Set up appointment booking

We need to open booking for in-store consultations starting next Monday. Set up the appointment booking so customers can choose a 30-minute slot, see available times, receive an email confirmation, and get a reminder 24 hours before. Assign bookings to Leah first, then Sam if Leah is full. Don’t accept appointments outside 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Before I publish the booking calendar publicly, make it approval-friendly: surface the consultant name and the cancellation policy upfront, make available slots easy to scan on mobile, and highlight peak times that we prefer to fill. Create a short booking page description that reduces no-shows and tells customers what to bring.

Leah’s calendar was blocked for a week but customers still booked her for consultations, causing double bookings and frustration. I don’t know whether the booking page was showing outdated availability or whether staff blocked time incorrectly. What’s the most likely cause and the immediate fix to prevent more double bookings today?

Over several months the booking workflow keeps producing double bookings and frequent no-shows, costing Leah two hours a week and losing sales. Where does this system break down most often, which habit should the team stop doing this week, and what one policy change will cut double bookings and no-shows fastest?