Tuesday? No.
Wednesday? Morning or afternoon?
Afternoon, but after three.
Three thirty then?
Let me check. Sorry, no, I have something.
Six messages. One appointment. And you were under someone's sink for four of them.
The real cost, which is not the messages
You are unreachable while you work. That is the whole problem, and it is the same for everyone doing this alone.
A person who wants to book you at eleven in the morning gets no answer, because your hands are full. By lunchtime they have booked somebody who answered.
You did not lose that job on price or quality. You lost it because you were working.
What a booking system has to do
Show only the times you can actually do. Not a form asking for a preferred time, which is just a slower conversation.
Stop two people taking the same slot. This has to be handled properly at the point of booking, not by you noticing later.
Capture what you need up front. Name, number, address, and what the job is.
Tell both of you it happened. A confirmation to them and a notification to you.
Set your hours honestly
The mistake is opening everything.
Leave travel time between jobs. Block out the hours you are genuinely not available. Decide whether you want Saturday bookings before you find out you have one.
A booking system that fills your day wall to wall is not helping you. It is booking you into traffic.
What it does not fix
It does not decide the price. It does not tell you what the job involves. Some work needs a look first, and a booking for a quote visit is a perfectly good thing to offer.
And it does not replace answering people. It just means the simple bookings stop needing you.
The honest summary
The problem is not that people cannot reach you. It is that reaching you requires you to be free at the same moment they are.
Let them book the times you have already decided are free. Then get on with the work.
Bookings on a DigitalFlyer page let customers book the slots you choose, without phoning you.