Web Builder Software Suite

Appointment Scheduling FAQ

• With online appointment scheduling, do I still need customer service staff?
• How do self-service clients know when staff members are available?
• Is it safe to disclose my schedule to the public?
• How do staff members specify their available work hours?
• What about vacations and personal days off?
• How are staff members notified of new appointments?
• What notifications do clients receive?
• How much time is allocated for client appointments?
• What about time required for intake and clean-up?
• Can clients book a last-minute appointment online?
• Which staff member gets the self-service appointment?
• Can staff members with higher seniority be assigned more appointments?
• Are work spaces marked as “occupied” during appointments?
• How far into the future can appointments be scheduled?
• What about company holidays?

With online appointment scheduling, would I still need customer service staff?

You would not necessarily need telephone coverage during your open hours, because your telephone answering machine can invite clients to schedule a self-service appointment online. The scope of hours during which you can accept appointments is drastically increased using online appointment scheduling, because your web site works 24/7, and your clients can therefore book appointments with you even when your office is closed. Clients will still need to contact you sometimes via telephone or email regarding cancellation or rescheduling.

How do self-service clients know when staff members are available?

Staff members must indicate their available work hours and other appointments in their personal calendar. The system will not allow self-service clients to book appointments with staff outside of scheduled work hours, or during work hours when staff is already busy with other appointments.

Is it safe to disclose my schedule to the public?

Personal calendars are never disclosed to the public. However, via the Appointment Scheduling module, the public could determine your work hours, and by deductive reasoning, might even figure out when you have prior appointments. Unless they have access to your password, they would have no way of knowing any details, such as where and with whom. Triskelon recommends that staff members who take online appointments should keep their password secure and not disclose their home address for safety reasons.

How do staff members specify their available work hours?

There are two methods to do this: Variable or Fixed. If staff is available the same days and hours, week after week (with exceptions for appointments), then they should choose the Fixed method, set their work hours once, and forget it. On the other hand, if staff works an odd schedule which does not repeat weekly, they should choose the Variable method, which requires more maintenance on the part of the staff member. Staff using the Variable method have to set their available work hours for specific dates, always eight weeks into the future.

What about vacations and personal days off?

To prevent self-service appointments, staff members who use the Fixed method for specifying available work hours should block out vacation days and personal days off as all-day “appointments” (12:01 am through 11:59 pm). They should do this eight weeks in advance. Those who use the Variable method don't enter any available work hours on vacation days; no further action is required.

How are staff members notified of new appointments?

If staff members provide an email address, they will be notified via email immediately when a self-service appointment is made. If they do not provide an email address, they should get in the habit of keeping their personal calendar open and checking it frequently.

What notifications do clients receive?

Immediately after scheduling a self-service appointment, clients receive an acknowledgement/confirmation message via email. You or your customer service staff can also choose to send automated appointment reminders via email with only a few clicks. If you do so three times a week, clients will receive email reminders about scheduled appointments coming up within the next 2 to 4 days. (No reminders are sent until you choose “Reminders” from the administration menu.)

How much time is allocated for client appointments?

The site owner defines specific a la carte services (and perhaps packages including multiple a la carte services). Each service is defined as requiring a specific amount of time. The client making a self-service appointment selects a type of service, and the Appointment Scheduling module looks for dates and times when qualified staff is available with enough time to complete the requested service, then offers those dates and times to the client. Duration times specified by the site owner when defining services should not include time required for intake and clean-up.

What about time required for intake and clean-up?

The site owner should contact Triskelon and let us know how much time is required for intake and clean-up, if any, before and after each appointment. Time is automatically allocated from the appropriate staff member's personal calendar for these activities.

Can clients book a last-minute appointment online?

The site owner should contact Triskelon and let us know how much advance notice is to be required for self-service appointments. There can be a 5pm or 9pm cut-off for next-day appointments, or there can be same-day appointments with 30 minutes to 3 hours advance notice. It's up to you, just let us know. If you choose same day appointments with little advance notice, your staff should provide email addresses pertaining to a cell phone or wireless PDA; and they will get immediate notice for last-minute appointments.

Which staff member gets the self-service appointment?

Self-service clients can request a preferred staff member and select times when that person is available. When the client does not specify a preferred staff member, appointments are equitably distributed among eligible staff members. They are considered eligible based on their defined work hours and licenses.

Can staff members with higher seniority be assigned more appointments?

The site owner can specify a priority, from 1 to 5 (where 1 is highest), for each staff member. All else being the same, staff members with higher priority get more appointments.

Are work spaces marked as “occupied” during appointments?

The Appointment Scheduling module supports staff members sharing spaces in teams of two or three. That is, if Mary, John, and Alice work together at a hair salon, and share the same chair, and are available the same work hours, they can indicate the shared space in their personal calendar settings; and the system will not accept appointments for John while Mary or Alice are using the chair. It does not matter whether they have the same license (provide the same type of service). The module also supports private spaces, where Mary, John, and Alice each have their own chair for client appointments; and the system will accept simultaneous appointments. The system does not support staff sharing spaces in teams of four or more.

How far into the future can appointments be scheduled?

Eight weeks.

What about company holidays?

The site owner should specify company holidays at least eight weeks in advance at all times. The system will not allow self-service clients to book appointments on company holidays, regardless of other factors.

I have a question Let's focus on my specific needs




please report broken links