Appointment reminder: the cheapest way to stop losing slots

A missed appointment costs the whole slot: the time is gone, it cannot be resold, and somebody who wanted it was turned away. An appointment reminder is the cheapest intervention available against that, and most of the value comes from one message sent at the right moment rather than from an elaborate sequence.

When an appointment reminder should arrive

• The day before, which does most of the work — late enough to be in mind, early enough to rearrange.
• A second one a few hours ahead for anything where travel or preparation is involved.
• At booking, as a confirmation containing the same details, so the appointment exists in writing from the start.
• Not a week ahead as the only reminder, since it arrives before the person is thinking about that week at all.
• Not four messages, which trains people to ignore all of them.

What the message has to contain

The date, the time, the place and what to bring or prepare — in the message itself rather than behind a link. Add how to cancel or move it, prominently, because that is the whole point: a cancelled slot can be refilled and a silent absence cannot. Most reminder messages are written as if cancellation were the failure case to be discouraged, which is backwards. Somebody who is not coming is more useful to you telling you the day before than not telling you at all.

You need consent and a basis for the channel you use, and a reminder is not a marketing message. Keep it to the appointment — adding an offer to the same message changes its character, and in several jurisdictions changes the rules that apply to it.

Choosing the channel

1. Ask at booking which channel they prefer, and record it rather than assuming.
2. Text messages are read fastest and suit short reminders with a time and a place.
3. Email suits anything needing detail, preparation instructions or an attachment.
4. Phone calls are expensive and still worth it for high-value or high-risk appointments.
5. Whatever the channel, make the reply path work — a reminder people cannot respond to loses the cancellations you wanted.

Measuring whether it works

Count missed appointments as a share of booked, before and after, rather than counting reminders sent. Then separate the two outcomes that look similar in the total: cancellations in response to a reminder are a success, because the slot was recoverable, while no-shows are the failure. A reminder system that increases cancellations and reduces no-shows is working exactly as intended, and a report that lumps them together will make it look like nothing changed.

Ettex Calendar holds the appointment with the contact details and preferred channel, so the reminder is part of the booking rather than a separate list somebody maintains. Where appointments are taken through a form, the preference belongs on that form rather than being asked for later.