The Notification application is used to configure how and when SMS messages and/or emails should be sent to customers and staff members. For more information, see “Configuration” .
Changes in the Notification application take effect immediately.
Prerequisite:
• Make sure that you are using an email/sms provider that can handle a heavy load, where the system frequently checks for newly registered appointments. For example (depending on the configuration), the system will check for new appointments every 5 minutes and then send out sms messages for all of the appointments that were booked during those 5 minutes, in a rapid succession.
As message provider, we recommend Messaging Services.
• Make sure that you have added the Notification unit type to your configuration and configured it correctly. For more information about the unit type, see the Standard Unit Type’s Guide, found on Qmatic World.
If you are running an upgraded system, the unit type can be found here, after central upgrade: <Orchestra install dir>/conf/unittemplates/R61.
Preferred Notification Method
There is a possibility for the Customer to select a preferred notification method, at the time of creating a booking, via the public API. Any such setting will override the default settings in the Notification application.
This functionality is handled via REST calls, using a custom object called notificationType. Please see the Orchestra SDK documentation for more information.
Appointments
The Appointment functionality is only available if you have installed the Calendar application.
For appointments, you can send emails or SMS messages to customers
2. a defined number of hours, and/or minutes (it’s possible to set two reminders) before the actual appointment start time - settings are done in the Appointment Reminder sub tab.
3. to cancel appointments, due to for example a branch being closed, or a staff member being ill - settings are done in the Appointment Cancellation sub tab.
Visits
For visits, you can send emails or SMS messages to customer
• when a visit is called (the field where to find the customer phone number is defined in the Notifications unit type)
• when a visit is created
• when a visit is ended.This can be used, for example, for sending out Customer Feedback surveys.
• when a visit reaches certain positions in the queue.
Staff Alerts
For staff, the following notifications can be sent:
• SLA Alerts – SLA alerts are sent to Staff members, once the defined Service Level Agreement (SLA) has been reached. The alerts are sent to users with a specific role.
The parameter Enable SLA Alerts has to be checked in the Notifications unit type, in order for SLA alerts to be sent.
• Arrival Alerts – Arrival Alerts are sent to staff members, once a customer arrives to a specified queue or service. The alerts can be sent to users with a specific role.
The parameter Enable Arrival Events has to be checked in the Notifications unit type, in order for Arrival Alerts to be sent.
Changes in the Notification application take effect immediately.