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Ideas, tips and techniques for new generation selling and customer support.
Tag Archives: online scheduling
2010
What’s Wrong with Manual Appointment Scheduling?
Appointment scheduling the old-fashioned way can easily turn into a hassle for both the customer and the service provider.
Customers want convenience: a quick process to book an appointment that matches their schedule.
Service providers want bookings, as many as possible. But the busier you get, the harder it is to take time to take calls.
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Filed under: appointment scheduling software, customer service
Tagged: appointment scheduler improve customer service, appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer experience, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction, customer service, improve customer service, improving customer care, online scheduling
2010
Personal Service Providers: Make Life Easier On Yourself – Let Customers Schedule Themselves
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Hair Salons and Day Spas – regardless of size – need appointment scheduling software. The “needs” test is not based on the size of the business, but the volume of business. Busy salons and spas can enhance customer service while also increasing efficiency.
Filed under: appointment reminder, appointment scheduling software, customer retention
Tagged: appointment scheduler improve customer service, appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer care, customer experience, customer loyalty, customer retention, customer satisfaction, customer service, improve customer service, improving customer care, manual appointment scheduling, online scheduling, reminders, self service
2010
Fight Back Against Online Merchants: Offer Online Customer Service in a 24/7 World
In a 24/7 world, how can brick-and-mortar businesses compete with “always open” online merchants? By offering everything they can do online.
- A national portrait studio chain offers online appointment scheduling. Result: more than 20% of their business comes in while they’re closed. (That’s a 25% increase. What would you do to boost business 25%??)
- Sprint uses TimeTrade to let you self-schedule advanced support for your smartphone, 24/7. Imagine: no more queues – no lines, no waiting!
- Sonora Quest lets patients schedule quick appointments for blood tests etc. Result: 22,000 people a month self-schedule. They all get seen within five minutes – and think how much staff time would be needed to schedule those appointments manually.
Filed under: appointment scheduling software, customer service
Tagged: 24/7 business, always on business, appointment scheduler improve customer service, appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer care, customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer service options, efficiency, improve customer service, online scheduling, retail
2009
Seven Signs It’s Time to Upgrade to a Better Appointment Scheduler
Some appointment scheduling tools are nothing more than a calendar with limited options. How do you know if it’s time to upgrade?
Here are seven signs that it’s time to get the next generation of appointment schedulers:
1. You’re finding that Outlook is just not cutting it anymore
Some might believe that Outlook (or another personal information manager) can do it all, but unfortunately, it is not specifically designed as an appointment scheduler. If you find yourself wishing that Outlook could do more with appointments for your team, it’s time to migrate to powerful, dedicated scheduling software.
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2009
Customer Service and Efficiency in Air Travel
It may not be obvious to this year’s holiday travelers, but the air travel industry is changing: it is recognizing it needs to improve customer service and operational efficiencies.
An estimated 2 million people flew in the U.S. on the day before Thanksgiving. On this, the busiest travel day of the year, people are reminded of all the hassles, challenges and inefficiency of air travel.
One significant trend in the air travel industry is the adoption of appointment scheduling for internal and regulatory processes. Both the FAA and Toronto rely on appointment scheduling software.
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Filed under: appointment scheduling software, customer service, online scheduling
Tagged: appointment scheduler improve customer service, appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer service, efficiency, improve customer service, online scheduling
2009
Enhancing Customer Experience with Online Scheduling
Sometimes it seems customer care improvement is at odds with streamlining operations. Financial Services Technology made the point beautifully with a script for an imaginary TV commercial about a surgeon who calls a helpline and gets put on hold: one humorous example of how some technologies make businesses choose between customer care and efficiency. Voice mail is another example of this; how many customers like reaching a voice mail tree?
But there are other technologies that deliver both improved customer care and operational efficiencies. Appointment scheduling software is one great example. Hard ROI numbers aside (and there are plenty of them), appointment scheduling software gives businesses the flexibility to work with customers when most convenient for the customer.
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Filed under: appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer service
Tagged: appointment scheduler improve customer service, appointment scheduling, appointment scheduling software, customer care, customer experience, customer satisfaction, customer service, efficiency, improve customer service, interactive features, online scheduling
2009
Appointment Scheduling Software + Personal Courtesy = Customer Satisfaction
Appointment scheduling software helps maintain customer loyalty through automation, so employees can focus on the personal courtesy side of good service.
An appointment is a reservation for service, both the service performed by the business and the personal attention received from employees. A satisfied customer needs to feel both aspects of customer care are handled well.
A Beagle Research White Paper, Improving Service Businesses with Appointment Scheduling, illustrates this. The CRM analyst firm found that “significant numbers of people believe that appointments should start exactly when or very near when they are scheduled — with virtually no waiting at all.”
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2009
Help!!! Our Customer Care Needs a Makeover
If you’re in a service industry such as a salon or spa that is heavily dependent on customer appointments, it may be time to seriously consider investing in appointment software that can provide customer reminders as part of customer care improvement.
The recent recession has hit the beauty industry hard, although recent signs indicate that the industry as a whole is improving: the Professional Beauty Association said in August that its new Salon/Spa Performance Index rose in the latest quarter. While things may be looking up, customers are more scrutinizing than ever and stretched thinner for time as they try to juggle all the demands in their lives.
Appointment reminders help customers be prompt, which contributes to their satisfaction with services as well as providing a calmer and more organized environment for everyone. In addition, it can help reduce the amount of cancellations and no-shows. A business that reaches out to help customers where they are shows them that you care about more than profits.
David Hill
TimeTrade Blogging Team
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakecaptive/ / CC BY 2.0
2009
Personal Appointment Software May Just Save Your Job
In the face of close to 10% U.S. unemployment, employees may be wondering what they can do to increase their value. Online appointment software may just be the answer. It is a tool to manage two resources that often are poorly handled: time and relationships. With more companies watching what employees do, it may be time to seriously consider a change in how you go about your job.
Setting appointments with online appointment software allows you to be organized with your time and communicates to others (including your boss) that both your time and the time of others is something that you value. Aren’t supervisors looking for employees who are focused, organized, efficient, and place a value on the company’s best interest?
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2009
How Online Software Saves Big Money
The challenge: Identifying the proper tools to reduce costs without sacrificing critical customer care.
One company reporting success in this effort is Bosley, the Beverly Hills-based men’s hair restoration subsidiary of the $850 million Aderans Holding Co.. A Computerworld article reports that Bosley’s IT Director, Mark Davenport says the company’s previous Siebel system had “gaping holes” that created double bookings, angering customers and forcing the company to revert to a semi-manual process. When Bosley adopted the SaaS tool, TimeTrade, Bosley’s consultants and medical personnel could input their available times at all 19 surgical offices. Customers were able to view available slots and set appointments convenient to their schedules — and no overlap occurred. Bosley chose a logical cost reduction tool — something effective, inexpensive, and simple.
Other ways online software saves money:
• Increases operational efficiencies
• Slims down staff overhead
• Reduces staff training expenses
• Offers quick implementation & fast application
• Frees you up from capital spent on computer & office equipment
Before you consider cutting back on necessary enterprise building tools like advertising and good customer service, consider eliminating items that are not required for you to stay in business. The idea is to cut any unnecessary expenses, not sacrifice efficiency or professionalism. Using a proven SaaS tool can help.
Pamela Taylor & Lisa Letchworth
TimeTrade Blogging Team
Image Credit: InMagine EV204040
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