Waitlist

When a client wants an appointment but the requested time slot or staff member is unavailable, they can join a waitlist. If a cancellation occurs — or the schedule changes to create a gap — the system notifies waitlisted clients and offers them the slot.

A manual waitlist requires a staff member to manage it actively: checking the list, contacting clients, waiting for a response, and moving to the next person if there is no reply. This process is time-consuming and often results in gaps going unfilled because the manual follow-up takes too long.

A smart or predictive waitlist automates this process. When a slot opens, the system automatically identifies the best match from the waitlist — based on the service, staff preference, and timing — and sends an instant notification. The first client to confirm gets the booking. If they do not respond within a set window, the system moves to the next waitlisted client.

The business value of an automated waitlist is that it converts cancellations — which are otherwise lost revenue — into filled appointments. A salon that receives 10 cancellations per week and fills 70% of them via waitlist is recovering significant revenue that would otherwise have been lost.

OpenChair's predictive waitlist uses AI to identify the best slot matches and prioritise clients based on their history and preferences. When combined with Processing Gaps (which creates new slots during colour processing time), OpenChair's scheduling tools can fill a meaningful percentage of a salon's calendar that would otherwise sit empty.