Why You're Playing Phone-Tag, and Why You Don't Have To
Posted: Tuesday, July 20, 2010
by Steven Wang
SkedgeMe
Kids like running around. They like playing tag and chasing each other back and forth. They like yelling and screaming and getting themselves dirty. Kids also have parents who tend to their every need, and live as if they have all the time in the world.
If you're reading this, then I doubt that you fit the description of a child above. But I'm willing to bet you have had to play tag not so long ago. Perhaps it wasn't at the playground during recess, but it was probably a long, frustrating game nonetheless. That means you are a victim. You are a victim of the cruel, painful game I call "Phone-Tag".
As soon as I got home, I threw the cards on my couch and did not touch them again until some Wednesday afternoon a few weeks later. While watching SportsCenter, I noticed the cards lying around, so I stopped procrastinating and dialed the first number I saw. I waited as the phone rang several times, only to be told by an automated message than the office was closed for the evening. "Whew," I thought, "I'll put this off 'til later." But I figured, after three years of my dentist nagging me, it was about time I made an appointment. So I called the next number. A receptionist picked up this time, but the earliest time available for the surgeon was Monday morning, and I remembered that I had a job interview scheduled for Monday afternoon, so I figured it probably wasn't a good idea to walk into my interview bleeding all over my shirt with gauze in my mouth. I told the receptionist I'd call back later, because I wasn't sure how many interviews I would have that week.
When I found out I got the job a week later, I made another call for an appointment. After a few rings, a message played saying the office had a lunch break and they would be back at one o'clock. Not a big deal, except that when I called back at 1:05, the same message played again.
I then randomly picked up another business card and called the number, but the beeping I heard from the other end indicated that the line was busy. I eventually reached them a few minutes later. The receptionist told me the times they were available, but mentioned that because I was getting anesthetics, could not drive on my own after the operation. So I had to ask my friend Jason if would be available, and finally called back and scheduled an appointment for a Saturday afternoon.
This whole process took a week and a half, and about five calls too many for my liking. But I don't blame the oral surgeon offices; I couldn't reach them for legitimate reasons, and I was probably a bit unlucky with my timing. Plus, they had been operating the same way for many years, and frankly, didn't know any better than to have all their customers call in for appointments and then manually input the bookings into a schedule.
That's where online scheduling comes in handy. Online scheduling services can be used by anyone from psychiatrists to hair salon managers. They can serve as advanced business calendars that provide businesses the ability to send out reminder e-mails for appointments, and analytic tools to understand their service popularity and peak hours, among other things. But perhaps the greatest benefit is that online scheduling allows customers to conveniently book appointments online, 24/7, instead of having to speak with a busy, stressed out secretary trying to balance a hundred other tasks. It's perfect for personal trainers, tutors, and other people who are always on the go and cannot get to their phone at all times.
Online scheduling makes life easier for just about any business owner. By not having to constantly schedule new appointments, it frees time to focus on more important tasks. It lets businesses and customers see the day to day availability for all staff members, so the right appointments can be made at the most convenient time, making customers happier. There is no risk of missed calls, thereby maximizing potential appointments from customers.
Sure, businesses may be resistant to change, but most of these scheduling services are intuitive and quick to set up, so inertia should not be an excuse. By investing five to ten minutes on one of these sites, businesses can set up free month trials without giving any personal credit card information. There is no risk to trying it out, and even one extra appointment would be worth the time spent. Some companies' widget features also allow customers to book appointments directly on a business' website, which can add value and traffic to an otherwise inactive web page. And if a business currently uses another calendar like Google Calendars or Microsoft exchange, all events and appointments can be easily synced to certain online scheduling sites to keep consistency throughout the company.
Therefore, the only explanation for why businesses don't all have online scheduling already is because they don't know about it yet. But now you know, so there is no reason to keep holding out. Tell your personal trainer, your chiropractor, or your college counselor. Stop playing Phone-Tag, and make your life easier.
My vision is to have a future where all companies and customers are interconnected in a network in which making an appointment takes only a two clicks of a mouse from anywhere in the world. I know that this is going to happen; it's only a matter of time.
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