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Let an AI receptionist book barbershop appointments by phone and WhatsApp while you keep cutting
Ángel Gabriel Prado, who runs Excelsior Barber Studio in Palma, Mallorca (now two shops in central Palma), in Diario de Mallorca (Spanish; our translation; the photo caption spells his name Pardo)
The barbershop added CitaFlow, an AI system that answers calls, replies to WhatsApp messages and books appointments automatically, so clients can book, ask about prices and hours or check availability without an employee answering. Its developers say the AI is trained on the shop's own services, prices and hours and handles conversations in Spanish and English. The same platform also holds the appointment book, client history, staff clock-ins and day-to-day management.
The article doesn't give CitaFlow's price (not checked).
Medium · or we set it up for $197
CitaFlow
The problem
Keeping an eye on the phone all day for bookings limited how many haircuts he could do.
What happened
"I can be eating calmly or even sleeping, and the AI keeps booking appointments for me," Prado says (our translation). "Being on the phone all the time used to limit how many cuts I could do a day; now I can cut more people and stop worrying about the phone." The article gives no booking numbers; it notes the business has grown from one shop to two in central Palma over the past year, without crediting that to the AI.
Quoted in the source: Ángel Gabriel Prado, Excelsior Barber Studio. Source: Diario de Mallorca: La inteligencia artificial se cuela en las barberías de Mallorca: así funciona Excelsior, el primer local que gestiona citas con IA (2026-07-16) · Added 2026-10-21.
How to set it up yourself
- What Excelsior Barber Studio does: CitaFlow answers calls and WhatsApp messages in Spanish and English, answers price and hours questions, checks availability and books appointments into the shop's calendar.
- Write down what callers ask most (prices, hours, which barber, walk-ins, cancellations) and your booking rules (service lengths, buffer between cuts, deposit or no-show policy).
- Pick an AI booking tool that connects to the appointment book you already use (or your booking app's own AI assistant), load your services, prices and hours, and paste the prompt below as its instructions.
- Test it with five fake calls and WhatsApp messages from a friend, including a cancellation and a question it can't answer, then forward after-hours and busy calls to it first and check every booking for the first two weeks.
Copy-paste prompt
You answer calls and WhatsApp messages for {SHOP NAME}, a barbershop at {ADDRESS}. Reply in the customer's language (Spanish or English). Answer only from: services and prices {SERVICES AND PRICES}, hours {HOURS}, barbers {BARBERS AND DAYS}. Book only into open slots in {BOOKING SYSTEM}, using these service lengths {DURATIONS}. Confirm name, phone, service, barber and time back to the customer. For anything else (complaints, special requests), take a message and say {OWNER NAME} will reply today.We set up one AI automation in your tools, live within 48 hours of getting access, for $197. No call needed. Founding price for our first 10 customers (regular $297).
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