No-shows feel like a customer problem. They're usually a memory problem, and memory problems are solvable with a text message.
The two messages
The first goes out the moment the booking is made, while the conversation is still fresh. The second goes out the day before. That's it. A third message starts to feel like nagging and buys you nothing.
- Confirmation, immediately: what, when, where, and how much
- Reminder, the day before: the same details, plus how to move it
- An easy way to reschedule, so a clash becomes a moved slot rather than an empty one
Make rescheduling easy on purpose
The instinct is to make cancelling difficult. It backfires. A customer who can't easily move an appointment doesn't keep it — they simply don't turn up, and you lose the slot without warning.
An appointment moved a week out is worth far more than an appointment silently missed.
Every diary, everywhere
Give people a way out and most of them use it responsibly. You end up with a diary that reflects reality, which is worth more than one that looks full.
Daygent answers your business calls day and night, books the work and sends the reminders — for $129 a month.
Try our AI receptionist→