After-hours auto-reply
← All featuresAfter-hours, handled with an honest reply.
Inquiries do not wait for business hours. Patron lets you set one after-hours acknowledgment in your own time zone, so a late-night request is met with a clear note that sets expectations, never a quote and never a booking.
Your hours, your time zone
Set a quiet window and Patron reads it in your studio's own time zone, not a server's. A request that lands at 1am gets the after-hours treatment. One that lands mid-afternoon does not.
A different note when your books are closed
When your books are closed, the acknowledgment can tell a client they are on the waitlist and that you will reach out when you reopen. A different situation gets an honest, different message.
It sets expectations, it never books
The acknowledgment never quotes a price, offers a time, or books anything. It is a short receipt that says you review requests personally, so the real reply still comes from you.
Write it once, in your own voice
Set the wording the way you would actually say it, with the client's first name and your studio name filled in. It reads like you, not a robotic auto-responder.
Straight answers
Common questions.
When does the after-hours reply fire?
For a request that lands inside your quiet-hours window, read in your studio's own time zone, or while your books are closed if you turn that on. Otherwise it stays quiet.
Will it quote or book for me?
No. It only sets expectations with a short acknowledgment. It never quotes a price, offers a time, or books, so the real reply always comes from you.
Can it say something different when my books are closed?
Yes. You can set a separate closed-books message that tells the client they are on the waitlist and that you will reach out when you reopen.
Is it on by default?
No. The after-hours acknowledgment is opt-in and stays off until you turn it on and set your message.