First-Time Customer Journey

Petboost sends a new customer no welcome message of its own. Every message they receive comes from a switch on Notifications, so they only get the messages you have switched on, and a new business account starts with those switches off.

How a new customer signs in

A new customer needs no password. They sign in with a code sent to their mobile.

1. The customer opens your booking link.
2. Under Let's start with your phone number, they enter their Mobile Number and select Continue.
3. Under Enter Verification Code, they type the four-digit code from the text and select Confirm.

The Existing & New Clients badge tells them the same sign-in works whether or not they have booked with you before. If the code does not arrive, Resend Code sends another.

How a new customer books

After signing in, the booking form takes a new customer through Pet Details, Business, Pets & Services, Availability, Account Details and Review & Terms. On Review & Terms they accept your terms, answer Communication Preferences, and add a card when your settings ask for one. When they submit, the booking is confirmed straight away if Instant confirmation is on in Booking Settings, or waits for you to accept it.

See the booking form as a new customer sees it

Simulate shows a customer's booking form against your live settings, and it writes nothing. Use it on a test customer to walk through what a new customer sees.

1. Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on a pet.
2. Select Simulate, then Booking Experience.
3. Choose a service and a time, then read Review & Terms.

The card section at the foot of Review & Terms shows what your settings ask of the customer: an optional card, a required card, or a deposit due today.

The messages a new customer receives

Each message follows the switch named beside it on Notifications.

On a trial, Petboost sends no automatic appointment or Friday reminders until the trial ends. Finalising the appointment sends nothing: the receipt goes when the payment is taken. The wording of each message is fixed and filled in from the booking; Pet Owner Communications shows each one and the details it fills in.

Choose the messages a new customer receives

Switch these on before you share your booking link, so a new customer hears from you from the first booking.

1. Open Settings, then Notifications.
2. Under Booking Created, switch on Email the customer: booking updates.
3. Switch on Text the customer: booking confirmation.
4. Under Pre-Appointment Reminders, switch on Email the customer: reminders, Text the customer: reminders, or both.
5. Set the Reminder Time.
6. Select Publish Changes, tick the box in Before You Publish, then select Publish Changes.

Reminder Time takes weeks, days, hours and minutes, with minutes in 5-minute steps. A reminder time longer than 72 hours shows This reminder may not land in time to be effective. Preparation instructions for a first visit go in the Pre-Appointment Message under Custom Messages, which Petboost adds to confirmation and reminder emails. A service can set its own reminders, and pre-hold funds can differ by service.

When your team adds a new customer

When you add a customer with a mobile number, you choose Notify customer?. With Send notification, Petboost texts them a quick login link from your business. If they already have a booking waiting on a card, the text asks them to add their card to confirm it instead. With Create silently, nothing is sent. After signing in, the customer completes anything their profile is missing before they can book. See Business-Managed Journey for bookings your team makes.

Check what a customer still has to fill in

Check this when a customer says they cannot get to the booking screen.

1. Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the customer's pet.
2. Select Simulate, then Profile Completion.
3. Select Next on each step and read what it says is still needed.

Next does not move past an unfinished step. In Simulate it shows A few details are still needed and lists them, and the customer's own form names the step, such as Please complete your contact information. A customer stuck on a step never reaches Continue to Book Appointments.

Follow up a new customer who did not finish

A customer who leaves the booking form part-way still leaves a record, and Petboost emails you about it hourly when Email you: abandoned bookings & unfinished profiles is on.

1. Open Customers & Pets and select Manage on the customer's pet.
2. On the Action Required tab, read how far they got on the Abandoned Booking card.
3. To finish the booking for them, select Create Appointment.

Create Appointment opens your booking form filled in with the pet, the service and the time they chose. Send Recovery Message texts the customer instead.

What your business receives

While a new customer books, Petboost can send your business Email you: new booking copy and Text you: new booking alert, and Email you: payment declined if a payment fails. See Business Communications.

Troubleshooting

A new customer is not receiving messages

• Check the email address and mobile number on their profile
• Check their spam or junk folder for emails
• Open their Settings & Overrides tab and read What they receive today. A customer override can switch a message off
• Check the switches on Notifications. A new business account starts with them off
• On a trial, automatic reminders do not send until the trial ends
• A customer who replies STOP to your number receives no more texts from it

A new customer has a payment problem

• Check the card on their profile
• Check Pre-hold funds on Pricing & Payments
• Select Get Help in your dashboard to chat with our team

Related documentation

• Customer Journey Overview: the whole communication system
• Returning Customer Journey: communications for regular customers
• Problem Resolution Journey: how issues are handled
• Pet Owner Communications: every message a customer receives
• Settings → Notifications: message timing and content
• Settings → Automatic Actions: automated workflows