Usage scenarios of the self-scheduling system

How the timeplan.me service can help. It's not just an online scheduler. Usage scenarios.

• Complete replacement of the paper journal of appointments The administrator marks all entries on the site (from a tablet, phone, computer), and allows customers to sign up online. The online data is always up to date. Switching clients to online appointments saves a lot of time.
• Simply text message reminders. Reporting. Creating a client base In this scenario, the administrator duplicates data from the log on the site, e.g. once a day. Customers receive sms reminders (can be disabled, flexible). A customer database is generated automatically, together with statistics - who visited which service how many times, how much money they spent. At any time you can export your whole customer base or calendar to Excel, Pdf.
• Administrator control, security In order to protect against unrecorded entries, the administrator can be required to record everything in the online service. A paper log can be lost, erased, something not marked and money passed by the cash register. All actions of the administrator in the web service are logged and sabotage is impossible.
• Giving an online appointment option without moving the entire queue to the service Two options are possible here. The first is to open some specific hours just for online scheduling (so that there is no overlap with other appointments). For example, from 14 to 18 on Tuesdays and Thursdays - online scheduling, and put a pop-up window on your site, or add a link to your group in a social network and announce the new opportunity. The second option is to collect requests, allowing scheduling for any time. The administrator will receive an sms that a new online appointment has been created, check the paper log, and if the time is free - mark it in the paper log, if the time is busy - call the client back and offer other options.
• Hourly rentals If you are not a service provider, but you rent something: hourly rent of tools, apartments, offices, rooms, test drive cars, etc., then the first 4 points also apply to your company. Everything works the same way.

Our system for self-scheduling is easily configurable to start automating queues in a company of any type of business:

• Tutoring services
• Beauty salons
• Clinics
• Massage parlours
• Hairdressing salons
• Dentistry
• Car washes
• ....

The system is equally effective for both companies and private entrepreneurs, workers at home. Below, we'll look at a few examples of how queue automation will help your business.

Mobile hairdresser

• Client: mobile hairdresser
• Average time serving a customer: 1 - 2 hours
• Customer reception schedule: 4 days a week - 8 people, 2 days - 4 people each
• Queue length: three months ahead

As it was BEFORE connecting to the service

An elderly woman working as a dispatcher at home was receiving calls from customers through a mobile phone and wrote down everyone in a paper notebook. Prior to this, the owner maintained the queue on their own. There were more and more clients, the phone rang constantly at the most inconvenient moments. The hairdresser had to interrupt the work, always carry the notebook around and take calls at any time. That is why a dispatcher was hired to schedule clients and remind them about visits with a call.

How the hairdresser connected to the service

The specialist connected to the system on their own, set all the settings - reception mode, services, prices, work address, etc. They purchased a domain for direct scheduling MyDomain.com and connected it to their page. Took the notebook from the dispatcher, opened the personal account on the site and within an hour transferred all the appointments from paper to the electronic journal. The phone was left with the dispatcher for a month with the instruction to tell all callers one phrase: "Appointments with this specialist are now made through the site MyDomain.com".

What did the hairdresser get after connecting

• After trying out the free test period, the specialist realized how convenient and profitable this system is - now he pays several times less than what the dispatcher and the phone costed him.
• Scheduling works around the clock, without holidays and days off.
• While a dispatcher does not always manage to call and remind about an appointment (people often forget), the automatic reminder system never misses the time of SMS notifications and helps both the clients and the specialist not to forget about the upcoming haircut.
• Independence from the dispatcher. People constantly demand a salary increase or are careless about their duties, while the notebook with all client appointments in their hands serves as leverage over the hairdresser. After switching to the automatic queue system the hairdresser sees all the information about past and future appointments in the personal account, and once a day receives the full journal by email.
• Visitors like to sign up through the site - it is clear and convenient, they say. Clients like that they can reschedule and cancel their appointments through the site themselves, instead of trying to reach the dispatcher or the specialist.
• Every evening the hairdresser receives an SMS notification with the phone numbers and times of the visitors scheduled for the next day.
• Scheduling works automatically and does not distract the specialist from work.

Carwash

• Client: carwash
• Average time serving a customer: 30 minutes - 4 hours
• Customer reception schedule: every day from 9:00 to 22:00
• Service organization: 5 service sections
• Queue length: three days ahead by appointment, the live queue prevails with an average waiting time of 15 minutes

As it was BEFORE connecting to the service

The administrator accepted calls and maintained a queue in a calendar on Google. But the administrator also had organizational tasks, so it was difficult to get through - no one picked up the phone, the live queue prevailed.

How the carwash connected to the service

To test the effectiveness of the electronic schedule, one section was allocated, and not full time, but only the calm hours (from 9:00 to 11:30 and from 14:30 to 17:30). During "rush hours" all the sections continued to work on a first-come-first-served basis. The queue was created on the site with several services, and the parameters required the visitor to specify the body type and the license plate of the car when signing up. The carwash has its own website, and scheduling was added to it through a pop-up window. In addition, the administrator was shown how to add clients to the electronic queue through the personal account.

What did the carwash get after connecting

• Attracting new clients by the convenience of the scheduling.
• More dense filling of working hours.
• Less work for the administrator.
• Automatic SMS reminders of the visit time. There were no reminders before, and many forgot about the appointment.
• The owner of the carwash received an effective tool for analyzing and controlling the business.
• Minimizing losses from money passing by the cash register due to services not being recorded in the journal.
• After evaluating the effectiveness, two more sections were switched to electronic scheduling.
• Everything works automatically.

Health medicine clinic

• Client: health medicine clinic
• Average time serving a customer: 0.5 - 2 hours
• Customer reception schedule: every day from 9:00 to 20:00
• Service organization: visitors are received by specific specialists
• Queue length: two months ahead

As it was BEFORE connecting to the service

At the reception they received incoming calls and scheduled appointments in a general Excel file. The day before the upcoming appointment, during working hours they called the customers with a reminder.

How the clinic connected to the electronic schedule

The head of the clinic registered on the site all on his own, indicated all the specialists, their work schedules and the services they provide. The clinic has a popular group on a social network, where they added a button for making an appointment online. The clinic did not have a website, so the domain Clinic.com was purchased and connected to the page. Now everyone who visits clinic.com sees the list of specialists, services, the address of the clinic and other useful information. The administrator was shown how to create new appointments through the administrator's personal account. It turned out to be even faster than keeping an Excel file.

What did the clinic get after connecting

• The transparency and visibility of the schedule of all specialists increased the attendance of the clinic.
• Calls are handled by a receptionist. The client is consulted and immediately gets a specialist and a service selected, and an appointment in the electronic schedule.
• SMS reminders freed the staff from the duty to call visitors and remind them of the upcoming appointment.
• The administrator keeps the appointments not in an Excel table, but in a clear and reliable system that stores the full list of actions.
• It became possible to use analytics tools, to see trends and statistics.
• The owner of the clinic received a tool for analyzing and controlling the work of the institution.
• Everything works automatically.

Connect!