Appointment holding

[TheNailChambers]

How do I turn off the feature of “holding appointments” when my clients are trying to book their appointment? 

I am repeatedly running into the problem of people messaging me because they opened an appointment but then left the page to check their work schedule and then when they return, the appointment is no longer available for them to book. I have a small clientele so multiple people trying to book one appointment would not be a problem for me. 

[Valentina]

Welcome to the Community, @TheNailChambers! Hm, I'm not familiar with a "holding appointments" feature. 

It sounds like your client was viewing an appointment time slot around the same time that another client was viewing the same appointment slot. Simply having their web browser open to view an appointment time slot does not guarantee that the spot will still be available if someone else books an appointment for that time slot first. I hope that helps clarify how your booking site functions! ✨

A bit more context: Although you have the ability to manually book overlapping appointments yourself, your clients can not book overlapping appointments via your online booking site. We do offer a processing time feature, where you can allow customers to book in between existing appointments, but I am not sure that this is what you're looking for.

[TheNailChambers]

Hi Valentina! Thank you for replying. I know I remember reading about it and how long it will “hold” the appointment before it can be booked after someone goes into book it but I cannot find it for the life of me now. I know for sure it’s not the fact of multiple people trying to book because this has happened about 10 times now and I have a very small clientele with no appointments booked for sometimes days before or after this happens. For example, it’s been two days since the last incident with no other appointments booked since, however the client wasn’t able to book the appointment she previously viewed and it is in fact open. When this happens I am able to go in and book the client in the slot thats showing unavailable to them if they have previously booked, but I was in a predicament where it was a new client and I needed her to enter her information. 

[Valentina]

Your clients should be able to book an appointment slot, if it is in fact open, @TheNailChambers.

When a client selects an appointment time slot and reaches the customer information step, they are given 10 minutes to book the appointment. If one client is at that point in the booking process, and a second client tries to view your slots at that moment, they will not see the available appointment as your first client has 10 minutes to decide.

If your clients are experiencing something that conflicts with this information, I recommend reach outing directly by logging into your Square account and heading here.

[TheNailChambers]

10 minutes!! That’s what’s happening. The go into put in their information, exit to check their schedule and other appointments, and the. They have to wait 10 minutes for that one to be open again. And they’re no option to change it. Thank you for your help,  I at least can tell clients a time that the appointment will be available again.

[Valentina]

I'm glad we were able to shine a light on what your clients are experiencing!

I would maybe advise your clients to keep the appointment booking site window up while they check their calendar, instead of exiting it. I hope this helps smooth out their experience going forward, @TheNailChambers!