Automating appointment status and customer feedback collection

Automating appointment status and customer feedback collection

Hello community members,

In the spirit of elevating your scheduling game for 2024, we're bringing you a couple of useful workarounds that can enhance your overall Bookings experience.

We have divided the community post into two halves. In the first half, we will show how to automate the appointment status to Completed. This action ensures that emails are automatically triggered after the appointment is completed. In the second half, we will explore how to add and prefill the feedback form in your customer emails. This will allow you to efficiently gather feedback from customers.

In an effort to streamline the entire process, we're merging both topics into a single post. This aims to automate updating the appointment status to completed, triggering the completion email to customers, and seamlessly integrating our Zoho Survey form for actively collecting valuable feedback.

Automating the appointment status

Currently, updating an appointment's status to Completed is a manual process in Zoho Bookings. However, with our new workaround, you can now streamline this task through automation. We've included steps below that will make it so that once an appointment has ended, its status will automatically switch to Completed.  

Note that if you mark an appointment as No show, your selection will not be overwritten by this new workaround. 

If you're still concerned about this, consider editing the content of the appointment completion trigger email, providing generic content suitable for both attendees and non-attendees. This guarantees that even if all appointments are marked as completed, a generic email with relevant information will be sent to all customers.

Prerequisites for automating the appointment status 

1. Zoho Bookings basic or premium subscription.
2. Zoho Flow paid subscription

How to automate 

A. First, we'll create a new flow in Zoho Flow:

1. Sign in to Zoho Flow.

2. Select the Create flow option.



3. Select App and search for Zoho Bookings in the search bar.



4. Select the Appointment booked trigger.



5. Select the Connection and Variable Name.



6. Click Done. 

You have now created a new flow for Zoho Bookings.

Other helpful links for this process:
B. Next, let's configure the logic: 

1. Navigate to the Logic tab in Zoho Flow.

2. Click the Flow Control dropdown and select Delay.

3. Drag and drop the Delay function to the bottom of the Appointment booked trigger.



4. Click on the edit icon next to the Delay function.



5. In the Delay For the column, select the appointment end time variable from the available Zoho Bookings variables.



Completing this steps helps us ensure that this workflow executes exclusively at the end of each appointment.

C. We can now allocate additional time for any necessary actions:

For example, let's consider extending the remaining actions by an extra 5 minutes. This extension grants you additional time to update the appointment status. 

1. From the Logic tab, drag and drop another Delay action to the bottom of the first Delay action.



2. Click on the edit icon next to the Delay function.



3. In the Delay For column, set the desired extra time based on your preference. If going by our proposed example, we'd configure an additional 5 minutes.


For more details: Delay

Note: If you decide not to include extra time and prefer to execute the flow precisely at the end of the appointment duration, you do not need to complete this section of steps.

D. Finally, let's configure a custom function

Through this step, we'll ensure our ended appointment's status updates to Completed (as long as no other status has been selected).

1. From the Logic tab, click the Custom Functions dropdown.



For more details: Custom Functions

2. Click +Custom Function.



3. Add a relevant name for the function under Function Name, and set the Return Type as void - Returns nothing from the dropdown.

4. Under Input parameters, type bookingID and select string from the dropdown as shown in the screenshot below.



5. Click Create to open the Deluge script page, where we will enter our code for execution.

Please configure the below code in the Deluge script page.  

Code Link



If you're interested, here is a brief explanation of the code:

Line 1: To pass the input data below to the code.
  • Booking ID: Identifies the specific booking for fetching details and checking the status.
Line 3: Set up the API endpoint URL based on the Zoho Bookings account's data center.
Line 3–12: We utilize the Get Appointment API' to retrieve the appointment details. For more details: Get Appointment API

Line 13: Here, we're fetching the status of the respective appointment from the response of the Get Appointment API.

Line 15: Implement an 'if' condition to execute the code only if the appointment status is not No show.

Line 16–27: In this step, we utilize the 'Update Appointment API to mark the appointment status as Completed' when the condition specified in line 15 of the code is met.

This is how the final flow will look:



Note: The described flow is tailored for newly scheduled appointments. For cases where appointments are initially scheduled and later rescheduled, a separate flow must be created. The flow for rescheduled appointments follows the same steps outlined above, with the only modification being the initial trigger. Instead of the 'Appointment booked' trigger, please substitute it with the 'Appointment rescheduled' trigger in step A (steps B, C, and D remain the same).



Collecting feedback with surveys

Ensuring a seamless and positive customer experience is a top priority for every appointment. An integral part of this process involves gathering feedback from customers after the appointment's completion. This valuable feedback not only helps understand their sentiments but also provides insights for continuous improvement. 

Let's explore how to leverage Zoho Survey to collect valuable feedback from customers. Additionally, we'll delve into the process of pre populating survey fields with the customer's name extracted from the appointment.

How to create a survey in Zoho survey:

You have the option to create a new survey from scratch or choose from templates or existing surveys.

For more details, refer to: Create a Survey.

As an example, let's use the Customer Feedback Survey from the templates.




To enhance your survey experience, you have the flexibility to edit the survey form and select specific fields for inclusion.

Now, let's take a closer look at streamlining the customer experience by auto-populating the field inputs in Zoho survey with customer details. This additional step eliminates the need for customers to add their information manually, contributing to an enhanced overall experience.

1. Click on the Actions button (three dots) next to the Last Name field, and choose Edit.




2. Click on Advanced options and check the box next to Prepopulate answer.



3. Select First Name, Last Name, and Email Address under Question label and URL parameter in each corresponding Value from field.



4. In the Value field, configure the parameter name (e.g., firstname, lastname, email). Once configured, this parameter name will be used in the survey link to prefill the fields in the survey form. Customize it as per your requirements, ensuring consistency with the term used in the survey URL.



To publish the survey, go to the Launch tab and click on the Publish button to obtain the Zoho Survey URL.




Pre-populating fields in the Zoho Survey form

Once we have the Zoho Survey URL, we'll need to match the configured parameter name and variables from the Zoho Bookings email notifications. These variables play a crucial role in dynamically fetching customer information and populating it in the Zoho Survey form.

For details about variables in Zoho Bookings email notifications, refer to this link: Pre-defined variables

We'll now edit the survey URL to align the variables with the configured Value, or parameter name, from our prepopulated answer settings.

Let's say this is our survey URL: 

https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/E****h

We'll want to use a question mark ("?") at the end of the survey URL and an ampersand ("&") to separate different parameter names.

Here's what that would look like using our example Value names from earlier:


Now, let's map the parameter names to the Zoho Bookings variables.

It would look like this:


For more details: Autofill 

Where to use the Zoho Survey URL

To enable the automatic sending of the Zoho Survey URL to customers upon updating the appointment status to Completed, follow these steps in the Zoho Bookings application:

For one-on-one services:

1. Click on Service in the top left corner.
2. Select the desired one-on-one service.
4. Navigate to the For Customers tab.
5. Click Customize next to the Mark As Completed' trigger to access the email content.



6. Enter your desired name for the button. For example, you might use something like 'Please fill out the survey'. 

7. Select the entered text and click on the Add Link icon. Paste the configured Zoho Survey URL in the URL box. This will convert your text into a hyperlink that leads to the survey.



For group and resource booking services, please follow the same steps under Workspaces > Notifications.

For more details: Workspace Notifications

With the completion of this step, we have incorporated the Zoho Survey URL with dynamic variables, facilitating the dynamic autofill of customer data.

To wrap it up

With the successful implementation of the configuration described above, the entire process of automating status updates and collecting feedback is now seamlessly integrated, promising an elevated and enhanced product experience for all users.

If you have any questions or need assistance with your configuration, please email us at hello@zohobookings.com or support@zohobookings.com.



    • Sticky Posts

    • Approve or deny appointments based on criteria

      Hey, community members! Have you ever wondered how to automatically approve or deny appointments? While we're still working on building that feature, we've got an alternative method to cancel appointments if they don't meet your specific criteria. Let

    • Recent Topics

    • Feature Request: Tag, Search, and Report on Individual Private Comments

      Zoho Desk Team, First, I want to say that we are extensive users of Zoho Desk and it is a core part of our support operations. We rely heavily on the private comments feature for internal communication, knowledge sharing, and maintaining a clear history

    • Quick Create needs Client Script support

      As per the title. We need client scripts to apply at a Quick Create level. We enforce logic on the form to ensure data quality, automate field values, etc. However, all this is lost when a user attempts a "Quick Create". It is disappointing because, from

    • Connecting two modules - phone number

      Hi, I’d like some guidance on setting up an automation in Zoho CRM that links records between the Leads module and a custom module called Customer_Records whenever the phone numbers match. Here’s what I’m trying to achieve: When a new Lead is created

    • Changing an agents email address

      How do you change an agent's email address? I keep getting a red circle even though I am an admin. And on one of my agents he has two email addresses? How is that possible?

    • Creator Change History: Ways to improve

      Hi Everyone, Recently been working in developing this change history(an idea from Zoho Forms) - unlike forms that you can this with a click but using Creator, we can use "old" keyword. The concept I come up with is to put the result in a table however,

    • Attention API Users: Upcoming Support for Renaming System Fields

      Hello all! We are excited to announce an upcoming enhancement in Zoho CRM: support for renaming system-defined fields! Current Behavior Currently, system-defined fields returned by the GET - Fields Metadata API have display_label and field_label properties

    • Error when sending emails from Zoho

      Hello, When trying to send an email from Zoho CRM I keep getting the below error: javax.mail.AuthenticationFailedException: 535 5.7.139 Authentication unsuccessful, the user credentials were incorrect. Any support on this will be much appreciated. Thanks,

    • Zoho Tables is now live in Australia & New Zealand!

      Hey everyone! We’ve got some great news to share — Zoho Tables is now officially available in the Australian Data Center serving users across Australia and New Zealand regions! Yes, it took us a bit longer to get here, but this version of Zoho Tables

    • Zoho Inventory - How to pay a supplier up front then receive multiple deliveries

      How do we manage situations where we pay a supplier up front, then the receive the products in increments? Example Workflow: Create Purchase Order > Receive Bill for full amount > Receive Items 2 or more deliveries. Currently, once a Bill is created against

    • Not all emails from outlook365 migrated to my new zoho account

      I recently setup a new email address hosted by zoho. I migrated all my folders and email from my Outlook365 account to my new zoho account, but not all my emails migrated. Looks like only the past 12 months, or so, made the move. How do I get the rest

    • Zoho Inventory - Composite Items - Assembly - Single Line Item Quantity of One

      Hi Zoho Inventory Team, Please consider relaxing the system rules which prevent an assembly items from consisting of a single line item and outputting a quantity of 1. A client I'm currently working with sells cosmetics and offers testers of their products

    • Clients not receiving emails

      I've been informed that my emails are not being received. Is there anything that I should look into to rectify this? Many thanks!

    • Allocating inventory to specific SO's

      Is there a way that allocate inventory to a specific sales order? For example, let's say we have 90 items in stock. Customer 1 orders 100 items. This allocates all 90 items to their order, and they have a back order for the remaining 10 items which could

    • Max numbr of IMAP Accounts in Zoho Mail?

      In Zoho mail, you can manage the inboxes of other accounts using IMAP (and POP, actually) https://www.zoho.com/mail/help/external-imap-accounts.html Is there a max to the number of inboxes we can add?

    • Formula Fields Trouble

      Hi,  I can't get even a simple formula field to work and must be doing something dumb. This formula: If(Len(Trim(${Quotes.Subject}))=0,1,2) Gives the error: You used the wrong type of data in an argument. Check what you entered between the parentheses of your functions to make sure you put the right kind of data in the right place. This formula: Len(Trim(${Quotes.Subject}))=0 Gives the error: Syntax Error. Check the examples for any functions you're using to see if you formatted them correctly. Make

    • OPTED FOR STORAGE BY DESCRIPTIVE MISGUIDANCE

      We've opened a domain with three mail ids and payment has also been processed now the bill raised is for single use ID with additional storage capacity. Kindly request you to modify the purchase.

    • How can I add a new organization on Zoho Campaign

      I want to create a new organization with my Zoho Campaign

    • White Label certificate

      Hi all, About 72 hours ago, we fulfilled all steps for white labeling (CNAME to point to mail.cs.zohohost.eu), but since then the configuration page is now stuck at "generating certificate" since 3 days. When I execute an NSLOOKUP mail.webfoundry.be it

    • Split my account

      Hello, I recently bought an email service for a friend. But, looks like I used my personal account to buy the plan. Please split the account so that the email service stays in a different account than my personal account.

    • Remote Server is misconfigured

      Dear Team, I am unable to use email id as remote server is misconfigured. It would be really great if you could help on this and get this resolved. Thanks & Regard Rohit Gupta

    • Have Mail Lite, wish to add/purchase 2nd domain and use email

      Hello, I have recently created two new businesses. I have successfully used Zoho to create a domain for one business and have set up two email addresses / users on that domain. I am trying to figure out how to create a second domain, just like I did the

    • Zoho Learn - AI Translate

      Hi Learn team, I had a situation today where I was providing training to a client team and I had written articles into their Zoho Learn to support their learning. I realised that one of the team members was a non-native English speaker and they were struggling

    • Need support in setting up the company email and few other setups

      Need support in setting up the company email and few other setups

    • This mobile number has been marked spam.

      Dear zoho team, I am very happy to use zoho,because it india 🇮🇳 own app, but when we login into zoho account we facing some issue, please solve below issue ASAP. Add your mobile number As an added security measure for Accounts, you need to verify and

    • IP Address Blocked

      Hi Team. Hope you're doing good. I'm unable to access Zoho with my IP address. I have to use VPN to access it. IP: 39.44.12.153 This is happening with all the Zoho products, the admin console and the mail.

    • Add an external email to the allowed list

      I need to allow an external email to raise a ticket on Manage Engine ServiceDesk Plus. The external email is a outside of our domain and is not a domain user. The email address that needs to be allowed to raise a ticket request is noreply@formsatack.com.

    • Display name & account type change

      I made a mistake and subscribed with an individual account instead of business, how can I change the account type and enter the details of the business. The other question, if I can't, then I want the display name of our email to be 'Business name' instead

    • Request to change display name in Zoho mail

      Hello Zoho Mail Support, I am experiencing an issue with changing the display name on my Zoho Mail account. My email address is: info@witchcraftproduction.rs . I have already updated the display name in Settings > Mail Accounts, where it now shows as

    • Outbound IP address SPAM problem.

      Hello Zoho Support, We noticed that one of your outbound IP addresses (136.143.188.12), which delivers our domain’s mail, is currently listed on the UCEProtect blacklist. Because of this, our messages are sometimes flagged as spam by recipient servers.

    • Answer Bot and Personalized Questions

      Hi there, I have the same problem using the SalesIQ Answer Bot and the Zoho Desk Answer Bot (which really need different names, to be honest, in order to avoid confusion...) Customers that visit our website ask questions in the form of "What do you do?"

    • Forwarding

      How can I forward my Zoho account to my gmail account? Noël

    • Your bot just got smarter: AI-Powered routing that reads between the lines

      What if your bot could tell the difference? Between a visitor who just needs a quick answer, someone actively comparing options, and a frustrated customer one click away from leaving? Most bots can't. They deliver the same response to everyone, missing

    • Add a Way to Duplicate Cards in the Same Canvas (Retain All Settings)

      Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, We would like to request a new feature in Zoho SalesIQ: the ability to duplicate an existing card within the same canvas while retaining all of its information and settings, including conditions, configurations, and display preferences.

    • Zoho Mail CC and BCC not working

      Zoho Mail CC and BCC not working. I have tried multiple combinations amongst my domain aliases but emails sent as CC or BCC never arrive, not even to Spam. I have checked that the DNS is set up correctly in Cloudflare and have even received a DMARC report

    • Is anyone else having trouble saving a custom image in their email signature, or is it just me?

      When I try to save the image I get an error that says "Operation Failed" I opened a support ticket two weeks ago and received a response that it would be debugged, but it still isn’t working

    • Zoho Autoplay Issue

      Currently, we run our graphics on a playlist with youtube videos interspersed in our office -- however, when we go to update the playlist (since last Thursday at around 8-9am EST) it no longer saves the autoplay function.  We have tried making a new account, manually saving with cntrl+s, making a new show, etc but nothing seems to work.  Even with our old program, we can't change it off of autoplay for ones that were created in the past. Another issue is that if we change a slide transition to anything

    • Critical Issue: Tickets Opened for Zoho Support via the Zoho Help Portal Were Not Processed

      Hi everyone, We want to bring to your attention a serious issue we’ve experienced with the Zoho support Help Portal. For more than a week, tickets submitted directly via the Help Portal were not being handled at all. At the same time no alert was posted

    • Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

      Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

    • Adding hyperlinks in CRM emails time automatically

      It may just be me, but when I am writing an email to a lead, I find inserting a hyperlink very time consuming. Granted, I can use templates but there are a ton of scenarios where I might want to put a link in to an website that wouldnt require me to go though the effort of creating a template.  Ideally, the crm would identify that I that a string of text is a URL and insert the hyperlink automatically, just like microsoft outlook or gmail. Has anyone else had this same experience and found a way

    • Enhance "Applications Usage" with Date Filters, Historical Analytics & App-Level Breakdown

      Hello Zoho Creator Team, We are writing to request a critical enhancement to the Applications Usage section to improve our ability to monitor, analyze, and manage our platform consumption over time. While the current view of today’s usage is helpful for

    • Next Page