In this article
Objective
Empower staff to efficiently manage client flow using Lobby.
NOTE: Lobby is an add-on feature. Please connect with your Customer Success Manager to get started.
Scenario
By default, Coconut prioritizes pre-booked appointments over walk-ins. Pre-booked appointments allow for more preparation time for staff, resulting in an improved client experience.
However, this also means that, if all staff are booked at a specific time, there is nobody available to facilitate walk-in clients. Here are two ways your organization can set up Coconut so that there are staff dedicated to walk-in appointments on specific days.
Before you begin: How walk-in availability impacts a staff member’s schedule
When a staff member begins a walk-in appointment (clicks Start), the duration for the service they’re performing is added to their schedule in the same way it is for a pre-booked appointment. During that time, the staff member is not available to be booked through the online booking flow (client view). If another staff member attempts to book the appointment-facilitating staff for that time through Coconut, they will receive a double-booking warning message.
Strategies
One strategy to achieve this is to set a recurring day of the week that a staff member is dedicated to walk-in appointments only. On that day, the staff member does not have pre-booked appointments. Another strategy is to set weekly shifts where a staff member only facilitates walk-in appointments.
NOTE: Each option removes the designated staff member from being available for booking using the Client View. It does not exempt the staff member from being booked by another staff member in Schedule.
Option 1: Set an alternating day of the week for facilitating walk-ins
Using this option, a staff member’s working hours are set to unavailable for a designated day. This removes the ability to book the staff member using the Client View. The same staff member is then set as available to take walk-ins at the specified location. As a result, the staff member is the designated walk-in service provider for that day at that location.
This option can be used to create a rotating walk-in schedule by completing these actions for each staff member for a different day of the week.
To use this option:
From the navigation menu, click Hours
Click Working Hours
Do one of the following:
Navigate to the designated staff member and click View
If working hours have not yet been added for the designated staff member, click +Add
Select the location where the staff member will be accepting walk-ins only
Enter the designated staff member’s name
Toggle off the designated staff member’s availability for the day of the week they will only be facilitating walk-in appointments
Click Save Changes
From the navigation menu, click Lobby
From the location dropdown, select the corresponding location
From Taking Walk-ins, click Edit
Toggle on the designated staff member as taking walk-ins today
Option 2: Set weekly shifts for facilitating walk-ins
Using this option, a staff member is designated as accepting walk-in appointments only for a week and on a recurring basis. For example, two staff members may alternate week-by-week as the designated walk-in service provider.
To use this option:
From the navigation menu, click Hours
Click Adjustments
Click +Add
Select Working Hours
Click Continue
Select the location where this option will be used
Enter the designated staff member’s name
From Date, select the first day that the designated member will be accepting only walk-ins
Select Unavailable all day
Toggle on Repeat
Select the recurrence (for example, in our scenario of alternating between two staff members, the recurrence would be set to every 2 weeks)
From Repeats On, confirm the days of the week are selected
Select when this will end, based on your organization’s needs and preferences
Click Save
Complete for each designated staff member, setting the recurrence interval based on the total number of staff members to be included in the rotation
NOTE: At the beginning of each day, the manager or staff member will need to confirm the designated staff member is set as available to take walk-in appointments from the Lobby view