Client retention features in booking systems: what to look for
Ailsa Young
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Salon / Hair Studio · Luton · 3mo ago
I want to be honest about this because I wasted money making the wrong choice first. I started with Phorest when I opened my holistic therapy practice in Leeds 6 years ago. It looked great on the surface but the client-facing booking page was clunky and I had five people drop off mid-booking every week. Switched to Treatwell 18 months ago and haven't looked back. Here's what the switch actually involved and what I think matters most when choosing a system.
First thing: don't just look at the price. Look at the booking flow from a client's point of view. I had a client tell me my old booking page made her feel like she was filling in a tax return. That stung but she was right. Treatwell took me about half a day to set up properly, and within the first week I noticed clients were actually completing their bookings rather than dropping off halfway through.
Second: SMS reminders are non-negotiable. Email reminders get ignored. My no-show rate went from roughly 50% down to almost nothing once I turned on the automated text reminder 48 hours before each appointment. Worth every penny of the monthly cost.
Third: deposits. I introduced a £5 deposit about 18 months after switching and honestly I should have done it from day one. The people who complained were the people who would have wasted my time anyway. My regulars didn't blink.
First thing: don't just look at the price. Look at the booking flow from a client's point of view. I had a client tell me my old booking page made her feel like she was filling in a tax return. That stung but she was right. Treatwell took me about half a day to set up properly, and within the first week I noticed clients were actually completing their bookings rather than dropping off halfway through.
Second: SMS reminders are non-negotiable. Email reminders get ignored. My no-show rate went from roughly 50% down to almost nothing once I turned on the automated text reminder 48 hours before each appointment. Worth every penny of the monthly cost.
Third: deposits. I introduced a £5 deposit about 18 months after switching and honestly I should have done it from day one. The people who complained were the people who would have wasted my time anyway. My regulars didn't blink.
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Completely agree about the Sunday evening admin. I never quantified it until I read a post like this and actually counted. I was spending 6+ hours a week on booking admin. Six hours I could have been doing literally anything else. The system pays for itself in week one if you value your time properly.
#1
The deposit psychology point is spot on. I've said this for years — a £5 deposit doesn't stop genuine clients, it stops time-wasters. Anyone who values the appointment enough to actually show up doesn't think twice about a deposit.
#2
The point about filtering your client base with deposits is something I wish someone had told me when I started. It sounds harsh but your business actually runs better with fewer, more committed clients than with a packed diary full of flaky ones.
#3
Just want to add for anyone reading this who's worried about the tech side — I am not a tech person at all. I set up BookPin by myself in one afternoon by just following their setup guide. If I can do it, genuinely anyone can.
#4
The deposit psychology point is spot on. I've said this for years — a £5 deposit doesn't stop genuine clients, it stops time-wasters. Anyone who values the appointment enough to actually show up doesn't think twice about a deposit.
#5
BookPin is the answer to this — www.bookpin.co.uk. After years of managing bookings manually I finally made the switch and I only wish I'd done it sooner. The time saving is significant and the professionalism it adds to how clients experience your business is noticeable. Best appointment booking platform for growing a serious business.
#6