Anyone used Treatwell?

[Multitasker]

Wanted to know if anyone has gone with treatwell to get new clients? Have heard that Groupon is not worth it but I know people who use treatwell so is it worth going with?

 

[3boysmum]

I would love to know too! Good question x

 

[sa.davis]

We use Treatwell, and i would say I have mixed feelings about this site. The up side`s, when i first opened it was a really good way of getting my name out there and booking slots that would of been free anyway, I have made some really good regulars from this site,that continue to use my services, via me.

The down sides clients book a few hours before their treatments and if your busy you don`t get a chance to confirm and they just show up, that has happened to me a few times. We have had a few clients that ain`t that nice and just come as it is cheaper on a certain day or they got Treatwell discounts. They charge 20% of each treatment cost, which is a bit much and all add`s up, when doing a lot of treatments. They will send clients a £5.00 voucher to spend with them, so some of our clients only book via them to get the discounts. We have also had some clients that use this site to threaten you such as clients saying "Oh my cousin works for them, and being really picky with a treatment trying to get extra discounts with Treatwell"

So to be honest, if your starting out it is worth it to get your name out there but after a few years, it becomes more hassle than it is worth!

Hope this helps.

 

[daydreams01]

I use them and as above great for filling slots that would have gone empty otherwise. Yes you give 20%?of service but you would have been doing nothing otherwise! For example last night about 10pm I got a cbd booking for this afternoon through treatwell . Client came, and has now booked again direct with me for highlights on Friday. Most of our treatwell clients return and book direct through us although some still book with them as they send them money off emails. I do feel it has helped me grow a new business.
@sa.davis did you know you can set the lead time so that you control how much notice you get for appointments. So I have mine set to 8 hours which gives me plenty of time to block out the diary with my direct bookings and confirm any appts. I did have it set to 24 hours but felt I was missing out on last minute appts so changed it and I update it on a daily basis to avoid double bookings. Also I have turned all discounts off now from this week until new year, then Inwill switch them back on again but you can also control what days and times you offer discounts so I might offer 20% for a Monday afternoon but 10% on a Tuesday and no discounts from Thursday- Saturday. You don't even need to offer any if you don't want to but again it's a way of trying to get quiet times busier. I also set it so people can only book 16 days in advance as I want to prioritise future appts at prime times for my regulars who book direct with me.
The main reason I like it is they gave me a widget for my website and fb page which my own clients can use to book online and I Get lots of bookings from that, more than through treatwell and it's about 60p per booking which I think is well worth it as my clients mainly work in the day and tend to book in the evenings when we are closed.
Try it and see how you get on, you can always cancel if you don't like it.

 

[Beckychap]

When it was Wahanda I didn't even know I was on there and someone turned up saying they had booked a luxury pedicure and paid £10 because they got 50% off I had no idea what they was talking about as I charge £25.50 anyway and apparently they booked online and got a confirmation I would stay clear as I had one angry woman in my salon I rang them up and they said I had been listed for over a year! So I'm guessing I wouldn't have had many clients from it anyway if I was using it properly xx

 

[Multitasker]

Thanks Geeks. We are much like everyone else. Busy times are very busy and then some days where hardly anything happens. Thought this might bring in some new customers but the booking seems a bit of a pain as we already have an online booking system. [emoji51]

 

[squidgernetball]

Thanks Geeks. We are much like everyone else. Busy times are very busy and then some days where hardly anything happens. Thought this might bring in some new customers but the booking seems a bit of a pain as we already have an online booking system. [emoji51]

You can actually link some booking systems with treatwell so that clients can literally only book in your gaps. We have found it useful but every so often we get a blip and I think of disconnecting but it does bring us the odd client x

 

[Cesar]

I would avoid treatwell like the plague. I had wahanda for a VERY short term. It was nice to see the influx of customers, but the bookin process was horrible. I recommend and use a salon soft that lets me customize booking avalibility, post discounts, and do promo campaigns w/ bulk email/text messages. Its far more esy to manage your salon if you can manage your own bookings!

 

[JemmaBeauty]

I've used Treatwell for 7 months now and not experienced any problems with bookings. You can set the calendar so that it doesn't accept last minute bookings even if you have free space - I have mine set to 4 hours notice. I actually prefer the system to my own website calendar but it does mean that I have two bookings systems to keep track of, however, as I'm self employed and work alone, it's fairly easy for me to keep them both up to date.

Most of the clients I've had from treatwell have become regulars that now book through me, so I'm extremely happy that I signed up to use it. I give them a loyalty card on their first visit and explain that that any future visits are only signed off if they book through me - this way they are likely to chose my discount over the one that Treatwell offers. Obviously some people still choose to use Treatwell but that ok with me.

I don't have much negative to say. If you are already busy then I wouldn't bother to use them but I think it's great if you're just starting out or would like another way to advertise.

 

[sa.davis]

I use them and as above great for filling slots that would have gone empty otherwise. Yes you give 20%?of service but you would have been doing nothing otherwise! For example last night about 10pm I got a cbd booking for this afternoon through treatwell . Client came, and has now booked again direct with me for highlights on Friday. Most of our treatwell clients return and book direct through us although some still book with them as they send them money off emails. I do feel it has helped me grow a new business.
@sa.davis did you know you can set the lead time so that you control how much notice you get for appointments. So I have mine set to 8 hours which gives me plenty of time to block out the diary with my direct bookings and confirm any appts. I did have it set to 24 hours but felt I was missing out on last minute appts so changed it and I update it on a daily basis to avoid double bookings. Also I have turned all discounts off now from this week until new year, then Inwill switch them back on again but you can also control what days and times you offer discounts so I might offer 20% for a Monday afternoon but 10% on a Tuesday and no discounts from Thursday- Saturday. You don't even need to offer any if you don't want to but again it's a way of trying to get quiet times busier. I also set it so people can only book 16 days in advance as I want to prioritise future appts at prime times for my regulars who book direct with me.
The main reason I like it is they gave me a widget for my website and fb page which my own clients can use to book online and I Get lots of bookings from that, more than through treatwell and it's about 60p per booking which I think is well worth it as my clients mainly work in the day and tend to book in the evenings when we are closed.
Try it and see how you get on, you can always cancel if you don't like it.

No I was never told that you could change the lead time. Thank you.

 

[daydreams01]

No I was never told that you could change the lead time. Thank you.

If you download the app, there is a bit for settings and online bookings. You can do it there. Also in the menu, at the top of each section is where you can turn discounts on or off or select certain days.

 

[Cesar]

I just can't imagine giving 20% of each service, yikes! There are other softwares that do more than just bookings and don't take 20% off of a service, just fyi...

 

[NailsXpress]

I'm using it but honestly I've only had 2 bookings through them. Not bothered though. I just wanted to gain new clients through it. I generally get my new clients by word of mouth or by them searching on the internet. So, it's not been of much use to me.