Recipe: invite back clients you have not seen for a while¶
Give Hermes your appointments history. It finds the clients who have not been back for two months or more, leaves out the ones who already have a booking, and writes a short, friendly WhatsApp message for each one, in European Portuguese.
| Time needed | 5 minutes |
| You need | A Hermes agent connected to an AI model and your appointments exported as a CSV file, with past visits and future bookings |
| Result | The list of clients to contact, with their last visit, and one message per client, saved in follow-up.md |
Hermes writes the messages, it does not send them
In this recipe Hermes only drafts the messages. You read them and send them yourself from the salon's phone. Only write to clients who agreed to receive messages from you.
1. Upload your appointments history¶
Use the same kind of export as in next week's appointments per staff member: one line per appointment with the date, client, service and staff member, including past visits and the bookings already made. Upload it in FILES → workspace (see Hermes reads a contract for you).
We used the same test file, salon-appointments.csv (54 appointments from August to November 2026). We put some edge cases in on purpose:
- Helena Costa was last seen exactly 60 days ago, and Luísa Almeida 59 days ago.
- Patrícia Ribeiro was last seen 64 days ago, but she already has a booking next week.
- Luís Barros is a new client: he only has a booking next week, no past visit.
2. Ask for the list and the messages¶
Give today's date, the number of days, and say who to skip. In CHAT, in the same conversation as the schedule, we wrote:
Same file. Today is Sunday 15 Nov 2026. List the clients we have not seen for 60 days or more (count from their last past visit), but skip anyone who already has a booking next week. For each one show the last visit date, service and staff, and write a short, friendly WhatsApp message in European Portuguese inviting them back (no discounts). Save it as workspace/follow-up.md.
Hermes answered in less than a minute:
- The messages, one per client, as Hermes wrote them into the file (the chat shows a preview of the file in green).
- The six clients to contact, with the date of their last visit, the service and who did it.
- What Hermes left out and why: Patrícia Ribeiro (she has a booking on Thursday 19 November) and Luísa Almeida (59 days, one day short). It also says that Helena Costa, at exactly 60 days, is included.
Hermes also noticed that it does not know the salon's name, so the messages are signed "a equipa". It suggests you add the name.
3. Read and send the messages¶
Open FILES → workspace and download follow-up.md, or ask in the chat: "Show me the message for Teresa Nunes." Two of the six messages, exactly as Hermes wrote them:
**Teresa Nunes**
> Olá, Teresa! Já foi há algum tempo o seu brushing com a Joana e gostávamos de a voltar a ver. Se quiser marcar, é só responder a esta mensagem, de terça a sábado. Um beijinho da equipa! ✨
**Gonçalo Reis**
> Olá, Gonçalo! Passou algum tempo desde o arranjo de barba com o Marco. Se quiser marcar uma nova visita, basta responder aqui. Estamos abertos de terça a sábado. Esperamos por si!
Each message names the service and the person who did it, and none offers a discount, as we asked. In the chat window the emojis show as small boxes; in the file they are normal emojis.
Check that it worked¶
We made the list ourselves before asking Hermes. It matched exactly:
| Client | Last visit | Days | Our answer | Hermes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniela Rocha | 4 Aug | 103 | Include | Included |
| Vasco Moreira | 6 Aug | 101 | Include | Included |
| Gonçalo Reis | 20 Aug | 87 | Include | Included |
| Teresa Nunes | 28 Aug | 79 | Include | Included |
| Nuno Carvalho | 5 Sep | 71 | Include | Included |
| Patrícia Ribeiro | 12 Sep | 64 | Skip: booked next week | Skipped, with the reason |
| Helena Costa | 16 Sep | 60 | Include | Included |
| Luísa Almeida | 17 Sep | 59 | Skip: under 60 days | Skipped, with the reason |
| Luís Barros | none | – | Skip: new client | Not listed |
The last service and staff member of each client were right too. To check your own list, take one client and count the days from their last visit to today on a calendar.
Make it yours¶
- Every month: schedule it for the first Monday of the month.
- Another limit: "Clients not seen for 45 days, but only colour clients".
- Your own tone: "Use 'tu', sign with the salon's name, Salão Lúcia, and mention our new opening hours."
- A birthday list: if your export has birthdays, ask for the clients with a birthday next week.
Common problems¶
A client who comes every week is on the list
Check that your export has all the visits, not only the last few months or only one staff member. Hermes only knows what is in the file.
Hermes counted from the wrong day
Always write today's date in the message, as we did. Also say "count from their last past visit", so future bookings are not taken as visits.
The messages are too long or too formal
Say what you want: "Two sentences maximum, informal, with one emoji." Then ask Hermes to rewrite them.