Booker Reviews

Pros

After using several booking software, this has been my go-to and preferred booking method for my cosmetic business. Sales tracking and inventory management are easy to monitor. The included POS system is easy to use as well and has been convenient!

Cons

Calendar compatibility is a con, however, I enjoy manually tracking within the software.

Pros

Ease of scheduling, quick to learn/intuitive platform, broad range of reporting options.

Cons

The customer support could be faster and more helpful. The client end of scheduling could be easier for the client.

Alternatives Considered

Mindbody

Reasons for Choosing Booker

We needed a more comprehensive product.

Reasons for Switching to Booker

Negative reviews from staff who used Mindbody in other clinics.

Pros

can access schedule from mobile devices || clients can book appointments via web link

Cons

unreliable , inconsistent, lack of ownership when software not working, lack of ownership when they add services to our list that we don't offer, no report is accurate

Pros

Staff scheduling and operating hours are simple to do and follow to.There are so many options for categories to pick from, and I appreciate that you can create your own, so it's easy to add and remove services from our menu.

Cons

Too many errors and issues with making appointments. Sometimes it will state there is no personnel on duty or the service won't appear on the menu. Refreshing the page and logging out and back in again won't always work.

Pros

I really like how Booker allows clients to schedule on line and purchase gift certificates. Most clients love the ability to schedule on line.

Cons

It can be difficult to maneuver around in the settings.

Alternatives Considered

Mindbody

Reasons for Choosing Booker

Because booker offered on line gift certificates.

Reasons for Switching to Booker

I liked that people do not have to have an account to get in the site or to schedule a massage.

Pros

When I first signed with Booker, I liked the merchant services fees were better than Mindbody Online. Also, I liked that I locked in a significantly cheaper monthly rate as opposed to Mindbody.

Cons

The automatic emails at the time, could not be turned off. It didn't work with my type of business. Also, I hated the company that handled their merchant services. They put my account on hold after trying to cancel their services. A ridiculous customer service representative froze my account so then no deposits could go through affecting my payroll. No one told me that canceling my services with Booker would affect the merchant services or my ability to receive deposits. Absolute jerks.

Pros

This software makes booking appointments easy for customers and staff and helps us keep our practice organized.

Cons

It took a bit of time to get used to the new system, and it's a little bit more detailed to use than our other software. Once we got it tho, it's great!

Pros

Everything is easily accessible, can have multiple accounts for managers and staff

Cons

Sometimes the system glitches or CC/cash amounts aren’t matching up with the POS system at the end of the work day.

Pros

I like that Booker has a very clean look, and it is quite easy to block time and schedule in Patients/clients. You can leave check-in or check-out alerts for an individual. I also like that when you go to book an appointment, if the client has been in previously, their name will pop up.

Cons

If I did wish to book multiple recurrent appointments with a Patient, I couldn't do that with a click of a button, I would have to go to each date and book it separately. If an employee has two rooms they are using for the day, you have to have it on seperate columns... i.e. bill 1 and bill 2, which can get complicated for reporting. There is no charting option with the software.

Pros

Stock was easy to navigate staff schedule was in two week block which we loved so we could to alternate schedules

Cons

NOt able to do repeat bookings, Not contactless pay

Pros

running payroll reports there is pretty much nothing else.

Cons

It is impossible to get it set up appropriately, after 4 months of phone calls, I still never got the appropriate credit cards to run internally. I was able to set up an acct with their third party processing but could never actually link that to closing appointments. It was a full time job to communicate with customer service and after 4 months this was never rectified.
Their rates doubled from when I signed on and are now even with mindbody yet the service and function is not as good. I am open seasonally and so when I signed on I very clearly asked if I would not be charged for the months I am closed and was very clearly told that I would not be charged. When I went to put my account on vacation mode I was told this is not an option.

Pros

No pros to this product. The only reason I have kept is it is a pain to move software but not that there are so many more on the market that are better we are switching.

Cons

It was constantly down. Never seemed to be up and running when we needed it especially the app. It never seemed to work right.

Alternatives Considered

Mangomint and Phorest

Reasons for Switching to Booker

I didn't they were not out when I purchased booker years ago. My ex partner purchased booker and set it up.

Pros

Ease of use can be accessed remotely by all therapists, no additional cost per therapist for use, HireFrederick program

Cons

Online booking inconsistency with picking a therapist and it not being a request vs no preference and still having to choose a therapist. Glitchiness! Slowness! Taking payment in advance opens time slot for others to book in. Feeling stuck with their credit card processing or high fees to use another one with better rates

Pros

I love the way Booker works directly with my web page. My clients and potential clients can book right from my web site, purchase gift certificates from the comfort of their homes or offices, and print them or email them right from their computer without having to come to my office. I am often in service with a client and don't have a lot of time to answer or return calls during my work day let alone meet people to hand deliver gift certificates. I don't have a receptionist or assistant to assist in these matters. I love the fact that I have my very own App to give to my clients so they can save ME to their phones and book on line any time of the day or night, without having to try to find me first. I'm just a click away. The best part is that after you set up your booker to work with your website, it just makes scheduling my clients appts soooo much easier. They get an email notification with Appt details and directions. Then an appt reminder 24 hrs before their Appt so they can click the confirm button, so I don't have to make confirmation calls the day before, then a text reminder notification 3 hours before their Appt which cuts down on no shows, and late cancellations. I love it!!

Cons

I have 2 locations and Booker does not have a place to differentiate either location. So when my clients book on line, there is no way of telling them which days I am at one location and which days I am at the other. So when they are looking at my open appts, they don't know which location they are booking for. This kind of takes my 5 star Status and brings it down to a 3 because this causes my clients much confusion when trying to book, and me soooo much stress, because what good is it if I always have to call them anyway when they are trying to schedule on line?? This defeats the whole purpose of online scheduling. This needs to be fixed and upgraded. Another thing. The mobile app is limited to its back of the house functionality. It's very easy to schedule appts, but looking up Gift Certificate numbers and entering them for payment after a client redeems them is time consuming and not user friendly. I also wish I had Email/ text Marketing built in so I could send my clients daily, weekly and monthly specials. There are days that I would love to send out a quick text telling my clients what time slots I have available. This would be soooooo easy since all of their contact info is already in the system. I would also like to see yearly reports and just imagine how great it would be if the accounting software was built right in! All in one place! Now that would make Booker the leader in the industry!

Pros

Right now, nothing. I'm so beyond frustrated. NOBODY IS N EVER AVAILABLE FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

Cons

IT NEVER WORKS AT ALL!!! CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NEVER THERE TO HELP! DO NOT USE!!

Pros

I appreciate that my clients can book online and purchase gift certificates when I'm too busy to answer the phone. It's also super easy checking out clients, but best of all is that I'm able to manage our calendar for both therapists and clients, and reschedule with ease. I love that I am also able to track client history and their progress. As we get busier and our client base grows, it can become more challenging to manage paper files and this has helped us cut down on paperwork, thank goodness!

Cons

There is definitely a learning curve with Booker and there have been times when I've been unsure of how to do something, and have had to contact their support team. One of the glitches that annoys me, is that when I add a new staff member, it adds or populates their name in the calendar even before their official start date! It can be confusing. The same happens when I terminate a staff member or switch them to 'inactive' - then their name and client appointmentss that day, all disappear from view. This is probably one of the more frustrating things for me. I also wish I could do a bit of my own customization like removing things from a drop down table that do not able to me.

Pros

Overall, the system is very user friendly internally and for clients. Clients find the online booking easy, WHEN it is working. I have appreciated the customization of the membership features.

Cons

Customer service has been horrible. Whenever the software has a glitch (which I get a new one 2x or more a month), it takes about 2 weeks to get a response and over 6 months to fix the issue (if they even fix it). I consistently have to follow-up by emails and calls to get any kind of response. They provide no updates along the way. Currently, the software does not allow clients to book multiple services at the same time. This feature worked for months and then suddenly just stopped working. When clients try to book online, it shows that my schedule is completely full for 2 months when there are spots available. Due to their error, I have been getting an influx of calls and emails from clients which is wasting so much time in the office. The whole purpose of an online booking system is for clients to book themself and decrease the demand on front desk staff. Additionally, I have been losing clients in the process. Ever since the most recent glitch, I have seen the number of online bookings go down and my schedule is significantly lighter. Whenever I reach out, they state that they have other work orders with higher priority. When clients are unable to book, this should be number 1 priority! I am losing clients and business. Booker is a premium price compared to their competitors but they certainly do not provide a premium service. My experience with schedulicity was so much better for $20/mo compared to the forever faulty Booker system for $200.

Pros

It is pretty simple to use, and they work on improving it often. We were able to edit our membership even though when I called, they told me it could not be done.

Cons

They have taken some features away that make it very inconvenient. The Brand level is separate from the location levels, so we have to change locations on our screen when we need to do certain things. Also, their customer support is not very good. They prefer you email them, which works in some cases, but most of the time you need more than an email to convey the issue. Second, I have called more than once to find out how to do something, and they were wrong. Last time, I called to see if we could edit our membership to include more than just one service that the benefits could be used for. He told me no, unfortunately I'd have to cancel all of our memberships, make a new one, and then resell all of them. This would take far too long. I did some digging and found the solution on my own, and it was not only possible, but really not that hard. They also update during our open hours. Since we're 6 hours different, it's not surprising but it is very inconvenient to have our system down during that last hour or two of our day.

Pros

Booker is one of the more intuitive to use softwares on the market, and I've used them all. It is easy to find your way around even without training which makes it great for new employees still learning

Cons

It's constantly broken, ESPECIALLY for enterprise level clients that have 'Brand' accounts with multiple locations. Their outage record is deplorable and now that theyve been bought out by MindBody Online, they've made themselves the highest price product on the market by a HUGE margin with nothing to back it up. We have signed contract pricing with booker and they are now refusing to honor it after the acquisition. Customers all just got hit with HUGE new bills, are pissed, and are leaving in droves. Us included and we are taking all of our locations. Bye Booker. Dumb move.

Pros

The ease of scheduling. It is simple to teach new people and services just pop up when you start typing them. I like that.

Cons

Sometimes the system can be a little bit slow. It is truly only difficult when there are lots of people waiting on you.

Pros

I like the fact that Booker can be used for multiple locations and is helpful with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly statistics. I can use the data to determine what I need to do differently regarding sales, promotions, etc. I can also use the data to determine what services, promotions, etc. are going well and should definitely be continued.

Cons

The customer support is lacking. It has been so frustrating to speak to so many different reps. The notes they take and calls they log has been very inconsistent, making follow-through to a resolution impossible. Even when issues have been pushed through to technical support or the development team, we have gotten little to no helpful feedback. I feel the software could use some updating to improve on the ease of use. Mostly, I feel customer support reps should be trained to actually offer "support," rather than offer a "pat" answer and such as, "This is not a Booker issue," or "I can't really tell you why that is happening, call us again if the problem reoccurs." Overall, our experience has been frustrating. In all fairness, our particular "case," which includes many different issues has been escalated to someone in management, but this has taken several months.

Pros

The interface is fairly simple and calendar driven. Automated credit card processing expecially for memberships is lacking.

Cons

Reporting is primitive. You often have to run and grab data from multiple reports to do simple things like get payroll/commission data. Many reports can't be printed without being chopped up into multiple pieces of paper. Membership tracking and the resetting of benefits isn't automated unless services match payments in a very structured way. Online booking is available and they give you two options. One option is too small to see on mobile and the other option requires registration which causes new clients to bounce off at a high rate. Booker is an old architecture with a front end web interface bolted on to make it look like a cloud option but the hybrid nature is quirky.

Pros

Almost everything.

Cons

There are a few bugs that still need to be worked out, especially with the app. Sometimes I have to cancel an appointment instead of just adjusting it, and then the client gets confused about the cancellation email. Also, I'm confused about the referral program. I recently referred a friend and she signed up. I have heard nothing back about it.

Pros

I love availability of the software via computer or mobile devices. It allows all of us to set our schedules and everyone can view what the calendar of appointments looks like. It is also nice to be able to block time out when needed. The ease of scheduling and taking payment allows us to utilize our customer service skills with our clients. Our clients love the fact that they are able to receive reminders via text or email. This in turn saves us time by not having to call them the day before their appointment. It is also nice that they can book appointments online. Monthly reporting is a huge help when it comes to tax time! The marketing feature through Fredrick is also very helpful!

Cons

There are a few features that we are unable to do via our mobile device versus through the computer.

Pros

online booking but the page clients connect to is ugly and clients tell me to update it but I can't.

Cons

CC processing has to many clicks and clients actually become irate. System is cloud based only and lags or crashes CONSTANTLY! So nothing works! too many clicks to do everything. looking up client info from appointment on calendar screen should be a simple 1 click. the voting or suggestion area on their site in hopes to involve users so booker can provide the service we actually want IS A JOKE! booker only adds or removes or fixes when is core to website or what they believe we want. cc process is important, the multiple clicks and extended time to do everything is important and what should be what booker changes but no they change nothing. check out the request on that page and you will see complaints current and same complaints going back years and no solution. They make everything more difficult to do or resolve more difficult than necessary.