In 2017, don’t get another paper appointment book. Waitlist Me’s appointment management options can help you manage your time and customers better than pen and paper ever could. Whether it’s a salon, barber shop, or similar business, you can leave your scheduling nightmares behind and make managing appointments simple. With a quick set up and easy to learn interface, we can help you start the new year on the right foot.

When the phone rings, instead having to look everywhere in an appointment book, Waitlist Me lets you see your availability at a glance in an intuitive digital calendar. Monthly and weekly views show counts of your scheduled customers so it is easy to see the big picture on when you have availability. Then in the daily view you can see appointments broken out by time and stylist. When scheduling appointments for a team of employees, simply check one screen to see who has an opening. You can easily find the best appointment times for your clients and send them text confirmations and reminders.

When a potential client walks in without an appointment, you don’t need to scramble to figure out if you can fit them in. Quickly see your availability for that day and give them an accurate estimate of how long it would be until you can help them.  You can even give them the freedom to walk around while they wait and text them when you are ready for them. Waitlist Me will help you improve your guest’s experience and make smarter business decisions faster.

Another great benefit of going digital with Waitlist Me is the flexibility to check your appointment calendar from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. So if a valued client calls when you aren’t at the salon and asks when you can squeeze them in, you don’t need to head back to look at your appointment book.  Or if one of your stylists calls in sick on your day off, you can do all the rescheduling from home. With Waitlist Me, you won’t have to worry anymore about carrying around your appointment book, driving back to the salon, or even worse, losing your appointment book. Try it out for free today.

Waitlist Me offers the Add Yourself Web Widget to make serving customers quick and easy, whether you prefer they reserve a time in advance or simply join the list if there’s a wait. Advanced scheduling just got even easier with our new email reservation features. 

If your business wants to send automated reminders or needs additional information from customers before they arrive, then emails can be a great option. Also, they are not counted towards the bundled notification limits included with each subscription (US & Canada) or charged separately (all other international users/plans).

Enabling email notifications – To enable, navigate to the Notification settings for reservations (Settings > Customization > Notifications > Reservation). The Usage options let you choose whether the messages go out manually (by pressing the notification in the customer row in the waitlist view) or automatically (“Scheduled” option in the settings). In either case, the waitlist view notes and customer visit area of the edit view will show you when emails have been sent.

Customizing email notifications – Every email notification will automatically include the scheduled time of the reservation along with location information. In addition, it will include a customizable “Intro Message” that appears at the top of the email and can be used as an introduction or used to include basic instructions. Please note that there is a limit of 160 characters for the text in this area as it is intended to be simple. Pro Users can use the “HTML Display option”  to customize the body of the email to include images, provide more detailed instructions and more. Below is an example of these parts of the email.

Changing and cancelling – Email notifications also include a link for your guests to “Change or Cancel” their reservation/appointment. This link opens a browser window on their phone or computer where they can select a different time or cancel their existing reservation altogether. A standard email confirming any change will go out automatically.

With the biggest eating-out day of the year upon us, the big question is this: How are you going to make Mother’s Day a big success for your restaurant?

It’s not just about getting people in the door. It’s not even about serving the best food in town. It’s about giving your customers the best overall experience possible—one that will keep them returning long after Mother’s Day ends. And that experience starts the minute they walk through the door.

Here are 3 ways Waitlist Me wows customers while they wait for their table

Accurate wait time estimates make you look like a pro

Shuffling through loose papers doesn’t inspire confidence. Neither does the look on your host’s face when she’s guessing when that table in the corner will turn.

Waitlist Me takes the guesswork out of time estimates. The app shows estimated waits by table size, so you have your answer with a quick look, whether it’s a table for two or ten.  Plus, it tracks how long customers have been waiting in real time, right next to the time they were quoted, so you can better adjust for surges and lulls in visitors to fine tune your quote accuracy.

Text alerts let customers relax while they wait

No one wants to be tethered to a restaurant lobby—and a cluster of hungry people waiting for a table can be a turn-off for walk-ins.

Waitlist Me lets you text guests when their table is ready, which means they can wander freely without worrying that they’ll miss their name being called. We’ve even made it easy for them to let you know they’re on their way, or that they need to cancel with a simple text response.

A public waitlist allows customers to see where they are in line (and plan accordingly)

An out-the-door line keeps you busy enough. Add the inevitable “how long will it be?” grumbles to the mix, and you’ve got mayhem on your Mother’s Day menu.

When you add a customer to your waitlist, Waitlist Me sends them a confirmation text automatically. That text includes a link to your public waitlist, empowering them to check on their place in line wherever they are, whenever they want.  The less time your team has to spend providing updated estimates to the people waiting, the more time they can spend greeting and making guests feel welcome.

A 5-minute fix? You bet.

You can start using Waitlist Me now on any iOS, Android, or web-accessible device. Getting started is easy, and you can get it up and running in less time than it takes you to fire up your restaurant’s most popular dish. Now that’s a win!

It is easy to customize Waitlist Me to your business needs.  You can streamline the process of adding customers to the waitlist by choosing the level of information you need and by removing unnecessary steps.  Just tap on the gear icon in the app to get to the settings, then go to Customization and Adding Customers. The options include:

Assignments: These are used by businesses that assign resources to customers. For example, a stylist in a salon, a table in a restaurant, or an exam room in a medical center. If you don’t assign resources to customers or you don’t want to see the options when adding customers to the waitlist or reservations, you can hide this option.

Group size: This is helpful when the number of people in a party varies, such as in a restaurant. For a business such as a car detailing facility where group size doesn’t matter, this option can be turned off.

Demographics: In some businesses, it’s important to know if the group includes children, or whether the clients are male or female. The simple demographic tracking lets you choose between adults/children/seniors, while the full demographics also gives options for gender. Choosing the Off option will remove this completely.

Image: Full Demographics, Simple Demographics, and No Demographics

Category colors: Category colors can be used as a simple way to identify and sort different groups in the waitlist. A restaurant might choose to use the color green for groups that request outdoor seating, while a spa may assign colors for different services. This option can be turned off and would no longer show up when adding names to the list.

Notes: The notes field lets you record important information, such as the service the client is requesting. The option can be switched off if the notes field will not be used.

Image: The streamlined look of removing the Group Size, Demographics, Category Colors, and Notes.

History: If it’s important to see some stats on past customer visits, leave the History field turned on.

Wait Time Quotes: For those businesses who do not give an estimated time, the wait time could be switched off. For those who do give a time, there are two options. Normal will be 5 minutes, while Last Time will show the last wait time selected.

Image: Choose to have the spinner default to 5 minutes or to the last wait time quoted.

We are happy to announce the winners of our special giveaway for Charleston area businesses that we did as part of the opening of our Charleston headquarters. Charlestonians were invited to submit names of local businesses that they’d be happier visiting if the wait wasn’t so bad.  In turn, Waitlist Me would select the top 10 submissions to provide a free year of the Waitlist Me service to help improve their wait experience.

Here are a couple of our favorite submissions:

“This is the best brunch/breakfast/lunch on Folly Beach. The wait is consistently 30-45 minutes, no matter when you visit, and there isn’t really a great waiting area, so most people have to stand in the parking lot.”  –  Lost Dog Café customer

“I love Hyman’s, but it is so crowded in the summer and tourist seasons.  I think locals like me would go there more often if the lines weren’t so bad or there was a better way to know when its your turn” – Hyman’s Seafood customer

“They’re the BEST brunch spot in the area…and they do an awesome dinner service as well. They take reservations, but it’s really tough to walk in and get a spot.” – High Thyme customer

And here is the full list of winners:

• 167 Raw
• High Thyme
• Hymann’s Seafood
• Kaminsky’s
• Laura Albert’s
• Lost Dog Café
• Old South Carriage Co.
• Page’s Okra Grill
• Taco Boy
• Tavern & Table

Customers are feeling the pain of having to wait, and businesses can use Waitlist Me to dramatically improve this experience. Waitlist Me makes it easy to manage a waitlist and send customers text notifications when ready for them, allowing customers the freedom to walk around and enjoy more of the beauty of Charleston while they wait.