The Chat feature in Phorest is a great idea to elevate our guest experience by training our stylists to use it for consultation check-ins, appointment follow-ups, and client communication. It allows our team to communicate professionally without using their personal phone numbers or sharing personal contact information, which is a huge benefit.

However, we've run into a major limitation. Because Phorest Chat cannot be linked to our salon's existing business phone number, messages are sent from a different number. Many clients assume these are spam messages, ignore them, or never receive them at all. And/or it's going into spam folders. This significantly reduces the effectiveness of a feature that has so much potential.

In our opinion, allowing salons to connect Chat to their existing business phone number would dramatically improve adoption and client engagement. We have used other texting platforms that successfully allow two-way texting through our landline number, and it works seamlessly.

Being able to use our established salon number would:

Increase client trust and response rates.

Eliminate confusion caused by unknown phone numbers.

Allow us to market one phone number for both calling and texting.

Reduce the need to update marketing materials, websites, business cards, and online listings.

Make it much easier for both staff and guests by keeping all communication under one familiar number.