First let's preface this by saying that every client scheduling tool out there and their mothers have client authentication built in. So do we. That's the current state of the art... and we think it's wrong.
Note: we will still be keeping STAFF email/passwords. We also still want to retain a similar level of SECURITY and PRIVACY for your customers.
Our emphasis has always been on EASE of use but there is room for improvement. One thing we do want is for your clients to spend as little time scheduling as possible.. otherwise they're back to calling you for simple booking issues (and nobody wants that, even they don't, which is why they went online in the first place). Here's more details:
The welcome email
We send it out the first time people are added to the system in order to give them their system generated password (if you booked on their behalf) or simply let them know how to review their upcoming appointments all in one place. The thing about this email is some say that:
- it looks spammy
- it is sent separately from the appointment notification
- people are likely to delete it or not pay attention to it
While some of these points could be addressed to some extent we think it's simply best to do away with the beast. Some hate it, some don't mind it but nobody likes it.
If we remove client passwords, we have no need for this email and we can add a link to the client's upcoming appointments in every appointment notification instead.
It slows the scheduling process down
It's one more field to fill out (if you included the email address on your appointment form) and in addition to that we have a split login here / fill out the form there view. Removing the login section will remove an extra step for your clients and have everyone focus on your intake form right from the start. This much less thinking and this much time saved. Some people also don't realize that they can simply ignore it when booking a new appointment, which leads us to...
Login issues
Because people delete the welcome email, change/set the password and forget it, or forget that it's case sensitive.. they sometimes can't login and have to reset the password. Worse, they sometimes just give up and feel the urge to call you.
So every login required section could be a one extra step or even a 4 extra steps affair, and god forbid, could even mean some extra unneeded work for you. They deserve to get to the thing right away without a fuss, and so do you!
Rescheduling/Canceling
Because of the issues mentioned above, rescheduling/canceling from an appointment notification is less straightforward and less enjoyable than it could. We want to change that and allow for one click access. Again, easier for clients, less work for you and possibly fewer no shows as well (people that couldn't cancel/reschedule easily enough and didn't bother to call).
Security considerations
Some of you need to be HIPAA compliant and some don't but still care about security. We do care and removing the need for client passwords does not necessarily mean we're abandoning that focus.
We can't disclose too much about it at this point but we think we have found a way to conciliate everything into one easy to use and secure system.
If you made it all the way to this point, kudos! Your reward is that you can now vote in the poll to help us decide for good what to do next in regard to this issue :)
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