Third Negroni. Phone still warm. That look when you realize the entire salon software industry's been doing this wrong

Just got off the phone with Mum.

She wanted to book a haircut. Gosford. Her regular salon. Shouldn't require a strategy session.

Drains half the glass

Twenty minutes. Twenty actual minutes to book a haircut.

Username. Password. Confirm password. Security question—what was your first pet's name? Fluffy, if you must know, now compromised across seventeen other sites. Verify your email. Check spam. Click the link. Link expired. Start over.

Sets glass down harder than intended

She gave up. Called them. Left a voicemail.

We've built booking software that makes phone calls look efficient. Brilliant work, everyone.

The Password Industrial Complex

Leans forward

Why does booking a haircut require the same security protocol as accessing nuclear launch codes?

Passwords. Two-factor authentication. Security questions about childhood pets and street names.

For what? So someone can steal your 2pm appointment with Sharon?

Short, bitter laugh

Banking? Fine. Medical records? Absolutely. But a facial at a day spa?

We've lost our minds.

The Australian Booking Software Problem

Most salon software and booking software in Australia wasn't built for customers. It was built for businesses.

Salon owners think about their diary. Their roster. Their inventory.

Slight gesture

Nobody's thinking about whether Mrs. Henderson can remember her password from six months ago.

The customers? They just want to book. They want online bookings that work like ordering pizza, not joining MI6.

Mum's Exact Words

Allows a brief smile

"Gordon, I just wanted to book a haircut on the internet thing. Why do I need a password? I'm not launching nuclear missiles, I'm getting a trim."

Hard to argue with that.

How Gordon Fixes This

Picks up glass again

When we built Booked By Gordon, one rule: if my mum couldn't book an appointment in under a minute, we'd failed.

Open the booking link. No login screen. No interrogation. Just the calendar.

Pick your service. Pick your time. Pick your stylist.

Name and phone number.

Done.

Taps table for emphasis

45 seconds. No password. No account. No security theatre.

But What About Returning Customers?

Anticipates the question

Phone number remembers them.

Mrs. Henderson books again. Enters her phone number. Gordon recognises her. Books under her existing record. All her history's there—preferences, past appointments, Sharon's notes about the fringe.

From Mrs. Henderson's view? She typed her phone number. Like every time.

No password. No account. No drama.

Salon gets proper client records. Customer gets zero hassle.

Simple.

The Business Angle

Waves off the obvious objection

"What about no-shows?"

Passwords don't stop no-shows. Text reminders do. Which Gordon sends automatically. With a reschedule link.

And making it easier to book means more people book. Every salon that's switched has seen their online bookings increase.

Not magic. Just basic human behaviour.

Your customers don't want to join your database. They want a haircut.

Why This Matters in Australia

Fresh ice, fresh pour

Salon software Australia and booking software Australia searches are up 40% year-on-year.

People are looking.

What they find? American software that assumes everyone loves accounts. Or local systems built when Howard was PM that haven't been updated since.

Australian businesses need better. They need online bookings Australia actually understands—quick, simple, no nonsense.

We don't like creating accounts. We don't like remembering passwords. We just want the bloody haircut.

The Point

Leans back, glass nearly empty

Accounts aren't evil. Some people want them. Some businesses need them.

Fine.

But they should be optional. Not mandatory.

My mum's been going to the same salon for 15 years. Sharon knows her. She knows Sharon.

Sets glass down with finality

She shouldn't need a password to book a trim.

That's what Gordon does.

No passwords. No accounts. Just bookings.

Stands, straightening jacket

The simplest solution is usually the right one.

We just forgot that somewhere between usernames and security questions about childhood pets.

Gordon: The salon software that doesn't make your mum want to throw her phone.

Keep it simple. Keep it Gordon.

Mum got her haircut booked eventually. I called the salon for her. Which rather defeats the entire point of having online booking software, doesn't it?