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We’ve added a couple of new features to BookMe:

• Locations are now optional. This enables virtual companies with no physical locations to also use BookMe.
• Buffer times: Certain businesses need buffer times before and/or after an appoinment to clean or prepare for the next customer. Such buffer times can now be set individually for each service in BookMe.
• Lead times define the minimal time span between booking an appointment and the actual appointment to take place. This allows you as the business owner to prevent overly short-term appointments.

And we’ve asked some of our customers about BookMe. Here’s what they say:

• Eurocentres says: ”The first BookMe appointment came in on the first day of offering the new service – and the number of appointments by potential customers from around the world is growing daily.” Learn more
• Float says: “30%-50% of all appointments are booked through BookMe. Oscar Trott estimates that the center is spending six to eight hours a week less on the phone.” Learn more

Our new booking service BookMe has been in operation for five months, and many companies have jumped on board. BookMe enables smaller service providers to offer their customers a fast and convenient way to book appointments online.

We want to know how our new offer is being received in daily business. Who is using BookMe and for what purpose? A few weeks ago, we reported on float Zurich. Today, we look at how Eurocentres’ language schools are using our new service.

The company

With 35 schools on five continents and teaching in eight languages, Eurocentres has been offering language courses for more than 60 years. Every year, all around the world, about 13,000 people learn a new language with Eurocentres.

The direct sales of the global courses are organized by an international team based in Zurich, primarily through e-commerce activities and personal phone calls.

Why BookMe?

Eurocentres offers its customers a free service number for advice on suitable courses and to book the selected courses over the phone. The disadvantage of this approach is that the large number of customer requests can lead to long waiting times — especially at peak periods.

To prevent this and to operate a more efficient phone sales system, Eurocentres has long been searching for a suitable callback service solution. Being an international company, the ability to provide this service in several languages was a crucial requirement. BookMe fulfilled its expectations exactly and Eurocentres implemented the new service in October 2012.

Experience with BookMe

In addition to the phone service, Eurocentres customers can now place a callback request directly through the company’s website with BookMe. A particularly popular function among customers is the ability to specify a date for the callback.

Michel Sägesser, head of E-Commerce and ICT Services at Eurocentres, is convinced of its benefits: “If you want to receive advice on our language courses, all you have to do is choose a free appointment on our BookMe schedule. It even works across time zones. Customers can prepare themselves beforehand and rely on the time of the callback. With BookMe, not only are we providing a new service, we are also ensuring that potential customers are not lost through the waiting queue.“

The first BookMe inquiry came on the first day of offering the new service – and the number of recall bookings by potential customers from around the world is growing daily. Eurocentres’ employees are convinced of BookMe’s benefits, while Michel Sägesser is certain that the potential of the new callback service is far from exhausted:

“Our busiest season is spring, when most of the courses are booked for the summer holidays. The advantages that BookMe brings to our daily work will become even more obvious then.“