Asking a Favour

To begin the process of asking a favour, you need to navigate to the Ask a Favour page. To do this either click on the   Ask  button in the orange bar under the FavourClub logo, or alternatively use the link Ask A Favour under the Asking section on the Members page left hand menu.

Step  Enter the Details of your Favour

Select a Category

Select the appropriate category for the Favour - it can be one of the following Categories :-

1. Request someone to provide a Service for You
2. Request to borrow an item from another Member
3. Request an unwanted item from another Member

Enter a Title

Enter a brief meaningful title for the Favour. Note that the title is used when other members are searching the FavourBoard, so include all the relevant key words in the title, such as 'Need a Ladder for a Weekend'. Note that the Category (ie Borrow) and Date should not be included as these details are entered elsewhere.

Enter a Description

Enter full details about the Favour eg in the case of borrowing a ladder these might be: Size and Type of the Ladder you need to borrow, How long you need it for, collection details.
As with the Title don't include details which are entered elsewhere in the form.
Also include details of any expenses which you are willing to reimburse members who offer to help you with the favour. eg. you may wish to ask for petrol expenses when giving someone a lift. Note that Favourclub does not allow you to charge for the Favour itself, but does permit you to ask for incidental expenses.

Enter a Completion Date

Firstly, select a Time Frame for the Favour. Some Favours you may want completed on a specific date (eg I need a lift to the pub on a specific date), but some Favours you may want completed by a certain date (I need someone to cut my hedge). The exact date is not important here as long as it is done before the hedge becomes overgrown! For Urgent Favours, select the 'Urgent - Must be completed today' selection in the Time Frame. This will set the Completion Date and Respond By Date to today's date and ensure that the Favour appears in the Featured Favours List on the Home Page. The Date itself can be entered manually or by selecting the Calendar button    to the right hand side of the date box. The date must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy

Respond By

This is the date by which you want responses from other Members to your Favour. It may be sufficient to make this date the same as the Date of the Favour, but for some Favours (eg if you need a lift to the airport to go on holiday) you want to know in advance whether someone can help you with your Favour. The date must be on or before the Completion Date(see above) of the Favour and must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy

eTokens Offered

Enter the number of eTokens you are offering in return for the Favour. This may be a specific number (eg 2), or may be more general (eg in the case of babysitting), you may offer 1 per hour, as you don't know exactly how long you may need the babysitter for. The max number of eTokens you can trade for a single Favour is 100. Note that the it is up to the Requester to judge how many tokens to offer for the Favour, but please remember if you are too mean you may not get other members to help you. As a rough Guide:

• Service - 1 eToken per hour for a Service, perhaps 2 eTokens for Unsociable Hours. More if you want to include expenses(such as petrol) as part of the Favour.
• Borrow - 1 eToken per day for borrowing an item < £100, rising to 5 eTokens a day if the item is valuable (£500 or more).
• Trade - Whatever you think the item is worth to you (and to other members).

Display on FavourBoard?

This allows you to specify whether you want your Favour to be displayed in the public domain, in which case all members can view and respond to the Favour, or whether you want to keep it private and only allow selected buddies to view your Favour. Private Favours enable you to use only selected trusted members to complete some Favours for You (eg babysitting).

Country and Target Location

This allows you to target your Favour at members at certain locations and only applies if you are displaying your Favour on the FavourBoard (ie a public Favour). The location may be either local to your home (eg Borrowing a Ladder) or in a specific location in another country (eg. I need someone in Denver Colorado to buy a ski pass for me). Selecting the My Location button sets the location for the Favour to your Home Location (ie. the location you specified when you joined the club).

Step    Selecting Buddies for your Favour

When you have created the Favour, you can then select other Members to help you with the Favour. These are known as Buddies. There are 2 ways in which Buddies can be selected.

• You can select buddies for either a private or public Favour. Selecting a Buddy creates a link between the Favour and the selected member. The Request will appear in the selected members 'My ToDo List' asking for a response (Help or Not?). The selected member is also sent an email informing them that they have been selected as a buddy.
• If the Favour is posted on the FavourBoard (Public Favour) other members may search the FavourBoard, see the Favour and respond to it by Offering Help.

Select My Favours tab, then press either My Current Requests or My Current Offers link. This will bring up your list of favours (Requests or Offers). Choose the favour and then select Manage My Favour and then click on the Go link.
The list of Buddies includes a What would you like to do Next? column. This column contains all the possible next actions for that buddy (dependant on the current status) with the suggested next step displayed. You can now select / deselect members to help you with your Favour. Initially you will have no buddies linked to your Favour. To select a new buddy press the Select a Buddy - you will be presented with a page asking you to enter the name(s) of the buddy(s) you wish to select.

Adding a Single Member

Enter the Username of the Member in the Add a Single Buddy field and press the button. You can optionally enter a comment which will be displayed when the selected Member views the Favour. The specified Member is added to the list of selected buddies and the list re-displayed. If the Member cannot be found then an error is displayed.

Searching for a Single Member

You may wish to search the Members database for members who are Offering a Favour matching your request, or for members will a skills profile which may match the skills you require to complete the Favour. To do this press the Search for Buddies button.
From the Search Members form, you must first select the Search Parameters, then press the button. From the members displayed, choose a Member you wish to Select as a Buddy, then press the Select As Buddy link on the chosen member. The member will be automatically selected as a Buddy for the Favour.

Adding a Circle of Buddies

Select the circle from the Select a Circle drop down list and press the button. You can optionally enter a comment which will be displayed when any of the selected Members views the Favour. All the Members in the circle are added to the list of selected buddies and the list re-displayed. If any of the Members cannot be found then an error is displayed.

Withdrawing a Request for Help from a Selected Buddy

From the list of selected buddies, choose the Member you wish to cancel and select Cancel Buddy from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button. From the displayed page, you should confirm the cancellation by selecting the button, adding a comment as appropriate.

Re-instating a Request for Help to a Selected Buddy

If for some reason you require to re-instate a previously Cancelled Helper you can do this by selecting Re-select Buddy from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button. From the displayed page, you should confirm the Cancellation by Selecting the button, adding a comment as appropriate.

Accepting Offers of Help

Other Members who have offered help for your Favour require you to accept their Offer before they can complete the Favour.

Stopping Further Offers of Help

Although you can have any number of buddies helping you, at some stage you will want to stop any further Offers. You can do this by selecting Lock My Favour. This takes you to a confirmation page - now press the button. This will remove the Favour from the FavourBoard and any outstanding Requests for Help will be withdrawn.

Step    Completing and Paying for a Favour

There are 2 ways in which a Favour can be completed and Paid for:

  Buddy Claims Payment

When you have accepted an Offer of Help from a Buddy and the Favour has been completed by the Buddy, then the Buddy will then set the Favour to Completed and Request Payment From You. The Favour will appear in your My ToDo List with a status of Payment Due and you will be sent an email advising you of the Payment Request.
After selecting the Favour from your My Favours List or My ToDo List, select the Pay option from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button. This will take you to the Payments Page. From the Payments Page, enter the number of eTokens you are paying in the eTokens being Paid box (the number requested is shown in the box), along with an optional comment. Then select the button. When the button is pressed the number of eTokens will be deducted from your account and a transaction sent to the Buddy, who can then accept the payment and add the eTokens to his account. The Buddy will also be notified by email that a payment has been sent.

  Fast Track a Payment

You can Fast Track Completion and Payment of the Favour by marking it as Completed and Pay your buddy immediately without waiting for him to Request Payment. As soon as the Favour is marked as Help Accepted, you can select Complete & Pay option from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button. This will take you the Payments Page. From the Payments Page, enter the number of eTokens you are paying in the eTokens being Paid box along with an optional Comment. Then select the button. When the button is pressed the number of eTokens will be deducted from your Account and a transaction sent to the Buddy, who can then accept the Payment and add the eTokens to his Account. The Buddy will also be notified by email that a Payment has been sent.

Making a Further Payment

After a payment has been made, there may be some cases in which you wish to make a further payment. This might occur when there is a dispute or a mistake in the number of eTokens being paid, or perhaps if the Helper has done such a good job that you feel they warrant an additional payment. To make a further payment select Pay Again option from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button. This will take you the Further Payments Page. From the Further Payments Page, enter the number of eTokens you are paying in the eTokens being Paid box along with an optional comment. Then select the button. When the button is pressed the number of eTokens will be deducted from your account and a transaction sent to the Buddy, who can then accept the payment and add the eTokens to his account. The Buddy will also be notified by email that a payment has been sent.

Step    Leaving Feedback

Leaving Feedback

FavourClub is built on trust between it's Members - in order that our Members can gain this trust, we would ask that all Members Leave Feedback for each other when a Favour is completed. You can leave feedback for your Buddy any time after the Favour has been marked as completed. To Leave Feedback for a Buddy, select Leave Feedback option from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button. This will take you the Feedback Page. From the Feedback Page, enter a Rating Score 0 to 10 and a short Feedback Comment. Then select the button.

Viewing Feedback

When you have submitted your Feedback you can view the Feedback left by both Members by selecting View Feedback option from the What would you like to do Next? column and press the button.

Step    Close Favour

When you are finished with a Favour, you should Close it so that it does not appear in your list of Requests or Offers. Closing a Favour removes it from the FavourBoard and will prevent any other Members from Offering Help. To close a Favour, select the Favour from your Requests or Offers and choosing Close My Favour. A confirmation page will then be displayed and you should press the button.