1Name and number

Responding to a new inquiry · SAL-01

Why this matters: the number is how two people know they mean the same document. "The inquiry one" is not a name.

2Why it exists

We lose more bookings to slow replies than to price. A new person who waits two days books somewhere else. This makes sure every inquiry gets the same answer in the same time, no matter who is at the desk.

Why this matters: one sentence on the result. If you can't write it, you may not need the procedure.

3When it applies

Every first contact from someone who is not already a client: phone, voicemail, the website form, email, Instagram DM, or a walk-in asking about services.

This does not cover current clients rebooking (see SAL-03), group bookings over eight people (see SAL-05), or press and vendor enquiries, which go straight to the Studio Manager.

Why this matters: saying what it doesn't cover stops people stretching one procedure over situations it was never written for.

4What starts it

A new inquiry appears in any of our four channels. The front desk checks all four at the start of shift, at 12:30, and one hour before close.

Why this matters: a trigger with a time on it. "When you get a chance" is not a trigger.

5Who's responsible

Front Desk Lead. They own the outcome, and they own keeping this document true.

Why this matters: the role, not the person. Wendy will leave eventually. The Front Desk Lead won't.

6Who else is involved

• Front desk staff — answer the inquiry and log it.
• Studio Manager — approves anything off the standard price list, and covers the channels on Sundays.
• Therapists — asked directly only when a client has a medical question the desk can't answer.

Why this matters: name the role and what they do. "Involve the manager" tells nobody anything.

7What you need first

• Login to Mindbody and to the shared inbox.
• Access to the studio Instagram account on the desk iPad.
• The current price list, printed and taped inside the desk drawer.
• This week's therapist availability.

Why this matters: this is the list that stops someone getting three steps in and finding they can't finish.

8The steps, in order

1. Log the inquiry in Mindbody before you reply. Name, how they reached us, what they asked for.
2. Reply within two hours during opening hours. If you can't answer yet, say so and give a time: "I'll have an answer for you by four o'clock."
3. Ask the three questions: what they're hoping to get from a session, whether they've had this kind of treatment before, and any injuries or conditions we should know about.
4. Offer two specific times from this week's availability. Not "when are you free" — two times.
5. If they book, send the intake form and the parking note in the same message.
6. If they don't book, set a follow-up in Mindbody for three days out.

Why this matters: one action per step, each starting with a verb. Step 4 is the one that actually books people, and it took the studio a year to learn it.

9If this, then that

• If they mention pregnancy, recent surgery, or an injury less than six weeks old, then don't book them until a therapist has read the message. Reply the same day to say you're checking.
• If they ask for a service we don't offer, then say so plainly and name a studio that does. Don't go quiet.
• If they're already in Mindbody as a past client, then this isn't a new inquiry — follow SAL-03 instead.
• If the inquiry arrives outside opening hours, then the auto-reply covers it. Answer it in the first check of the next shift.
• If they ask for a discount, then see section 10.

Why this matters: this is the routing. Each branch says what changes and where the person goes next.

10How far you can decide

• Front desk staff can offer the new-client rate (15% off a first 60-minute session) to anyone, without asking.
• Front desk staff can waive a late-cancellation fee once per client.
• Anything beyond that — package pricing, a second discount, a comped session — is the Studio Manager's call. Ask before you offer it, not after.

Why this matters: without this, staff either give away too much or bother the manager about everything. Both are expensive.

11What "done" looks like

• The inquiry is in Mindbody with a name, a contact method, and what they asked for.
• The person has either a booked appointment or a clear next step with a date on it.
• If they didn't book, a follow-up is scheduled.
• Nothing is sitting unanswered at the end of your shift.

Why this matters: "done" is checkable here. Someone else could look at the record and tell whether it was done right.

12What to do when it goes wrong

• An inquiry sat for more than a day. Reply anyway, acknowledge the delay in one sentence without excuses, and tell the Front Desk Lead so the gap gets fixed at the source.
• Two people replied to the same person. Whoever replied second apologises briefly and hands it back to the first. Log it once.
• Someone is upset before they're even a client. Stop following this and follow CX-02 instead.
• Mindbody is down. Write inquiries on the desk pad and enter them when it's back. Don't skip logging.

Why this matters: these are the four things that really do happen, not every failure anyone can imagine.

13What to record

• Every inquiry in Mindbody, with the channel it came from.
• Anything you promised, in the client note, with the date.
• Any discount given, with your name and the reason.
• Health information goes in the medical field, not the general notes, and is kept for seven years.

Why this matters: the channel field is how the studio found out that Instagram brings in a quarter of new clients.

14Version, date, approver

Version 2.1 · Last checked 4 March 2026 · Approved by Dana Whitfield, Studio Manager · Owner: Front Desk Lead · Next review: 4 September 2026

Changed in 2.1: added Instagram as a channel, and moved the two-hour reply window from "same day" after tracking showed same-day replies booked half as often.

Why this matters: the change note is the part most people skip. It's what tells the next reader whether this document is alive or abandoned.