Salons, workshops, tutors, clinics, and fitness clubs book clients over calls and messages. An administrator spends the day answering the same questions: is there a slot on Saturday, how long does it take, can I move my visit. A booking bot takes over this routine and works at night and on weekends.
The bot itself is not complicated, but some details are better thought through before development. Here they are in order.
What exactly is being booked
Start with a list of services and their length. A haircut and colouring take different time, and the bot should only offer slots where the whole service fits. If different specialists provide services, decide whether the client picks one or the bot offers anyone free.
Also think through breaks, days off, holidays, and cleanup time between clients. All of it affects which slots a person sees.
Where the schedule lives
There must be one schedule. If some clients book by phone and some through the bot, the administrator and the bot have to see the same taken slots. Otherwise sooner or later two people show up for the same time.
- Simple option: the bot keeps its own calendar, and the administrator adds phone bookings through the same bot or a handy panel
- If an online calendar or booking system is already in use, the bot connects to it and takes free slots from there
- Either way, the slot is checked again at the moment of confirmation
Confirmations and reminders
After booking, the client gets a message with the date, time, address, and buttons to reschedule or cancel. A reminder arrives the day before and a couple of hours ahead. This noticeably cuts down on people who simply forgot to come, and frees the slot for someone else.
The administrator also gets a notification about each new booking, change, and cancellation, so there is no need to open the calendar every half hour.
Rescheduling, cancelling, and prepayment
Set the rules in advance: until when a visit can be moved for free, what happens with a late cancellation, whether long procedures need prepayment. The bot shows these rules during booking, and disputes become rarer.
If prepayment is needed, it can be taken right in the bot. The options are in payments in a Telegram bot.
A human nearby
A bot should not be a wall between the client and the business. An unusual question, a complaint, or a tricky booking needs a clear way out: a button to message the administrator that hands the conversation to a person. Ideally the bot forwards what was discussed, so the client does not have to repeat it.
What else to describe before development starts is in a Telegram bot brief.
Booking bots are built as part of the Telegram bot service, and if you want a handy time picker inside Telegram, a Mini App fits well. You can discuss your case via the contact page.