Notify

Use the Notify feature to allow guests to join a waitlist and be alerted when availability that matches their specifications opens up. 

Enabling the Notify list

To enable the Notify list:

1. From the Control Panel tab, click Availability.
2. Scroll down to Notify and select Allow guests to join the Notify list from your business page.
3. Tock offers two methods to manage notifications:
   • Auto notify: Whenever a cancellation happens, Tock will automatically check the Notify list and alert guests, via an email and push notification, whose specifications match the new availability.
   • Manual notify: Hand pick which guests to alert via email using the “Alert Notify list” workflow.

Guests will be able to submit a Notify request with the following information:

• Experience
• Party size
• Date(s)
• Time
• Notes (optional)

Adding and managing Notify requests

To add or manage requests from Timeline or Service:

1. From the Reservations tab, click Timeline or Service. 
2. Click the Notify tab.
3. Requests can be in one of three states:
   1. Active: The request is open. Active requests are shown with a gray color.  
   2. Notified: The guest has been notified, either manually or automatically.  Notified requests are shown with a blue color.
   3. Fulfilled: The guest has secured a reservation on the date requested. Fulfilled requests are shown with a green color. 
4. To create a new Notify request, click the plus icon.
5. To edit or delete a Notify request, click the request, then click either the Edit or Delete button.

To add or manage requests from the Notify report:

1. From the Operations tab, click Notify.
2. Select a date range.
3. Requests can be filtered by the guest name, notify status, service, time range, and experience. 
4. The Notify list can be downloaded as a .CSV file by clicking the download icon.
5. To create a new Notify request, click the blue Add guest button.
6. To edit or delete a Notify request, click either the Edit or Delete button that appears within the same row as the request.

The Notify report is only accessible by Account Owner, Administrator, and Employee user roles. For more on Dashboard user roles, see Adding and Managing Team Members.

Manually notify guests

To manually notify guests of availability:

1. From the Reservations tab, click Timeline or Service.
2. Click the available tile for the time and table you'd like to book a party from the Notify list.   
3. Click Alert Notify list.
4. Tock organizes requests by meeting at least one (“partial match”) or all (“exact match”) of the following specifications:
   1. Experience 
   2. Party size
   3. Date(s)
   4. Time
5. Select the guest(s) you’d like to notify about availability.
6. Click the blue Email guests button. 

This will send an email notification to the selected guest(s) about the availability. This is not a guarantee or hold of the reservation. The guest will be prompted to complete the booking on exploretock.com to secure the reservation.

Manually fulfilling Notify requests

To book a guest directly from the Notify list:

1. From the Reservations tab, click Timeline or Service.
2. Click the available tile for the desired time and table to book a party from the Notify list.  
3. Click Alert Notify list.
4. Select a guest to book.
5. Click either Book reservation or Book via email.

For reservations that require a deposit or prepayment, use the Book via email feature, which will send the guest an email prompting them to pay and finalize the booking. The reservation will be held for the time you set. Once expired, the reservation will become available. 

From exploretock.com 

A guest can add themselves to the Notify list from exploretock.com:

1. Click Book Now on an experience. 
2. Click Notify next to the sold out time.
3. Fill out the Notify request with the party size, date, experience, and desired time range for a reservation. Optionally add additional notes. 
4. Click Set Notify.

From the Tock iOS app 

A guest can add themselves to the Notify list from the Tock iOS app:

1. Click Book Now on an experience.
2. Tap Notify next to a sold out time.
3. Fill out the Notify request with the party size, date, experience, and desired time range for a reservation. Optionally add additional notes. 
4. Click Set Notify.

 

FAQ

Do automatic notifications hold a reservation?

No, the “Auto notify” setting will send an email and push notification to guests about new availability that matches their specifications. This is not a guarantee or hold of the reservation. The guest will be prompted to complete the booking on exploretock.com to secure the reservation.

Will automatic notifications go out for availability in a hold state?

No, the “Auto notify” setting will only notify guests about availability that is publicly bookable.

For more information about holds, see Configuring Holds on Timeline with Availability Planning.

What if a cancellation happens after the availability cutoff time?

The “Auto notify” setting will not notify guests once the availability cutoff time has passed. Guests are only notified about availability that is publicly bookable.

For more information about setting an availability cutoff time, see Releasing Reservation Availability for Availability Planning.

Can guests be notified manually while using automatic notifications?

Yes, to manually notify guests with the “Auto notify” setting turned on, use the “Alert Notify list” workflow.

To re-notify guests who have already been notified, manually or automatically, use the “Alert Notify list” workflow.

Do bookings from the Notify list show up in the referral source report?

Yes, “Notify” is the referral source for bookings made after clicking on a Notify email or push notification.

Can a guest receive Notify push notifications?

Yes, guests using the Tock iOS app can enable push notifications:

1. From the Tock iOS app account menu, tap Push notifications.
2. Switch on Push notifications.

The Tock iOS app can be downloaded from the App Store here.

Can a guest cancel their Notify request?

Yes, for a guest to remove themselves from the Notify list:

1. From the guest Tock account menu, click Notify.
2. Click Delete on the desired Notify request.

Can a guest edit their Notify request?

No, a guest cannot update the specifications of a Notify request. Guests will need to reach out to the business directly for assistance.