How should a booking assistant answer questions about working hours?

A booking assistant should answer questions about hours with the applicable schedule, the date it covers and a clear distinction between being open and having an appointment available. A published closing time is not permission to offer a treatment at that time. If the date or source is uncertain, the reply should say what needs checking. This protects clients from travelling on a mistaken assumption and protects the professional from commitments never actually agreed.

Identify which kind of time the client means

“Are you open at five?” can mean several things. The client may want to start a treatment, collect something, speak with the professional or simply learn the normal schedule. An assistant should not turn all of these into the same booking answer. First identify the purpose from the message; ask one short clarifying question only when it changes the answer.

Keep four different concepts separate in the information used for replies:

• opening hours describe the business's usual operating window;
• appointment availability depends on the selected service and calendar;
• message response hours describe when a person normally replies;
• collection or walk-in hours apply only if the business actually offers them.

For example, a studio closing at 18:00 may need a ninety-minute treatment to begin by 16:30, or earlier if preparation requires it. Check the service duration rather than inferring a last start from the closing time alone.

Attach the answer to a particular date

A weekly timetable answers “What are your usual hours?” It does not necessarily answer “Are you open this Friday?” For a dated question, use the regular pattern together with any approved exception for that date. An exception can shorten a day, close it entirely or add a specific working interval. Do not assume that a public holiday automatically changes this particular business's schedule.

Relative words also need care. “Tomorrow” in a late-night conversation may refer to different dates for a travelling client and the studio. State the calendar date and the studio's local time when that ambiguity matters. Do not guess a client's location from their language.

A clear hypothetical reply is: “On Friday, 23 October, the studio closes at 14:00 instead of the usual 18:00. Which treatment are you considering?” This communicates the exception without claiming that any remaining start time is free or reserved.

Explain the boundary without making an offer

When someone asks for a late appointment, explain the relevant limit in ordinary language. “We close at 18:00” leaves a client unsure whether arriving at 17:50 is acceptable. “That treatment takes ninety minutes, so it cannot start at 17:50 within our normal hours” answers the practical question. It still does not establish that an earlier slot is available.

Build a reply around four pieces of information:

• the applicable opening or closing boundary;
• the duration that matters for the requested treatment;
• whether actual availability has been checked;
• the next action needed to choose or request a time.

Avoid calculating a definitive “last appointment” from duration alone when breaks, preparation or existing visits may intervene. If the assistant only knows the hours, it should explicitly limit the answer to those hours. A polite explanation of that limit is more useful than an attractive time the client cannot book.

Treat conflicting sources as unresolved information

An old social profile might say 19:00 while the maintained schedule says 18:00. Before using an assistant, decide which owner-approved source governs hour-related replies and who updates it. This is an editorial rule, not a claim that every assistant automatically reads every channel. A source should also identify when temporary hours stop applying.

When an unexpected contradiction appears, do not combine the two schedules or silently pick the later closing time. Flag the discrepancy for the owner and avoid answering the uncertain part as fact. An appropriate reply might be: “The hours shown in these two places differ. I need the professional to confirm Thursday's closing time before advising you about a late visit.”

Once resolved, correct the outdated information wherever clients encounter it. Changing the response text alone leaves the same confusion waiting on a profile, printed notice or saved message that still carries the previous hours.

Test requests near the edges of the day

Ordinary midday questions rarely expose weak hour-related answers. Test the assistant's proposed wording with cases that sit near a boundary. You can do this in a written review before letting any automated reply reach clients; no real booking or message needs to be created. Record the expected answer from the approved information, then compare it with the draft.

Include these five cases:

• a long treatment requested shortly before closing;
• a specific date with a shorter working day;
• a question using “tomorrow” around local midnight;
• a fully booked day that is nevertheless open;
• a request for an exceptional appointment after closing.

A request for an exception should remain a request until the professional decides. For standard booking, direct the client to current availability on the booking page. KLIOSO provides a public booking page and service durations; that does not mean it automatically checks or sends an assistant's replies about hours.

The key point

An accurate answer about working hours describes a boundary, not a guaranteed appointment. Establish what the client wants to do, resolve the date, apply verified exceptions and keep treatment duration separate from available starts. When sources disagree, let the owner settle the discrepancy before making a promise. Test difficult edge cases rather than only ordinary questions. Then offer a suitable next step: current booking availability for standard services, or a personal decision for an exception. Clear limits make the conversation useful without turning an uncertain timetable into a reservation.