerDuty/OpsGenie

For schedules synced from an external provider, Tellspin overrides the on-call person within Tellspin. The change is not written back to PagerDuty or OpsGenie. Tellspin checks for updates from the source periodically, and there can be a short delay before an override is reflected.

Resolution:

1. Wait a few minutes for the sync to complete.
2. Navigate to the Tellspin App Home and click the Refresh button at the top right to get the latest view.

How to Verify the Fix

After applying a fix, the best way to verify is to check the schedule preview in the Tellspin App Home. It should accurately display the name of the person who is on-call during the override period.

You can also mention the user group in a channel to confirm its membership has been updated correctly.

Still Stuck?

If your override is still not working correctly, please contact support at support@tellspin.com. Include your workspace name, the schedule name, and a screenshot of the override configuration.