How to reduce no-shows with reminder calls
No-shows drop most when a reminder is a call rather than a text, because a call can hear “actually, can we move it to Thursday” and an SMS cannot. Here is what works, what does not, and the numbers.
Why SMS reminders plateau at around 8% no-shows
A text can be read and forgotten. It cannot hear “I can’t make Tuesday” and offer Thursday. The clinics that get below 5% do it with a call, because the call turns a cancellation into a reschedule — and the slot stays filled.
The two-call pattern: day before and hour before
The first call catches the people who forgot; the second catches the people who are running late and would otherwise not come at all. Each is under a minute. The second should offer to move the appointment rather than just confirm it.
What a reminder call should say, and not say
Who is calling, which appointment, one question. It should not sell anything, mention anything clinical, or take longer than a minute. Warm, brisk, and doing the person a favour.
Measuring recovered slots, not calls made
The number that matters is how many appointments happened that would not have. Count no-shows per hundred bookings before and after, on the same days of the week. Everything else is activity.
Where to go from here
If this is the job you need done, the Reminder does it: Confirms appointments the day before and an hour before, and offers to reschedule rather than lose the slot. Pricing starts free.
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