Join a Waitlist
Market: Family healthcare managers
Scenario: A 42-year-old family healthcare manager attempts to schedule an appointment at a retail health clinic but finds no availability. They join the waitlist, providing their contact information. Patiently, they wait for an opening. When notified of an available slot, they secure the appointment and remove their name from the waitlist.
Average Difficulty: Intense (30%+ max difficulty score across most steps)
41 Outcomes 13% to 60% Difficulty
Research Insights
The study identified the most difficult aspects of joining a waitlist, including quickly getting a refund if an appointment does not become available, getting appointments for multiple people at the same time, and receiving perks or fun things while waiting. The least difficult outcomes were related to providing contact information, choosing communication preferences, and easily registering or signing on.
Job Steps
1. The appointment or event you want to attend is not available
2. Join the waiting list
3. Add your contact details
4. Wait to see if an opening becomes available
5. Receive notice that an opening is available
6. Secure the event/appointment
Themes Identified
- Urgency and Priority: Getting priority for urgent cases, exerting influence to get an appointment sooner, and being seen quickly.
- Communication and Notifications: Choosing preferred contact methods, receiving comprehensive information about appointments, and knowing where to go.
- Flexibility and Alternatives: Having alternative options if an appointment doesn't open up, getting shorter appointments for more options, and easily removing oneself from the waitlist when no longer needed.
Recommendations
- Implement a system that prioritizes urgent cases and allows users to indicate the urgency of their request.
- Offer customizable communication preferences for users to receive notifications via their preferred channels.
- Provide clear and comprehensive information in the notification when an opening becomes available, including appointment details and location.
- Suggest alternative options or shorter appointment slots to increase the chances of securing a spot.
- Make it easy for users to remove themselves from the waitlist when they no longer need the appointment.
Cautions
- Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, as different users may have varying levels of urgency and communication preferences.
- Do not make the process of joining the waitlist overly complicated or time-consuming, as users value quick and easy registration.
- Refrain from sending too many notifications or irrelevant information that may frustrate users while they wait for an opening.
- Be cautious about overpromising the likelihood of securing an appointment, as users want to know their realistic chances of getting in.
- Do not make it difficult for users to remove themselves from the waitlist, as this may lead to unnecessary frustration and a negative experience.
Outcomes
The difficulty percentages below represent the proportion of the market that finds this outcome difficult to achieve.
| Difficulty | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 60% | Decrease the time it takes to give a refund if an appointment does not become available |
| 55% | Increase the availability of concurrent schedules for families |
| 54% | Increase the number of perks or fun things while you wait (e.g., water, fun messages) |
| 52% | Decrease the time it takes to be seen |
| 46% | Increase the ability to not feel so frustrated when an appointment is not available |
| 46% | Increase your ability to exert influence to get appointment sooner |
| 45% | Increase my ability to know my chances of getting in or not |
| 44% | Increase the priority of your request when it is an urgent (e.g., medical issues, car trouble) |
| 40% | Increase the number of appointments available by making them shorter time frames |
| 39% | Increase the number of alternative options if an appointment is not going to be available |
| 37% | Increase the amount of advance notice when an appointment becomes available so that you can arrange my schedule (e.g., babysitters, rides, time off work) |
| 36% | Increase the number of options for more appointments through alternative sources (e.g., health clinic instead of doctor's office) |
| 35% | Increase my ability to see the slots that are available |
| 35% | Decrease the time it takes to get your appointment |
| 33% | Minimize my risk by providing less personal information |
| 33% | Increase your ability to know that the appointment or event is not available before you put in all of your information |
| 32% | Increase the number of appointments available by increasing the number of appointments |
| 32% | Increase visibility that the appointments or events are given to people in the order they joined the list |
| 31% | Increase your understanding of how many people are ahead of you on the list |
| 31% | Increase the enjoyment of the experience of getting the appointment (e.g., nice message, friendly and caring people) |
| 30% | Increase the ability to get an estimate of how long your wait is |
| 30% | Minimize the number of concurrent messages when your appointment is available (e.g., not multiple messages) |
| 29% | Increase your ability to ensure you are still on the waitlist (e.g., They have not lost your contact information) |
| 28% | Increase frequency of status updates |
| 28% | Increase my ability to take my name off the waitlist when you no longer want the appointment |
| 25% | Increase your ability to get only the information you need and not get overwhelmed by information |
| 25% | Increase the ease of checking my status myself |
| 22% | Increase the details of the information that you need to make the appointment go well |
| 22% | Increase your ability to use autofill to provide contact information |
| 21% | Increase the number of messages when your place in line changes |
| 21% | Decrease the amount of information required to join waitlist (e.g., phone number, email) |
| 20% | Increase the ability to give up my place on the waitlist when I no longer need the appointment/event |
| 20% | Increase the details of the instructions about where to go for the appointment |
| 18% | Increase the ease of confirming your spot |
| 18% | Decrease the time it takes to provide your information |
| 17% | Increase the amount of detailed information you receive when you are notified that you have the appointment |
| 16% | Decrease the steps to register/sign-on |
| 15% | Increase your ability to make sure your contact information is correct when you use your computer |
| 14% | Increase your options about how you would like to be contacted (e.g., email, text, phone) |
| 13% | Increase your ability to make sure your contact information is correct when you call |
