Keep clients coming back · Every business
How to Reschedule a Customer Without Losing Them
When the business has to move an appointment, the message that keeps the customer is the one that apologizes once, explains briefly and lets them choose the new time themselves.
To reschedule an appointment, contact the customer as early as possible, say plainly that you need to move it and why, offer two or three specific new times or a booking link, and confirm the new time in writing once they choose. Research from outpatient clinics suggests the choice matters most, because appointments the business moves without the customer's input are more likely to end in a no-show.
The message to copy
| Step | Wording |
|---|---|
| 1. Say it plainly | "Hi [first name], it's [business name]. I'm sorry, but we need to move your [service] on [day, date] at [time]." |
| 2. Give a short reason | "[Provider or technician] is out sick" / "an emergency job has taken the crew that day" / "a part we need hasn't arrived." |
| 3. Offer real choices | "Could any of these work instead: [day, time], [day, time] or [day, time]? Or pick any open time here: [link]." |
| 4. Make it easy to say yes | "Reply 1, 2 or 3 and you're set. If none work, tell us what does and we'll fit you in." |
| 5. Add a small make-good when you caused it | "Because we moved you, [the travel fee is waived / you'll go first that morning / a small add-on is on us]." |
| 6. Confirm in writing | "You're booked for [day, date] at [time] at [address]. Thank you for being flexible." |
Five rules for moving a booking
- Reach out the same day you know, and by text or phone rather than email alone, since a rescheduling message is time-sensitive.
- Let the customer pick, with at least two specific options or a link, instead of assigning a new time and asking them to call if it doesn't work.
- Offer the nearest open times first, because a long gap gives the customer time to book somewhere else.
- Apologize once and move on, without repeated sorries or a long story; one sentence of reason is enough.
- Send a fresh confirmation and reminder for the new time, exactly as for a new booking, so the old time doesn't linger in the customer's memory.
When the customer asks to reschedule
Treat a customer's request to move as good news, because the research below found that follow-up patients who rescheduled at their own request were less likely to miss the new appointment. Reply quickly with two or three times, avoid any sign of annoyance, and if your policy has a late-change fee, state it in one plain sentence with the amount.
| Who rescheduled the follow-up visit | Change in no-show probability |
|---|---|
| The patient, at their own request | 10.9 points lower |
| The clinic | 6.2 points higher |
Why it works
The pattern in Exhibit 1 comes from a study of outpatient clinic records published in Manufacturing and Service Operations Management, which found that for follow-up patients, rescheduling at the patient's request lowered the probability of a no-show by 10.9 percentage points, while rescheduling started by the clinic raised it by 6.2 points. A separate study of 20,386 appointment records at a hospital outpatient clinic found that when patients chose their own new time after the clinic moved them, no-show risk fell, and the authors recommended contacting patients after a clinic-initiated change and inviting them to rebook. A fresh reminder for the new time adds to the effect; a Cochrane review of randomized trials found text reminders raised attendance from 67.8% to 78.6%.
Sources
- Liu, J., Xie, J., Yang, K. K. and Zheng, Z. Effects of rescheduling on patient no-show behavior in outpatient clinics. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management 21(4), 2019.
- Tang, Y., Jiang, H., Xie, J., Zheng, Z., Loke, C. Y. and Goh, B. K. Behavioural factors associated with patients' nonattendance. International Journal of Healthcare Management; summarized by Cambridge Judge Business School, 2023. 20,386 appointment records for 6,252 patients.
- Gurol-Urganci, I., de Jongh, T., Vodopivec-Jamsek, V., Atun, R. and Car, J. Mobile phone messaging reminders for attendance at healthcare appointments. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2013. 8 trials, 6,615 participants.
Related reading: Appointment Confirmation Messages That Prevent Confusion · How to Cut No-Shows Without Losing Good Customers · The No-Show Policy Wording to Copy, With or Without a Deposit · The Running-Late Message: What to Send When You Are Behind
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