Appointment reminder emails are one of the cheapest fixes in a service business. A crew that arrives to a locked gate, a dog in the yard or nobody home has lost the drive, the slot and often the next stop’s timing. A short note at the right moment prevents most of it, and customers read it as a sign that you’re organized.
Three messages that matter
You don’t need a marketing campaign. Three plain messages cover nearly every visit:
- The booking confirmation. Sent when the visit is put on the schedule: the date, the arrival window and what to expect.
- The reminder the day before. A short repeat of the date and window, with anything the customer needs to do: unlock the side gate, move the cars, keep pets inside.
- On my way. Sent when the technician leaves for the visit, with their first name and a rough arrival time.
Timing the reminder
The afternoon before works well for most trades. It’s late enough that the customer hasn’t forgotten by morning and early enough to fix a problem: if they can’t be home, the office still has time to move the visit or fill the slot. Pick one time and send every reminder then, so customers learn when to expect it.
What to put in it
- Your company name in the subject line, so it isn’t mistaken for spam.
- The date and the arrival window, written out plainly.
- The site address, for customers with more than one property.
- Access needs in one sentence.
- Your phone number for changes.
Leave out prices, upsells and long policies. A reminder that reads like an ad gets skimmed, and the important line gets missed.
Don’t send too many
The fastest way to make customers ignore your messages is to send one for every small change. If the office moves a visit twice in five minutes, the customer should get one updated confirmation, not three. And if the visit has moved or closed by the time a reminder is due, the reminder shouldn’t go out at all.
How Sentra Scheduler sends them
Sentra Scheduler sends appointment reminder emails and the other two messages from the schedule, so nobody has to remember:
- Booking confirmation. An optional email when a visit is booked, and an updated one when its day or arrival window changes. It waits a couple of minutes and replaces any confirmation still waiting, so a few quick moves or an Undo send one email. It’s off until you turn it on.
- Reminder the day before. Sent from your company’s reminder time (4 PM unless you change it), once per visit per date.
- On my way. When the technician taps On my way in the crew app, the customer gets the technician’s first name and an arrival estimate from the drive.
- Skipped when stale. Anything that no longer applies when it’s due, because the visit moved or closed, is skipped and logged with the reason.
- To the right person. Messages go to the site contact when the site has one, otherwise to the customer.
- Your words, two languages. Each message can be turned on or off and edited in Admin › Notifications, in English and Spanish, and the visit lists everything the customer was sent.
Today these go by email; the customer’s tracking page shows the arrival window too. The job tracking page covers the other updates customers get as work starts and finishes.
Pair it with a window
A reminder is only as useful as the time it promises. If you haven’t settled on how you quote times yet, read arrival windows first. For bilingual customers, see Spanish customer communication.
Write them like a person
The tone of a reminder matters as much as its timing. Write the way your best office person talks on the phone: short sentences, the customer’s name, and no capital letters shouting at them. A good reminder reads something like this:
- A greeting with the customer’s name.
- One line with the date and window: “We’ll be at 1420 Elm Street tomorrow between 8 and 10 AM.”
- One line on access: “Please leave the side gate unlocked.”
- One line on changes: “Need a different day? Call us at the number below.”
Read your templates out loud once. If a sentence sounds like a form letter, rewrite it. Customers who feel they’re hearing from people are more likely to call when something changes, which is exactly what you want.
A simple routine
- Confirm when booked, if your customers like to hear right away.
- Remind every customer the afternoon before.
- Send On my way when the technician leaves the previous stop.
- Keep each message short, with the window and access notes up top.
Appointment reminder emails won’t fix every no-show, but they turn most of them into a rescheduled visit instead of a wasted trip. See the full set on arrival windows and reminders.