Booker Reviews

Pros

Good rescheduling and ease of identifying customers with orders

Cons

The existing payroll is not comprehensive and this prompts us to use other programs and pay more money

Pros

Very complete with so many features, marketing and reports.

Cons

Charger are very, very high.. around $350/month plus the 3.5% and some flat fee cents on top of it

Pros

The reports and ease of onboarding employees, setting security levels and booking appointments.

Cons

Once we moved to Booker v2, we found the software to be completely unusable. Constantly freezing, unable to check out clients without crashing, unable to view past transactions easily. Version 2 was completely unusable and we were told there was no way to return to version 1. We lost all of that data and ease of use.

Pros

Data from clients, calendar views, appt reminders, cloud

Cons

Lack of access to my client data. Wording in set up making it where my software was my own worst enemy- keeping seeking clients from booking available appointments I wanted to fill. My membership tracking and usage was difficult to track.

Pros

It was far more capable than our previous scheduling software. It is fairly integrated solution that does client management, scheduling and POS.

Cons

Dealing with Booker reps. They are not genuine and you get the runaround a lot. There is a lot of turnover in the company. They are very pushy with their acquisitions like Reach and Classpass. Neither are worth your time.

Pros

the have a great couple massage systerm. d

Cons

a lot thing, like getting locked in a contract, event the sytem wasn't working for us we weren't able to dowgrade. They make it really hard for you to not cancel or downgrade.

Pros

The software keeps up with what rooms a service can be performed in as well as items that may be needed to complete a service, and that are available in limited quantity. They also recently came out with an AI receptionist feature for online booking. Which is why I switched over to them however non of the features work very well and with the credit card processing regularly not working I regret switching. They also flat out lied about the functionality of Booker to get me to sign a contract.

Cons

Their sales team is awesome but once you sign your contract, the customer service is garbage they do not care about you or the issues the software has and it is very apparent. Credit card processing is arguably, the most important aspect of any business and there’s is not working properly. It hasn’t been for years apparently, and they do nothing to fix it.

Pros

Text confirm and remind
Online booking

Cons

Customer appointment history is glitchy and sometimes dose not show history and notes as needed

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Booker

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Booker

Pros

the starting point seems to be settling with each of the modules, campaigns, contacts, sms, scheduling, automation...but the instanve one get into it, its a sticky mess

Cons

crashing features, dated modules, lack of common features, displaying itself as a market automation tool. Silly customer support

Pros

E-commerce and online booking options are great, easy to use and customer service is very responsive.

Cons

Price is high and software does not have built in clinic insurance or client record management. Doesn't integrated with Moneris unless you pay for a 3rd party gateway

Pros

You can be very thorough in booking your appointments. Especially like the details tab where you can add notes for each client & can even scan pages into their account. Can easily see their appointments & past orders.
We like the add ons to the software, as well - [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]

Cons

Sometimes, when you make a mistake, it's hard to back out of it, especially with payments. You just have to force other transactions to make the outcome that you needed in the first place.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Booker

Pros

A wide range of features provided by Booker simplify salon and spa operations. Its user-friendly interface makes staff organization, client administration, and appointment scheduling easier. The software's integrated point-of-sale system allows for easy inventory management and transaction processing. Automated email campaigns and loyalty programs are only two of the marketing techniques that Booker uses to draw in new customers and keep the ones it already has. The reporting and analytics tools enable data-driven decision-making and offer insightful information about business performance. Booker gives salon professionals and owners the tools they need to streamline their business operations and improve client satisfaction with the help of its configurable features and mobile app.

Cons

One drawback of Booker is its somewhat expensive cost, which could be problematic for independent or smaller salon businesses with tight funds. Some users could first have a steep learning curve that makes it difficult to become skilled in using all the capabilities. Although Booker provides a wide range of functions, some specialized or niche salon businesses could need more modification or integration with specialized software. There have been sporadic reports of technical issues or system slowdowns, which could affect how effectively salon operations run and how the user experience is.

Pros

easy to pick my service and schedule with the right person.

Cons

signs you out if you're not active on the app

Pros

The easy ability to manage booking routines and customer interactions and marketing activities

Cons

after free trail ends, it's quite pricy!

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

Lots of features

Cons

Not intuituve or flexible enough for day to day operations.
Too many restrictions on in house system administrators.
System performance is not good at all.

Pros

I love how easy it is to allow people to set up online booking without my intervention.

Cons

The reminders are great, when they work. Sometimes I don't always get notifications about an appointment.

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

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

Seems to be everything I need, like that it's cloud-based, like that it tracks inventory and gives me reports, allows me to keep great notes....I do think it provides all that's needed.

Cons

Problems with SPEED this past year! Especially if you are in minimum itier. I will say that I'm seriously interested in switching to another company. mindbody offers ASCP/ABMP members a program. It doesn't have as much capability as booker, I think I wouldn't be able to sell products online, etc., but that's not something I use very much anyway.

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

I like how easy it is for people to book appointments, how it keeps track of room usage, payroll and other functions. Great that is can be used on smartphones for booking appointments on the fly, notifications via text and email!

Cons

System slow downs have been awful the last few months, we have had intermittent notification glitches (ie people not getting notified of appointments), problems with people thinking they booked appointments but for some reason it didn't go through this needs to be better - customers are unaware that it didn't go through because of missing information on their end - a tiny red star doesn't really cut it for people to see. Should say somewhere - at the end if you do not get a pop up saying Thank you for your appointment - you are missing information or your selection didn't go through. I wish there was a more integrated system for marketing that allows target marketing, I didn't like having to purchase yet another system like Mail Chimp and now HireFredrick. Really gets very expensive.

Pros

It was easy to check appointments and see when your client has arrived.

Cons

I thought that it wasnt innovative or modern at the time of use.

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.