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How helpful would it be for customers to be able to set their own appointments online by simply visiting a company or business website? Extremely. How much time could a business save by using appointment software instead of spending time on the phone setting appointments? Plenty.

Think of a doctor’s office where patients go online and set their own appointments themselves…they could pick and choose from a plethora of available times rather than having to go back and forth with an office manager. And the office manager could spend her time updating patient records or filing insurance claims instead of negotiating with a customer.

Conversations like this would be a thing of the past:

“Does 9:00 on Monday work for you?”

“No, I am always in a staff meeting at work at that time.”

“OK, then how about 2:00 on Wednesday?”

“That won’t work either – my little girl’s school play is Wednesday.”

“Then how about Friday at 11:00?”

“That could work. I have a lunch date at noon. Can you guarantee I’d be done by 11:45?”

“Well…not really. I guess we’re into next week.”

Is this irritating? Definitely – for both the customer and the office worker. Yet some people would say it’s a necessary evil of doing business. These days, that’s absolutely not true!

Think about this process instead, using an online appointment scheduler:

Customers go to a business/company/office website and book their own appointment, following easy, intuitive steps in an online booking software program. The customer selects the location (perfect for health care offices that have multiple locations); they choose their preferred date and time; and then they answer any customized questions the business may have in order to pre-screen the appointment. For instance, a doctor’s office may want to know if the customer is having any problems, or if this is a routine wellness visit.

The business receives an automatic notification that an appointment has been set.

The business representative (office manager, etc.) may accept or decline the appointment, or they may request a change to the appointment. However, if the business works diligently to keep their online scheduling book up-to-date, most of the time changes would not need to occur.

The customer receives a message about the status of their appointment – if no changes were made, it is simply a confirmation. If the business does need to make changes, the customer will receive a counter-offer, giving them alternate times to meet.

Once the business and the customer agree on a time, the appointment is officially set. The customer receives an e-mail reminder prior to the appointment.
Voila! Appointment setting made easy!

AppointITOnline.com offers a 100% online appointment scheduler solution for all industries. Our software allows companies to accept appointments online. AppointIT is an ideal solution for all businesses from health care to salons and more.