# GladstoneGo: Alert List Notification Setup

HTML version: [GladstoneGo: Alert List Notification Setup](https://support.gladstonesoftware.cloud/gooperator/gladstonego-alert-list-notification-setup)

## Problem
Administrators need to set up the Go alert list (waiting list) in Operator, and its email, so customers are told when a place frees up in a full class, with opening and cut-off times that match the site's booking windows.

## Resolution

1. **Open the alert list settings**
   - In Operator, go to `Configuration > Modules > Configure`.
   - Search for **Waiting List**. This opens the Waiting List group and its settings.
   - The settings appear twice under different names: **alert list** near the top of the settings list and **waiting list** near the bottom. Both relate to the same feature.

2. **Set the alert list settings**

   | Setting | Guidance |
   |---|---|
   | **Enable alert list** | Switch on if customers should be notified when a place frees up. There is no priority order. |
   | **Hours before class the list opens** | Default 48; for example, 168 = 7 days. This is when customers can **start adding themselves** once a class is full; it does not change advance booking windows. Set it to match (or exceed) the furthest-ahead booking window (for example, 192 = 8 days) so customers can join as soon as a class is full. A smaller value (for example, 5 days) means the list only opens 5 days before the class. If some reservations are bookable months ahead (for example, 10 days for racquet sports, 3 months for some sessions), use a larger value. |
   | **Cut-off period (minutes)** / **Cut Off Period in Minutes** | How close to the start customers can still join, and how many minutes before the start alert emails stop being sent (default 60). **0 = no limit**: customers can join right up to the start. Align it with the booking and cancellation cut-offs. |
   | **Excluded Statuses** / **Excluded Price Levels** | Customer statuses or price levels that should not receive alert emails, entered as IDs separated by commas. Use them to exclude, for example, cancelled, deceased, frozen or suspended statuses. Excluding a non-member price level stops non-members joining at all, so members get the space. Expired members and customers with debts cannot book anyway, so excluding them is not necessary. |
   | **Search Duration in Hours** | The time frame, in hours, to search for available bookings. Set it to match or exceed your furthest-ahead booking window. |
   | **Sites To Search For** | The sites included in the search for available bookings. |
   | **Deeplink Base URL** | The website base URL for the deep link in the email, which takes the customer to the class to book. |

3. **Save and test the clash rule**
   - Click **Save**.
   - Before go-live, test what happens when an alert-list booking clashes with a customer's existing booking, and report any removal of an existing booking to Gladstone Support.

4. **Open the Email Templates area**
   - In Operator, go to `Configuration > Automation > Communication > Email Templates` (shown in some versions as `Automation Portal > Email Templates`).

5. **Edit or create the alert list email template**
   - Edit the existing waiting-list template, or create a new one for alert list emails.
   - Give it a friendly subject, such as "Space available on your class".

6. **Personalise the email content**
   - Use placeholders such as `[[First Name]]` to personalise the message for each recipient.
   - Include `[[Fill space from waiting list link]]` in the **Button URL** so recipients can go straight to the class.
   - Save the template.

## Notes

- **Terminology:** "Alert List" and "Waiting List" mean the same thing. Some settings still use "Waiting List" while wording is updated.
- **Prerequisites:**
  - The **Waiting List** tick must be on each class in Plus2: see [Enabling the Alert List for Classes in Gladstone Go](enabling-the-alert-list-for-classes-in-gladstone-go.md).
  - You must have permission to make changes in Operator.
- The emails are sent by a communication job of type **Fill space in class from a waiting list**. Creating that job, and adding push notifications, are covered in [Class Alert Lists and Push Notifications](class-alert-lists-and-push-notifications.md).
- The alert list works for **reservations (classes) only**, not activities.
- When a space becomes available, the customer gets a notification with a **link** and must book themselves in. The notification reports availability; it does not hold the place.
- Everyone on the list is emailed at the same time and the **first to book gets the space**. People not on the list can also book it if they find it, including customers already on site who walk up.
- Customers keep receiving notifications while they stay on a list and space remains, so tell them how to remove themselves (Go account > **Class alerts**).
- **Clashes:** by default Go stops a customer booking two things that overlap, even by a few minutes, including joining a waiting list for a clashing class. Test the behaviour as in step 3.
- **Third-party mobile apps:** some app providers treat the booked and waiting lists as one continuous list, so the app still shows the class as full. Customers must use the **book now link in the alert email** (which opens Go Book) rather than the app. Raise it with the app provider too.
- Decisions to record before go-live: opening window, cut-off, notification hours and interval, whether customers may join several lists at once, and any fair-use limits.
- **Alert list emails are not being sent:** check **Cut Off Period in Minutes** and that the class start time is not beyond the send window. Also check the class alert communication job is running.
- **Some customers are not receiving alert emails:** confirm their price level or status is not in **Excluded Price Levels** or **Excluded Statuses**.
- **Email button does not open the correct class:** check **Deeplink Base URL**, and that `[[Fill space from waiting list link]]` is in the **Button URL**.
- **Alert button missing on a full class:** check the alert list is enabled, the excluded price levels and statuses, and the Plus2 **Waiting List** tick.
- Related: [Class Alert Lists and Push Notifications](class-alert-lists-and-push-notifications.md); [Enabling the Alert List for Classes in Gladstone Go](enabling-the-alert-list-for-classes-in-gladstone-go.md); [Configuring Activities in Plus2](../plus2/configuring-activities-in-plus2.md); [Configuring Block Bookings in Plus2](../plus2/configuring-block-bookings-in-plus2.md).