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Prat de Llobregat City Council has implemented a system of cancellation of previous appointments via WhatsApp, with the aim of reduce the number of no-shows and be able to have a more accurate forecast of daily attendance to citizen attention services.
People who have made an appointment in advance receive a WhatsApp message with all the information about their appointment and, with a single click, they can confirm or cancel it.
The system simplifies the process of canceling appointments and improves the sending of reminders that was previously done by SMS, which did not allow interaction with users or tracking of messages sent. Thanks to its high implementation, the WhatsApp channel provides a high level of response and cuts no-show appointments in half.
It is an innovative initiative that is contained in theDigiCanvis Observatory.
How does the service work?
The interactive reminder service consists of sending a message to the mobile via the WhatsApp channel to people who have a previous appointment arranged for the following day, reminding them of the day, time and place of the appointment and offering the possibility to interact with a chatbot within the same conversation to confirm or cancel the appointment.
If the person cancels the appointment, they have the option of requesting a new one from the same message received, with a link to the previous appointment request from the town hall. If the person continues to type, the chatbot responds to their queries through WhatsApp itself.
The council's appointment system is integrated with an omnichannel communication platform in the cloud, which allows interactive reminders to be automatically sent through the WhatsApp channel. The platform also allows you to detect if there was an error sending the reminder, if the person read the message, or if the conversation expired without being read.
What are the advantages of this service?
- Improve the citizen attention service. Sending reminders cuts no-show appointments by more than half, and cancellations allow free appointments to be offered to other people.
- Strengthens communication with citizens. Unlike email or SMS, the chatbot via WhatsApp allows two-way and interactive communication; the administration becomes closer, relating to citizens through the same channel that it uses in the personal sphere.
- Cost savings. Using the WhatsApp channel reduces the cost of reminders compared to the cost of sending SMS.
The service has been in operation since September 2022 with many good results. More than 60% of users respond to the appointment reminder and half of the responses occur within 2 hours of sending the reminder. The number of no-shows has decreased to 18%.
You can consult the detailed information of the project, regarding the benefits and impacts, barriers and difficulties, costs associated with the implementation of the solution and other key aspects, in the DigiChanges Observatory file: Cancellation of previous appointments with interactive reminders via WhatsApp.
DigiCanvis Observatory
New space to spread and promote digital transformation projects
It collects innovative initiatives and good practices (DigiCanvis) that have been successfully implemented in Catalan councils and that are a source of inspiration for the rest of the bodies.
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