Data variables or "placeholders" are a great way to insert information within SMS and email alerts and messages to personalize it automatically for the customer.
Some of the most common placeholders can even be quickly inserted within the Chat view when needing to communicate to an individual customer.
Below you will find an extensive list of all data variables that can currently be used as placeholders within SMS and email messages. To create a placeholder, surround the Data Variable (from the first column) within a set of curly brackets, and then insert it into your message. You can add multiple placeholders to a message, however, the value of your placeholder will count against the character limit restriction, so keep that in mind when adding them to your SMS messages.
Example:
"Hi {name}! Thank you for registering for the waitlist at {business}. Your current estimated wait time is {eta}."
Jump to a Variable Category
Customer and Visit Data
Placeholder variables for Customer Fields values that have been entered.
Data Variable | Description & Rules | Example Value |
{name} | Name Customer's first name or full name. It depends on the "Separate first and last name" setting in Settings > Waitlist > Customer info > Name | Jane |
{firstName} | First Name | Jane |
{lastName} | Last Name | Doe |
{externalCustomerId} | Customer ID | WW123 |
{phone} | Phone | (555) 555-5555 |
{email} | ||
{partySize} | Party Size | 5 |
{notes} | Notes | Also interested in a color consultation. |
Custom Data Fields
To use variables for an individual Custom Data Field, you must know the Custom Field ID (dataFieldId) which is used as part of the variable. The dataFieldId can be found within the edit view for each Custom Field (circled in red in the screenshot below).
Data Variable | Description & Rules | Example Value |
{fields.dataFieldId.id}
Example: {fields.qbysnjcWCNLyOkmC6K4QMI.id} | Custom Field ID (dataFieldId) | qbysnjcWCNLyOkmC6K4QMI |
{fields.dataFieldId.name} | Custom Field name | Age |
{fields.dataFieldId.displayName} | Custom Field display name | Your age |
{fields.dataFieldId.description} | Custom Field description | It helps us with preparing the right choice of hairstyles for you |
{fields.dataFieldId.value} | Custom Field value or values (for multiple selected options it will be comma-separated) | 20 (for "Age") |
{dataField} | Comma-separated display names or names (if display name is unavailable) and values of all custom fields assigned to the visit | Age: 20, Hair color: brown, Preferred styles: undercut, low taper, high razor |
Resources
To use variables for an individual Resource, you must know the Resource ID (resourceID) which is used as part of the variable. The resourceId can be found within the edit view for each resource (circled in yellow in the screenshot below).
Data Variable | Description & Rules | Example Value |
{resource} | Comma-separated display names or names (if display name is unavailable) of all resources assigned to the visit. If a category is assigned the name is "first available" | Adam, Monica |
{resources.resourceId.id} | Resource ID | qbysnjcWCNLyOkmC6K4QMI |
{resources.resourceId.name} | Resource name | Monica |
{resources.resourceId.displayName} | Resource display name | Monica Roberts |
{resources.resourceId.firstName} | First word of display name or name (if display name is unavailable) | Monica |
{resources.resourceId.lastName} | Second word of display name or name (if display name is unavailable) | Roberts |
{resources.resourceId.description} | Resource description | Our best barber |
{resources.resourceId.phone} | Resource phone | +15417543010 |
{resources.resourceId.email} | Resource email | |
{resources.resourceId.url} | Resource URL (eg. zoom meeting link, link to a profile) | |
{resources.resourceId.location} | Resource location, where the resource is located | Counter A |
Services
To use variables for an individual Service, you must know the Service ID (serviceID) which is used as part of the variable. The serviceId can be found within the edit view for each service (circled in yellow in the screenshot below).
Data Variable | Description & Rules | Example Value |
{service} | Comma-separated display names or names (if display name is unavailable) of all services assigned to the visit. If a category is assigned the name is "first available" | Beard styling, Head shave |
{services.serviceId.id} | Service ID | qbysnjcWCNLyOkmC6K4QMI |
{services.serviceId.name} | Service name | Beard |
{services.serviceId.displayName} | Service display name | Beard styling |
{services.serviceId.description} | Service description | This option is for everyone looking to achieve an even beard and sharp look |
{services.serviceId.currency} | Service currency | USD |
{services.serviceId.price} | Service price | $20.00 |
Other Data Variables
Data Variable | Description & Rules | Example Value |
{fullName} | Customer's first name + Last name or name. It depends on the "Separate first and last name" setting in Settings > Waitlist > Customer info > Name | Jane Doe |
{business} | Location business name (Settings > Business info > Business name) | Bobby's Barber Shop |
{waitlist} | Location name (Settings > Waitlist > Location name) | Barber Shop |
{currency} | Location currency (Settings > Localization > Currency) | USD |
{locale} | Visit or location locale Settings > Localization > Language & Region > Select language/Select region | en-US |
{timezone} | Location timezone (Settings > Localization > Timezone) | America/Los_Angeles |
{link} | Unique link to the visit | app.waitwhile.com/l/barbershop/eiyM19 |
{quote} | Quoted wait duration (in seconds) | 900 |
{date} | Booking date or visit creation date in the location timezone ("MMM Do" format) | Mar 13th |
{calendar} | Booking date or visit creation date in the location timezone (Calendar time format) | Last Friday at 2:00 PM |
{dateTime} | Booking date or visit creation date in the location timezone ("L LT" format) | 03/13/2020 2:00 PM |
{time} | Booking date or visit creation date in the location timezone ("LT" format) | 2:00 PM |
{hour} | Booking date or visit creation date in the location timezone ("LT" format) | 2:00 PM |
{eta} | Estimated wait duration (humanized) | 15 minutes |
{placeInLine} | Position in the line | 2 |
{order} | Same as placeInLine | 2 |
{location} | Entire location object including, but not limited to, fields listed in the API docs. | 102 Street Avenue (location.address.street) |
{locationsLink} | All locations public waitlist URL. The recipient's phone or email is pre-filled (depending on the message channel) | app.waitwhile.com/lists/barbercenter?email=john%40doe.com |
{locationsCheckInLink} | All locations public check-in URL. The recipient's phone or email is pre-filled (depending on the message channel) | app.waitwhile.com/lists/barbercenter/join?email=john%40doe.com |
{checkInLink} | Public check-in URL. The recipient's phone or email is pre-filled (depending on the message channel) | app.waitwhile.com/checkin/barbershop?email=john%40doe.com |
{schedulingLink} | Public scheduling URL. The recipient's phone or email is pre-filled (depending on the message channel) | app.waitwhile.com/book/barbershop?email=john%40doe.com |
{emailUrl} | The recipient's email (URI-encoded) | john%40doe.com |
{phoneUrl} | The recipient's phone (URI-encoded) | %2B12025550117 |
{account.id} | Account ID | AKCEACuvPvR1SaTdnrjP |
Note: Placeholders cannot be used within Localization fields or HTML areas for Public Pages (with a couple exceptions*).
Using Placeholders in HTML Areas for Public Pages
Only two placeholders are currently supported within HTML areas which can be used on Public Pages, such as your Welcome Page.
Data Variable | Description & Rules | Example Value |
{business} | Location's business name (Settings > Business info > Business name) | Outdoor Equipment Store |
{location} | Location/waitlist name (Settings > Waitlist > Location Name) | Shoe Department |
Most HTML areas can be found under the "Styling and content" sections under Settings > Self-checkin > Edit online check-in and Edit online scheduling.
The Public Waitlist HTML area can be found under Settings > Styling > Public Waitlist.
Setting a Placeholder Fallback
You may choose to have a placeholder set for information that isn't always provided by your customer. In these cases you can set a text fallback to be you used instead (another placeholder cannot be used as your fallback). You can do this by first setting the placeholder variable followed by the word or and then your fallback text within single quotes:
{name or 'valued customer'}
There should be no spaces between the starting bracket and your placeholder word, and also no spaces between the final single quote and the closing bracket.
Example:
"Hi {name or 'valued customer'}! Thank you for registering for the waitlist at {business}. Your current estimated wait time is {eta}."
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