Scheduling Friend of the Court Appointments Online

By Suzanne Hollyer, Director, Oakland County Friend of the Court, and President, Friend of the Court Association; and Brittany Dougherty, Director, Saginaw County Friend of the Court

Several counties have implemented a free appointment scheduling system called Setmore to allow a controlled flow of clients into their buildings as friend of the court (FOC) offices navigate serving clients during a global pandemic. The Oakland County Friend of the Court (Oakland FOC) first sought out the Setmore appointment system when investigating how to continue serving its walk-in clients. The Saginaw County Friend of the Court (Saginaw FOC) has further expanded its customer service options by allowing video appointments using this free service.

Oakland County

Before COVID-19 caused partial closure of the office, the Oakland FOC had between 600-1,000 people walking into the building every day for customer service. COVID-19 caused Oakland to quickly redeploy staff to working from home. The easy part was moving hearings to the homes of hearing officers because the Michigan Supreme Court had already provided Zoom videoconferencing licenses to all referees. However, it was unclear how many of the normal 600-1,000 daily visitors to the building were appearing for hearings versus seeking general assistance from the rest of the staff.

As Oakland FOC prepared to partially reopen to meet the needs of walk-in clients, we needed to control the volume of people coming into the building for the safety of the public and our staff. Then we discovered Setmore. The system is free and allows us to set up three different appointment types: general information, payments, and remote notary. 

Oakland FOC's Setmore scheduling page.

We launched the system in June when our office began rotating small numbers of staff back into the building to assist walk-in clients. The appointments were advertised on our website, with a brochure included in mailings, and by telling callers about it. For the first three weeks the system was in place, the director and assistant directors took turns scheduling clients for appointments at the front of the building. We continue to offer appointments (preview our Setmore page here), and because of the relatively low volume of appointments needed (about 100 per week), appointments continue to be immediately available, even to those who show up without an appointment.  Initially four staff people from each department were scheduled to be in the building to handle walk-in clients. Because of the low volume of walk-in clients, that was decreased to one staff member from each department daily.

Reviews of the Oakland FOC in Setmore.

Our office was surprised that we did not have a tidal wave of customers seeking to see “a real person” after the building had been mostly closed for nearly two months. We believe this didn’t happen because of how work priorities were shifted when our staff started working from home. Previously in our high-volume office, we allowed a two-day turnaround time for our staff to return calls. When everyone went home, we issued cell phones and directed that all calls be answered immediately or returned within two hours. This required staff reprioritizing their work; however, the lesson learned was that responding immediately to customers cuts down on frustration and repeat phone calls, and decreased tension for all.

Overall, the Setmore scheduling system has allowed us in Oakland County to control the flow of people into our building, but also has taught an important lesson about better serving the public by being immediately available by phone. Clients love the accessibility this system provides. We also decided to turn on the feedback section in Setmore, and the responses have been extremely encouraging.

Saginaw County

The Saginaw County Friend of the Court (Saginaw FOC) is also using the Setmore system and added the integrated one-click video chat feature offered on the platform.

Google reviews of our office highlight two major client frustrations: accessibility and customer service. Over the last two years, we have worked diligently to close the accessibility gap by implementing several different avenues to contact the office, including a new phone system allowing people to call workers directly, walk-in services, instant messaging, access to cases online, and a generic email address to reach the office. COVID-19 building closures took away a valuable feature of our new improvements: in-person communication and walk-in hours.  As we began working through reopening phases in June, the building was going to be open by appointment only. In addition, the county was and still is discouraging in-person appointments.

Saginaw FOC's caseload-specific video appointment scheduling page.

We decided to implement Setmore appointment scheduling with video appointments to comply with social distancing requirements, manage appointment scheduling, and reduce foot traffic in the office.

The video chat feature on Setmore uses Teleport video to connect the client and a child support worker in lieu of in-person appointments. This allows our staff who are working remotely to still conduct appointments from home and enables clients to speak to their specialist face-to-face without having to come to the office. Clients can click on a link on the Saginaw FOC website, Facebook page, or visit our Setmore page directly to book their own appointments online. They can also call our office to have the receptionist book the appointment for them. After booking the appointment, the client and assigned worker are emailed a link to access the video chat. At the time of the appointment, they both click on the link and are connected by video chat.

In just two months of using Setmore, Saginaw FOC conducted 407 video appointments. We also use Setmore to schedule in-person appointments for business that cannot be conducted over video chat, such as making a payment. 

We began by using the free version of Setmore, but we were so impressed with the system that we upgraded to the premium version ($199 for the year) and now have 20 employees using the system for appointments. All employees have unique log-ins and can manage their schedules individually to block off times they are unavailable. 

Why choose video chat over phone calls?

Video conferencing adds a personal touch to the conversation, allowing clients to put a face with a voice. Seeing demeanor and mannerisms allows clients to feel more connected to and engaged with the FOC. Psychologists have shown that video chats closely mimic in-person communication and are a great way to create meaningful interactions and feel more emotionally connected. This is why you may choose to Facetime or other video chat methods with your family and friends instead of calling them. Furthermore, Saginaw FOC has greatly reduced foot traffic and avoided common issues with phone calls, like spending time listening to voicemails or playing phone tag with clients. Saginaw FOC plans to keep this system in place even after the restrictions from COVID-19 are lifted because video chats have also eliminated common barriers clients face in coming to the building for services (for example, transportation/driver’s license issues, hectic work schedules, and general fear of stepping foot in a government/court building).   

Suzanne Hollyer has been the Oakland County Friend of the Court since 2003. Before that, she worked at the Wayne County Friend of the Court for 8 years and at the State Court Administrative Office Friend of the Court Bureau for 1 year. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University and her juris doctorate from Wayne State University Law School. Suzanne is currently serving as President of the Friend of the Court Association, a role she previously held from 2007-2009.

Brittany Dougherty has been at the Saginaw County Friend of the Court since 2013 where she started as a Staff Attorney and then a Referee.  Before that she was a law clerk for the Honorable Fred L. Borchard.  She assumed her current role as director of the Friend of the Court in 2018.  Brittany is a graduate of Central Michigan University and earned her Juris Doctorate at the Charlotte School of Law in North Carolina.  She is currently serving as a Regional Director for the Friend of the Court Association.