How the waitlist works
A customer who cannot find a suitable slot can join the waitlist. They say which period and which part of the day suits them. As soon as a matching slot frees up, because somebody else cancelled for instance, Stippa offers it to the customers on the list automatically.
Would you rather decide yourself who gets offered what? Switch Automatic offers off under Settings > Waitlist. You then get a notification when a slot frees up and pick which customer to offer it to.
When is a slot offered?
A slot frees up when an appointment is cancelled or marked as a no-show. At that moment Stippa looks for waitlisted customers whose preferences fit: the right service, the staff member they picked if they picked one, and a day and time they said suits them.
Slots that free up less than 2 hours beforehand are no longer offered. There is too little time left to reach somebody and wait for an answer.
The claim window
A customer who is offered a slot gets a link to claim it. That link is only valid for a while, which we call the claim window. The further away the slot is, the longer they get to answer:
- Within 4 hours: 20 minutes
- Within 24 hours: 1 hour
- Within 2 days: 4 hours
- Within a week: 8 hours
- Further out: 12 hours at most
The claim window always closes at least 2 hours before the appointment, even when it would otherwise run longer.
One at a time, or everybody at once
How soon the slot is decides which way Stippa works down the list:
- One at a time (slot more than 4 hours away): only the next customer on the list is offered it. If they do not answer within the claim window, the offer moves to the next person automatically.
- Everybody at once (slot less than 4 hours away): every matching customer is offered it at the same time, and whoever claims first gets it. That is how a last-minute slot gets filled as quickly as possible.
Automatic booking
When they join, customers can say they want to be booked automatically. No claim link is needed then: as soon as a matching slot frees up the appointment is made and they get a confirmation. Automatic booking is not available for services that have to be paid for up front.
What if nobody claims the slot?
If nobody answers within the claim window, the slot simply stays available in the booking widget. The waitlist does not hold a slot open: as long as nobody has claimed or booked it, a new customer can book it like any other. Somebody on the waitlist gets a head start through the notification, not an exclusive right to the slot.
If a customer's search period runs out without a slot ever freeing up, you can have them told so automatically. That is the Closing message under Settings > Waitlist.