Clients Aren't Receiving SMS Reminders

Category: Troubleshooting Reading time: 3 min

If clients are telling you they're not getting text reminders — or you've noticed SMS confirmation replies aren't coming back — work through these checks before submitting a ticket.

Check 1 — SMS Reminders Are Enabled for That Specialist

SMS reminders are toggled per specialist and require a paid add-on ($5.99/specialist/month). If it isn't enabled, no texts go out — regardless of anything else.

Fix:

1. Go to Specialists in your sidebar
2. Open the specialist assigned to the affected booking
3. Look for the SMS Reminders toggle
4. If it's off — that's your issue. Toggle it on and complete the Stripe checkout to activate it
5. Note: enabling SMS only affects future bookings from that point forward. Past bookings that already missed their reminder window won't retroactively receive one

Check 2 — The Booking Is in CONFIRMED Status

SMS reminders only fire for bookings with CONFIRMED status. A booking that sits in PENDING will not trigger any reminders — SMS or email.

Fix:

1. Open the affected booking from your Bookings calendar
2. Check the status field
3. If it shows PENDING, click Confirm to move it to CONFIRMED
4. The reminder schedule will activate from that point (as long as the appointment is still in the future and within the reminder window)

⚠️ If the booking was confirmed after the reminder window already passed (e.g., you confirmed it on the morning of the appointment), the day-prior SMS will not be sent retroactively. Only the day-of SMS may still fire if it hasn't passed yet.

Check 3 — The Client's Phone Number Is Correct

SMS sends to the phone number on the booking. If it was entered incorrectly during the booking process, the message goes to the wrong number or fails silently.

Fix:

1. Open the booking detail
2. Check the Client Phone field
3. Verify it's a valid mobile number in the correct format (e.g., +1 for US numbers, including country code)
4. If it's wrong, update it directly on the booking
5. Note: updating the number won't resend a reminder that already failed — the next scheduled reminder will use the corrected number

Check 4 — The Client Opted Out of SMS

If a client previously replied STOP to a Groomera SMS, they've opted out of all future texts from that number. This is a legal requirement and cannot be overridden.

How to check:

• Look for an opt-out indicator on the client's record in the Clients section
• If the client is opted out, they will not receive SMS reminders regardless of settings

Fix: The client would need to re-opt-in by texting START to the Groomera SMS number. For opted-out clients, email reminders will still go out as a fallback (as long as they have a valid email on file).

Check 5 — The Phone Number Is a Landline

Groomera sends SMS via Bandwidth. Texts to landline numbers either fail silently or return an error. If a client provided a home landline instead of a mobile number, SMS won't deliver.

Fix: Update the client's phone number to a valid mobile number. If the client only has a landline, rely on email reminders for that client.

Check 6 — The Reminder Window Has Already Passed

SMS reminders send at two specific times:

• Day-prior: The day before the appointment
• Day-of: The morning of the appointment

If both windows have already passed when you notice the issue, the reminders for that booking are gone — they won't resend.

Fix: For the immediate appointment, contact the client manually. For future bookings, make sure CONFIRMED status is set promptly after booking so the reminder schedule activates in time.

Check 7 — Regional Carrier Delays or Filtering

Occasionally, mobile carriers filter or delay messages that look automated, particularly from shared sender numbers. This is rare but does happen.

Symptoms: The client says they received the SMS late (hours after expected), or received it after the appointment.

Fix: This is outside Groomera's direct control once the message leaves Bandwidth. If a client reports consistent delays, suggest they check whether their carrier has any spam filtering active, or add your SMS number to their contacts to improve deliverability.

Still Not Resolved?

Submit a ticket from the Support section of your dashboard. Include:

• The client's name and phone number (last 4 digits only for privacy)
• The booking date and specialist name
• Whether SMS reminders are enabled for that specialist
• Whether the booking was in CONFIRMED status when the reminder should have fired
• The approximate time you expected the SMS to arrive

Related articles:

• Setting Up SMS and Email Reminders →
• Managing Your Booking Calendar →
• Email Reminders Are Not Being Sent →