Reminder calls that reduce no-shows

Why a reminder, and why a call

Most no-shows are not people who decided not to come. They forgot, the date clashed with something, or they meant to reschedule and never got round to it. A reminder fixes the first case. A reminder that lets them reschedule in the same moment fixes the second and third, and gives you the slot back early enough to fill it.

A text message is easy to ignore and hard to answer if the customer wants a different time. A short call can confirm, move or cancel in under a minute. The catch has always been staff time: nobody wants to spend the morning ringing tomorrow's list. That is the part an outbound voice agent takes over.

Get the timing right

• The day before works for most appointments: close enough to be remembered, early enough to reschedule and refill the slot.
• Two or three days ahead suits appointments that need preparation, such as fasting before a test, documents to bring or a car to be left all day.
• Inside sensible hours. A reminder at 9.30 pm is an annoyance. Set a calling window and keep to it, including weekends and public holidays if you do not want to call then.

Make the call do something

The best reminder calls follow one pattern: identify yourself, state the appointment, and ask one question.

1. Say who is calling and why: "This is the clinic, calling about your appointment tomorrow at 10 am."
2. Ask if they are still coming.
3. If yes, confirm and mention anything they need to bring.
4. If not, offer to move it there and then, checking real availability, and read back the new time.
5. If they want to cancel, cancel it, so the slot is free for someone else.
6. If they ask not to be called again, record it and stop.

Keep the call short and the language natural. Let the customer answer in Malay, English or Mandarin, and let them ask a quick question ("do I need to fast?") without derailing the call.

Respect consent and opt-outs

Only call people who gave you their number for this purpose, which for an existing appointment they usually have. Keep a do-not-contact list, check it before every run, and honour an opt-out the moment someone asks. Under Malaysia's Personal Data Protection Act you should be able to show why you had the number and what the person agreed to.

A script that works

Here is the shape of a reminder call that stays under a minute. Adapt the words to your business and your customers' language.

• Agent: "Selamat pagi, this is Klinik Sejahtera calling about your appointment with Dr Lim tomorrow, Thursday, at 10 am. Are you still able to come?"
• Customer: "Aiyo, tomorrow cannot, got meeting. Friday boleh?"
• Agent: "Friday we have 9.30 am or 2 pm. Which one suits you?"
• Customer: "2 pm."
• Agent: "Done. Your appointment is now Friday at 2 pm with Dr Lim. Please bring your IC. Anything else?"

Notice what it does not do: no long introduction, no marketing, no second offer tacked on the end. A reminder call that turns into a sales pitch teaches people not to answer next time.

Mistakes that waste the call

• Calling from a number nobody recognises. Where you can, show your own business number as caller ID so people know who it is.
• Reading the whole booking back. Date, time and who they are seeing is enough.
• No way to reschedule. "Please call the clinic to change" undoes the point of calling.
• Calling the same list twice. Once a booking is confirmed, take it off the next run.

Record the outcome, not just "called"

A list that says "called" tells you nothing. Record what happened: confirmed, rescheduled, cancelled, no answer, wrong number, asked not to be called. Over a few weeks that tells you which appointment types slip most, which time of day people answer, and whether your reminder is worth its cost.

Calls that do not connect need a rule too. Retry once or twice at a different hour rather than hammering the same number, and stop there.

Running reminder calls in Floee

In Floee you upload the list as a campaign and the voice agent calls it. It dials only inside the calling hours you set, skips anyone on your do-not-contact list or who has opted out, and retries calls that did not connect. On the call it can check availability and move a booking there and then, and it records the outcome of every call so you can read the results in Reports. The industry packs for clinics, workshops and education include ready-made reminder templates to start from.

See how this looks for clinics and dental practices, workshops and training providers, or check plans with voice minutes.