Where to manage notifications for Classes?

[Laura_B]

@MayaP I hope you are doing well! Where do I manage notifications for booked Classes? Settings listed in Appointments > Settings > Communications reference Appointments vs. Classes, so it's not clear whether they apply to Classes as well.

I did a test by booking a class as a client, and received an email and a text message. These are the changes I am looking to make:

1. Turn off the text messages.

2. Add the class date and time to the Subject of the email.

3. Include class Description in the body of the email. I need to share the Zoom link for the class with those who booked it, and the Description is the only place I can think of adding the Zoom link to. While the body of the email contains "View Details" button, when I click it, the class Description does not show.

4. Change the opening sentence in the email body that says "You have a new class booking" because it sounds a bit confusing for the client.

Thank you in advance for any guidance and support you can offer. 

[Kassi_]

Hey there, @Laura_B - 

Jumping in on this one!

There are several options when it comes to sending out communications to your customers for classes they signed up for. In your Dashboard, go to Appointments > Settings > Communication. 

This is where you can turn on/off, customize, or setup any type of communication with your customers. Also, here is a Support Article with a bit more information on notifications. 

Please let me know if you were looking for something different and I am happy to circle back with you! 

[Laura_B]

@Kassi_ Thank you for jumping in and linking the article. Do I understand correctly that even though the word "Appointment" is used throughout the article, all Communication settings apply to "Classes" as well?

I could not figure out where I can choose if I want email notifications only, or SMS notifications only, or both. Are you able to point me to that setting?

On the subject of customizing the notifications: it's great that I can create custom notifications using variables, however, a few things are missing:

1) I would love to use the class Description variable in the notification. This is where I would include the Zoom link for my live virtual classes. Without the Description variable, my only option is to include the Zoom link in the class Name, which is far from ideal.

2) When my client clicks View Details button in the notification email, the class Description still does not show up. Is there a place where I can fix this?

3) I would like to customize the Subject of the notification email to include at least the class date and time. However, it does not look like the Subject is customizable. If the Subject of each class booking notification is the same (which it is at the moment), and a client books a few classes, all notification emails will be lumped together in the client's inbox. This is not a great customer experience.

Thank you!

[riftfit]

@Laura_B @vabook I can’t answer everything as I don’t work for Square but as I am currently messing around with these issues myself, I just checked the notification that was sent to my client about me manually registering them in a class and the message was “Hi [Client], [Business] has booked [class name] on [date, time]. Book another class [link to view details].” So it does appear to specify class at that point, though in the reminder message for an upcoming class it just says “Hi [Client], your appointment with [Business] on [date, time] is coming up. Make changes at [link to view details]” so the reminder messages don’t specifically say a class, but the initial booking confirmation does appear to. 

I’m not sure about the class description and link situation but a potential workaround might be to trigger a form to send out to clients that register in the class and include the link there? I have no idea if that would work but that would be what I would try next if the feature to add a custom variable doesn’t work the way you need it to. 

As far as your second query goes, a potential workaround could be to instruct clients to go back to the class schedule to click on the class they registered for and access the description from that point until Square releases a fix for your problem?

I have no suggestions as to the third point though I agree it would be really nice if the subject could include more details.

as far as selecting the notification type, I believe you have to do that part directly from each client profile as they can also choose to only receive text, or email, or both as far as I can tell. 

I hope something here is helpful! Good luck!

[Laura_B]

@Kassi_ I customized "Business accepted appointment" email notification, but when I tested booking a class, I still received the same email notification as before my customization. This makes me think that Communication settings apply only to Appointments and NOT to Classes. Are you able to check with your product and/or support teams?

[vabook]

I'd also like to know if these reminders apply for people who have signed up for a class and not just made an appointment with a Team member. I need to be able to send reminders about upcoming classes. I have it set to send my clients reminders about their appointment, but it doesn't seem to send anything to people who are signed up for a class. 

[AndyMoyle]

I also need help modifying notification settings related to Classes specifically. @Kassi_ can you direct us where to modify notifications specifically for Classes

[vabook]

Thanks, @riftfit  - I ended up going with a class registration plugin with Wordpress (where I built my website) that can handle all of my class registration needs (including notifications, follow up emails, waitlists, and coupons) gracefully, and process payments with Square. Square was not able to do any of those things for me. Seems like they launched to get the business of people with classes without actually being able to deliver what they promised.

[riftfit]

I completely agree. I am very frustrated that their sales page appears to have been very misleading about what their features are actually capable of and they launched “Classes” before the functionality was actually usable in anyway. So far I am incredibly disappointed — it would be incredibly convenient for my payments and booking systems to be fully integrated and I only signed up for this option recently because it was finally available (every previous time over the past five years that I have considered an online booking system, Square has not had the functionality to support my fitness business), and I understand that it is still a “beta” feature, but the feature lacks even the basic functionalities that are available for regular appointments and I can’t understand why they would add the option to book classes without at least giving us the same options to customize and edit and control the classes that we have for appointments! I’m glad you found something else that better meets your needs, I might need to consider cancelling my subscription to Appointments Plus and following suit.