Automatic appointment reminders on WhatsApp: fewer no-shows, protected calendar¶
In short: every client who does not show up is a slot paid zero. Your secretary prevents it: it reminds the client of the appointment on WhatsApp the day before, at the time you pick, and if you want on the day itself as well, a few hours ahead. The client can confirm or ask to reschedule with a single tap.
Why a reminder on WhatsApp works¶
The problem of no-shows is rarely rudeness. In the vast majority of cases it is forgetfulness: the appointment was booked two weeks earlier, it never made it onto the client's calendar and in the meantime the week filled up.
A reminder solves forgetfulness, but only if it arrives where the person actually looks. An email ends up in the promotions tab, a text message gets ignored, a phone call takes your time and often reaches nobody.
WhatsApp is the channel people open anyway, several times a day. That is where a reminder gets read.
Two kinds of reminder, your choice¶
From the Home you decide how the reminder the day before should work.
Alert. A message reminding the client of the appointment, with date, time and service. Simple and discreet, it asks nothing in return. It is the right choice when you do not want to put the client in the position of having to reply.
Confirmation. A message with two buttons, Confirm and Reschedule: the client replies with one tap, without writing anything. If they confirm, you know they will be there. If they tap Reschedule, the assistant takes over the conversation and offers them the available alternatives, freeing the slot in time.
You set the mode you prefer and can change it whenever you want.
It works for the appointments you add yourself too¶
Reminders are not just for bookings taken on WhatsApp. They also go out for appointments you write by hand in your calendar or that come from your online booking page, on one condition: the event notes must hold the client's phone number.
It is how appointments fixed over the phone or in person at the end of a session also enter the automated flow. See what to write in the event so the reminder goes out.
No surprises, ever¶
Even in confirmation mode, Wably never cancels anything on silence: a client who does not tap the button but shows up is never lost by the system. A choice designed for care settings.
It is a substantial difference from booking systems that automatically release the slot when no confirmation arrives. That logic works for a restaurant, not for a practice where the person who does not answer messages is often precisely the one who most needs following up.
Silence is not interpreted. The appointment stays where it is.
When the reminder the day before goes out¶
The first reminder goes out the day before the appointment, at the time you pick between 9:00, 11:00 and 17:00. Change nothing and Wably uses 11:00.
11:00 is still the recommended choice: early enough for the client to have time to reorganize if something is wrong, late enough that the message does not get lost among the overnight ones. Above all, it leaves you the whole day to fill the slot if somebody cancels.
The second reminder, on the day itself¶
You can switch on a second reminder that goes out on the day of the appointment, 2, 3 or 4 hours ahead, your choice, with 3 hours as the starting value. It is optional: until you switch it on, only the one the day before is running.
It is always a simple alert, with no confirmation buttons. A few hours out, its job is to jog the memory, not to reopen the negotiation over the time.
Two rules keep it discreet. It never goes out before 7:00: for early-morning appointments the message leaves at 7:00, not in the middle of the night. And if the appointment is less than an hour away, it is skipped.
Same-day bookings get a reminder too¶
This is the most concrete difference from before. With the second reminder switched on, a client who books in the morning for the afternoon still gets one. Previously, anyone who booked after the previous day's send time got nothing.
In the evening you then get the daily email summary, with the day's changes and the next day's schedule at a glance.
What changes for you
A slot freed up in time is a slot you can still fill: reminders recover a good share of missed appointments and protect your revenue.
If the client cancels anyway¶
A reminder prevents forgetfulness, but not every cancellation is forgetfulness: sometimes something simply comes up.
In that case you get an immediate email alert, with the slot that has freed up and a button to contact on WhatsApp whoever might take it. How it works in detail, along with the choice of time window, is on the cancellation and free-slot alerts page.
Availability¶
Both automatic reminders are included from the Standard plan.
Reminder messages travel as WhatsApp Business templates: their cost is set by Meta and charged directly to your Meta account, with no intermediaries and no markup from us.