Online booking: from an available slot to a confirmed visit

A website shows an available appointment, while another employee has already booked the same time by telephone. Two customers receive the same promise. A booking form is part of the working schedule, rather than just a date and time selector.

Define what the person reserves: an employee, a room, a service or several resources together. That determines how availability is calculated and when a request can become a confirmed appointment.

Represent the actual workload

Include preparation time as well as the service duration. Account for breaks, days off and staff absence. A single short interval cannot represent services with different time requirements.

Check competing requests on the server too. Availability displayed a minute ago is not a final reservation. When an employee must approve a request, tell the customer that approval is still pending.

Make confirmation useful

The confirmation should contain the service, date, time, location and a contact route. State the time zone for remote appointments. The iCalendar specification distinguishes local time from a time associated with a zone; sending only an hour can create ambiguity.

A reminder is helpful, but its arrival should not be the only record of a booking. Store the appointment so staff can inspect it even when email is delayed. Collect only information needed to organise the visit.

Include changes and cancellation

Explain change and cancellation conditions in advance. If an advance payment is required, coordinate the payment state with the reservation. Starting a payment should not occupy a slot indefinitely: define the expiry and release process.

• Try selecting the same appointment on two devices simultaneously.
• Check that telephone bookings affect website availability.
• Test changing, cancelling and releasing an appointment.
• Review delayed notifications and an unavailable employee.

Agree these rules during website planning, before refining the calendar’s appearance. A reliable booking process gives the customer a clear answer and gives the team a schedule they can use consistently.