We've all had difficulty scheduling a much-needed appointment around our busy lifestyles. What should be a simple call to the front desk often turns into a game of phone tag and conflicting time slots. But a new app hopes to alleviate some of that frustration.
MyTime, which launched this week in Austin, allows you to schedule appointments with local businesses — dental appointments, haircuts and massages to name a few — from your phone. You begin by searching for the kind of service you need, then narrow down your options by location, price and, most importantly, your availability. MyTime syncs with a variety of calendars, so it gives you a business's availability in real time.
In other markets (like San Francisco and Los Angeles), MyTime charges businesses 40 percent of new customer revenue, but developers are testing a new model here.
"In Austin we take no commission," explains Melian Labs CEO Ethan Anderson. MyTime charges Austin businesses $49.99 per month for the service. If MyTime doesn't make the business at least $49.99 worth of new customer revenue in that month, the fee is waived. Businesses can also sync their calendar free of charge — but the fee includes promotion on the app and website.
They chose Austin as the test market because it's slightly smaller with a large amount of tech-savvy users. So far, 18,000 "mom and pop" businesses in the Austin area are listed, Anderson says.
According to Anderson, more than half a million people use MyTime to schedule their appointments. In addition to being free, MyTime benefits customers by offering discounts during off-peak times, social connections through Facebook and Yelp, and appointment reminders. You can downloaded MyTime via iTunes or use the online version free of charge.
MyTime is an app that allows users to schedule a variety of different appointments all with a simple click of a button.
The city provided this mockup showing the scale of the machine and possible displays.Graphic courtesy of IKE Smart City via the City of Austin