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Why You Should Always Verify Appointments (And 5 Ways to Do So)

By Jason Barnes | Appointment | No Comments

Getting customers to book appointments is one thing. Getting them to keep those appointments is another. In the never ending tug-of-war to get customers through your doors, take the time to verify each and every appointment.

Verifying appointments ensures they run more successfully. Customers are more likely to adhere to their appointment times, and you can keep operations running smoothly day after day.

Sounds great, right? Let’s dig in.

Why Verifying Appointments is Important

Verifying appointments has a number of external and internal benefits. This simple action can:

Reduce Cancellations

Cancellations do nothing but waste time. When you plan your schedule around appointments, you don’t have flexibility for anything else. The trade off is that you get guaranteed customers — until they decide to cancel.

Verifying appointments urges customers to honor their commitments. The more who actually do so, the more consistent your company’s revenue, and the better you can stick to your schedule.

Encourage Timeliness

People are forgetful. Customers can lose track of time or forget they’d booked in the first place, resulting in late arrivals. These push back other appointments, which stresses out employees and can frustrate other customers.

By sending out verification messages, customers will be reminded of their commitments and be more inclined to arrive when they should. Timely appointments allow operations to run flawlessly.

Improves Brand Image

Show each customer that they mean something to your business. By reaching out to them in between the time they set the appointment and the time they arrive, you show how much you appreciate them.

Be careful not to be too clingy. Too much contact can be off putting. Consistent contact at the right frequency, however, can be reassuring and motivating for customers, especially those on the fence about their appointments.

Solidifies Your Schedule

A well-organized day is a productive day. By verifying customer appointments, you make it easier to stick to your plan each day. When customers don’t show up, your mental bandwidth is spent trying to put together a new plan.

By sending verification reminders, you’ll also receive cancellations and postponed appointments. While these are never good news, be glad you’re learning about them sooner rather than later. The fewer last-minute surprises you can avoid, the better.

Easy Ways to Verify Appointments

Appointments can be verified in multiple ways. Choose the one that works best for your business. Reach out through more than one channel only if you’re not getting a response.

1. Email

Send a confirmation email with the customer’s appointment information. Make sure to include the appointment date and time in large, bold lettering that’s easy to see. Below, include your cancellation policy, contact information, and anything else that might be useful.

With this route, you can also send promotions and coupons that can convince customers to book return appointments. Be judicious, as too many messages in their inbox will earn you a one-way ticket to the spam folder.

2. Text Message

Sending a text restricts the amount of information you can send, but it’s a more direct form of communication. In fact, customers are 35 times more likely to view a text from a company than an email.

Be sure to get a phone number from customers when they book online. Give them control over whether they receive verification texts. Some cell phone plans charge by the message, so don’t assume everyone wants to receive them.

3. Phone Call

Verifying appointments over the phone requires the most effort from employees. Assuming customers do answer the phone instead of letting it go to voicemail, employees need to be ready for any questions or concerns that may arise.

Despite your urging to the contrary, some customers will hold off on said questions until the last minute. You might have to recite your cancellation policy on command, or change around appointment dates for customers who failed to plan ahead.

While less efficient than other means, phone calls do offer a great opportunity to reschedule appointments that customers can’t make. Give your team members a customer service refresher if you’re going to issue appointment reminders through this channel.

4. Social Media

You might have customers who prefer to contact you on social media. If so, sending them verification messages through the same channel makes sense.

Beware that other customers may consider business outreach on these platforms inappropriate. Unless customers have previously reached out to you on these sites, sending appointment reminders through them should be a last resort.

5. Snail Mail

The slowest and most expensive delivery option, good old fashioned mail can work in some instances. For example, if your business caters to an older demographic, they may prefer to receive their reminders in the mail.

With that said, sending promotions and coupons through the mail isn’t a bad idea. Customers tend to take them more seriously than marketing emails. Consider starting a referral program in which a customer can get a discount for bringing in a coupon and a friend.

Keep in mind that you can stagger your verification messages, in case the first one doesn’t get a response. Two weeks in advance you can send out an email, and then one week later send a reminder text. The day of, make a quick phone call or send a message through social media if you still haven’t received confirmation from the customer.

Get to Verifying

The sooner you start verifying your appointments, the better for your business. You’ll realize more consistent revenue, and your customers will appreciate having a slot saved for them. Start locking in your appointments today.

What are the 4 D’s of Negligence in Time Management?

By John Rampton | Scheduling | No Comments

How to Squeeze More Time Out of Your Busy Schedule

I’ve experimented with various time management hacks over the years. The time management hack I’ve found to be most practical and useful is the 4Ds of time management. People will continue to get better and better at their jobs and productivity, yet time management will continue to be an issue in business. We’ll look at the 4D’s of time management first, but what are the 4D’s of negligent time management?

The 4D’s of Time Management

If you’re not familiar with this technique, the 4Ds of time management are: delete, delegate, defer, and do.

Delete is where you remove unnecessary time-wasters from your schedule, such as projects you never complete or unproductive meetings.
Delegate is taking tasks that are important but can be assigned to someone else.
Defer means, essential tasks that don’t need to be handled right now. Schedule these jobs when you have the availability.
Do is for the jobs (or anything) that take a couple of minutes to finish quickly. Don’t let these micro-tasks pile-up — get them done and over with, now. But, do also means diving directly into a task, building up your momentum and working on a bigger job to get it done.

Personally, using the 4Ds of time management has increased my productivity. How? Using the principle has encouraged me to focus on what truly matters. Also, because this has reduced the number of activities I need to worry about, I’m not cluttering my calendar. The 4D’s have helped prevent decision fatigue, which gives me more mental energy throughout the day.

What’s interesting, however, is that different industries have their variation of the 4D’s. Case in point, the medical industry has the 4Ds of medical negligence. These (negligent areas) are duty, dereliction, direct causation, and damages.

The 4D’s of Medical Negligence.

Recently, I had to visit urgent care. Nothing serious. While waiting to see the doctor, I saw a parallel between the 4Ds of time management and negligence.

I know. That probably shouldn’t have been my main concern. But what can I say? I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve time management. I think the 4D’s of negligence can be helpful in the Calendar, business, and productivity space.

Duty

No matter the exact field of expertise — doctors must adhere to strict rules, guidelines, and protocols. Drs listen to the patient and are respectful of their views.

The same system of confidentiality should be practiced in businesses, with customers and client’s financials and other information. A physician must also practice confidentiality. How confidential are we with our clients and customers data, requests, sales, and so forth? In short, Doctors must always provide the best care possible for all of their patients. Do we do the same in business?

Additionally, if the doctor believes that they can not help a patient — they must refer them to someone else. For example, if you have a rotator cuff tear, then your primary physician wouldn’t attempt to do surgery. Instead, your primary care doctor will refer you to physical therapy, and then to an orthopedic surgeon.

How duty relates to time management.

To begin with, whenever you accept a time request, you have a duty to follow through with the job. If you accept a meeting invite — then you need to block that timeframe in your calendar to prevent scheduling conflicts. You will follow through with the meetings set up on your schedule.

Ditching-out on your scheduled appointments at the last minute isn’t done unless there is an emergency. Your doctor doesn’t cancel appointments for no reason. It wouldn’t be very professional for your doctor to visit with two patients in the same room at the same time, either.

You have a responsibility to arrive on-time for your appointments and end the event as scheduled.

Not only is this respectful to the other attendees, but it also protects your time. Have you planned a meeting for thirty minutes, and the meeting ends up being an hour? The lax in protocols change your plans for the day — and creates conflict in everyone’s schedule.

Similarly to the medical duty of time management — if you don’t have the availability — then be honest about this upfront. If your Calendar is packed for the next month, don’t take on any new responsibilities. Don’t keep adding to your duties or accept any meeting invites until you have more time.

Finally, like doctors, if you aren’t an expert — then send your clients and customers to someone who is an expert. Obviously, for those in the medical field — it’s for legal purposes. But, for most of us, this is a simple way to avoid wasting time.

For instance, I just repaired a couple of things at my home. These weren’t difficult, but because I had never done them before — I spent hours on the project. It may have been expensive to hire a maintenance specialist — but I would have saved a ton of time. Next time I’ll call the repairman. I’ll stick with what I am an expert at — for the sake of my business.

Dereliction

Whenever a doctor doesn’t meet expectations or overstepped boundaries, this is called dereliction negligence. Examples would be not providing a clean and safe environment, misdiagnosis, missing a diagnosis, doing unnecessary procedures. Dereliction also includes surgical errors or prescribing the wrong medication.

How dereliction relates to time management.

Did you commit to a new work assignment? If so, that should be your priority. You should also allocate the right amount of time to performing the jobs you said you would accomplish. By Calendaring your tasks and meetings you’ll be sure to meet the deadlines. If you don’t have the time or skills for this exact task, just as a doctor would do, the job should be handed off to someone else whose expert.

Furthermore, dereliction is defined as “the state of being abandoned.”

And, as it just so happens, finishing what you started is one of the best ways to manipulate time to your advantage.

“It’s very common for tasks to get interrupted or delayed throughout your day.” Renzo Costarella wrote previously for Calendar. “Often, it’s best to finish the task at hand before starting new ones.” If you visited your doctor to get stitches, you would expect the doc to finish the job — not leave you half-stitched.

“However, other things may take priority,” adds Renzo. “For example, if a customer needs immediate assistance, it’s probably best to serve them right away.” But, “you need to make a point to return and finish your unfinished duties” after handling the current crisis.

“Again, this sounds simple enough, but it’s common for individuals to get distracted and leave loose ends.”

Direct Causation

If there was a dereliction of duty, then it must be proven that the healthcare provider was at fault. Usually, this is straightforward. I’ll give you an example of my personal life. My grandfather went in for simple cataract surgery. But, the doctor operated on the wrong eye. As a consequence, he began to experience vision problems in the wrong eye and he still had a cataract on the original eye.

In this case, the error was obvious. But, other times, errors and mistakes are not so black and white. Let’s say that a patient had a broken arm that didn’t heal properly. Maybe the patient will claim that the error was because the orthopedist did not apply the correct methods to the fractured arm correctly.

However, in the background, we may find out that the patient fell while the cast was on — which was the real causation of further injury. If the patient doesn’t admit the actual error or mistake — it could be challenging to prove that it wasn’t the surgeon’s fault. Dishonesty from the patient causes problems for us all.

How direct causation relates to time management.

Causation and time management fit together like a glove. If you don’t manage your time effectively by holding yourself accountable, there will be negative consequences. You may want to pin the blame on others — but, ultimately, the buck stops with you.

The surgeon who operated on my grandfather’s eye blamed the nurse who prepped my grandpop. But, the doctor should have double-checked the information himself before operating. When it comes to your responsibilities, you can say that you were late for a meeting because your other event ran late. However, if you had built-in a buffer between these meetings, this issue wouldn’t have occurred.

Another example of direct causation is not focusing on meaningful work because you’re getting distracted.

The solution? Identify these distractions and eliminate them. If your phone is the primary causation of your time management lag, then turn it off or put it on do not disturb mode. Behind on your priorities because you’re devoting too much time on unnecessary things? Drop those time-sucks from your to-do-list for the time being.

There are times when you aren’t at fault in business. One way around the vast majority of excuse ridden situations is to schedule white space in your calendar. Leave a block of time blank to catch up and in-between meeting. Leave buffer times in your schedules. If you don’t have anything scheduled use that time to address the unexpected events that occur.

Damages

Businesses have a lot of issues that appear as damages. But nothing could be worse than the current medical malpractice issues. Doctors respond to the question, “did the patient suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially?”

The patient is entitled to a monetary amount that would help cover wage losses or medical bills. Damages would also take care of any pain or suffering or emotional distress that the patient has experienced.

How damages relate to business time management.

Poor time management affects every area of your life. Let’s say that you’re aren’t punctual or always rushing from Point A to B. Not only is this stressful, it also puts a strain on your relationships. If you miss a deadline, for instance, you might lose a client. If you are arriving late at home each night — you don’t have a chance to spend quality time with your family.

Other symptoms of poor time management would be procrastination, inability to set goals, and decreased quality of work. Poor time management causes damage in many areas of your business — and certainly in your life.

You’ll find poor time management causes you, your family and your clients and customers to suffer physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. Unhealthy habits, like eating fast food, not exercising, and getting burned out can be attributed to poor time management.

In other words, poor time management will definitely lead to physical, mental, emotional, and financial distress — and there is no one to blame but ourselves. You aren’t going to recover any monetary amount for slacking on the job and causing yourself and your family pain and suffering. But you can recover monetary setbacks through better time management.

When you feel pain and suffering in business — look to time management for the cure.

Always Resolve Your Calendar Conflicts

By John Rampton | Scheduling, Time Management | No Comments

If you were able to have a superpower, what would it be? For me? I would want the ability to be in two places at once.

That might not sound like the most thrilling of powers. But think about it? You could tackle your work responsibilities while playing with your kids, reading, or whatever else you enjoy during your downtime.

A Properly Managed Calendar Can Feel Almost Magical

Of course, this isn’t realistic. That’s why it’s imperative that you properly manage your calendar. If you don’t, it will feel like you’re trying to be in multiple places simultaneously.

That might not sound like a biggie. But calendar conflicts are frustrating and stressful. They can also cause you to fall behind in your work. And, they could also fracture relationships if this becomes a recurring issue.

The good news? There are ways to resolve your calendar conflicts? And here are 8 such ways to achieve this feat.

1. Avoid conflicts by going digital.

Want to prevent conflicts from happening in the first place? Then you probably should make a move from a paper calendar or planner to a digital option.

I’m not completely hating on old-school paper calendars. In fact, they can still come in handy. After all, they excel at providing a quick visual reminder. And, we tend to remember events better when it’s written down.

At the same time, they can be problematic. Let’s say that you were at a networking event and agreed to follow-up with a new contact. You agree to a phone call next Wednesday at 1 pm. However, when you go to add this entry when you get back to your office, you see that you had a prior commitment.

It’s not the end of the word for you to reschedule. But, if you had a calendar app, you would have been able to see your availability right there on the spot. What’s more, most calendar software won’t even let you double-book your time and will suggest a different time.

As if that weren’t enough, you could share your calendar with others. When you do, they can either see when you’re available. Or, they can book a meeting with you directly through the calendar.

And, one more thing. Online calendars also come with time-zone recognition. That means it will automatically convert time zones to avoid any confusion.

2. Don’t wait until tomorrow.

The longer you wait to put entries into your calendar, the higher the probability for conflicts to arise. Going back to following-up with the contact you met. Until you had the call to your calendar, it doesn’t exist.

Even worse? Something else might creep in and try to claim that block of time. If that happens, you’re going to have to do some last-minute reshuffling.

In short, schedule your priorities and important dates ASAP. For instance, if you know, there’s a meeting scheduled on the 30th of the month book the conference room this very second. If you have a dentist’s appointment in 6 months, get that in your calendar before scheduling something else.

3. Keep your calendar lean and mean.

As I just mentioned, if something isn’t in your calendar, then it’s not worthy of your time and energy. But, does that mean that you need to literally plan every minute of your day? Not exactly.

By all means, get those key entries onto your calendar. But, also leave some blocks open. One example of this would be having a gap between meetings. It’s a simple way to prevent overlapping — plus, it allows you to catch your breath.

Furthermore, there’s another reason not to pack your calendar too tight. It will let you address any emergencies that might pop-up. In turn, you won’t completely ruin your schedule.

And, it’s also been found that healthy scheduling habits make you happy. Specifically, this applies to your social life. For instance, if you don’t have anything planned after running errands and you bumped into a friend, you could catch-up without feeling crunched for time.

4. Stay cool like a cucumber.

So, you’ve got a conflict? You might instinctively have a panic attack. Take a deep breath and relax. Everything’s going to be OK.

The worst possible outcome is that you might disappoint someone or have to adjust your schedule. It’s an annoyance. But, if you’re honest and aren’t making last-minute changes, everything will get back to order.

Additionally, if the other party made a mistake, show a little empathy. As humans, that’s going to happen. Besides, chastising them won’t help correct their time management problems.

5. Don’t have a communication breakdown.

While your handy online calendar can help avert possible conflicts, you can’t solely rely on it. Case in point, you have a family emergency a couple of hours before a meeting. Your calendar obviously doesn’t know this information. As a result, it’s still going to assume that the event will take place as scheduled.

In this case, you need to let the other attendees know. You also need to cancel or reschedule that event. If you don’t have a new date in mind, just let them know that you will pick a new date as soon as possible.

Long story short, keep the lines of communication open. It may take you a couple of minutes. But, it shows others that you respect their valuable time. And, it may also help you de-escalate any possible workplace conflicts.

6. Have a backup plan.

You can’t possibly prepare for every scenario. Personally, I just don’t think that’s possible. But, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a Plan D, C, and D.

For instance, if you have to reschedule a virtual call, come up with a couple of other possible alternative dates. The reason? Since you have a proposal ready, you won’t play the time-consuming game of cat and mouse.

What if you don’t fill these blocks of time up? No worries. You can use that block to tackle backburner tasks, get the head start on a new project, or kick back and relax for a minute.

Another suggestion could be when it comes to employee scheduling. You might want to have some back-ups in cause someone can’t make it into work. To make this process a little easier on you, you could even permit your team members to pick their own subs.

7. It’s OK to say no.

What if you said yes to a time request only to find out that there’s a calendar dispute? The answer is easy. Just say, “no.”

I know that you don’t want to upset anyone. However, you aren’t doing anyone any favors by spreading yourself too thin. So, if you are already going to a party on Saturday, then you’ll have to pass on another invite.

When it comes to working, you also need to know your limitations. If you’re at full capacity, then don’t accept or volunteer for new assignments.

What exactly should you decline? That’s really up to you. But, some of the most common examples would be:

Anything that could be easily delegated or outsourced.
Actions that don’t align with your vision.
Things that distract you.
Unhealthy habits.
Things that aren’t in your control.

I’d also add that just because you reject a time request doesn’t mean you should feel guilty. In fact, you could offer an alternative date when you have the availability. After all, if you don’t protect your time, then who will?

8 Appointment Scheduling Metrics to Monitor

By Jason Barnes | Scheduling | No Comments

Data can tell you so much about your business. This information provides deep insight that verbal, qualitative feedback simply can’t.

With that said, crunching numbers takes time. Ask yourself: What do you really need to know about your appointments and scheduling processes?

With so much data available, it can be tough to know where to start. Begin by monitoring these eight metrics:

1. Percentage of Appointments That Are No-Shows

No-shows put a wrench into your operations. They claim key spots in your schedule that could be allotted to other customers, and disrupt an otherwise flawless system. No-shows every once in a while are inevitable, but knowing how big of a problem they really are will let you know when to take action.

Without data, gauging how many no-shows you have in a period of time is a guessing game. You can also look at data about late shows, another class of customer that can mess up the flow of your business. Cancellations add another layer to the equation, as these customers at least gave you a heads up before not showing up.

2. Ratio of Walk-Ins to Appointments

Appointments run more smoothly than walk-ins. Bookings follow a schedule that can be planned in advance and executed with precision. Walk-ins tend to be sporadic, causing employees to scramble to fit people into their rotation.

Put hard numbers to the walk-ins and appointments you get each day. How do the numbers stack up? If you’re getting overwhelmed by walk-ins, look for ways to tilt the balance toward appointments.

3. Percentage of Appointments That Run Long

What is your target length for appointments? Making appointments timely helps you run a smooth ship. Appointments that run long disrupt your flow and cause a domino effect throwing off the rest of your day.

You can use performance metrics to see the average duration of an appointment. If this number is higher than your target, you’ll know you need to work on cutting down appointment times. Keep an eye out for snags in your workflow that might be contributing to appointments running long.

Take into account that some appointments, like simple check ins, only require a short visit. Be sure to differentiate them from other commitments, or separate them into their own categories.

4. Appointments Per Lead Source

Although your customers make appointments through your website, that probably isn’t where they first learn about you. Where do they come from? Web analytics can help you focus your marketing on these sources.

For example, you might find out that two-thirds of your leads are coming from social media. If so, you should spend more of your marketing dollars there because you know it’s a successful source.

Beware that these trends can change from month to month. Recheck this metric whenever you debut a new campaign or target a new demographic.

5. Customer Demographics

Speaking of, what kinds of people make appointments with your business? Knowing your client base will give you a better idea of how to meet their needs.

While checking customer demographics, you may also notice that there are key differences between those who hold true to their appointments and those who are more likely to run late or not show up at all. With this data, you can come up with ways to better accommodate struggling demographics.

6. Proportion of Positive Reviews

Ask your customers to leave an honest review after their appointment. Offer to anonymize it in order to promote honesty.

Both positive and negative feedback are useful to your business. However, it’s important to understand how your total number of reviews break down along these lines.

An easy way to quantify this is a five-star review system. To adopt this, send out a brief survey to customers after each appointment. Make sure to include a comment box where they can explain why they rated your company as they did.

Be prompt with sending surveys so the experience is fresh in their mind. To encourage them to take it, consider entering them into a drawing for a small gift or free services.

7. Number of Returning Customers

Getting new customers in the door is a priority for any business. But the real challenge is getting them to return for additional appointments. Retention metrics can give you a sense of how satisfied customers are with your service.

It’s much less expensive to retain customers than it is to acquire new ones. Consider shifting some of your marketing spend from acquisition to retention programs. Perhaps punch cards, loyalty discounts, or customer appreciation gifts would help you bring in more revenue.

8. Bundles of Appointments Sold

The more appointments you have booked, the more revenue you generate. That’s why many businesses would prefer to sell not just one appointment at a time, but monthly or annual plans.

If you use this model, how many of your customers take you up on it? Is it a third of your customer base? Half? Set a target, and use promotions to help you meet it.

Make metrics your company’s north star. Data-driven adjustments will have your company running at full tilt in no time.

9 Easy Website Changes to Enhance Your UX

By Gunjan Saini | Knowledge Base, Maintenance | No Comments

For a solid online appointment system, you need a website with a good user experience, or UX. The more easily a customer can navigate your website, the more likely they are to book an appointment. On the other hand, UX difficulties can frustrate customers and drive them away.

The good news is, you don’t need to tear down your website entirely to improve your UX. Small changes in the right places can make all the difference. These nine website adjustments are bound to improve your site’s UX:

1. Clearly Display Your Call to Action

If the goal of your website is to guide customers toward booking an appointment online, make it easy for them. Finding where to make an appointment shouldn’t be a treasure hunt; it should be front and center.

Place your appointment CTA in an obvious place, if it isn’t already. A large button with bold lettering will attract attention and make it abundantly clear where customers need to go to book appointments.

2. Adapt to Mobile

Not all of your potential clients will visit your website on a computer. More and more consumers rely on their mobile devices to do research, make purchases, and book appointments. If your website isn’t optimized for a mobile experience, you’ll be missing out on a lot of traffic.

There’s no need to create a whole app for this. Optimizing your website for mobile should only require a couple of tweaks. The layout will need to be slightly different for smaller screens, but the design and content can likely remain the same. Most content management systems will make sure your site is easy to navigate no matter the device.

3. Optimize Loading Speed

Run a test to check how long it takes for pages of your website to load. In particular, see how your online appointment system’s buffering time stacks up against your competitors’.

Long loading times discourage customers from sticking around and booking. They’ll either look for options elsewhere or opt to walk in instead.

A simple way to optimize your load speed is to compress any images you use. This is one of the leading causes of slow response time and one of the easiest to fix. More in-depth solutions, such as backend optimizations, can further improve your site’s performance.

4. Smooth Out — and Punch Up — Your Writing

Websites with beautiful designs and images immediately catch attention. But to persuade potential clients to book an appointment, you will need — as any preschooler can tell you — to “use your words.”

Headings and bodies of text should be easy to read, both in design and content. Text that is difficult or tedious to wade through will render your website almost useless.

You know the strengths of your business better than anyone, so express them in clear, engaging language. By laying out the benefits of an appointment with you in a concise and attention-grabbing way, you will guide customers to their first booking.

5. Tighten Up Your URL

On a scale from 1 (booknow.com) to 10 (supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.com), how long is your website’s URL? While bookmarks and autofill settings certainly help out with long links, short and sweet is usually the way to go. Customers can discover your website much more easily and can commit your site to memory when the URL is a manageable size.

There are many companies that buy and sell domain names you can use for your business. If your .com choice is already taken, consider a .biz as an alternative.

You can also use a service that shortens existing URLs when including them in online promotions. Whatever you can do to make your URL more manageable and memorable for customers is a must.

6. Keep It Simple

Customers attempting to navigate your website shouldn’t be forced to jump through hoops. Information and resources should be easy to access and locate. A complicated website will lead to a poor user experience.

That’s particularly the case when your goal is encouraging clients to schedule appointments. If setting up an appointment takes too many steps to complete, customers will bail out. Keep things simple, and you’ll encourage customers to return in the future.

7. Include Communication Tools

Want to click with your customers? Adding communication features to your website can really reel them in when they visit your site. The right tools can quickly guide visitors to exactly what they need. When you reduce the time it takes site visitors to find what they’re looking for, you increase user satisfaction.

For example, a chatbot can be programmed to respond to customers’ basic questions. These rapid responses will set the user up for success as soon as they access your site. If you get a lot of website traffic, you can even consider hiring live customer service agents to handle questions and concerns.

8. Add a Form

Forms are a simple yet effective tool for generating leads. Not only can you gather new customers this way, you can get feedback that reveals improvements you can make to your business.

Site visitors can use a form on your homepage to do something simple, like request email updates with promotions or coupons. You, in turn, can attach a survey to the form asking customers about their user experience. Act on their feedback to improve your UX and your general business operations based on their responses.

9. Incorporate Analytics

All kinds of website-related activity will yield useful data. Clickthrough rates, landing page hits, and conversions are all metrics that have value to your business. They also tell a story about your website’s user experience.

Set up an analytics tool that can start tracking key data for you. As you gather data, it will guide you to changes you need to make to your site. Whether the data points to some of the steps above or something entirely different, data-driven decisions are some of the most effective.

Customers are the lifeblood of your business, and these days, they increasingly come to you through your website. Ensuring your site offers a good UX is key to encouraging that first appointment and prompting repeat visits. So conduct a website audit and identify ways you can improve your user experience today.

9 Ideas for Reducing Overtime Appointments

By Jon Bradshaw | Appointment | No Comments

What to Do if Appointments Keep Running Long

If your business can fill up its schedule with appointments day after day, congratulations: In a pandemic, that’s impressive.

When you’re busy, however, you can’t afford for appointments to run long. Those that go longer than they should can disrupt the entire schedule and ruin a customer’s day.

The question for leaders is how to keep sessions to their scheduled length. A little experimentation can keep things running smoothly. Here’s what to try:

1. Add Buffer Time Between Appointments

If you’re consistently having trouble with appointments running long, consider adding a buffer between them. This small window of time will give you just enough leeway to finish up a longer appointment without it eating into the next one.

If you don’t use the buffer time, you can go straight into the next appointment if the customer is already waiting. They’ll be pleased with the quick service, so it’s a win-win. If they haven’t arrived yet, take this time to tidy up and prepare for the guest to arrive.

2. Increase Appointment Durations

Instead of, or in addition to, adding buffer time, consider extending appointment times. The fact that appointments keep running long might indicate your customers or employees are struggling to squeeze everything in.

Gather data on how long the average appointment lasts. If the average is higher than the time slot designated for an individual appointment, expand it. You might not be able to take as many customers in a day, but you’ll be able to take better care of them.

3. Try a New Scheduling Method

Using a different scheduling method might provide better results. For example, you can try modified wave scheduling instead of the traditional time-blocking model.

Wave scheduling is a common appointment-setting practice in the medical field. Basically, it involves scheduling multiple appointments at the same time with buffer time at the end of each hour.

Periodic downtime allows longer and shorter appointments to coexist, but it may mean asking some customers to wait. If you implement this, keep an eye on your waiting times.

4. Cross-Train Employees

One reason appointments might be running long is because your employees are only trained in specific tasks. If only one worker on shift can complete a certain task, the customer might have to wait for them to be available, creating a bottleneck.

Whenever possible, cross-train your employees. Make sure everyone is capable of answering the phone and working the register. The more capable the team, the quicker appointments become.

5. Improve Workflows

Whether your employees are cross-trained or not, look for ways to improve their workflow. If employees are unsure about which tasks to handle in what order, things can get chaotic rather quickly.

Make sure each employee understands their role. Prioritize tasks in a visual system, such as a whiteboard or task management tool, so they understand what needs to be dealt with first. Uncertainty on your team slows everyone down.

6. Establish a Late-Arrival Policy

If a customer arrives late to their appointment, it will likely go over time. A late-arrival policy will discourage customers from dawdling in.

Your late policy should be strict enough that customers will want to avoid it, but not too harsh as to drive customers away. Remember, sometimes people are late for reasons out of their control.

Consider moving customers back in the queue if they haven’t arrived by the time their appointment is set. For those who have to wait, make sure your office is comfortable.

In addition to a late policy, make sure appointments start on time for customers who are punctual. Realize that this might mean pulling employees away from other tasks.

7. Implement Automation

Using technology, you can cut down on busywork by automating some tasks. You already let customers book online: Why not offload other parts of the process as well?

For example, you can automate your check-in process so that it doesn’t require an employee’s time. Perhaps you can implement a chatbot to answer some questions they have prior to arrival.

8. Check in With Your Team

No one understands why appointments are running long better than your employees. They’re right in the thick of it and see inefficiencies that you may not. Going to them for advice is a great start.

Hold a meeting to discuss how to improve appointment management. Ask for their ideas on making appointments more efficient, getting customers to arrive on time, improving workflows, and rooting out other time-sucks.

9. Upgrade Your Equipment

Are the tools your employees use old and run down? Purchasing some new equipment could enable them to do better work faster.

While tools are expensive, remember that they’re an investment. They should cut down on appointment time, along with many other benefits.

For example, a more efficient hair dryer can reduce the time hairdressers spend at the end of each appointment. Better software or a faster internet connection enables personal assistants to book the same appointments with fewer clicks.

Find out why appointments are running long, and use this list to come up with a solution. Handling appointments efficiently will keep customers happy, help employees feel less stressed, and increase revenue for your business.

How to Handle Internet Outages When You Schedule Appointments Online

By Jason Barnes | Scheduling | No Comments

Online Appointment Software Says a Lot About Your Business

Appointments make customer service so much easier. Not only do they cut down on wait times, but they reduce staff members’ stress levels.

Online scheduling apps let you manage bookings in real time. But what happens when your internet crashes? Without a connection, you can’t see what appointments are coming up — much less adjust them.

Don’t panic — you’ve got this. Here’s what to do:

1. Call Your Internet Provider Immediately

First things first: Reach out to your internet service provider. They’ll be able to provide information on the outage and give an estimated time when your connection will be restored. If the outage is unique to your location, they can send a specialist to come fix it.

With any luck, you won’t have to go the rest of the day without the internet. Until then, use the remaining tips below to continue serving your customers.

2. Change Your Voicemail

When your system goes down due to an internet outage, you’re likely to get a bunch of concerned calls. While serving customers already at your store, it can be tough to field these calls.

To limit the flow, change your voicemail message. In your new message, explain the situation. If possible, include an estimated time the system will be back up. Include any other details customers might need, such as a special number to call for bookings.

3. Take Appointments Over the Phone

As a temporary alternative, take appointments over the phone. Record these carefully to avoid overlap with existing bookings.

If you don’t typically take appointments over the phone, remind callers of this. Otherwise, those who didn’t hear your voicemail may assume it’s the norm.

4. Open Walk-In Hours

One advantage of appointment-based scheduling is that it lets you prohibit or restrict walk-ins. Consider allowing walk-ins until the internet outage is over.

Beware that this can get chaotic. Ask your staff to be patient and to engage upset customers in calming conversations.

This option works best when combined with phone- and paper-based scheduling. Encourage customers who don’t want to wait to make an appointment.

5. Keep Paper Copies

Digital scheduling cuts down on paper waste. But if you experience internet outages once a month or more, printing out the next day’s appointment schedule is a smart idea.

Make sure your printout doesn’t just show your schedule. To confirm or adjust appointments, you’ll also need customers’ names and phone numbers. If you offer multiple service lines, include which one each appointment entails.

6. Ask Customers for Verification

When they book an appointment online, customers will receive a message confirming their upcoming visit. If they walk in claiming to have an appointment while your internet is down, ask them to show it to you.

While you want customers to feel trusted, you can’t risk someone stealing another customer’s time slot. Even if it’s an honest mistake, the customer who’d booked it is sure to be upset.

7. Call in Backup

If the combination of walk-ins and anxious callers is more than you can handle, call in some extra hands. Another employee or two in the office can make a world of difference when your system is down.

Keep at least one employee on call for emergency situations like this. On most teams, at least one person is always looking for extra hours.

8. Send Some Referrals

You never want to lose out on business, but you also want to maintain your reputation. If the internet outage is more than you can handle, send referrals to similar local businesses.

Trying to balance appointments made without software with a rush of walk-ins is challenging. Long wait times can frustrate and drive away customers. This short-term solution will help you out in the long run.

9. Use a Personal Device

Chances are, you carry a smartphone. Keep your appointment platform’s login details handy so you can pull it up on your phone in a pinch.

What if your booking system isn’t mobile-friendly? Use your device as a hotspot for your internet computer. Beware that you may incur extra charges from your phone provider for doing this.

An internet outage is nothing you can’t handle. Follow these steps, and you won’t just make it through; you’ll be even more prepared if it ever happens again.

9 Easy Ways to Encourage More Appointments

By Jon Bradshaw | Appointment | No Comments

Entrepreneurship has never been easy. But during Covid-19, small business owners have struggled more than ever to drum up appointments. Even as shops open again, consumers are hesitant to take the risk.

While you can’t make the pandemic go away, you can implement some creative methods to encourage consumers to stop by. Use these 9 easy ways to encourage more customers to make appointments and venture out:

1. Enable Online Booking

The easier it is to make appointments, the more likely it is that customers will make them. Making an appointment online is much easier than making one over the phone or in person. In fact, some customers might actively avoid those interactions and prefer to do everything digitally.

It’s one thing to have online booking available; it’s another to make it user-friendly. Start with a functional, visually appealing website. Choose a booking platform that lets customers change appointment times, cancel appointments, and reach out with any questions. The easier it is to use, the better.

2. Start a Rewards Program

Customers might not immediately see a need to make appointments, so give them a reason to. A rewards program provides an incentive that can get customers on the fence to book.

Research backs up the success of rewards programs. One study showed that businesses that used successful loyalty programs enjoyed two and a half times more growth than their competitors. Not only does it help retain customers, but it can draw in new ones.

3. Offer Recurring Appointments

Once you get a customer to book an appointment, ask them if they’d like to make another appointment as they’re checking out. In this short window they’ll remember their experience and, assuming it was positive, they are more likely to commit to another one.

You can also add incentives for booking multiple appointments up front. For example, you can offer a 10% discount to customers who book two or more appointments at a time. They’ll save a bit of cash, and you’ll get more certainty around your future revenue. As a bonus, customers who pay for their appointments upfront are less likely to become no-shows.

4. Send a Newsletter

All you need to send a digital newsletter to your clients is their email address and a bit of creativity. Newsletters can contain coupons and seasonal deals, and encourage them to make a visit if they haven’t for some time.

In your digital newsletter, make sure to include a link that takes customers directly to your booking platform. Make sure this link is prominent enough for them to see in every newsletter.

Be tasteful with your email newsletters. Obnoxiously frequent ones will be deleted before they’re read. Send them rarely, and customers may be confused as to their purpose. If newsletters are too wordy, customers likely won’t bother reading them. Too short, and what’s the point?

5. Leverage Social Media

People spend a lot of time on social media these days. By posting regular updates and fun seasonal tidbits, you’ll keep your business top of mind.

Some social media platforms let businesses add booking information directly on their pages. Get the right message out at the right time, and your bookings will fill up fast.

6. Update Your Voicemail

What do customers hear when they call your business? If the information is old, or the recording poor-quality, consumers may think twice about booking an appointment.

Update your voicemail frequently. Make sure it includes instructions for online booking, your hours of operation, and the physical address of your business. These details help callers solve their own problems, while you focus on serving customers.

7. Minimize Wait Times

One of the main reasons people opt for appointments over walk-ins is to make their wait time as short as possible. If customers still have to wait a half an hour even with an appointment, then they aren’t likely to bother booking an appointment next time.

Some days will inevitably be busier than others, but there are still variables you can control. Perhaps you need to schedule an extra hand on days that are packed with appointments. Or perhaps giving consumers the option to book further out can smooth out the up-and-down nature of appointments.

8. Nurture Relationships

Nothing keeps a customer coming back more than feeling like they belong. When business leaders take the time to connect with their clients, they build relationships that keep customers around.

Find ways to interact with each customer who walks through your doors. Get to know them beyond their business needs. Ask how their day is going. Small, caring questions and comments can make all the difference.

9. Plan Special Events

Want to really get people out of the house? Plan a special event they just can’t miss. Offer prizes and discounts, and you’re sure to draw a crowd. Use this opportunity to schedule future and recurring bookings.

With that said, special events shouldn’t be common. They’ll lose their power if they become a weekly or even monthly occurrence.

Select a date and time carefully: When is the biggest subset of your customers likely to be free? After 5 p.m. on weekdays? On weekends?

Encouraging appointments requires effort, but don’t be discouraged. Your customers want your business to succeed just as much as you do.

When to Say “No” to an Appointment Request

By Gunjan Saini | Appointment | No Comments

Businesses are built on loyal customer relationships. But what if even the most loyal customer is asking for too much?

You might feel that way with some customers’ appointment requests. Maybe they insist on a slot that’s unavailable, or perhaps they want to skip a critical part of the process. And while you don’t want to deny them, it’s sometimes necessary.

Saying “no” is about establishing and maintaining boundaries. Declining appointment requests protects your time and gives customers clarity about what you can and can’t do. At the end of the day, you don’t need to feel guilty saying “no” to a customer if their request would harm your business.

With that said, you must be careful about when you say “no” to appointments. In these situations, it’s perfectly reasonable to reject a customer’s appointment request:

1. When there isn’t space

If you don’t have room in your schedule, you simply can’t accept a new appointment. And with the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are required to by law their operating capacity. Making exceptions puts your employees and customers’ health at risk.

The good news is, this issue can be addressed with self-service scheduling software. Customers can see all your available appointments and choose one that works for both of you.

Beware, though, that some will call anyway asking for a spot. If you let one person bypass the scheduling system, others may follow suit. Don’t let that become part of your reputation.

Remember, you can always put a customer on a waiting list in case there’s a cancellation. Otherwise, say “no” to appointments when there’s no space. Most customers will respect your decision if you explain the circumstances.

2. When a drop-in would be better

Not every customer needs a full-blown appointment. If someone has a quick question, don’t bother scheduling a time slot. In this case, a drop-in works best.

Drop-ins can be difficult to manage if that’s not the way your business runs. But if you can accept the occasional walk-in, you can save appointment space for those who really need it.

Your solution might involve directing people to drop in on a case by case basis. Another option is to post guidelines on your website. Perhaps you use an interstitial page to share your drop-in guidelines with customers before they book. Empower customers to make choices that benefit everyone.

3. When they want to schedule too far out

A customer may want an appointment slot that is too far in advance. Perhaps they want to save a slot during a particularly busy time, or maybe they assume you’re booked far into the future.

It’s good for customers to be proactive. Unfortunately, a lot can happen in a few months, and you may be planning a major transition.

Avoid booking appointments when you don’t know what to expect. It’s better to simply turn down an early-bird appointment request than to call back months later to cancel on a customer.

4. When they want to schedule too close

Say a customer wants an appointment within an hour. You might have an open slot, but can you prepare in time?

Organizations like law firms and doctor offices need time to review case notes. They may simply not be able to provide a professional level of service with such short notice.

If that’s the boat your business is in, don’t be afraid to say so. Protecting your company’s reputation requires you to turn down requests that would result in sub-par work. Cutting it too close doesn’t result in a good outcome for anyone.

Instead of denying these customers outright, give them an alternative. If they won’t accept a later appointment, you might suggest a DIY solution or refer them to a partner.

5. When their request isn’t fair to other customers

If you have a customer that feels they should get their way at any cost, be polite but firm. It’s not just a matter of protecting your schedule; it’s also about treating your other customers well.

Think about how you’d feel if someone else scooped an appointment from you at the last minute. You’d probably think twice about scheduling another one at that business.

What about loyalty programs? They’re a way to reward customers. The special treatment in this case is unmerited and out of the ordinary. You may not satisfy this one customer, but your “no” does make a difference even if no one else acknowledges it.

Saying “no” to customers seems like the opposite of what a business should do. But sometimes it is necessary to do so with appointments. The “no” you say to one customer is actually a “yes” to another one.

5 Scheduling Conversations to Have With Employees This Fall

By Gunjan Saini | Scheduling | No Comments

With each new season comes an opportunity to rally your team. Whereas business often slows down in the summer, fall is a time to pick things up.

There are a number of tasks to accomplish before the new season arrives. Much of them are back-burner tasks, such as cleaning and reorganizing the office. However, conversations around scheduling should be at the top of your fall agenda.

Getting everyone’s schedules together before fall is crucial for planning. Not only can it give you a better sense of your team’s capacity, but it helps you plan for the next fiscal year and finish up annual initiatives.

While every business is different, certain scheduling conversations apply across the board. Take a look at the following topics to broach with your employees this fall and ensure that everyone is ready for what’s ahead:

1. Team Meeting Days

Like them or not, meetings are part of working on a team. Decide whether your current cadence makes sense, and if not, when and how often the team should meet.

Maybe you don’t necessarily need a full team meeting every week. Perhaps every other week is enough. Or maybe you simply need to settle on a different day and time than before.

See how your team members feel about your current all-staff meetings. Figure out what tweaks could boost productivity and efficiency. Simply shaving 15 minutes off the meeting time could jog conversation along and give attendees time back.

2. Vacation Plans

One great thing about fall is the reduction in vacation requests. Most people are back from the summer, so there’s less maneuvering around those who aren’t present. But that doesn’t mean you should neglect this aspect of scheduling.

There may be people who did not take time off in the summer. Ask whether they have a fall trip in the works. Encourage them to put time off on the calendar sooner rather than later.

While planning for the season, take a moment to review your PTO policy. Talk through hiccups from recent vacations to ensure everyone is able to take time off work without a hitch.

Discussing vacation plans also helps you and your employees identify loose threads that need to be addressed before they head out. That way, nobody is left high and dry when someone didn’t complete their tasks prior to takeoff.

3. Summer Hours Assessment

Your company may have changed its business hours in the summer. If so, fall is the time to bring everyone together to reassess those changes.

In terms of worker productivity, there are pros and cons to having summer hours. Reducing hours in the summer encourages better work-life balance. It can also boost productivity during business hours because people are more rested.

With that said, summer hours can be stressful. Employees may scramble to get the same amount of work done in less time. And because there are fewer windows for scheduling meetings, collaboration can be tough.

When evaluating summer hours, ask your team:

Who prefers summer hours and who doesn’t?
Does the data show summer hours cause an increase or decrease in productivity?
Did customer volume change during the summer?
Is there more to accomplish in the fall than summer?

If there’s not a significant change and workers prefer the summer hours, you may opt to keep them. If not, summer hours might not make much sense.

4. Schedule Flexibility

The new season might be a good time to give employees more autonomy with their schedules. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on workers’ routines, so go ahead and experiment.

Flexibility doesn’t mean that everyone makes their own schedule without considering others. That would be chaotic. Perhaps people can work from home most days, but on designated days they can head into the office for a team lunch meeting. Different departments could even build their schedules together.

Flexible scheduling is about doing what makes sense for your team and your company. If everyone is doing good work with a flexible schedule, there’s no need to force a more rigid one on people.

5. Performance Reviews

As you plan through the end of the year, performance reviews will probably happen in the late fall. You should always be preparing for these by giving feedback to workers consistently, but you still need to set a hard date for the conversation.

Getting these evaluations on people’s schedules is a good first step this fall. At least a few weeks in advance, give employees an idea of when they will occur and what they will be focused on.

When team members are involved in scheduling conversations, they feel more empowered in their work. In a culture of flexibility and empowerment, everyone wins.