Shop consultations

A shop consultation is a booking with the shop itself rather than with a specific artist. Clients who do not yet know who they want to work with can book a time to talk it through, and the shop hands the project to an artist afterwards. Every shop has this feature, and it is off until you turn it on.

Turning it on

1. Open Shops and find your shop.
2. Click View Details on the shop's card.
3. In the Consultations box, click the switch so it reads On.

Shop owners and managers can change this setting. The shop needs an email address before consultations can be turned on, because that address receives the booking notifications — if the box asks for one, use Edit on the shop to add it, then try again.

Turning it on the first time sets up everything the shop needs: an availability schedule, one consultation event type, and the reminder messages clients receive before their appointment. You can adjust any of these afterwards from Booking → Settings by choosing your shop's consultation desk in the picker at the top of that page.

What clients see

The public page shows your shop's name and one option, Shop Consultation, 30 minutes long by default. Clients pick a time, enter their details and describe what they have in mind, the same way they would when booking with an artist. The confirmation email and the calendar invite carry the shop's name.

If you offer phone or video consultations for the desk (Booking → Settings → Booking Preferences, with the consultation desk selected), clients are asked how they would like to meet. See Consultations: phone, video and in person.

Where the bookings land

Each shop consultation appears on the shop calendar under the shop's name. The client's tattoo idea is created as usual, and the appointment on it is marked Shop consult.

To hand the project to an artist after the consultation, open the client's idea and assign the artist there. The artist is notified, the idea moves into their pipeline, and the consultation stays on the record so everyone can see how the client came in.

Google Calendar

The shop's consultation desk can have its own Google Calendar connection, so consultations show up where the front desk looks and busy times on that calendar are respected when clients pick a slot.

1. Open Booking → Settings and choose the shop's consultation desk in the picker at the top. The Consultations box on the Shops page has a link that takes you straight there.
2. Open the Calendar tab and click Connect Google Calendar.
3. Sign in with the Google account you want to use and choose which calendar to sync.

Any Google account works. A dedicated account for the shop — one that stays with the business rather than with a person — is the best choice, because the connection keeps working when staff change. The steps are the same as for an artist: see Connect Google Calendar.

Notifications

Booking confirmations and new-consultation notices for the desk go to the shop's email address, the one shown in the Consultations box. To change it, use Edit on the shop and update the email there.

Your public link

The Consultations box shows the shop's public consultation address and has a Copy button beside it. Put that link wherever clients find you: your website, your ads, your social profiles and bios, and printed material. It always opens the shop's consultation page, whichever artists are on the team at the time. While consultations are on, your shop's public page also shows a Book a consultation button that opens the same page.

The link is built from your shop's web address. If the shop does not have one yet, add it with Edit on the shop first.

Advertising pixel

If your shop has a Meta pixel set up under Settings → Integrations → Advertising & tracking, it fires on the shop's consultation page and its booking steps, so consultations booked from your ads are counted the same way as any other booking. See Meta Pixel and the Conversions API.

Turning it off

Click the switch in the Consultations box so it reads Off. New bookings stop straight away: the public consultation page tells visitors the shop is not offering consultations at the moment, and a booking attempt from an old tab or a saved link is refused. Consultations already on the calendar are kept, together with their reminders, and you can turn the switch back on at any time — the schedule, event type and reminders you set up are still there.

If you already take consultations another way

Some shops already take consultations through a separate account on the team. That keeps working exactly as before when you turn the shop's consultations on: both are bookable, and the Consultations box tells you which other account is taking consultations. Move your links and ads over to the shop's consultation page whenever you are ready; there is no deadline.