Services & slot lengths
Services are the things people can book on a line. Each one's length decides how far apart the times are that a visitor is offered once they pick it — and feeds their wait-time estimate.
Your services
Open the line's Line settings and choose the Services section — "what people can book, and how long each takes".
| What it is | What it does |
|---|---|
| A service's name (e.g. “Consultation”) | What a visitor picks when they book. |
| Add or rename a service | Any time. Only an owner or a manager can change services; anyone else sees “Only a manager or owner can change services.” |
| The quiet line under a service | Shows who is using it right now, for example “Chosen by 2 visitors waiting now” or “Used by 1 upcoming appointment”. |
On a multi-stop journey, services are kept on the first stop, with a tick grid for the stops each one goes through. A later stop shows a read-only list. See Journeys.
How long each takes
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Minutes (new services default to 15) | How long that service takes. When a visitor picks this service on the appointment page, the times they are offered are spaced this far apart — so a 45-minute service offers 9:00, 9:45, 10:30. An appointment also holds that whole length: a 90-minute colour at 9:00 holds 9:00 to 10:30 on that chair or with that person, so a 9:15 trim for the same chair or person is refused. An appointment for one person never blocks another person. It also feeds the wait-time estimate. |
| Left blank, or under 5 minutes | The service has no usable length (turnda uses a length of 5 to 1,440 minutes). Times fall back to the line’s own slot length, an appointment holds only that slot length, and the wait-time estimate is less precise. |
Services vs slot length
Two different dials
| Dial | What it controls |
|---|---|
| A service's duration | Once a visitor picks that service, it spaces the times they are offered — and feeds their wait-time estimate. |
| The line's appointment slot length | The spacing used until a service is picked, and for any service with no length set. Built from the line's open hours — set in the line's Appointments settings. One of six fixed lengths: 10, 15, 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes (30 by default). |
On the appointment page the visitor picks their service first. The times below are built to fit it, and change if they pick a different one. With no service picked — or the service question turned off — the line's own slot length is used.
Do visitors choose a service at all?
The Services section asks Do visitors choose what they came for? with Yes or No. It is locked to Yes on a line split by service (“This line is split by service, so every visitor chooses.”) and on a line whose Serving order is Appointments first (“A line that takes appointments needs at least one service to book, so this stays Yes.”). Services are optional on a plain walk-in line: if everyone gets the same thing, skip them.
Choosing No asks “Stop asking what visitors came for?”. If you press Stop asking, every service on offer is stopped (nothing is deleted), visitors already in line keep what they chose, and you can offer them again at any time. Keep asking cancels. With No, waiting times come from how fast the line has been moving. On a line that is not split by service, the Join page only asks when “What they need” is switched on on the Questions page.
Related: Turn on appointments