No-Show Appointment Recovery with n8n, Twilio SMS & Google Sheets

Recover missed revenue automatically: no-show SMS rebooking with n8n + Twilio + Google Sheets

Stop losing bookings when customers don’t show. This n8n workflow checks your Google Sheets for appointments that are 15+ minutes overdue and never checked in, then sends a personalized Twilio SMS to recover the slot—complete with reply-based rebooking and a single, gentle follow-up.

What this workflow does

• Runs every 30 minutes: reads today’s appointments from your Google Sheets and flags no-shows (appointment time passed 15+ minutes ago and not marked checked-in).
• Finds rescue options: for each no-show, it pulls up to 3 open slots from your OpenSlots data.
• Sends a personal SMS: an AI agent drafts a rescue message, and Twilio delivers it within minutes.
• Handles replies automatically:
  • YES → customer is rebooked by creating a new appointment row plus a log entry.
  • NO → the outcome is logged as lost with no further messages.
  • Unclear → logged for human review.
• Sends exactly one nudge: if there’s no reply for 2 hours, the workflow sends one gentle reminder, then stops forever (self-limiting by design—no double texting).
• Matches replies by phone number: tolerant of formatting differences.

Use cases

• Dental/medical clinics reducing chair/room downtime from no-shows.
• Salons and spas recovering missed service bookings.
• Home-service businesses filling technician time slots faster.
• Consultants/agencies deploying sellable no-show recovery automation for local clients.

Technical details

• n8n workflow using nodes such as if, set, code, twilio, webhook, and sticky note.
• Google Sheets tabs: Appointments (date, time, customer_name, phone, status, notes) and OpenSlots (date/time fields).
• Setup: connect your own Google Sheets OAuth2, Twilio, and OpenAI credentials; fill the CONFIG nodes (business name, Twilio number, sheet ID, and timezone like America/Vancouver).