This week I have made a nifty change in my online booking system which will hopefully save clients time and enable you to see all your bookings in one place.
When you go to the booking screen via the Book Now button, you will now be able to sign in to book online. This means you won't need to enter your details every time you book. The system will store them for you, all you need to do is create a password when you next book online. You will then be able to sign-in each time with your password.
To set this up, when you go to the first page of my booking system, you will see a 'sign in' button at the top right of the white box. Click on this. It will take you to the next screen where you will enter your email address and create a password.
The first time you go to this screen, you will have to create a password. To do this, click on the 'I forgot my password' button and from there you can follow the instructions to set one up. It is very straightforward.
You will then be sent an email that contains a link to reset your password. Click on the link in the email and it will take you to a screen where you can choose your own password. Once you have done this, you will be taken back to the booking page and you can scroll down to make your booking as normal. You can also use the 'I forgot my password' button if you do forget it.
This change will also make it much easier for me as previously every time a client booked an appointment, the system created a new user. This means that I have to go into the booking system to merge duplicate users. This was becoming pretty time-consuming!
The other changes made that relate to bookings recently are to do with cancellation notifications and charges. I have been faced with an increasing number of cancellation notifications which are not always easy to fill within 36 hours, especially if there are several cancellations in the same week. Cancellations do have a significant impact on my business as well as appointment availability for other clients.
Clients are now required to give 48 hours notice to cancel an appointment. If less than 48 hours notice is given, 50% of the full fee will be charged. If an appointment is cancelled on the same day it was made for, or if an appointment is missed without notice, the full fee is charged. Email appointment notifications now go out 4 days prior to appointments.
When you make a booking online, it is really important to record it in your phone, diary or calendar, at the time you make your booking. Please do not use the email notification that gets sent out 4 days ahead as the only reminder of your upcoming appointment. Technology sometimes fails for reasons beyond our control, so making a record of your own appointment is the best way to ensure you know when your upcoming appointment is, so
if you do need to cancel or reschedule it, you can do so with plenty of notification. It also means others can book into the vacant appointment slots as they become available. The addition of the sign-in for appointment bookings should also make it easier for you to look ahead at all your appointments booked. You can find the updated booking and cancellation information on my website here.