How to Handle Double Booking Scheduling Mishaps Like a Pro
You had a long day, and before you call it, you decide to see what your work day looks like tomorrow, only to realize there’s been a scheduling mishap—you double-booked two jobs for the same time.
What should you do? Try to rework your schedule? Call one of the clients to apologize and postpone? Or, do you try to split up your team to tackle both jobs at once, putting the quality of the work at risk?
Double booking scheduling issues happen. But if you don’t handle them the right way, your business’s reputation and customers’ satisfaction could suffer. Use these tips to handle double bookings professionally and prevent them from throwing a wrench into your schedule.
Navigating double booking scheduling issues:
What is double booking?
Double booking is when you schedule services for two different clients on the same date, during the same time slot. These overlapping appointments mean your team will be expected to be in two places at once.
Unless you can split up your team, double booking scheduling mistakes mean you’ll need to reschedule one of the clients, leaving a bad impression and putting you at risk of losing them altogether.
How does double booking happen?
Often, double bookings are caused by human error. For example, if you or an employee:
- Books an appointment without checking the team calendar
- Forgets to record a booking
- Enters incorrect information in your job scheduling software
Double bookings also happen when two different employees book appointments for the same time slot without realizing it.
Overbooking vs. double booking scheduling issues
Overbooking and double booking both refer to scheduling issues that can cause problems for service providers.
Overbooking is when you book more jobs than usual in a day, leaving little time or overlap between them.
Some businesses overbook on purpose to secure more work and make more money, whereas others accidentally underestimate how long jobs take to complete. Like business owners who don’t have the hang of employee scheduling yet.
Either way, overbooking doesn’t give you any wiggle room for jobs that run long and it can lead to an overworked team.
Double booking is when you book two jobs for the same time slot, meaning your team has to be in two places at once.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of double booking?
While double booking is most often a mistake, some service providers do it on purpose to increase profit.
Purposely double-booking clients is only acceptable if you have the team, time, and resources to do it without compromising the quality of the work.
For example, a landscaping company may have multiple crews to send out to complete different jobs at the same time.
This gives you the advantage of making more money in each time slot of your schedule.
If you have the time, staff, resources, and scheduling software, double booking can be a great way to grow your business.
But, if you don’t, double booking scheduling errors come with a lot of disadvantages, such as:
- An overworked team
- Dissatisfied clients
- A reputation as an unreliable business
- High customer (and employee) turnover
- Poor impressions on new and old clients
If not handled properly, double bookings can also lead to negative reviews, impacting how potential customers view your business.
What to do when double booking scheduling mistakes happen
Each time you make a double booking error, you need to decide what to do on a case-by-case basis and make an informed decision.
Still, when you double-book two clients by mistake, you can follow these best practices to help you handle the situation professionally.
1. Decide which customer takes precedence
Before you do anything else, you need to choose which customer gets to keep their appointment. To figure out who to reschedule, consider:
- Whose booking was first? The fair thing to do may be to honor the client who booked with you first.
- Is the project time-sensitive? A project that’s on a tight deadline or that’s causing an inconvenience, like an emergency repair, may take priority.
- What’s the revenue for each job? If one client cancels the job entirely, which canceled job will lose you more money? The smart business option may be to stick with the bigger, more lucrative job.
- Is the job for a loyal customer? If the job is smaller, but for a long-time customer, you may decide to keep their booking to maintain the relationship. If you cancel, you risk losing recurring appointments with them in the future.
Keep in mind: A loyal customer may be more understanding of the odd scheduling mistake. You could simply apologize and immediately reschedule their appointment. With a new customer, you may want to keep their booking to ensure the relationship starts on a positive note.
2. Communicate with the customer
The best way to communicate with a customer about a double booking scheduling mistake is in person or over the phone.
If they don’t answer, leave a message and send a follow-up email or text letting them know you need to get in touch with them. Then set a reminder to call again before their scheduled time slot.
When you do get ahold of them, offer a genuine apology and let them know you’re committed to finding a solution to the scheduling issue.
3. Offer a solution
Start by suggesting a new booking time on a day that works for you and your client.
If your client’s still unhappy, try offering a financial incentive, like a small discount, a free service, or a higher-tiered package for the same price.
READ MORE: Price bundling: when, why, and how to offer stellar service packages
4. Follow up
Following up with your client after a double booking issue helps rebuild trust, shows your commitment to customer service, and ensures customer satisfaction.
If the customer reschedules their appointment, follow up after the job is complete to make sure they’re satisfied with the service.
This shows the client you’re committed to providing them with the best service possible. And it helps to smooth over the double booking scheduling mistake, making them more likely to let it go by the time they book their next appointment.
If the customer cancels their appointment because they were double booked, wait a week or two, then follow up by phone or email. Ask your client if they’ve found another provider to complete their service and for feedback on how the double-booking situation was handled.
How to apologize for double booking
Any time you double-book a client and need to reschedule the job, a sincere and professional apology should be at the top of your priority list.
Instead, of sending a basic, “sorry about that!” structure your apology as follows to ensure it has the biggest impact—and does the most damage control.
1. Acknowledge and take responsibility for the double booking scheduling mistake.
This shows the client you’re being honest with them and are willing to accept any consequences for the scheduling error.
Say something along the lines of:
“Unfortunately, a scheduling error on our part means we won’t be able to make your upcoming appointment on [appointment date and time].”
2. Offer a sincere apology for the situation
Clearly express your apologies for the inconvenience caused.
After you take responsibility for the mishap, add:
“We understand how valuable your time is and are deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”
3. Propose new booking times
Make it clear that you value their business by suggesting your soonest available dates and times to reschedule.
Say something like:
“To complete your service as soon as possible, our next available time slots that we hope will accommodate your schedule are [Date & Time], [Date & Time], or [Date & Time].”
4. Offer an upgraded service or discount for the inconvenience
To demonstrate your commitment to customer service, provide the customer with an upgraded service or a small discount for their rescheduled visit.
Include an offer in your apology by ending with:
“To make up for the inconvenience, we’d also like to offer you a [complimentary upgrade or discount] for your rescheduled appointment.”
How to prevent double booking scheduling issues
Without the right processes and software in place, making accidental double bookings isn’t as hard as you’d think. Especially when you’re managing all the other tasks it takes to run your business.
Use these tips to keep double bookings from happening so you can take on more work without the scheduling headaches.
1. Use a shared calendar
Record all your booked appointments in one centralized place, like Google Calendar. This way, you can quickly identify which time slots are booked and which are free for new appointments.
Pro Tip: If you and your crew use different calendars, sync them regularly to make sure there are no overlapping appointments.
Better yet, use a field service team calendar to create and manage your bookings and other work-related tasks.
Jobber lets you choose from five different calendar views to get a clear visual of crew availability to prevent overbooking, underbooking—or the dreaded double booking.
You can also assign different colors to each employee to easily see who’s already scheduled for work.
2. Create a cancellation policy
Create a cancellation policy and communicate it to your customers at the time of booking. A cancellation policy helps you manage your schedule more effectively and reduces gaps that may lead to a double booking situation.
READ MORE: How to prevent last-minute cancellations
3. Train employees
Without proper training about how to schedule appointments, your employees are more likely to make booking mistakes.
Make sure anyone who has the ability to make bookings knows:
- Which software to use
- Where to input information about appointments
- Which calendar they need to check first
- Whether they need to confirm availability with anyone beforehand
4. Invest in scheduling software
Appointment scheduling software, like Jobber, helps you:
- Schedule jobs faster
- Avoid booking mistakes
- Route visits efficiently
Create a job, compare team member schedules to see who’s free, choose an available time slot, and schedule the work—in just a few clicks.
Appointment scheduling software, like Jobber, helps your schedule jobs faster, avoid booking mistakes, and route visits efficiently.
Create a job, compare team member schedules side by side to see who’s free, choose an available time slot, and easily schedule the work—with just a few clicks.
Plus, new customers can book services directly through your website or social media, while you stay in control of your availability.
5. Send booking confirmations and automated reminders
Sending booking confirmations helps you maintain an accurate and up-to-date schedule. They ensure both you and your customer see the same scheduled appointment date and time, reducing the risk of accidental double bookings.
Jobber sends you and your customer an automated email confirmation as soon as the visit’s booked, so you’re always ready for upcoming jobs.
Jobber also lets you schedule emails or text messages to remind customers of their upcoming appointments. Automated visit reminders give you a chance to correct scheduling issues before they become double bookings.
Double bookings happen to move service providers at one point or another. But that doesn’t mean they have to become a major hassle to deal with.
Handle double booking scheduling mishaps by communicating about the problem immediately, offering a genuine apology, and providing a fix.
Even better, avoid double booking problems altogether by investing in software to reduce human error, improve organization, and better manage your schedule.
Originally published in January 2024. Last updated on October 1, 2024.