Is Setmore suitable for a larger hair salon? My honest experience
Aiden Graham
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Freelancer · Sheffield · 1mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my hair salon in Birmingham, 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 5 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 Tuesday?' 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 five 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 5 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 Tuesday?' 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 five 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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The bit about re-engaging lapsed clients is something I hadn't thought of using Square Appointments for. Going to set that up today. I've got loads of clients I assumed had just moved on who might just need a gentle nudge.
#1
Been using Timely for two years 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 four new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#2
The bit about re-engaging lapsed clients is something I hadn't thought of using Vagaro for. Going to set that up today. I've got loads of clients I assumed had just moved on who might just need a gentle nudge.
#3
The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £20 a month to no-shows and cancellations before I introduced deposits. That money was just gone. Now it's protected. The maths on deposits is completely obvious once you see it.
#4