Is Vagaro suitable for a larger barbershop? My honest experience
Willow Carter
🏪 VIP Seller
🥇 Gold Seller
Spa Owner · Birmingham · 4mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my PMU studio in Leeds, 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 PMU studio for 4 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 Setmore 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 three 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 six hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
Background: I'd been running my PMU studio for 4 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 Setmore 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 three 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 six hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
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#1
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.
#2
Been using Acuity Scheduling 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 five new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#3
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.
#4
Been using Shedul for a year 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 five new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#5