Configure Waitlist Slot Available Notification

If your business uses the waitlist feature, clients who are unable to find an available appointment time can join the waitlist. When a slot becomes available—due to cancellations or rescheduling—an automated message can be sent to those on the waitlist. This ensures clients are notified promptly and can book the open time slot, helping to streamline your scheduling process and improve the overall client experience. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to configure the "Waitlist Slot Available" automated message so that clients receive timely alerts when availability opens up.

Things to know:

• To use the service waitlist, ensure the following settings are configured:
• Access Control: Ensure staff have the "Accessing Appointments" permission set to "Edit."
• Hidden Settings: Contact your account manager or the support team to enable the "Enable Client Waitlisting" and "Enable Client Waitlist for Services on Scheduler" hidden settings.
• For instructions on how to add a client to the waitlist, click here.
• When clients receive the notification, they can book an appointment in the newly available time slot.
• This notification is deliverable via email, SMS, and push notification channels.
• Notification Requirements
  • SMS Notifications: Clients must have a valid phone number on file and be single-opted in to receive transactional SMS.
  • Email Notifications: Clients must have a valid email address on file and be opted in to receive transactional emails.
  • Push Notifications: Can only be delivered to clients who have the custom MyTime Guest App installed on their mobile device.
• SMS Segment Calculation & Billing:

  • SMS costs are calculated per segment, not per message. Carriers treat each segment as a separate message for delivery and billing, so every segment is counted and charged individually. This billing method is determined by carriers and is not specific to MyTime.

  • Segments per message are based on length and encoding

  • Encoding Standards 

    • GSM Encoding:

      • GSM-encoded messages (standard letters, numbers, and symbols) allow up to 160 characters per segment. 

      • If the message is longer than 160 characters, it will be split into concatenated segments of 153 characters each.

    • UCS-2 Encoding:

      • UCS-2 messages (special characters, emojis, or non-Latin alphabets) allow up to 70 characters per segment. 

      • If the message is longer than 70 characters, it will be split into concatenated segments of 67 characters each.
        

      • Even a single emoji forces UCS-2 encoding, reducing per-segment capacity and potentially doubling the number of segments.

    • Note: Concatenation headers are hidden data that let the recipient’s phone reassemble multiple segments into a single message.

  • Each recipient receives their own copy, so the number of segments per message is multiplied by the number of recipients to calculate billing. Example: A 2-segment message sent to 50 recipients counts as 100 billable segments. If each segment costs $0.02, the total cost would be 100 × $0.02 = $2.00.

  • Learn more about SMS segments & billing here
• To ensure a smooth scheduling experience, your Advance Booking Rules also apply to waitlist notifications. The system will not send an automated notification if a spot opens up too close to the appointment start time. This safety buffer prevents "last-minute no-shows" from clients who may not see the alert in time to make it to the appointment.
  
• For franchise businesses using global marketing, if the “Allow Child Accounts to Edit Global Automated Marketing Templates”hidden setting is enabled, any edits made to the template at the child account level will apply only to that child account.

  
  

To customize the waitlist slot available automated message templates, simply:

1. Navigate to Marketing > Automated Messages
2. Scroll to the Waitlist Slot Available template
3. Hover over the template and select View
4. From here you can edit the following (if your subscription allows)

   • Delivery By: You can specify a fallback delivery method (email, SMS, push notification) when the primary method is unavailable. Learn more here

     • Use if available: This is the primary method that will be attempted first

     • Use if other methods not available: This method will be attempted if the primary option is unavailable (because contact information is not on file or the user opted out)

     • Never Use: This method will not be used, even if none of the other options are available

   • Reply-to Name: This is the name that appears when clients reply to an automated email. By default, it is pulled from the business name set on the Business Profile page.

   • Reply-to-Email: By default, this is set to the location's email address. 
     • If no email is configured for the location, the system will use the location owner's email instead.
     • If the hidden setting "Use a specific reply-to email for outbound emails" is enabled, the system will use the email address entered in the "Reply-To Email for Outbound Emails" field.

   • Subject Line: The subject line of the email as it will appear in the client’s inbox.

   • Add Directions: Add directions for each location; they will appear in appointment-related emails.

   • Service-Specific Instructions: Include special instructions per service. These will appear in appointment-related emails and SMS. Learn more here.

   • Body of the template    

5. Once you've finished making changes, click Save to update the template

For more information, contact us at support@mytime.com or (385) 233-6964.

Related Articles:

• Adding Clients the Service Waitlist In-store
• Service Waitlist Online