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I faced a website like this recently when booking a slot at my own German embassy, went a different route around the embassy instead. What I don't like about th

by TomK32 4y ago

I faced a website like this recently when booking a slot at my own German embassy, went a different route around the embassy instead. What I don't like about the slot system: You won't get a convenient time slot anyways so why do they bother setting it up like this in the first place? Why not just register with your contact details and receive an email with a guaranteed spot at a selection of three days instead. No more need to reload and no need for bots. The Upper Austrian government did this for covid vaccinations in the early phase and it worked very well that way (early, high vaccination rate amongst the elderly and certain professions).

luckylion 4y ago
That reminds me of the chaos that ensued in my state in the early days of Covid-19 vaccination when they were still having centralized systems where the elderly could book an appointment. Of course, they had way more demand than supply but still insisted on First Come, First Served, so you ended up with every member of the extended family being asked to try and book a slot, quickly overwhelming their booking systems. At least you didn't need to worry about it all day: there wasn't a chance in hell to get something 3 minutes after the booking system opened each day. Friends described how stressful it was for them, their parents being completely helpless and essentially fearing that their health depended on getting one of those elusive appointments, and being devastated each day they didn't succeed.
- rightbyte 4y ago
  In some miracle of competence my district alotted shots by decreasing age limit so that it were no "shortage" or lagfest for those eligible in the booking system.
  - luckylion 4y ago
    We have all the data about everyone in the registers, but god forbid we use them to lower friction in case of emergencies! Good to hear that some got it right.

by TomK32 4y ago

luckylion 4y ago

That reminds me of the chaos that ensued in my state in the early days of Covid-19 vaccination when they were still having centralized systems where the elderly could book an appointment. Of course, they had way more demand than supply but still insisted on First Come, First Served, so you ended up with every member of the extended family being asked to try and book a slot, quickly overwhelming their booking systems. At least you didn't need to worry about it all day: there wasn't a chance in hell to get something 3 minutes after the booking system opened each day. Friends described how stressful it was for them, their parents being completely helpless and essentially fearing that their health depended on getting one of those elusive appointments, and being devastated each day they didn't succeed.

rightbyte 4y ago
In some miracle of competence my district alotted shots by decreasing age limit so that it were no "shortage" or lagfest for those eligible in the booking system.
- luckylion 4y ago
  We have all the data about everyone in the registers, but god forbid we use them to lower friction in case of emergencies! Good to hear that some got it right.