The Phorest feature that saved me hours every single week
Abigail Watson
🏪 VIP Seller
🥇 Gold Seller
Other · Preston · 2mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my nail studio 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 nail studio 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 Thursday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to SimplyBook.me 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 six 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 nail studio 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 Thursday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to SimplyBook.me 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 six 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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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.
#1
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.
#2
Been using Acuity Scheduling 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