In Waitwhile, customers are identified using a combination of unique parameters that help businesses track visits, manage waitlists, and provide personalized service.
Waitwhile assigns a unique customer ID for each customer based on past interactions.
Key parameters that identify a customer
External customer ID (Primary identifier)
Visits that share the same external customer ID will be merged under the same customer ID even without having the same phone numbers.
Phone number (Secondary Identifier)
The phone number is the most common identifier in Waitwhile.
It allows businesses to track returning customers and send SMS updates.
If a customer joins a waitlist with the same phone number, Waitwhile recognizes them as a returning visitor.
Email Address
Email addresses help businesses track customers who may not provide a phone number.
Used for appointment confirmations, follow-ups, and marketing campaigns.
Example customer records
Example 1:
John Smith makes an appointment using his phone number & email on Tuesday.
John Smith makes another appointment using just his phone number on Friday.
✅ John Smith will be recognized as a repeat customer by his phone number.
Example 2:
Harper Henderson joins a waitlist using her phone number & email on Friday.
Harper Henderson joins a waitlist using her husbands phone number & her email on Sunday.
❌ Harper Henderson will be recorded as unique customers with 2 different customers IDs as their phone numbers do not match even though the email address does
Example 3:
Sally Sue joins the waitlist using her email address on Monday.
Sally Sue joins the waitlist using her phone number on Wednesday.
❌ Sally Sue will be recorded as unique customers with 2 different customers IDs.
Example 2:
Tammy Tarr joins the waitlist using her email address on Wednesday.
Tammy's husband joins the waitlist using Tammy's email address on Thursday.
⚠️ Tammy Tarr will be recognized as a repeat customer by her email address, but her customer ID will be appended with the most recent name that was used.
Warning: As long as the visit is created with the customer ID, customers should be merged regardless of name and phone number.
Have additional questions or need assistance? Reach out to us via chat or at support@waitwhile.com