Please Make Session Timeouts Optional for Sole Proprietors

[Doveydoo]

I've read the one post I found on the issue of getting timed out many times a day and having to re-login. I've read the alternatives, few of which work. I'd like to bring a new perspective to the conversation, hence starting a new thread. But before I do, please allow me to clarify my stance:

I am a sole proprietor, working from home, and therefore from a desktop computer (iMac) - and this service oriented business is my primary and often only source of income. (And I might be still bruised and bloodied from preparing tax returns that feel like I'm reading a foreign language that doesn't use the same alphbet.) I use Square Appointments and Virtual Terminal (and we've met each other on Weebly, where my biz site is hosted!)

Now that you have openly invited Solo practitioners and freelancers (thank you!) - many of whom likely work from home as I do - I think it is wise to offer a controllable, owner/administrator option as to whether or not to require a timeout, or perhaps not even a login. With all of my past online booking systems (5, I believe), I at least had the option to have my email address prefilled and to store my password with my browser. 

With the desktop version of Square, neither of those options are permissible. I finish with a client. They very much want to leave and (due to the nature of my work) go home and get to bed, and I have to fumble around trying to enter my email and password as quickly as possible. To make matters worse, I have to exit the calendar, go to virtual terminal, manually type in the service they came in for and the name, swipe the card on a reader that is so finicky it takes nearly a dozen swipes. Please allow me to be amusing ... Apparently, I do not have the grace of a gazelle while swiping as I lean around the back of my iMack without losing my balance, as I shamefacedly show my clients that I am a clumsy idiot that clearly shouldn't be charging so much! And then ... and then ... and then the necessary receipt: I have to enter in their email address, which is stored in the customer database, and is not available to me right that moment, and now my customer is really getting fidgety, because they also want me to book their next session, 4 weeks out, and I have to back out of the receipt process, jot a note down so that I don't forget to do it later, return to the calender, page 4 weeks ahead, book them (yay! a rebooking!) and then I can't just click to return to the current day, I must page back 4 weeks. Whew! Crack me open a brewskie, 'cause I need a break.

I shared that to give you a feel for the situation and hopefully a chuckle or two along the way. Yes, I could buy extra equipement, but I have enough things on my desk. I really don't want to add more, especially when my iMac is so beautifully functional and begging me to adore it. 

I do have high hopes, though. I know the calendar app is young and is still shy about checking out, and probably thinks the virtual terminal is a bully trying to flirt with it. But perhaps you'd be willing to share this story with the engineers who love to fix UX problems? Um ... preferably one who still admires the desktop over mobile? 🙂

Thank you, thank you, ... you are much too kind!

[Helen]

Hello again @Doveydoo, thanks for this great post! I will share your feedback about session timeouts with the appropriate teams - thanks for describing how these small changes would make big differences in your day to day work. 

I just wanted to follow up on a couple of things you mentioned:

With all of my past online booking systems (5, I believe), I at least had the option to have my email address prefilled and to store my password with my browser. 

You should be able to save your email address and password to your browser so you can quickly sign back in again. If you search your browser's help settings for 'Autofill', 'AutoComplete' or 'Passwords' you should be able to set it up. But if you've already done that and your email/password don't seem to be saving I suggest checking for an update to your browser, or try a different browser like Chrome/Firefox. (Are you using Safari?)

[...] return to the calender, page 4 weeks ahead, book them (yay! a rebooking!) and then I can't just click to return to the current day, I must page back 4 weeks

Hmm this doesn't sound right. From the same dropdown menu you should be able to slect Today to go right back to today's date (or another specific date). If it's not showing that option, or if the Calendar doesn't default to Today when you go open the Calendar these browser troubleshooting steps might help.

Thanks again for posting! If there is a way to disable session timeouts for owners or if it becomes an employee permission in future we'll let you know. 🙂

[Doveydoo]

Hey, hi @Helen 

I'm not as slap-happy today, but still hopeful. 🙂

And yes, I did provide those details as a little extra nudge to up priority. Sometimes I get lucky.

I was thinking about this stuff and realized that one workaround I could do so that that "rushed and awkward" feeling fades, is to start taking client payments at the start of the session. We're sitting there together, anyway, in consultation. I could have a checklist to remember (because I will forget) to grab their email address before they arrive and have it ready to paste.

Partially found the password/login problem. Somewhere, probably long ago, because Square was a payment system, I told Chrome to never save the password. Sheesh! However, it's still not working, so time to get my mind to work instead of borrowing yours.

Wow. Found the little, teensy arrow I didn't see before, and now I see the dropdown on the calendar. I was using both of the other arrows. Old-age eyes?

[Helen]

The extra details is exactly what we need @Doveydoo so keep 'em coming! That's a good idea to charge the customer at the start of the session for now. 

And I'm glad you were able to update your browser settings but it's a bit strange the email/password still isn't saving. You might need to restart your browser. I usually use Google to search for browser setting tips/to fix glitches (I typically use Chrome) but Apple's online forums are pretty good too if you're using Safari.

Perhaps a 'tour' of the Appointments Dashboard would help highlight little things like viewing the dropdown menu? Or would you prefer video content or Support Center articles? 

[Doveydoo]

I know this may be difficult to believe based upon my helplessness these days, @Helen , but I'm quite good on computers (Retired computer programmer MVSXA systems environ.) However, I've been truly tired from illness and that's a very tiny dropdown arrow next to " < mm/dd/yy-mm/dd/yy v > v " So, I saw all the arrows but the one I needed. Tired eyes, maybe. Older eyes, maybe. 

Mostly, I prefer design that is so intuitive, no one needs any help screens or tutorials. But ... I'm an old dog coder and those days are gone. On the flip side, I think the issue is simply that priority isn't placed on the desktop. They told me it was on purpose. They figured all we solos worked off our iphones. Nope. 🙂

I ended up getting Chrome to finally let me save the password after a few more steps of logging out and in of my gmail, first, but it still wouldn't save on it's own, so I had to use the key in the url line to get it to work.

All good now, thank you.

I've gotta get some rest, so that I can think more clearly. Thanks for being a good egg. 

[Helen]

I do believe you! Thank you again for all your feedback/patience with the Dashboard. 🙂