How can my salon remind clients of their appointments by SMS?

The problem

• A missed appointment is an empty chair and income lost.
• Clients forget, and phoning each one between appointments takes time you don't have.
• A short text with the day and time is quick to read, and clients can reply to move or cancel it.

How it works with DroidSender

1. Put your customers in Excel or CSV: name, phone number, and the day and time of the appointment, one row each.
2. Upload the file as a campaign and write the message once. Type @ to add the name, day and time from your file.
3. Schedule it, for example the evening before, and choose the sending hours and days, so texts never go out at night.
4. Replies arrive in one inbox on your computer, from your own number. Confirm, move or cancel the appointment there.
5. If someone replies STOP, they are left out of every future campaign automatically.

Several people can answer the replies at the same time, each from their own computer, signed in to the same account. Answering as a team? See how it compares with the other options

DroidSender does not connect to your calendar or booking software, and it does not send a reminder by itself for each new booking. You upload the list, for example each evening for the next day. If your booking software can call an API, a developer can send each reminder through the DroidSender REST API.

Texts go out from your own SIM at a pace your carrier accepts. Carrier limits

Three messages you can send

• Hi Sarah, see you Friday 15 Nov at 3pm for your cut and colour at Bella Salon. Reply YES to confirm or call us to change it.

• Hi Sarah, we had a cancellation tomorrow at 11am. Would you like it? Reply YES and it's yours. Bella Salon. Reply STOP to opt out

• Hi Sarah, it's been 6 weeks since your last visit. Reply with a day and we'll find you a slot. Bella Salon. Reply STOP to opt out

Each example is under 160 characters with a typical name and time. In English that is 1 SMS; in languages with letters like ã or ç, use the Remove accents button to keep it to 1 SMS. How SMS length works

The second and third are marketing, so send them only to clients who agreed to hear from you, and keep the STOP line.

Which plan fits

A salon with 15 appointments a day and one reminder each sends about 390 SMS a month: Starter covers 2,000 SMS a month for $7.99 a month billed yearly ($11.99 monthly). Try it free: 1,000 SMS in your first 30 days, then 100 a month. No card needed. See all plans

The rules in your country

A reminder of an appointment the customer booked is a service message, with lighter rules than marketing, while offers and "time to book again" texts are marketing and need the person's consent and an easy way to say no, like replying STOP (PECR in the UK, the TCPA in the US, the GDPR and ePrivacy rules in the EU). Is it legal to send bulk SMS from my own number?