Using it for our Med Spa
Pros
Ease of use so, easy to train. In the Day Spa industry front desk turnover is frequent so it is nice to be able to quickly show a new gal how to use the system.
Cons
We were previously Salon Iris customers and I am a programmer. With access to the database on that system I could run queries on anything in the database. Booker does not provide access to the SQL database so that is not possible. I do however have all of the reports that I need.
Also, it would be nice to have the ability to set access a little more granular. For example, if I give a gal access to look at gift card balances, I will also have given her access to modify gift card balances.
Booker is a very useful tool in our Spa
Very pleased. We've been using it since day 1 in our Spa -6 years. Like I said before, really like the add-ons of [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN], for Marketing; and [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN], for never missing a call.
Pros
You can be very thorough in booking your appointments. Especially like the details tab where you can add notes for each client & can even scan pages into their account. Can easily see their appointments & past orders.
We like the add ons to the software, as well - [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]
Cons
Sometimes, when you make a mistake, it's hard to back out of it, especially with payments. You just have to force other transactions to make the outcome that you needed in the first place.
Great business partner
Pros
I really like how Booker allows clients to schedule on line and purchase gift certificates. Most clients love the ability to schedule on line.
Cons
It can be difficult to maneuver around in the settings.
Could not do without it
The pro's definitely outweigh whatever problems or frustrations I have with Booker, so I'm overall a happy customer and will continue working with them. I honestly could not do without this software and look forward to them making more improvements to make it an even better products.
Pros
I appreciate that my clients can book online and purchase gift certificates when I'm too busy to answer the phone. It's also super easy checking out clients, but best of all is that I'm able to manage our calendar for both therapists and clients, and reschedule with ease. I love that I am also able to track client history and their progress. As we get busier and our client base grows, it can become more challenging to manage paper files and this has helped us cut down on paperwork, thank goodness!
Cons
There is definitely a learning curve with Booker and there have been times when I've been unsure of how to do something, and have had to contact their support team. One of the glitches that annoys me, is that when I add a new staff member, it adds or populates their name in the calendar even before their official start date! It can be confusing. The same happens when I terminate a staff member or switch them to 'inactive' - then their name and client appointmentss that day, all disappear from view. This is probably one of the more frustrating things for me. I also wish I could do a bit of my own customization like removing things from a drop down table that do not able to me.
Frustrating and inconsistent
The ability to serve multiple locations and the ability to book appointments and sell retail simultaneously.
Pros
I like the fact that Booker can be used for multiple locations and is helpful with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly statistics. I can use the data to determine what I need to do differently regarding sales, promotions, etc. I can also use the data to determine what services, promotions, etc. are going well and should definitely be continued.
Cons
The customer support is lacking. It has been so frustrating to speak to so many different reps. The notes they take and calls they log has been very inconsistent, making follow-through to a resolution impossible. Even when issues have been pushed through to technical support or the development team, we have gotten little to no helpful feedback. I feel the software could use some updating to improve on the ease of use. Mostly, I feel customer support reps should be trained to actually offer "support," rather than offer a "pat" answer and such as, "This is not a Booker issue," or "I can't really tell you why that is happening, call us again if the problem reoccurs." Overall, our experience has been frustrating. In all fairness, our particular "case," which includes many different issues has been escalated to someone in management, but this has taken several months.
Scheduling, moving, canceling, and changing appointments is easy.
We are able to schedule, complete orders, keep up with client profiles, and take inventory with ease. It gets the job done for our spa and we rely on it completely! It was a great software choice for us. We would not use anything else.
Pros
I love the client profile. You can look back and see everything he/she has bought, what services they got, and you can also make notes about the client if they are allergic to anything or have any preferences during their appointment! With this feature, we can see everything we need to know about the client's appointment when we print out the itinerary for the day. This way, we have all of the up-to-date info for the client and mistakes are less likely to be made. I love that.
Cons
I would love to see the "document storage" feature to become compatible with tablets and phones. I would like to see our service providers be able to look at their phone or tablet and see their clients profile before they perform their service. I love that we have gone paperless and have stored all of our Client Intake Forms on Booker, but I would like to see easier access to them.
Booker for a Massage practice
So overall I enjoy Booker and customer support however everything needs its tweaks. I do not like that you have to use their merchant provider and can't negotiate fees much, also lately people are able to book online with a credit card that we later on find out is declined..usually when they're a no show and our hands are tied. Customer service used to be great, now it's good and I don't always end with a resolution. Sometimes setting up codes for discounts is confusing and certain reports. On the positive side it works great for scheduling especially once you know the little tweaks in the system and it's great that it sends out emails for confirmation and reminders to the staff and guests. However, lately my staff isn't getting all notifications. This can be very problematic, I'm rebooking clients for free and not receiving payments on no shows due to the system only lately. If this were fixed I'd go back to loving the product.
Pros
Reminders and organization of multiple therapists
Cons
Issues with notifications, payments and codes
Response from Booker
Thank you for your feedback Jamie. We'd love to chat with you about the issues you're describing so we can improve your experience using Booker. We'll reach out and please contact [email protected] if you need anything.
Thank you for using Booker!
- The Booker Team
Service Review
Support team is very helpful, respectful and friendly. They have the best people!
Wish there was support 24/7, that's the only reason for a lower score on support
Pros
Support is Live people that are very helpful. Can do a lot of what we need in the business
Cons
Goes down, slows down at busy times, hard to get through to support or chat at times, can be a problem with double bookings.
Can be complicated have to figure out work arounds
Would like to see more reporting features like daily reports this year to last year
Response from Booker
Hi Norma,
Thank you so much for your review. We are happy to hear that you have a good customer experience. Please know that our team is actively working to reduce the amount of downtime on the platform. If you are ever having trouble getting through to support, you can also reach out to us via Facebook or Twitter, where we can help direct a CE Manager to you ASAP. I have taken your feedback into account and will be sure to share it with the appropriate person.
Thank you!
Aly
Great for spas but could be improved
Would love to have a quick call with programmers to give quicks tips to make the online booking system the best by far.
Pros
Books couples massage requiring two therapist (this is a great feature and booker is one of the few that have). Super flexible GC system that allows the service , not the price of the service to show up (very important for spas).
Cons
No mobile options for people to purchase on phones. Also swiper/tablet options requires 5 steps to charge and close (not near as simplified as square). Online booking system is good, but could be vastly improved with one little coding tweak (it bases everything on the start of business day instead of appointments that are already booked, leaving gaps and missed appointments). I could explain this really quickly and booker would be the best by far, because you are the only one's that book couples massage.
Booker for non-salon-type businesses
Our business is not a salon-type business where I can see Booker being extremely easy to use and very beneficial. Our business's use is a little more complicated and Booker did the best they could to try to accommodate our very specific needs and uses. I would really like to be able to drill down more in the dashboard for almost everything, but especially and most importantly for the sales data.
Pros
I like that I can easily see customer profiles and progress notes and information I need to see in their profile.
Cons
My least favorite thing about Booker is that it runs too slowly.
Peerless Customer Service!
Customer Service has been outstanding. Always there. Often immediately. Our clients love the texted and/or emailed reminders. We love the ease of use and the reports/history.
Pros
Customer service, ease of use, limitless power, reporting. Constant upgrades at no charge to us. And have a suggestion for an upgrade? There is a component of BOOKER where users can vote on potential changes!
Cons
Sometimes BOOKER gets bugged, slowing it down or shutting it down all together. However, these stoppages are infrequent and when they do occur, they are resolved very quickly...always with an explanation and an apology from Team Booker. Also, wish that the schedule/calendar had a button to jump 2, 3, 4 etc. weeks ahead in the future.
Great to have
I was able to find an online booking system for clients to book at their convenience
Pros
I like that clients can easily navigate their way through the app. It’s easy for them with the categories they can see each service falls under
Cons
I wish I could add pictures so I can show clients what hairstyles they would be be getting. It’s always nice to have a visual
Great software for any beauty industry!
Everything! From easy booking and checking out to quick and accessible ease of the software, it's so easy and helpful especially in any beauty industry
Pros
This software is so easy to use and break down to new trainees! The keys on the side of the screen make it that much easier to learn and get going with your schedule!
Cons
Sometimes it freezes when there is a system update, it can be very inconvenient when you are checking out a client because it'll either freeze or go extremely slow, but it's very rare that this happens so no worries!
Response from Booker
Hi Emmy -
We want to sincerely thank you for your thoughtful review. We're thrilled to hear that you are enjoying the features Booker has to offer! We truly value your feedback and your business. Stay tuned for future updates - we're always evolving the product.
Thank you!
- The Booker Team
Grow your business with Booker
Booker has allowed me to grow a 3 person massage therapy practice into a day spa offering massage therapy, facials, waxing, hair salon, nail salon, yoga, and so much more. I was also able to increase my retail sales. It's a snap to keep track of inventory, retail and back bar.
Pros
Ease of use for staff and clients. Our clients love being able to book an appointment. Tracking inventory and back bar is simple. The setup is easy. Creating specials with the marketing tab is a bonus!
Cons
I wish the software allowed us to block specific clients from booking appointments.
Response from Booker
What great feedback! We love to hear that our customers are able to grow their businesses using Booker.
We'll take your suggestion on board.
Thank you so much for using Booker. You rock!
- The Booker Team
HORRIBLE FOR CLIENT PRIVACY WITH OTHERS USING THE SYSTEM with restricted STAFF PRIVLAGES
Very Unhappy -Open access for everyone to see all history, private information on a client. If they see a screen with appointments they can see anything for the client with a few clicks.
Other than no privacy Booker works pretty well considering. Im over the customer service answer is - if its a staff they cant see anything- really hire people that know your system and figure out how to add privacy.
Pros
Easy to navigate and use. Easy to teach new employees how to book appointments - keeps inventory accurate, and payroll is easy access.
Cons
The worst part about Booker is usually you get an experienced person to help although when you really need it you have someone helping doing what you can do , read off their online support. So frustrating!
The worst part about this software is that person- such as STAFF should not be able to look at persons full history or personal information . The quick check in box at the top of appointments that is available to everyone allows all access. Just simply type in a name and here you have it . History, address, pros and cons about client likes and dislikes for everyone to see. NO privacy with this app . Therapist can look up past appointments - and its not their clients . There is no privacy with Booker -anyone can see everything no matter what settings you restrict. Cant wait to change this system to something more owner/ (HIPPA complaint- would be nice) friendly, so employees do not have access to private information. Anyone looking to prevent client information access , watch out for this app. Also continues to use other cc on various accounts, blaming it on whatever internet service you use, funny everyone says the same we all use something different- how can it be us- the business. We continuously have to call customers and apologize . Read other reviews same complaints.
Booker is not what it use to be
So after 4 years of being loyal Booker customers/users and thousands of dollars paid for their lackluster service, we have decided to jump ship and started looking for a more reliable & less restrictive online booking software.
We have had our complaints about Booker since day one because of how it is very restrictive on what our spa system administrators are allowed to do. We have always gotten the usual "oh you can not do that because we want to advice our clients on best business practices." Then we will counter by asking the Booker rep if they realized that the actual management team on site at the spa would know what's best for our day to day operations? Which we they always point us to their make recommendations page or they would claim to submit it to their development team, which neither ever received any follow up. So after many attempts to get them to make their system more intuituve and flexible for our day to day operations, we quite frankly gave up and just dealt with the system. And now we have their system performance take a rapid decline, which started well over a year ago. We even purchased new computer systems and increase our internet speeds in hopes of speeding up the system but nope, that didn't help what so ever. Their customer service has also gone to poop, the reps use to be somewhat knowledgeable on how to use Booker and nice. Now they don't seem to care about your issues and pretty much do not accept any responsibility or accountability on behalf of Booker on how the system performance has gone to poop, right along their customer service. Just last night when I inform a rep that we our fed up with the system performance and the numerous temporary "work arounds", that we have no choice but to start looking for another service. They replied with "sorry to hear that, let us know what we can do to help with the transition." Really!?! That was the cherry on top.
Booker has failed to realize that we are their loyal paying customers and their poor performance is being transferred on to our loyal paying customers which we will not accept because we do value our loyal customers. So some words of advice to Booker on best business practices, don't screw your customers.
Pros
Lots of features
Cons
Not intuituve or flexible enough for day to day operations.
Too many restrictions on in house system administrators.
System performance is not good at all.
Response from Booker
Efrain -
We're sad to hear you're leaving Booker and have been unhappy with the platform. If you're up for it, we'd love more information on which features you find restrictive and how we can address that feedback.
Thank you for using Booker for this time. We appreciate your business.
Best,
- The Booker Team
Please do not choose Booker
Booker has features that real you in but the functionality is antiquated, the "exceptional" customer service is non-existant once you have signed a contract and the features promised in the demo are not all delivered. I consistently get the answer that they are sorry but that feature is not part of the package you purchased - even though my sales rep assured me that it was when I asked him about it many times. There has never been an attempt to make it right or even console me for my trouble. The conversion cost me hundreds of dollars in changes needed to my website and credit card purchasing - many of which turned out to be inaccurate information provided by Booker that still did not fix my problems.
Moreover, the software has so many layers and steps to basic operations - it is a way to labor intensive to use. As a small business, your resources can not be tied up in having to change your schedule in three different places just to schedule a client after hours or to have to manually look up each gift certificate number - it doesn't stick with the client when purchased. Come on Booker - these features have been available for years!
Booker was a really bad decision on my part and I am looking for something else to replace it with that won't cost me as much to convert. They really did me wrong- whatever you do, don't take the Clover package as this is the software I am working with. They don't tell you ahead of time that it is a different program you than what they demo to you.
Pros
Ability to create series
Cons
The company is not upfront or honest. The software is antiquated. It is way overpriced for what you get. Ease of use is not there - it takes multiple steps to complete simple basic tasks. Customer service is not only lacking, they are often rude and incorporate good cop/bad cop techniques to blur the fact that they do not intend to fix your problems at all.
Response from Booker
Amy,
We're very sorry that your experience with Booker has not been optimal. We'd love to chat and help you work through these issues if possible.
Please contact [email protected]
Thank you,
- The Booker Team
Love Booker!!
I love mostly everything about Booker. Very easy to use and lots of great features. Our clients love the online booking feature! Ever since we switched to Booker, it has been really helpful for us in a lot of aspects as Booker does offer things our previous software did not. It's also very convenient that we can log on from a tablet, PC or phone to view schedules. Overall very happy with our experience!
Pros
Lots of great features like online booking, variety of reports, detailed client profiles.
Cons
At least once a month the server or something goes down in the middle of business hours and upsets the functionality of the software.
Response from Booker
Thank you for using Booker and sharing this awesome feedback! We're thrilled to hear that Booker is working so well for you!
Thank you!
- The Booker Team
Booker Thumbs UP
Great Customer support. Works with ease.
Not too thrilled with the Vantiv credit card processor customer support.
Pros
Online booking, ability to change things easily.
Excellent customer support!!! Don't change it.
Cons
Vantiv, was much happier when they were Mercury. Poor customer support and very bad at mailing necessary documents or helping their clients (me!). Disputes arrive 2 months late and still didn't receive 1099.
Response from Booker
Thank you so much for your feedback! We're so glad to hear that using Booker is working so well for you!
If there's anything we can do to support you in terms of payment processing, contact us at [email protected]
Best,
- The Booker Team
Excellent! A very dependable system and top notch customer service.
Many more return clients because of the convenience of the online scheduling feature. Also, a more efficient working team because the system is so easy to learn and understand.
Pros
This system is very easy to use, for both myself, my co-workers and our clients. My clients love the convenience of being able to book their own appointments online.
Cons
Every now and then the system will be unavailable when I am needing to access it to check a customer out, but the issue is always quickly resolved and doesn't cause too much inconvenience.
Response from Booker
Amber -
Thank you for the positive review and the great feedback. We're thrilled to hear that your customers and staff are so happy.
Cheers!
- The Booker Team
User Friendly and Reliable
Booker and team were great with helping me get this set up for our specific needs and marketing requirements. The whole process with Booker and the team helps us keep everything in one place. It's definitely a more seamless integration of the things we use the most. Their customer service and training were really terrific, too. We keep learning of more tools to help our practice grow every day!
Pros
This software makes booking appointments easy for customers and staff and helps us keep our practice organized.
Cons
It took a bit of time to get used to the new system, and it's a little bit more detailed to use than our other software. Once we got it tho, it's great!
If you are looking into booking software
I've been using booker on and off for years. Booker is a great booking software that is easy to use and manage. Client use is also easy and their isn't too much that is confusing. It had many features that can help you like keeping 'client records, from personal to general information and is easy to make and upkeep a list of services and retail in it. Only thing is, since mind and body took over the price has sky rocketed and became pretty expensive to use. If you can over look that, then this is an excellent software to use and have.
Pros
Easy to use
Good software
Easy for clients to navigate
Cons
Price rising
Change in ownership has made it difficult
I've tried so hard to make this software work and it just fails me
like all online booking systems its super beneficial to give clients the option to schedule on their own time
Pros
I like that it is at least up to speed with the functions such as mindbody in terms of booking appointments, automated emails and payroll reports
Cons
I have researched and spoken with over 8 diff booking systems. I am writing this review because I wish there were more reviews out there when I was looking. The most important thing is do your research before you choose because all of them make it very hard to leave once all your data is in there. The customer service with booker is just HORRIBLE and to me when you are learning a new system and running your entire business from it there it really takes priority. It is also always having random glitches try explaining that to your frustrated clientele. Honesty it has hurt my business. BUT even that would be excusable if I could actually speak to someone about it. They are often unavailable for help and when they aren't there and you try to look online you have to have a separate log in for a support window! That to me is ridiculous mostly because this log in often doesn't work and then you have no way of retrieving it because you need to 'contact customer service' but there is no customer service so work/business is put on hold! As a business owner this costs me. Again you hope this doesn't happen when you have a client sitting in front of you waiting for help. But what do they suggest? send an email with your question and get .. no not a person.. but an email 24 hrs later if you are lucky...
Used to be good, now stinks
It works, but I need decent customer service.
Pros
Booker works fairly well most of the time, but there are occasional glitches and every once in a while the system will crash, but that seems to have gotten better in time. User friendly and fairly intuitive
Cons
Booker's customer service has gone to waste. It used to be good. You could get someone on the phone who knew what they were doing and they'd solve your problems. A while back they started using a call center in god knows what country and they STINK! It's become impossible to get a hold of anyone who can solve problems. They don't respond to emails, or if they do, it's just an automated response that doesn't really address the issue.
Response from Booker
Hi Eric-
We are sorry that our customer service didn't meet your expectations. We have invested a lot over the years to add more and more self serve options so that customers can get the help they need without necessarily having to speak to someone over the phone. Overall less than 20% of our customers find it necessary to call into our Customer Service team as most are finding their answers through our online help center or through Booker's intuitive design.
We do understand that some customers prefer to speak directly to someone and we continually monitor and train our Customer Service teams to provide the best support possible for when customers do find a need to speak to a live person. Again, we are sorry that we didn't meet your expectations with regards to our live agent support.
-The Booker Team
Excellent for Online Booking
Booker allowed us to track who did what and when and optimize our plans from there.
Pros
Booker was a great service for the business. It allowed the team to do our whole job in one interface. Appointment scheduling, marketing, referral tracking, everything! It's incredibly simple to use for booking and rebooking, and allowed us to process online bookings in a simple way to provide the best Guest Experience possible.
Cons
Booker experienced a lot of downtime for maintenance while our company used it. We switched to a different service for a period. Booker, even with downtime, was a SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER experience, for both employee and customer.
Booker does what we need, support has always been responsive and it is easy to use.