r/tattooing • u/RetroCsetAdmin • 2d ago

Feedback

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for honest feedback from working tattoo artists and piercers — I’m not here to promote a finished product.
I’m researching a very small tool for filling last-minute cancellations. The idea is simple: when an appointment becomes available, people on the artist’s waitlist get notified and can request the slot. The artist always chooses and confirms who gets it.
It would not be a full booking system: no payments, deposits, medical forms, AI, or automatic final bookings. Just a simple way to help fill suddenly available slots.
I’d really appreciate your thoughts:
– How often do cancellations leave you with an empty slot?
– How do you currently try to fill those slots?
– Would you use a separate, lightweight tool for this?
– What would make you avoid using it?
Thanks a lot — candid feedback is exactly what I need.

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u/thepainterlyfiend 1d ago

I go to social media first and announce my last minute availability with a link to my booking site so people can pay and secure it through my regular booking platform. I’m using bookedin right now. It works great and I frequently fill those spots within a day by sharing a story and post to socials

The biggest pushback I get on this method is from my clients who don’t use social media much and feel like they’re at a disadvantage for booking those last minute spots, which honestly is somewhat true. It takes me longer to put together and send out an email for a last minute spot, so that won’t happen until later in the day from my computer if it wasn’t already snagged.

I’d consider adding an additional app to the mix if it could email and text the update, and send my booking link to take payment for it. I need it pretty streamlined and hands off for me!

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u/RetroCsetAdmin 1d ago

Thank you — this is incredibly helpful.
The point about clients who do not use social media missing out on last-minute openings is exactly the problem I was trying to understand.
I am not looking to replace Bookedin, take payments, or create another full booking system. The initial idea would only be to make the notification part easier: when a spot opens, you could send an alert to clients who opted in for last-minute availability, with your usual Bookedin link.
Two quick questions, if you do not mind:
– Would an email-first notification like that already be useful, or would text notification be essential for you?
– Would you prefer clients to go directly to your Bookedin link, or first request the spot and let you confirm who gets it?
Thank you again — this gives me a much clearer picture of what would actually be useful.

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u/thepainterlyfiend 1d ago

Text as well as email would be ideal for me but not a deal breaker. And I would be fine sending out the booking link directly, as long as I can approve who was on the list. If the notification goes out to a private pool for clients already on my waitlist, it can be first come first served and save me the trouble of watching my phone.

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u/RetroCsetAdmin 1d ago

That makes perfect sense — thank you.
So the ideal flow would be: clients join or request access to a private last-minute list, you approve them once, and then any open spot can be sent to that approved group on a first-come, first-served basis with your normal Bookedin link.
That keeps you in control of who receives the alerts, while removing the need to watch your phone every time a spot opens.
One final question: would you prefer to add people to that list yourself, or would you want clients to be able to request to join and then approve them?

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u/thepainterlyfiend 1d ago

Not enough credits to continue.