Online vs phone reservations

[MaqAtak]

Online vs phone reservations

simpleman,

Thanks. Not that I'm going to use it anytime soon, but one never knows what the future holds.

 

[Cericoe]

Online vs phone reservations

This is a really good topic!

When I had my own MT practice, it was mostly phone, with a little email thrown in. Generally, though, I liked to talk in person with the prospective client so that I could iron out any questions and get a feel for who they were over the phone. With email, that was tougher to do. I never did online scheduling at the time. I'm very much a pen-and-paper/telephone kind of person. Email was about as tech savvy as I got.

Now, we actually use a secure online appointment-scheduling service. It's not all that cheap but it certainly IS versatile! You can set it up however you like. Your days, hours, lunch break, etc. And you can set up different types of appointments (in case you offer more than 1 service). If you have other MTs working with/for you, you can set them up in the system, too. You can build in automatic time buffers in between appointments, so that you don't have to think about it. You can allow clients to log in and schedule themselves, or retain all the schedule control yourself. If you work with other MTs, you can set them up to allow them access, and you can either give them admin controls, or not. And if you do outcalls AND incalls, you can set up those options, too. It works EXTREMELY well for us. It looks decent and the interface is pretty cool, too. Then you can run stat reports/summaries from time to time. If you need to schedule yourself a block of time to be on vacation for a week, take a day off, or take a half-day class, you can put in a time block. With appointments, you can specify length of time, and you can also put in recurring appointments, if, say, a client comes every Tuesday at 3pm.

At first, we thought we'd just let patients/clients schedule themselves, but as a multi-disciplinary clinic with 3 independent practitioners, that might get a little hairy Cool part is, since it's web-based, we can log in from anywhere without having those "oh shizz, I forgot my schedule book at the office/home" like we used to LOL

As for how people contact us, it's about three quarters reschedule in person on the way out, and the rest divvy up between phone/email, but mostly phone (our city is kind of old-fashioned - plenty of people still write checks here, too). We do NOT text. Not even in personal life. In our town, that's OK - nobody cares. Not everyone has a cellphone or even the internet at home! LOL

 

[Precy]

Online vs phone reservations

I tried a few. Definitely found Genbook the easiest and most affordable. Of course, free was extremely affordable . But now it's $30/month for each location and multiple therapists. I wish I lived somewhere that didn't text....man I wish I never started texting. However, in our area...talking on the phone is a foreign concept. People don't want to talk, they email, book online, the more techy the better. I love it, frees up so much time. But, I certainly don't knock "old fashioned" I miss it. But around here, old fashioned is long gone. Everyone is in fast foward speed. I just try my best to keep up.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Online vs phone reservations

I another down side with online booking, I had a new client book 2 appointments on the same day with 2 different gift card number so I just assumed 2 people where coming together.

Well this client no shows so I called and left an message and he calls me back and is trying to tell me his appoinment is for Monday. So I informed him that he booked is own appoinment and he would have gotten an email 24 hours to comfirm his appointment. And I let him know that I had marked off his gifts cards as being used. So he send another friend in for the second appointment and it turns out he is on vacation in CA. :irked:

 

[Lozza]

Online vs phone reservations

We have online "requests" but nothing is confirmed until we call them to double check the details.

Between the tech delays that sometimes occur in the database generating the request email, operator error in filling out the form (it really is not that hard...) and their request not matching our availability, we insist on a live confirmation.

I would never put our book online for someone to decide when they want a service.

Perhaps we are using the same system: this is exactly how we do it. This way clients can browse and "book" on their own time (sometimes in the middle of the night, a frequent time people are looking at websites and wanting to book) and then I can either email them back or call them. When they request an appointment, they get an automated email that tells them how our system works: that we may adjust their appointment slightly, may call them to find out what works best for them, and that we need a credit card number! This ensures a lack of no-shows. Their appointment is not booked until I receive this.

I would never allow clients to book their own appointments. But letting them request certain appointment times puts the ball in their court and allows us to adjust based on their needs, and our availabilities.