I've been using Acuity Scheduling for 3 months — the good, the bad and the ugly
Rhona Stone
👑 VIP
👑 VIP
Salon / Hair Studio · Hull · 2mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my hair salon in Southampton, because I was terrified about how my clients would react and the reality was nothing like what I feared.
Background: I'd been running my hair salon for 2 years, all bookings via phone and text. Lovely clients, very loyal, but the admin was killing me. Evenings spent confirming appointments, chasing people, answering 'are you free on Friday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Appointy and gave myself three months to phase out old-style bookings. Here's what actually happened:
Week one: About half my regulars booked online immediately with zero fuss. These were the ones who'd always been organised about appointments anyway.
Weeks two and three: I gently redirected phone enquiries to the booking link. 'I don't take bookings by phone anymore but here's the link — it takes about two minutes and you can pick your exact slot.' Almost everyone was fine with this.
Month two: I turned off WhatsApp booking entirely. Had about ten complaints, all from clients who'd been occasional no-shows previously. Decided I was okay with that.
Month three onwards: Fully digital, deposits on every booking, no Sunday evening admin sessions. My actual take-home time increased by roughly two hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
Background: I'd been running my hair salon for 2 years, all bookings via phone and text. Lovely clients, very loyal, but the admin was killing me. Evenings spent confirming appointments, chasing people, answering 'are you free on Friday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Appointy and gave myself three months to phase out old-style bookings. Here's what actually happened:
Week one: About half my regulars booked online immediately with zero fuss. These were the ones who'd always been organised about appointments anyway.
Weeks two and three: I gently redirected phone enquiries to the booking link. 'I don't take bookings by phone anymore but here's the link — it takes about two minutes and you can pick your exact slot.' Almost everyone was fine with this.
Month two: I turned off WhatsApp booking entirely. Had about ten complaints, all from clients who'd been occasional no-shows previously. Decided I was okay with that.
Month three onwards: Fully digital, deposits on every booking, no Sunday evening admin sessions. My actual take-home time increased by roughly two hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
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Been using Appointy for 3 months and I'd echo everything in this post. The one thing I'd add: set up the automated follow-up message asking for a review. I get two new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#1
The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Fresha showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#2
Been using Fresha for 6 months and I'd echo everything in this post. The one thing I'd add: set up the automated follow-up message asking for a review. I get two new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#3
I use Setmore alongside Xero and the integration is really smooth. Invoices sync automatically, payments are recorded, and my accountant has stopped asking me for spreadsheets every quarter. If you're trying to run a proper business rather than a hobby this kind of integration matters.
#4
I made the same switch and I'd add one thing: tell your clients it's for their benefit, not yours. Frame it as 'you can now book at any time of day without having to wait for me to respond'. That framing works really well and it's also genuinely true.
#5