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Best answer

Delay step in Zapier not reading date time field correctly

  • May 19, 2025
  • 8 replies
  • 135 views

The trigger for this Zap is when a new appointment is created in Thryv. I want to delay steps until the end of that appointment, but that step keeps failing, always with the same error:

Failed to schedule a delay

Object of type datetime is not JSON serializable

I’ve tried the following things to fix this:

  • Formatter by Zapier, to reformat the date time into every conceivable option, including manual options. None of them work. 
  • Code by Zapier, in an attempt to force the date time into a string value via Python
  • Formatting twice, to add a space in date time, to try to force a string, etc.

None of these are working. No matter what I do, it has the same error when testing. 

Any ideas? Should I be formatting it differently? How do I make the Zap wait until the end time of this appointment?

 

FYI - In the screenshot, step 2 is a simple filter to make sure that only certain appointments go through.
 

 

 

Best answer by Troy Tessalone

Hi ​@tvvlivermore 

Check the Zapier Status page for recent incidents related to this that should now be resolved:

https://status.zapier.com/#incidents-list

This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

8 replies

Troy Tessalone
Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
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  • Zapier Orchestrator & Solution Partner
  • 34072 replies
  • Answer
  • May 20, 2025

Hi ​@tvvlivermore 

Check the Zapier Status page for recent incidents related to this that should now be resolved:

https://status.zapier.com/#incidents-list


SamB
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • 9736 replies
  • May 28, 2025

Hi there, ​@tvvlivermore 👋

It seems like that error was likely related to the incident Troy referenced, which was resolved on May 19: https://status.zapier.com/incidents/d1v8pjnvth49. As that was a day before you posted here, I just wanted to double-check—are you still seeing those “Object of type datetime is not JSON serializable” errors in your Zap, or have the errors stopped appearing now?

Want to make sure it’s definitely fixed, so please keep us posted on how it’s going! 🙂


  • Author
  • Beginner
  • 3 replies
  • May 28, 2025

Sorry I didn’t reply to the last response. Yes, I saw the reported error and fix, and was able to run it successfully. Thank you!


ken.a
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  • Zapier Staff
  • 6780 replies
  • May 29, 2025

That’s an amazing news ​@tvvlivermore! We’re glad to hear that the issue is now resolved!

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Community. We’re always happy to help! 🤗


SamB
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • 9736 replies
  • May 29, 2025

No worries, ​@tvvlivermore! Thanks so much for confirming—really pleased it’s sorted. 😁🎉

Hope you have a great day!


  • Author
  • Beginner
  • 3 replies
  • June 11, 2025

Steve, did you see the comments above? The issue was an internal error in Zapier.


  • Author
  • Beginner
  • 3 replies
  • June 24, 2025

Hey Zapier…. Could we please close this?? People keep answering the question without seeing that is was already answered. And not only that...the issue was an internal issue with Zapier, not with anything I was doing.


SamB
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • 9736 replies
  • June 24, 2025

You got it, ​@tvvlivermore! Thanks for the heads-up—looks like those were AI-generated spam posts with hidden links, so we’ve removed them. I’ve also closed the thread now to prevent this happening again.

Appreciate you flagging this, and hope you have a great rest of your week! 😁