Slot capacity

Slot capacity is how much work can genuinely be done in one time slot, which is what availability should be calculated from. It is not simply one appointment per chair: it depends on how long each service takes, which staff can do it, what has to happen between appointments, and whether two jobs can overlap - a colour developing while another customer is cut, for example.

In practice

Capacity is not simply "one appointment per chair". It depends on how long each service takes, which staff can do it, what has to happen between appointments, and whether two jobs can overlap — a colour that develops while another customer is cut, for example.

A booking system that models capacity properly offers only times that can actually be delivered. One that does not either leaves gaps it could have sold or double-books and leaves somebody waiting.

The same idea applies to kitchens, where the slot is fifteen minutes of cooking rather than a chair, and to delivery, where it is the number of drops a driver can do in a window.

Also called: availability, capacity planning.

Questions people ask about slot capacity

Why does my booking system offer times I cannot deliver?

Because it is modelling chairs rather than capacity. A system that only counts rooms or staff will offer a slot that needs two people who are both already busy, or ignore the fifteen minutes of clean-down between appointments. The fix is in the model, not in blocking times by hand every week.

Can two appointments overlap?

In several trades they must. A colour that develops for half an hour frees the stylist for a cut, and a system that cannot express that either leaves gaps it could have sold or double-books and leaves somebody waiting. It is the single most useful question to ask of a booking system before buying it.

Does slot capacity apply outside appointments?

Yes. In a kitchen the slot is fifteen minutes of cooking rather than a chair, and in delivery it is the number of drops a driver can do in a window. Order throttling is the same idea with a different name.

Where to go next

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