Articles on: General

How Chat, SMS, and Email Work Together

How Chat, SMS, and Email Work Together

Understand how Apprentice's three communication channels coordinate to keep you connected with your artist or clients.



Overview


Apprentice provides three communication channels—in-app chat, SMS text messages, and email—that work together seamlessly. Understanding how these channels interact helps you stay connected without communication overload. This article explains when each channel is used, how they coordinate, and how to manage your preferences.


The Three Communication Channels


1. In-App Chat


What it is: Real-time messaging within the Apprentice platform between artists and clients.


Best for:

  • Ongoing design discussions
  • Sharing images and reference photos
  • Project collaboration
  • Quick questions during business hours
  • Real-time conversations


Features:

  • Instant delivery
  • Image sharing
  • Message history
  • Read receipts
  • Typing indicators
  • Direct links to projects


Accessing Chat:

  • Artists: /dashboard/artist/chat
  • Clients: /dashboard/client/chat
  • Quick Access: Click chat icon in navigation bar


When Messages Are Sent:

  • When you're actively using Apprentice
  • For design collaboration and project updates
  • For non-urgent communication


2. SMS Text Messages


What it is: Text message notifications sent to your mobile phone number.


Best for:

  • Urgent, time-sensitive alerts
  • Appointment reminders (24 hours and 1 hour before)
  • Appointment cancellations or reschedules
  • Waitlist "your turn" notifications
  • Critical booking updates


Features:

  • Instant delivery to your phone
  • Works without internet (cellular only)
  • Reaches you anywhere
  • Short, concise messages
  • Links back to Apprentice for details


Opting In:


When Messages Are Sent:

  • High-priority or urgent notifications only
  • Time-sensitive reminders
  • Critical appointment changes


3. Email Notifications


What it is: Email notifications sent to your registered email address.


Best for:

  • Detailed appointment information
  • Design ready for review
  • Weekly summaries (for artists)
  • Booking confirmations
  • Account security updates
  • Receipts and payment confirmations


Features:

  • Detailed information and formatting
  • Persistent record in your inbox
  • Links to relevant pages in Apprentice
  • Can be referenced later
  • Professional formatting with templates


When Messages Are Sent:

  • Non-urgent notifications
  • Batched updates (to prevent spam)
  • Detailed information that requires reading
  • Confirmations and receipts


How They Work Together


Notification Coordination


Apprentice intelligently routes notifications across channels based on urgency and type:


High Priority / Urgent

Examples: Appointment cancellation, last-minute reschedule, waitlist "your turn"


Channels Used:

  • ✅ SMS (if enabled)
  • ✅ Email (detailed information)
  • ✅ In-app (notification bell)


Why all three: Critical information reaches you immediately via SMS, with details available in email and in-app.


Medium Priority

Examples: Booking confirmation, design ready, new message received


Channels Used:

  • ✅ Email (detailed notification)
  • ✅ In-app (notification bell)
  • ⚠️ SMS (only if enabled and preference set for this type)


Why: Important but not urgent. Email provides details; in-app notifies you when logged in.


Low Priority

Examples: Weekly digest, marketing updates, system announcements


Channels Used:

  • ✅ Email only
  • ⚠️ In-app (for system announcements)


Why: Non-urgent information delivered in a less intrusive format.


Message Batching


To prevent notification overload, Apprentice batches certain message types:


Chat Message Batching

  • How it works: Multiple chat messages are grouped together and sent as one notification
  • Timing: After 30 seconds of inactivity
  • Example: Instead of 5 separate emails for 5 messages, you get one email: "Sarah sent you 5 new messages"
  • Channels affected: Email only (in-app chat is always real-time)


Design Update Batching

  • How it works: Multiple design updates during a collaboration session are grouped
  • Timing: After session ends (no activity for 30 seconds)
  • Example: "John made 3 updates to your design" instead of 3 separate notifications


Waitlist Position Updates

  • How it works: Position changes are batched to prevent spam as queue moves
  • Timing: Maximum one update per hour
  • Example: "You're now #3 in line" instead of notifications for #7, #6, #5, #4, #3


What's Never Batched:

  • ❌ Appointment cancellations (always immediate)
  • ❌ Booking confirmations (always immediate)
  • ❌ Waitlist "your turn" alerts (always immediate)
  • ❌ Payment confirmations (always immediate)


Smart Notification Delivery


Preventing Duplicates


Scenario: Artist sends you a chat message


What happens:

  1. In-app: Chat appears immediately if you're logged in
  2. Email: Waits 30 seconds; if you read the message in-app, email is suppressed
  3. SMS: Not sent for chat messages (unless specifically enabled)


Result: You're notified once via the most appropriate channel.


Cross-Channel Linking


All notifications include links back to the relevant page in Apprentice:


  • Email notifications: Click to open Apprentice and view details
  • SMS notifications: Link to appointment, chat room, or project
  • In-app notifications: Click to navigate directly to the relevant page


Example Email Notification:

New Message from Sarah

Sarah sent you a message about your tattoo project:
"Hey! I've finished the design sketch. Take a look and let me know what you think!"

[View Message in Apprentice] (button)


Example SMS Notification:

Appointment Reminder: Your tattoo session with Sarah is tomorrow at 2:00 PM. Tap to check in: https://app.apprentice/appointments/check-in/abc123


Notification Types by Channel


What You Receive via In-App Chat


Always Sent In-App:

  • New chat messages
  • Design collaboration updates
  • Real-time notifications while logged in
  • Unread message badges


What You Receive via SMS


SMS is Used For:

  • Appointment reminders (24h and 1h before)
  • Appointment cancellations
  • Appointment reschedules
  • Waitlist "your turn" notifications
  • Booking link notifications (if artist sends via SMS)
  • Deposit payment reminders (artists only)


SMS is NOT Used For:

  • Regular chat messages (use in-app chat)
  • Design updates (use email)
  • Marketing content (use email)
  • Low-priority updates (use email)


What You Receive via Email


Email is Used For:

  • Booking confirmations (detailed appointment info)
  • Design ready notifications
  • Chat message summaries (if you're not active in-app)
  • Appointment reminders (backup to SMS)
  • Weekly digest (artists only)
  • Payment receipts and confirmations
  • Account security notifications
  • System announcements
  • Marketing updates (if opted in)


Managing Communication Preferences


Customizing Your Channels


Navigate to your notification preferences:

  • Artists: /dashboard/artist/settings/notifications
  • Clients: /dashboard/client/settings/notifications


Channel Toggles:

  • ☑️ In-App Notifications: Enable/disable notification bell alerts
  • ☑️ Email Notifications: Enable/disable email notifications
  • ☑️ SMS Notifications: Enable/disable text messages


Notification Type Toggles (per channel):

  • ☑️ Appointment reminders
  • ☑️ Status updates
  • ☑️ Design updates
  • ☑️ Chat messages
  • ☑️ Marketing emails (email only)



✅ In-App: Enabled
✅ Email: Enabled
✅ SMS: Enabled (at least for appointment reminders)

✅ Appointment reminders (all channels)
✅ Status updates (in-app + email)
✅ Design updates (in-app + email)
⚠️ Chat messages (in-app only; email if not active)
❌ Marketing emails (optional)


✅ In-App: Enabled
✅ Email: Enabled
✅ SMS: Enabled (urgent notifications only)

✅ Booking requests (in-app + email)
✅ Chat messages (in-app + batched email)
✅ Appointment reminders (in-app + email)
✅ Payment reminders (email + SMS)
✅ Weekly digest (email)
❌ Marketing emails (optional)


Quiet Hours


What it is: Suppress notifications during specific hours (e.g., 10 PM - 8 AM)


How it works:

  • In-app notifications: Still appear, but without sound/alerts
  • Email: Held and sent in a batch after quiet hours end
  • SMS: Only critical/urgent messages sent (cancellations, emergencies)


Setting Quiet Hours:

  1. Go to Notification Preferences
  2. Toggle "Enable Quiet Hours" to on
  3. Set start time (e.g., 10:00 PM)
  4. Set end time (e.g., 8:00 AM)
  5. Save preferences


Tip: Quiet hours respect your local timezone.


Communication Best Practices


For Clients


Using In-App Chat:

  • ✅ Use for design discussions and questions
  • ✅ Share reference images via chat
  • ✅ Respond during business hours
  • ❌ Don't expect instant replies (artists may be working with clients)


Using SMS:

  • ✅ Respond to appointment reminders
  • ✅ Confirm receipt of important updates
  • ❌ Don't use for long conversations (use chat instead)


Using Email:

  • ✅ Read booking confirmations carefully
  • ✅ Save receipts and payment confirmations
  • ✅ Keep design ready notifications for reference


For Artists


Using In-App Chat:

  • ✅ Respond to client messages within 24 hours
  • ✅ Use chat for ongoing project discussions
  • ✅ Share design updates via chat with images


Using SMS:

  • ✅ Send booking links via SMS for quick access
  • ✅ Send urgent updates (cancellations only)
  • ❌ Don't overuse SMS (clients may find it intrusive)


Using Email:

  • ✅ Send detailed booking confirmations
  • ✅ Send design ready notifications with preview images
  • ✅ Use weekly digest to track revenue


Troubleshooting Communication Issues


Not Receiving Notifications


Check these first:

  1. Verify channels are enabled in notification preferences
  2. Check spam/junk folders for emails
  3. Verify phone number is correct for SMS
  4. Ensure you're opted in to SMS notifications


See full troubleshooting guide: Troubleshooting Notification Issues


Receiving Too Many Notifications


Solutions:

  1. Disable marketing emails if you don't want promotional content
  2. Enable quiet hours to suppress nighttime notifications
  3. Disable email for chat messages (use in-app only)
  4. Reduce notification types (e.g., disable design update emails)


Messages Not Syncing Across Channels


Common causes:

  • Batching delay (email notifications wait 30 seconds for batching)
  • You read the message in-app before email was sent (email suppressed)
  • SMS is disabled in preferences (only in-app and email sent)


This is normal behavior: Apprentice prevents duplicate notifications by suppressing less urgent channels if you've already seen the message.


Privacy and Communication


Data Security:

  • All communication channels are encrypted in transit
  • Chat messages stored securely on Apprentice servers
  • Email sent via SendGrid (TLS encrypted)
  • SMS sent via ClickSend (secure transmission)


Third-Party Services:


Your Control:

  • You can disable any channel at any time
  • You control which notification types you receive
  • Opt out of marketing emails without affecting critical notifications

Updated on: 16/01/2026

Was this article helpful?

Share your feedback

Cancel

Thank you!