TILTS: Businesses that remember to remind me

I love using services like PingMe to remind me when to return books to the library or when to pay my quarterly taxes. And Google's calendar reminders come in awful handy to make sure I don't miss my haircut or doctor appointment.

But why should the burden of setting up all of these reminders fall on my shoulders? Why can't the library send me a text message a few days before my books are due? And the IRS when my taxes are due? Why don't hair salons and health clinics use appointment software that automatically send out text message reminders the day before or even 30 minutes before your appointment (or both)?

Today's technology I'd like to see is a text messaging service that businesses could easily integrate into their existing appointment (or other) software. I can already picture how nice this would be the next time I schedule my haircut. "Ok, Mr. Welch, you are all set for 3 weeks from Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Would you like a text reminder the day before your appointment?"

Yes please.

Disclaimer: Technologies presented in the Technology I'd Like To See (TILTS) series are based on my original (and sometimes delirious) thoughts. I present them here to the public only because I can not afford to implement any of them myself. If you steal borrow one of my ideas and end up filthy rich because of it, please remember where you got the idea and throw a little love my way. Something like a BMW or a big fat check would do just fine.

2 comments for this blog post so far...

  • #1
    June 02, 2009 at 12:42 pm

    Michelle Hartz

    What an awesome idea!  When I was helping a spa get themselves set up, they had a huge problem with no-shows.  And a lot of their clientele was college students, who I would think would be very receptive to getting text message reminders of their appointment.

    And then there’s people like my husband.  Yesterday he missed a very important appointment.  He’s not tech savvy enough to use a service like GoPingMe, or is the type to think he needs to.  But he does carry a cell phone and receives text messages.  He really could have used a service like this yesterday.

  • #2
    June 02, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    Patric Welch

    @Michelle: Glad you like the idea. As soon as someone steals it and makes it happen, I’ll give you a complimentary ride in my new BMW that they are supposed to give me for stealing my idea. :)

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