The best booking system for a new hair salon starting from scratch
Helena Edwards
🏪 VIP Seller
🥇 Gold Seller
Freelancer · Bolton · 2mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my spa in Cardiff, 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 spa for 10 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 Wednesday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Timely 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 three hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
Background: I'd been running my spa for 10 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 Wednesday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Timely 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 three hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
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The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Square Appointments showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#1
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.
#2
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.
#3