How the waitlist works
Customers who can't find a suitable time sign up for the waitlist. When they do, they say which period and which part of the day they're available. As soon as a matching slot frees up, Stippa approaches the customers on the waitlist.
The waitlist comes with the Groei plan and higher. You turn it on with the Waitlist module under Administration > Modules, and set it up under Administration > Waitlist.
Would you rather decide yourself who gets approached? Then turn off Automatic assignment. You then get a notification when a slot frees up, and choose yourself which customer gets an offer.
When is a slot offered?
A slot frees up when an appointment is cancelled, or when an appointment is moved to another time. Stippa doesn't offer a no-show. For a freed-up slot, Stippa looks for customers whose preferences match it: the right service, the chosen staff member if there is one, and a day and time the customer gave.
If you cancel yourself and there are matching customers on the waitlist, you choose straight away what happens to the slot: Auto distribute, Choose yourself or Close slot. With Close slot, no offer goes out and the time can simply be booked online again.
Slots that free up less than 2 hours in advance are no longer offered. There isn't enough time left to approach a customer and wait for an answer.
The claim window
A customer who is approached gets a link to claim the slot. That link is only valid for a limited time: we call that the claim window. The further ahead the slot is, the more time the customer gets to respond:
- Within 4 hours: 20 minutes
- Within 24 hours: 1 hour
- Within 2 days: 4 hours
- Within a week: 8 hours
- Further ahead: 12 hours at most
The claim window always closes 2 hours before the appointment at the latest, even if the window would really be longer.
While the claim window is running, Stippa holds the slot. Nobody else can book it online, so the customer who got the offer doesn't find the door closed.
One at a time or all at once
Depending on how soon the slot is, Stippa approaches the waitlist in one of two ways:
- One at a time (slot more than 4 hours away): only the next customer on the waitlist is approached. If they don't respond within the claim window, the offer automatically goes to the next customer in line.
- All at once (slot less than 4 hours away): every matching customer is approached at the same time. Whoever claims first gets the slot. That way last-minute slots are filled as fast as possible.
Automatic booking
If Allow automatic booking is on, customers can choose to be booked in automatically when they sign up. Then no claim link is needed: as soon as a matching slot frees up, the appointment is made straight away and the customer gets a confirmation. If you turn it off, those customers also confirm the slot themselves through the link. Automatic booking isn't available for services that have to be paid in advance.
What if nobody claims the slot?
If the claim window runs out without anybody claiming, and nobody else is next in line, the slot can simply be booked online again. If you want to hear about it, turn on Email me about an unfilled slot.
If a customer's search period runs out without a slot freeing up, the customer can get a message about it automatically. You set that up with Close-out message.
Other settings
Under Administration > Waitlist you also set:
- Direct sign-up from booking widget: customers see a link to sign up for the waitlist when there are no free times left.
- Block sign-up when slots are available: whether customers can also sign up while there is still room. You choose Always allow, Block only for specific moment requests or Always block.
- Require phone number: customers have to enter a phone number when they sign up.