service Archives - Appointment - Online Appointment Scheduling Software

5 Ways Appointment-Based Businesses Can Delight Their Customers

By Gunjan Saini | Business Tips, Time Management | No Comments

Customers put a fair amount of thought into booking an appointment. They likely have several businesses to choose from, and each entails various parameters to weigh against each other. How far out is availability? What is the pricing like? What kinds of policies do they need to be aware of?

Each appointment-based business will operate in a slightly different way. While it’s important to stand out, there are a few things that most customers will always love. If your business can accomplish them, you’ll be in a good place.

1. Reduce wait times.

One of the biggest complaints people have regarding appointment-based businesses is the wait times. Showing up on schedule to your appointment only to be told to wait is admittedly disappointing. While sometimes this occurs due to unforeseen circumstances, customers love and notice when a business is making an effort to keep wait times short.

Think of strategies for reducing wait times for your appointments. Maybe you need to go as far as hiring more employees so you can help more customers. Perhaps booking fewer appointments in a single day will make schedules more manageable.

A lot of the changes you make might take place behind the scenes. Customers won’t immediately know what you’re accomplishing, but they will begin to notice when wait times are regularly reduced. They will then tell their friends they can breeze right in to appointments at your business, and you’ll have to expand your capacity once again!

2. Use reminders effectively.

Any good appointment-based business will implement a reminder system for their customers. No-show appointments are costly, and late arrivals are difficult to work with. As a result, sending reminders helps keep both situations to a minimum.

However, businesses need to be careful about how they use reminders. Too many notifications can feel overbearing or just plain annoying. Reminders sent either too early or at the last minute aren’t very helpful. You need to find a happy medium.

You’ll see a lot of success by letting customers set their own appointment reminders through your scheduling system. Let them choose the frequency at which they receive reminder messages, as well as the means by which those reminders are sent. They will create the most effective reminder system for themselves, and your appointment software will do the rest.

3. Enable self-service.

Even if you have the nicest employees in town, some customers just want to stay in their own lane. They want to book an appointment, get in, and get out with as little human interaction as possible. These customers love when appointment-based businesses enable self-service solutions.

An example of customer self-service is simply being able to book your own appointment online. You don’t have to speak with a representative, and you can take as much time as you need when choosing a time slot. You can even schedule an appointment outside of normal business hours with no employees on the clock.

Self-service isn’t just limited to the introverts. Being able to take matters into one’s own hands appeals to those who like to feel in control of their environment. They can customize their appointment experience by choosing the self-service features that fit their needs best.

4. Create a comfortable environment.

The more comfortable a person feels at an appointment, the better their experience tends to be. Think of a medical clinic as an example. If patients feel relaxed in waiting areas and in exam rooms, their doctor’s appointments will go a lot more smoothly.

This is an important aspect for every type of appointment-based business. Patients who feel comfortable are more likely to open up to their therapist. Likewise, kids will be more cooperative with the dentist if the waiting room helps them to feel welcome. Customers waiting for their oil change won’t mind longer wait times if they have snacks and reading material at their disposal.

There are a lot of different ways you can make your business space more comfortable. Update your furniture, play some light music, use bright colors when decorating. Anything from a hot chocolate machine to a TV in the waiting room can help make the entire appointment experience more enjoyable.

5. Show flexibility.

Appointments won’t always go as smoothly as you would like each day. Consequently, it’s important to remember that bumps in the road affect your customers just as much as they affect your business. If you work on being flexible and empathetic when handling unplanned situations, you’ll draw your customers in rather than push them away.

Let’s say you have a cancellation policy that prevents customers from canceling an appointment fee-free without 24 hours’ worth of notice. A customer calls you in the morning stating that their car isn’t starting, so they are unable to make it to their appointment that day. You could choose to stick to your policy and charge them, or you can be understanding of their plight.

Now, not every customer will be truthful when calling to cancel an appointment. However, by being flexible and willing to work with your clients, you’ll develop a greater trust with everyone. Loyal customers will continue to come back even if they once had to cancel a booking at the last minute.

Customers of appointment-based businesses want what they want. However, if you’re able to meet such expectations, you’ll see a lot of appointment bookings and a lot of success in your near future.

Featured Image Credit: by Max Vakhtbovych; Pexels; Thanks!

5 Ways to Show Your Customers You Appreciate Them

By Gunjan Saini | Business Tips | No Comments

A business that fails to appreciate its customers won’t get very far. As a result, part of your company’s strategy needs to involve focusing on members of your customer base and making them feel important. Likewise, if they sense your business doesn’t care about them or value them, they’ll move on to others that do.

The watchword here is appreciation. You want your customers and prospects to feel valued for their patronage. When they do, they will lift your business up with increased revenue and positive word of mouth. Here are a few ways you can make that happen.

1. Develop a rewards program.

The customers you really want to show your appreciation to are the ones that continue to show up time and time again. Returning customers provide a lot of value and consistency to your business. As a result, a rewards program makes it worth their while to stick around, while also drawing in new customers to take part in your program.

What typically makes a rewards program desirable is the ability to save a significant amount of money. Points earned with each appointment can make subsequent appointments cost a lot less. The more appointments a customer books, the lower their average cost becomes.

However, you don’t have to develop a complicated rewards program with points and tiers in order to express appreciation to your customers. Even a small rewards program like a punch card or a referral bonus can be positive. Just make sure that whatever benefits you offer make sense and are worth pursuing.

2. Provide early access.

If you’re preparing a brand-new product or service, consider giving your loyal customers a sneak peek before releasing it to the public. This could be a perk that’s included in your membership rewards program. Likewise, even opening early access a day or two for long-term customers can help them feel extra appreciated by your business.

Let’s say you operate a beauty salon. Your team has decided it wants to take advantage of the hottest hair-coloring trends and expand your line of services.

Instead of just adding balayage and “curl-lights” to your list of offerings, consider taking this opportunity to ask your regular customers to try the services first. Consequently, they’ll love this unique opportunity and will be more reliable sources on whether or not the results were what you hoped for.

3. Get personal.

Businesses that develop sincere relationships with their customers can more easily show their appreciation. As a result, this is one of the biggest positives that come with running an appointment-based business. You often see the same faces repeatedly, giving you many opportunities to learn customers’ names and stories.

Developing a personal relationship is all part of a good customer service strategy. Likewise, speaking with customers and making them feel welcome enhances their appointment experience. A positive experience makes it much more likely that they book a return visit.

Do things like address customers by name and ask how their family members are doing. Hair stylists are known for being good at this. It enables them to build relationships with clients and helps those clients feel more comfortable during an appointment.

4. Listen to feedback.

Another way to treat customers like human beings and not like metrics is to solicit their feedback and genuinely listen to it. Consequently, customers whose voices are heard feel appreciated. Plus, customer feedback can actually lead to major improvements in your business.

Look to provide numerous opportunities for customers to leave their feedback. Links can be included at the end of emails and in text reminders for upcoming appointments. Additionally, you can also add a form on your website for feedback and invite guests to leave a review for your business online. The more feedback you can get, the better.

Once the responses start rolling in, put them to good use. Likewise, look for trends in responses that point to positive and negative aspects of your customer experience. Keep the things that receive good marks and work to change the processes that leave something to be desired.

Finally, thank your customers for their feedback. You may even incentivize feedback responses by offering discounts to individuals who share their thoughts.

5. Celebrate special occasions.

When adding new customers to your database, one thing you might ask for is their birthdate. If this intel is something you record, you can celebrate the birthday of each of your customers. Sending a simple birthday message with a discounted appointment voucher or free product coupon can mean a lot to your customers.

Celebrate regular holidays as well. You can put on a trunk-or-treat event for customers and their kids to celebrate Halloween.

The holiday season provides numerous opportunities to give gifts to everyone who walks through your doors. Even smaller commemorations like National Donut Day can make for a special occasion that allows you to give back to your customers.

As you get to know your customers, you can celebrate more special occasions with them. You can offer congratulations for graduations, anniversaries, and work promotions. Likewise, you can even celebrate the anniversary of the first appointment they ever made with your business.

Customers who feel appreciated will return the favor to your business time and time again. As a result, pay attention to their needs and desires, and you’ll rarely go wrong when directing your business.

Featured Image: Antonio Sokic; Pexels.com. Thank you!

5 Ways You Can Handle Customer Issues Smoothly

By Hunter Meine | Business Tips | No Comments

No business is an island. Each company exists only because of its customer base. Without paying customers, even the best products, services, and ideas will go nowhere. How you choose to handle customer issues is of utmost importance.

There are many ways that companies can convince consumers to spend money on their brand. Marketing campaigns and product design are important for that reason. However, many companies fail to focus sufficiently on one of the most important aspects of business: customer service.

How you treat your customers, especially when they have problems and concerns, says a lot about your organization. A positive customer service experience can convert a one-time buyer into a lifelong loyalist. In contrast, a poor customer service experience can permanently drive people away. Here are some processes you can establish to deal with your customers’ issues properly:

1. Provide Thorough Customer Service Training

Your frontline employees will be the people who handle most customer issues. The more training they receive, the better they can handle such issues. By budgeting for and conducting comprehensive customer service training, you set your workers up for success when dealing with difficult situations.

Fortunately, you don’t have to create your own customer service training program. That can be a lot of work to put together and execute, especially while running the other aspects of your business. Look for outside help to get your employees the training they need. There are plenty of qualified third-party training services you can reach out to.

That said, customer service training shouldn’t be a one-and-done event. Continuously remind your team of the importance of customer service. If additional training is needed, take the initiative to provide it in a timely fashion.

2. Solicit Customer Feedback

Try as you might to run a perfect operation, things will inevitably go south from time to time. When a customer has a bad experience — whether it’s an overlong wait or an uneven bang trim — strive to learn from the situation. This will help prevent repeat errors from occurring in the future.

A great way to gain insight into customer issues is to conduct surveys. Make your survey request after the initial problem has been resolved, and preferably via email. The last thing a frustrated customer wants to do is answer survey questions over the phone while trying to get a problem fixed.

Tailor survey questions to get at the root cause of each problem and ways future instances can be avoided. Ask customers what they would have liked to see done differently and try to implement their suggestions. Making positive changes is how you can better deal with similar issues in the future or avoid them entirely.

3. Offer Online Resources

Not all customer issues will occur within the 9-to-5 window. This doesn’t make them any less frustrating for your patrons. While you might not have someone available to help them at that specific moment, you can set up online resources that can provide helpful guidance.

Take chatbots as an example. These little AI-powered assistants sit within your website ready to answer simple questions website visitors might have. While they can only offer preset suggestions and responses, the assistance they provide is better than leaving impatient customers hanging.

Other resources such as an FAQs page or how-to videos can also be quite helpful. These pages are always accessible and may supply the assistance customers need before they place an annoyed phone call.

4. Maintain the Human Connection

Many companies are using automation to speed up a lot of their processes. While efficiency is always desirable, be careful not to lose the important human connection with your customers. Appointment-based businesses that develop relationships with their regulars should be especially mindful of this.

For example, an automated phone system can guide callers through booking an appointment or checking on wait times. This frees up employees from the phone lines so they can take care of in-house issues. However, not all customers can — or want to — navigate an automated system. If you’d like to implement an automated call menu, be sure to give callers the option of speaking with an in-house employee.

All your other automated systems should keep the human connection in mind. There should at least be access to a company representative for times when automation falls short. No automated system is perfect, and even if one was, many customers still prefer human interaction.

5. Stick to Your Policies

Unfortunately, you can’t just give in to every demand when a customer faces a minor inconvenience. Each customer service incident sets a precedent for future interactions. Having policies in place can provide helpful boundaries and protections for both customers and employees when resolving issues.

Take the common 30-day return policy, for example. A customer is entitled to return an item within a month of purchasing it. Exceptions are not made on day 31. This policy protects the employee from having to make difficult judgment calls and clearly tells customers what expectations regarding returns are.

Appointment-based businesses should establish their own firm policies as well. Your business may allow service animals at appointments, for example, but draw the line at regular pets. Some customers may take issue with that, but they should be required to respect the policy you have in place. In this way, you show respect for all those who visit your business.

Keeping customers content is an uphill battle companies fight every day. While it may seem like an endless challenge, the way you approach this will directly reflect on the success of your business. Take proper care of your customers, and they will take care of you in return.

Featured Image: Stefan Lorentz; Pexels.com. Thank you!

Team Service Opportunities That Build Character

By John Rampton | Business Tips | No Comments

Character, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.” It’s often composed of having the right values, doing the right thing, and being the right kind of person. Suffice to say, character plays a significant role in our success in life. The reason? It helps us develop personality traits like honesty, trust, courage, patience, and leadership.

While some believe that character is something that you’re born with, others argue that it can be changed and grown through some work. For example, you can develop your character by continuing to learn, improving soft skills, meeting new people, and spreading kindness.

If you’ve ever helped someone else, then you may see a link between volunteering and developing character. After all, giving back allows you to build important character traits like wisdom, confidence, and courage. It gives you a chance to strengthen your empathy, spread justice, improve your temperance, and encourage you to transcend.

The benefits of volunteering.

In addition to developing character, there are other perks of helping others. It’s been scientifically proven that volunteering is good for your mind and body as it counters the effects of stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also lower high blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease, and lessen the symptom of chronic pain.

Moreover, helping others gives you a sense of purpose and satisfaction. It opens up new opportunities to network and honing your skills — or trying out new ones.

But, hold on, there’s more. Giving back also comes with organizational benefits. It’s perfect for building stronger bonds among teams, gives your team a sense of achievement as a group. can be used as a learning event, and improve employee attraction and retention. Volunteering also has the power to boost morale, engagement, demonstrate your company’s values. And, if that’s not enough to sway you, it’s also beneficial for your bottom line

With all that being said, the point I’m getting at is that volunteering is one of the best things that you can do individually and as a part of a team. And, because of this, it’s time that you explore the best service opportunities for your team if you want to reap the benefits of volunteering, such as building character.

Getting Started With Team-Based Volunteering

For your team service to have an impact within your organization and others, you first need to take the following 8 steps. These have been developed by MovingWorlds, who have over 50 years of collective experience designing volunteer programs for individuals, companies, nonprofits.

Define your intentions.

Why do you want to volunteer? Is it altruistic or is there another reason? It’s alright to have another motive, like using volunteerism as a team-building activity. Discuss this with your team so that you can identify the purpose of giving back.

Audit your team’s strengths and weaknesses.

Evaluate the skills that you and your team possess. What industries are you familiar with? And, what knowledge or resources can you use to make the world better?

Document your learning and impact goals.

You don’t have to create a formal document. But, you should write down your goals so that you can refer to them as needed. To get you started, Mark Horoszowski, co-founder and CEO of MovingWorlds.org, suggests writing down goal-related statements like:

What can I learn about the organization and the industry I’m volunteering in?
What can I learn about communication and collaboration by working in a new setting?
Do I have any personal development areas that I can put into practice while volunteering?
What would indicate that we’re actually making an impact?

Pick a cause and find a partner.

Solicit ideas from your team on how you want to give back. Use your team’s strengths, interests, and passions to narrow down a cause. For example, if you’re all skilled coders who believe that this is a talent children need to learn, then you could work with a non-profit like Code.org, Mined Minds, or Girls Who Code.

You can do this during a brainstorming session or adding to an agenda of an upcoming meeting. Another way would be sending out an employee survey, poll, or questionnaire. Or, you could also work with placement partners like MovingWorlds, VolunteerMatch, or United We Serve who can connect your company with a non-profit.

Consider opportunities and threats.

Despite your best intentions, sometimes giving can have a negative impact. For example, if you’re not a doctor or teacher, then why volunteer to go to places in the world that are in need of these professions? Also, don’t get frustrated by the positive changes you are making aren’t always the most exciting, such as doing administrative work or coaching.

Develop a sustainability plan.

All good things must come to an end, like your team’s service opportunity. Come up with a plan on how you’re going to end the project. And, have a process for how others can seamlessly continue doing the work you’ve done.

Find support and sponsors.

Besides getting your team on board, find out if anyone within your network would also like to join. You should also look for other businesses to join in as well. Maybe you could get several local businesses to support various teams in a baseball little league.

Document and publicize your work.

Documenting your experience can “increase exposure of the organization and mission you worked on,” writes Horoszowski. It can also encourage you to reflect, learn, and inspire others to follow you and your organization’s lead.

Team Service Ideas

Now that we have that out of the way, here are 62 team service opportunities that you should pursue.

General Ideas

Plan an item drive, such as canned food, coat, book, or toy drive.
Cleanup up an outdoor area like a park or beach.
Donate or raise money for a nonprofit like the Red Cross.
Host a fundraiser for a local nonprofit.
Assemble care packages for nurses, first responders, or the military.
Plan a charity team building activity, such as “Pay it Forward.”
Participate in a charity race.
Mentor students or underserved communities.
Do pro bono work, such as the Accessibility Internet Rally in Austin, TX.
Help community members register to vote.
Volunteer as staff at an event, like a 5K or festival.
Offer to promote a cause or nonprofit event.

Helping Children and Schools

Coach or sponsor a youth sports team.
Tutor students.
Donate presents to a children’s hospital.
Perform at a children’s hospital.
Pack back bags filled with essential school supplies for teachers at an underserved school in your community.
Babysit so that parents can attend a PTA meeting or have a night out.
Donate used books to a school library.
Collect baby and children’s clothing so they can be donated to those in need.
Volunteers at a camp or afterschool program.
Sponsor a child in a foreign country.

Assisting Senior Citizens and Veterans

Pick-up groceries or medicine for elderly family or community members.
Visit nursing homes and spend quality time with the residents.
Host a bingo night for senior citizens.
Drive those who can not get to their doctor’s appointments.
Make birthday, holiday, and thank cards.
Host a holiday meal for seniors or veterans.
Plan a Memorial or Veterans Day parade.
Mow lawns, rake leaves, and shovel snow.
Teach the elderly how to use technology, like computers and smartphones.
Raise money for organizations like Wounded Warriors, or Charity Water.

Helping Animals and the Environment

Volunteer or donate food and cleaning supplies to local animal shelters, or women and men’s shelters.
Train service dogs or foster animals until they find a home.
Organize a spay and neuter program.
Take your pet to a retirement home or hospital.
Sponsor a recycling program.
Build a community garden or clean-up an existing one.
Participate or organize the cleanup of a body of water, park, or along roads.
Offer to watch your friends, family, or neighbors pet when they’re on vacation.
Adopt-a-highway or sponsor an acre of rainforest or wetlands.
Organize an office carpool or permit more work-from-home opportunities.

Improving Your Community

Help the homeless and hungry in your community, such as donating food and clothing.
Build a house with Habit With Humanity.
Volunteer at food banks, homeless shelters, firehouses, or schools.
Start or join a community watch.
Become CPR certified.
Paint over graffiti and repaint benches.
Become a local tour guide.
Create or sponsor a piece of pubic art, playground equipment
Clean up after a natural disaster.
Participate in and promote a community event.

In-house and Virtual Ideas

Celebrate as a team, like having a pizza party after accomplishing a major milestone
Create professional and personal development programs so your team can learn and grow together.
Establish a mentorship program.
Offer childcare for the parents on your team.
Raise money for an ailing or struggling team member.
Pick up the slack for a colleague who is ill.
Set up an Angel Tree during the holidays.
Assemble kits during work hours, such as hygiene kits, that can be distributed.
Host an event for your team, like a family-friendly picnic or team building activity.
Encourage your team to volunteer virtually if they can’t do so in-person. You can find virtual volunteering opportunities on VolunteerMatch, Serve.gov, or AllForGood.