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Public Pricing: Booking/Paying online

Brian Stevens >

August 07, 2010 21:58

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Perhaps we are missing this - we would like to create public price lists for our workshops and some special events.  We want people to be able to go to our public link, select a workshop, event or package - and book/pay directly online.

Currently it doesn't look like this is possible.  We created a test workshop package and it only allows people to create and request an estimate.  We then just get a lead that we need to send a package/invoice to. It saves the package, we just have to walk through the booking process.

Is what we want possible in the current environment or is this a feature request?

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45 comments

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  April Berardi > August 24, 2010 21:18

  hmmm, would be very handy indeed.

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  Nicole Thomas > August 28, 2010 01:39

  I agree that would be great! I was just working on figuring out if that was possible today.

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  Tracie DeCecco > September 14, 2010 02:39

  yes this! I am trying to figure this out!!!!

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  Mary Angelini > November 20, 2010 13:58

  That would be handy

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  Anthony Mosley > January 06, 2011 22:47

  I was just trying to do the same myself!

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  Leeann Golish > January 08, 2011 20:46

  Currently, the client can request to quote, but does have to go through the "booking" process in order to seal the deal. I can, however, see how this could come in handy for different scenarios! -Leeann (ShootQ SQUAD)
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  Brian Stevens > January 08, 2011 20:51

  Leeann,

  It's good a ShootQ representative has addresses this thread.  I (and I assume most) are aware clients can request a quote via the public pricing.  But there is a shortfall in the system that does not allow people to book directly.  We have special events (try to have them monthly) and want people to be able to select a date/time within a certain date range.  Also, we use ShootQ for our workshops and would want our attendees to be able to pay online without requesting a quote.

  The request a quote feature is very handy - but when we tell people to go to a specific pricing page to book something and all they can do is request a quote, wait for our response and then go in again to pay - it creates more work and confusion for our clients.

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  Leeann Golish > January 08, 2011 20:55

  Hi Jeremy, don't worry. I totally get what you're saying. I would recommend inputting a feature request with the "Submit A Request" in this Help Hub. I can assure you that the ShootQ development team reads and considers their client feedback.
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  Brian Stevens > January 08, 2011 21:00

  Leeann,

  I did that when I started this thread in the summer - the person that responded told me to start a forum thread.

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  Brian Stevens > January 25, 2011 13:50

  Following up on this again.  We are coming up on a large studio event and would really love this feature.  As we continue to have more events (will be doing 2-3x more this year than we did in 2010) - this is going to be a must have rather than a strong want.

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  Bill Tzizik > January 27, 2011 13:57

  Yes I would like to add this to my website as i get many request from customers that would have just signed up and paid money if they could have

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  Terrica Skaggs > February 02, 2011 20:43

  I can understand having everything under one roof, but could you use something like eventbrite for the interim to save yourself the time of going through the booking process for each attendee?

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  David Medina > February 25, 2011 20:17

  Me too. That would be an awesome addition to ShootQ. 

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  Rita Lawrence > February 26, 2011 15:25

  I really really would love this feature!!!!  I have clients that wish to just go in choose, book, and pay all at once because it saves time...on their part and mine in the studio, please ShootQ help us out here!!!

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  Lara White > February 26, 2011 21:25

  I agree, when I signed up for shootq, I was under the impression that clients could view pricing & then book a package "automatically" sort of a thing, but I dont know if it is not set up as I had imagined or I just dont know how to use the pricing & booking, but I would love to see more automation possible on the client side, rather than request a quote, we confirgure the quote, get it to them, and then we wait for them to get around to signing and paying. I would like to see some of that confusion removed, like we have the date open, or they can just automatically purchase a boudoir session without going back and forth with us. put the session & an album in their shopping cart, pay, and it's done. THAT would be awesome.

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  Rita Lawrence > February 27, 2011 02:17

  In case this might help anyone--this is what I've started doing and it works beautifully so far.  I create my packages to show them on the "share the pricing" page.  Then when they let me know which package they want (sometimes this is by phone the first time we talk, sometimes by email later) I then create their invoice for that package and whatever other products they want.  I then email them the "portal" or client welcome site with the passcode and instruct them to login and complete the booking by filling out the questionnaire, read/sign the contract, and take care of their invoice all together.  This is pretty easy and quick and eliminates that middle step of "requesting the proposal".  =)

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  Justin Lund > March 01, 2011 21:31

  I've been thinking on this for a few days and I can understand the convenience of having a client book services without the photographer's interaction, but it really bothers me.  Would you really want to book someone without talking to them first?  What if you had another shoot pending the same day?  What about a personality conflict or overly-demanding customer?

  -Justin

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  Lara White > March 01, 2011 21:42

  well you would need to follow your leads more closely-to ensure that you are not getting them to that point without having checked the calendar first. but if we've been in touch with the client back and forth, and I give them the green light-by sending the access to the book your package link, then yes, I would say I'd love for them to book the event immediately without further back and forth. Even though I read all these quotes when signing up for shootq how super quick photographers were booking clients same day type of thing, I have not found that I am seeing that with the back and forth required, once I send them the package and payment info, they often sit on it a week, and I HATE that. I am always worried they are still "thinking" about it, shopping around etc. I would rather remove every possible obstacle to getting the booking.

  The main way I would really like to use the ability to book services would be to send them a link to engagement products prior to the session, and have them purchase what they would like in terms of engagement products. I no longer have a studio space in order to bring them back in & do a sales session.

  On occasion a client will request a product, we make it, then they change their minds, meanwhile we invested the design time. If they had already paid for the item it would just make the sale much smoother.

  I could see this working for portrait and boudoir clients as well, where you really just focus on the session first, then sell products afterward.

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  David Medina > March 01, 2011 21:43

  Justin, I have been debating the same thing with myself for a while. Should I let the client book without any contact with me or should I pre-qualify the client first? To me, this is a particular issue for portrait studios and not weddings.  

  I can see the convenience for a volume portrait studio to have the client use a system like Brownbookit where the clients goes to the site, choose the type of session, select the date and time from those available and paid for the session. Their argument is convenience for the client and freeing up studio staff from having to handle all those calls. And I can understand their argument. And maybe it comes down to the particular studio operation style. I can certainly see it if you have a special session, like a facebook day in which your are after volumen.

  But in the other side, if your studio is a boutique studio, one characteristic is that you have a personal "relationship" with the client from contact and that type of set up would be contrary to the Boutique style.

  I guess, the best solution would be to have the feature and allow each studio to decide which one work best for them.

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  Brian Stevens > March 01, 2011 21:49

  Justin,

  You are correct, in most cases we do not book sessions until not only having talked with the client - but bringing them into our studio for a consultation.  At that time we book the session (still hoping for a version of the ShootQ app that clients can actually sign on the screen so we can do the contract part in-studio).

  However, we need the functionality requested in this thread for our bigger events where it's rather straight forward what we include and we don't need a consult to produce the finished result.  We have quarterly professional headshot events, special studio events (holiday card day, etc) and portrait workshops that require some sort of functionality like this.  If we can't get it here, we will have to look elsewhere to meet the need as the volume for this events is growing to the point where our manual interaction is requiring to much time.

  Jeremy

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  Justin Lund > March 01, 2011 22:09

  I think I'm starting to see the need here, but I feel like there are two use cases.

  1.  Make the booking process easier.  -- I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this one.  If a shoot is booked without using the proposal process, you still will have to go back and assign the photographer, contract, workflow, etc.  And should you really accept a payment before you, as the photographer, has signed the contract (assuming you're using one)?

  2.  High volume, usually portrait, business.  -- I don't see this so much as a "booking" issue in the ShootQ sense of the word, but more a scheduling issue.  It sounds like we need to provide an easy way for a client to schedule a photographer's time.  I could foresee this as being integrated with a photographer's website or Nimbus site.

  Does this make sense?  Am I off base here?

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  Brian Stevens > March 01, 2011 22:15

  Justin,

  Clients would select the event package we have slated.  For us, the date would be predetermined and the time could be variable - the client selects a time that within a range we provide.  From that, we capture their info and they go directly to the contract and invoice process.  We would sign the contract and the "session" would officially be booked. 

  The current process for selecting a package for quote and we have to get back to them with the proposal and they have to go thru more steps is confusing for our clients - regarding these special events.  We do not use the public pricing all the time - just when we have a certain event going on.

  If you would like, I am available via phone if you'd like me to explain further.  Our contact phone is on our account.  Anything I can do to get this feature implemented is fine by me - we'll take the time needed to get it moving forward.

  Jeremy

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  David Medina > March 01, 2011 22:27

  I think #1 still applies more to portraits, engagement sessions, etc where we pre-determine available dates and time slots.

  To work you will need the ability for the clients to see a calendar with available time slots that we, the photographer, determine are available. We should have the ability to determine when we use it and when we don't. For example, I would not use it for weddings but I may use it for portraits and engagement sessions and other special events.

  In that calendar we should be able to determine available dates and time slots, block dates for booked weddings or days we set apart for weddings that can be fed from the regular shootQ calendar, hours of operations.

  The flow will be client select session + addons, then select time slots from available ones set for that purpose, client sign agreement and pay session fee. Done. It shows up like a booked session 

  There is a great example called Brownbook http://www.brownbookit.com/

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  Jordan Van Aken > March 16, 2011 16:10

  If I've followed this thread, what Jeremy is saying makes sense.  Given his scenario, I imagine this - Jeremy has announced a workshop for a given day and there is room for 20 students accepted on a first come, first served basis.  There would be a link to pay and book immediately, no approval necessary.  This could happen if SQ had a 'day of' or workshop function where you could enter the # of contracts allowed for that day, SQ would track the signed contracts and then reject any above that # (displaying a custom message of course - like being added to a wait list or the date of the next event).  Same thing with boudoir, kids day in the park or head shots if he is announcing a 'day of'. 

  Scheduling obviously wouldn't be a problem for the workshops and for the others it could be as simple as announcing 'there are 10 one hour slots, you will be assigned a time slot two weeks prior, so leave your schedule open until then'.  Of course it would be even better for him if time slots could be booked and tracked in real time.  Seems complicated to create, but if I understand correctly, makes perfect sense.

  As for sending out specific time slots, that would also be useful when trying to figure out a time to meet.  Unless I'm missing something, time info is pulled from studio hours whereas I don't have a regular schedule and I'd rather select time slots for each email that I send.  So, that part would be helpful beyond the auto booking issue.

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  Brian Stevens > March 16, 2011 17:29

  Jordan,

  That is correct - thanks for the detailed/functional reiteration!

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  Travis Freeland > April 05, 2011 18:44

  David -

  I assume you use Brownbook?

  I've used Brownbook for my high school seniors for the past year and absolutely love it.  I've had nothing but rave reviews from my seniors.  Like you said, it allows me to easily pre-determine my availability and then through the booking process it allows the senior and her parents to easily find a time that works best for them.  I've had great success with this process and have never felt the need to talk with the senior before booking.  We get to know them after they're on the schedule through a phone consultation and a questionnaire.  I only use this process for high school seniors.

  I've had my fingers crossed that ShootQ would eventually add Brownbook type features further solidifying their 'one cohesive environment' desire to simplify a photographer’s online presence by integrating various online tools to create a unified command and control hub.  

  Maybe Nimbus will allow these type of features to be added???

   

  Justin -

  Check out this link  http://tfreephotography.brownbookit.com/schedules   to further understand what numerous folks (David and myself for sure) are asking for.

  Does this sound like a possible Nimbus feature?

  Thanks

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  Joseph Kohn > April 14, 2011 19:13

   

  Just wanted to add my 2c...

  This is indeed a MUST HAVE option for busy studios. I have similar "Do it Yourself" feature implemented on my site and more then once I was able to guide my clients via the phone over self booking page and get booked jobs in a matter of minutes.

  Photographer interaction in this must be a pure choice, not an only option. Some want to create a custom package for everyone, others have default packages.

  As previously noted by others.

  1. Client recieves a default page link

  2. Client choses the package

  3. Client signs contract online

  4. Client pays the retainer (also can be default amount)

  5. Photographer gets notification.

  ShootQ, start working on it!

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  Lori Swadley > October 12, 2011 01:39

  Woah, this isn't available already in ShootQ?  I'm so lost, as this was a major push for me to sign up for ShootQ... I use the free online scheduling/booking/payment tool from Miller's right now, but thought that ShootQ would be a more professional looking choice that would also allow me to incorporate those bookings into the client database (not sure what terminology ShootQ uses, as I just signed up). If this is not possible, then I'm at the wrong place and just spent way too many hours playing around with this site. Hopefully, this issue has been taken care of so I can get on board, if not I'll just stick with Miller's!

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  Katie Van Buren > October 12, 2011 16:59

  Hello Lori,

  I think I need to add a little clarification for you, since you are new to ShootQ.  You can track leads, book jobs, accept payments, add invoices etc. within ShootQ.  This also allows you to be adding to your client database (relationships).  What is being addressed above is asking for a specific feature request to have the ability to book without going through the proposal process. 

  If you have specific questions about this please email me at kvanburen@pictage.com and I would be happy to answer them for you.

  Katie

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  Justin Lund > October 12, 2011 19:23

  Hey all, we've talked about this internally but we're not ready to make a change yet.  I see this as a very tricky situation.  I understand the use cases and I've taken a look at Travis' brownbookit site.  This functionality still makes me a little uncomfortable.  That being said, here are my thoughts on this today:

  Would you want to restrict this to pre-qualified leads or let anyone who finds your site book you?  If you only want to make this available to pre-qualified leads, we may be able to make some changes to make this easier rather than a larger change.  It sounds to me like most users would like to make this available to anyone at anytime.

  One concern I have is how we'd restrict this for those users who want it.  One idea we had was to have this be a setting based on shoot type.  But if you don't want to allow a specific shoot without using the full proposal process first, there wouldn't be a way to stop someone from doing so.  In our discussions, this really has to be an all-or-none setting.

  We'd also need to consider the calendars.  We'd need to know which calendar and events should block out time.  We give you a warning now when potential conflicts arise, but we have no way of knowing if they're true conflicts.  Another issue is if you have multiple photographers.  If you're booking portrait sessions, we'd need to know someone's availability.  There's also a time factor - how much advance notice do you need?  can someone book you for today? tomorrow? only a week out or more?

  There's definitely a lot to consider in this seemingly small request!