The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for many companies, but retailers specifically have faced difficulties with keepings stores open while attempting to follow government restrictions related to social distancing guidelines. Large retailers like Best Buy have begun allowing customers with masks and gloves into stores on an appointment basis while also limiting store hours. Smaller retailers like hair salons, auto repair shops, boutiques, and other small to midsize retailers who don’t have dedicated teams to implement advanced COVID-19 response operations can utilize appointment booking software like Microsoft Bookings to safely open their business to their customers when they are able to.

What is Microsoft Bookings?

Microsoft Bookings is an appointment booking application included in some Microsoft 365 plans. With Bookings, retailers can create a branded web page where customers can easily schedule appointments tracked via a dedicated Outlook calendar. Once an appointment is booked, Bookings automatically sends a confirmation email and calendar invite to the customer via email.

With Bookings, administrators can create multiple appointment types with custom names, descriptions, locations, and time amounts.

Once a booking is made, the customer has complete control over their booking. Older booking processes would require a customer to call into the store to change or cancel an appointment, but thankfully Microsoft Bookings automates this process. After making an appointment on the Bookings web page, the customer can reschedule, cancel, or schedule a new appointment at any point before their initial scheduled time.

Using Bookings during the COVID-19 outbreak

Microsoft Bookings includes features that help retailers enforce social distancing guidelines by limiting customer interaction. Because all bookings are managed on a private Outlook calendar only accessible by Bookings administrators, over-booking is impossible. Once a timeslot is full, it is automatically removed from available time slots. Microsoft Bookings also cuts down on no-shows with optional email reminders before scheduled appointments.

Another helpful feature is appointment buffer time. Administrators can set the length of each type of appointment and add an additional buffer time between appointments. This allows you add time in between customers will be visiting your location thus limiting social interaction as much as possible.

Get Bookings as part of Microsoft 365

For companies that already have Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), Microsoft Bookings may be already included in their existing plan. Companies that have not yet taken the plunge with Microsoft 365 may find this is the perfect opportunity to do so. With the uncertainty of when employees are allowed back into the office and work from home policies becoming a new norm, Microsoft 365 gives employees the ability to work wherever with cloud storage and team communication tools.

Microsoft Bookings comes in Microsoft 365 Business Standard (formerly Office 365 Business Premium) and Microsoft 365 Business Premium (formerly Microsoft 365 Business). These plans also include email through Exchange Online, cloud file storage with OneDrive and SharePoint, and team communication and collaboration through Microsoft Teams.