The waitlist: filling cancellations when you're booked out

When you're booked out, or a client would love an earlier spot, put them on the waitlist with the days and times they can come in. FullColumn keeps an eye out: the calendar shows where they fit, and when a cancellation frees up time, it tells you who could have it, with a text ready to offer it.

#How the waitlist works

A waitlist entry is a client, what they're after, who they'd like (or anyone), and the days they can come in, each with its own time: "Tuesday morning, or any time Friday". It can also be for a client who has an appointment and would like it earlier.

FullColumn finds the times that suit them: on their days and times, inside a stylist's hours, clear of other appointments and blocked time, allowing for processing and padding, at that stylist's lengths. Any time it offers is one the calendar would book without a clash.

The waitlist is for your team: clients don't add themselves from your booking page. Everyone can see and change it. Without "Book and change other team members’ appointments", only times in your own column are offered.

#Adding a client to the waitlist

Start from any of these: Add to waitlist on the Waitlist page (or N there), Add in the calendar's waitlist panel, ⋯ → Add to waitlist on a client's profile, or Add to waitlist instead in New appointment.

1. Choose the Client, or add a New client ("A mobile number means you can text them the moment a spot opens up."). Untick Texts or Emails beside Marketing if they haven't agreed to hear about offers.
2. Choose the Service ("What are they after?"), and Add another service for more. The length with the chosen stylist shows beside it.
3. Choose the Stylist, or Anyone.
4. Under Days they can come in, tap days on the strip of the next three weeks, or A later date… for further out. Days nobody's rostered say "Closed", and days the chosen stylist isn't rostered say "Off".
5. Give each day a time: Any time, Morning (starting before 12pm), Afternoon (starting between 12pm and 5pm), Evening (starting from 5pm) or Between… two times (starting from the first and done by the second). + another time that day adds a second time to a day.
6. Add Notes, like "Can't do Mondays, happy to come in at short notice".
7. Press Add to waitlist.

An entry can have up to 12 services and 62 days.

#When a client wants an earlier appointment

For a client who's booked but would come in sooner:

1. Open their appointment and choose ⋯ → Wants an earlier time….
2. The entry is for that appointment: "Only earlier times are offered, and booking one moves this appointment." Its services are the appointment's, at the lengths booked.
3. Leave Stylist on Anyone to keep each service with whoever's doing it, or choose someone to move it all to them.
4. Under Days that suit them, tap days, or leave them all off for any day before the appointment, at any time earlier than it.
5. Press Add to waitlist. The calendar shows straight away where they fit.

The appointment then says "On the waitlist for an earlier time", with Show where they fit. Booking one of their times moves the appointment, rather than making a second one, with Let them know about the new time on.

The entry ends by itself when the appointment is cancelled, missed or deleted ("Their appointment was cancelled"), when they come in for it ("They came in at their usual time"), or when it's moved earlier some other way ("Their appointment was moved earlier"). Undoing a cancellation puts them back on the waitlist.

Wants an earlier time… is there for an appointment still to come that's booked or confirmed, with a client, where every service is from your menu and given to someone.

#The Waitlist page

Choose Waitlist in the menu. Its tabs are Waiting, Booked and Removed.

Waiting lists whoever's next day comes soonest first. Each entry shows the client (with their mobile, to call), what they're after and with whom, their days, when they were added and any notes. An entry whose days have all passed is marked Expired, under Days have passed, with Pick new days.

For each entry:

• Find a time lists the times that suit them, by day, up to a month from their next day: "12 openings over 4 days · tap a time to book it". Tap a time to book it (below). "No openings on their days right now. Cancellations pop up all the time – check back later."
• Text them (or Email them, without a mobile) offers them a time: see offering a time.
• Their appointment opens the appointment they want earlier.
• ⋯ has Edit, Mark as booked, Remove from waitlist and Delete.

Remove from waitlist keeps the entry under Removed, as a record; Delete removes it for good. On Booked and Removed, Move back to waiting puts an entry back. Marking, removing and moving back each have Undo.

#The waitlist on the calendar

The calendar's Waitlist button shows how many people want a day on screen. It turns green when someone fits a free time on screen. It opens the waitlist panel beside the calendar (a drawer on a phone), listing people waiting for those dates who asked for someone on screen or anyone: those wanting a day on screen first, then "Waiting for other days:".

Each person's card says where they fit first ("Fits 10:30am with Mia · +3 more"), or "Nothing free that suits them here", or "None of their days are showing".

• Click someone to see where they fit. Highlighted bands show the times that suit them, in each stylist's column: "Where Sarah Walker fits (Full colour + Cut) – click a highlighted time to book, or drag them onto the calendar." Hover over a band for the exact start, and click to book it. Done or Esc puts them away.
• Drag a card onto the calendar to book them at that time, even where nothing suits them.
• ⋯ on a card has Offer a time…, Edit and Remove from waitlist.

In the week view, an hourglass count on each day's header says how many could come that day. Click it to list just them; Everyone lists the rest again.

#Filling a cancellation from the waitlist

When an appointment is cancelled, marked a no-show, deleted, moved or shortened, FullColumn checks who on the waitlist fits the time it freed: that stylist (or anyone), on one of their days at one of their times, long enough for their services. If someone does, a message says so for a few seconds:

• "Sarah Walker on the waitlist fits 2:00pm with Mia", or "2 on the waitlist fit tomorrow at 2:00pm with Mia".
• Show opens that day with the free time marked ("Free 2pm – 3pm"), lists just who fits, and shows where the first of them fits.
• Offer opens a text (or email) offering them that time.

Nothing is sent or booked until you do it.

#Offering a time from the waitlist by text or email

Text them on the Waitlist page, Offer a time… on the calendar, and Offer after a cancellation all open a message to the client:

1. Under Offer a time, pick one of the times that suit them, or No set time.
2. The message is written for you: "Hi Sarah, a spot just opened up at your salon tomorrow at 2pm with Mia. Reply to grab it!" (with your salon's name). For an earlier time, it says it's instead of their appointment. Change it as you like.
3. Press Send text (or Send email, with a subject line).

It's a text when they have a mobile, otherwise an email, and comes from your salon like your other texts: see how texts and emails are sent. Their reply comes into Messages (replies). Offering a time doesn't hold it: book them when they say yes.

#Booking someone from the waitlist

Tapping one of their times, clicking a highlighted band, or dragging them onto the calendar opens New appointment with the client, services, stylist and time filled in: "From the waitlist: booking this takes them off it." Book it, and their entry moves to Booked. For someone who wants an earlier time, their appointment opens moved to the new time instead.

Booked them some other way? Choose ⋯ → Mark as booked on their entry.

#Common questions

#Can clients put themselves on the waitlist?

No. Your team adds them, from the Waitlist page, the calendar, a client's profile or a new appointment.

#Does offering a time hold it for the client?

No. The time stays free until someone books it, so book them as soon as they reply.

#Why doesn't Find a time show anything?

Nothing free suits their days, times and services right now, their days may have passed, or their service may no longer be on your menu (Edit to choose another). FullColumn looks again whenever something changes.

#What happens to the waitlist entry when I book them?

Booking from the waitlist moves the entry to Booked on its own. Book them another way and use Mark as booked.