The waitlist turns cancellations from lost revenue into same-day rebookings. Setup takes about 10 minutes and runs on autopilot after that.
How it works in 30 seconds
- A patient calls (or books online) but can't get the slot they want.
- FrontDesk adds them to the waitlist with their preferences.
- Later, another patient cancels — a slot opens.
- FrontDesk finds the best match on the waitlist and texts them an offer.
- They tap Accept to take the slot, or Decline to pass.
- If they accept, the slot books. If they decline (or time out), the next-best match is offered.
Enable the waitlist
Settings → Appointments → Waitlist → toggle on.
Configure:
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Offer window | 30 min | How long a patient has to respond before the offer expires |
| Max simultaneous offers | 1 | How many people get the same slot at once. "1" = first-come on the waitlist; "3" = first-to-accept wins |
| Max retries per patient | 3 | After this many declined/expired offers, remove from waitlist |
| Auto-add from AI calls | On | AI offers to add the caller to the waitlist if no slot matches |
| Auto-add from online booking | On | Online booker sees "Join waitlist" when nothing matches |
What the patient sees
Offer SMS:
Hi {{patientName}} — a {{serviceName}} slot just opened at {{practiceName}} on {{appointmentDate}} at {{appointmentTime}} with {{providerName}}. Tap to accept (expires {{expiresAt}}): {{acceptLink}}
The link takes them to a one-tap confirmation page (no login). They can tap Accept or Decline.
Match preferences
When a patient joins, FrontDesk captures:
- Service — what they want
- Provider — any preferred provider, or "any"
- Days — preferred days of week (e.g., "Mon, Wed, Fri")
- Times — preferred time-of-day blocks ("morning", "afternoon", "evening")
- How far out — "this week", "next 2 weeks", "anytime"
When a slot opens, FrontDesk scores every waitlist entry by how well it matches and offers in priority order:
- Exact match on service + provider + day + time
- Exact service + provider, any day/time within range
- Exact service, any provider
- Service category match (e.g., any cleaning instead of a specific cleaning type)
Add a patient manually
Appointments → Waitlist → Add patient
Useful when a patient calls front desk directly and your team wants to capture them. Fill in the preferences and they're included in future offers.
Remove a patient
Two ways:
- Manually: Appointments → Waitlist → click the patient → Remove.
- Automatically: After they book a different slot, decline 3 offers, or hit the 30-day expiry.
Patients who reply STOP to an SMS are removed automatically and won't receive future offers.
Reporting
Appointments → Waitlist → Insights shows:
- Current waitlist size
- Offers sent this month
- Acceptance rate
- Average time to fill from offer to accept
- Revenue rescued (offers accepted × average appointment value)
Typical numbers for a single-provider practice: 8–15 active waitlist entries, 60–75% acceptance rate, 2–3 cancellations rescued per week.
Tips
- Don't over-restrict preferences. A patient who'll only see Dr. Park, only on Tuesdays at 2pm, is mathematically unlikely to ever match. Coach the AI (or your front desk) to ask for at least two acceptable options.
- Set max simultaneous offers to 1 for highly-demanded slots, and to 3 for low-priority slots — the latter fills faster.
- Review the waitlist weekly. A patient sitting on the list for 3 weeks usually means their preferences don't match your actual openings — call them and offer the closest available.