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Using Customer Badges

8 minutes

Introduction

Customer badges are visual indicators that help staff identify important customer traits at a glance. Badges appear on customer profiles and help personalise the service experience by highlighting things like VIP status, preferences, and behavioural patterns.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin, Manager, Staff, Receptionist What you'll learn:

  • Understand the available built-in badges
  • Toggle badges on and off for customers
  • View badges on customer profiles
  • Configure badge settings (Owners/Admins)
  • Create custom badges for your salon

Time to complete: 8 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Logged in with at least Staff permissions
  • Complete Tutorial 3.1 (Adding and Managing Customer Profiles)
  • Owners/Admins should complete this to configure salon badge settings

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Understanding Built-in Badges

Luminate includes these built-in customer badges:

Badge Colour When to Use
VIP Amber High-value customers deserving special treatment
Prefers Silence Blue Customer prefers quiet during appointments
Often Late Red Customer has a pattern of arriving late
Often Early Green Customer tends to arrive early
Frequent Visitor Indigo Regular customer who visits often
New Customer Teal Recently added to your salon

Each badge can be enabled or disabled by salon Owners/Admins, who can also add up to 10 custom badges of their own (see Step 5).

Customer badges vs appointment badges: these are two separate sets. Customer badges describe the person and follow them to every appointment. Appointment badges (First Visit, Running Late, Special Occasion, Requires Follow-up) apply to a single appointment only. Both are configured on the same settings tab, under separate sub-tabs.

Step 2: View Badges on a Customer Profile

  1. Navigate to Customers in the sidebar
  2. Click on a customer to open their profile
  3. Click the Details tab
  4. Find the Badges section

The Badges section displays all available badges for your salon - the built-in ones your Owner/Admin has enabled, plus any custom badges they've created. Selected badges appear coloured with a tick; unselected badges appear grey.

The Badges section on a customer's Details tab, showing the built-in badges ready to toggle

Step 3: Toggle Badges On and Off

To add or remove a badge:

  1. Open the customer profile
  2. Go to the Details tab
  3. In the Badges section, click any badge to toggle it

How it works:

  • Click an unselected (grey) badge to apply it
  • Click a selected (coloured) badge to remove it
  • A selected badge is filled in its own colour, slightly enlarged, and carries a tick
  • Changes save automatically - no save button needed

The Badges section with the VIP badge switched on, filled amber with a tick

Note: A customer can have up to 10 badges at a time. Once a customer is carrying 10, the badges they do not have go grey and stop responding, and the line "A customer can hold up to 10 badges." appears under them. The badges they already have stay active, so remove one you no longer need to make room.

Step 4: Strategic Badge Usage

VIP Badge:

  • Apply to your top customers (top 10-20% by spending)
  • Staff should provide premium service: drinks, extra time, personalised attention
  • Define clear criteria: "VIP = £500+ annual spend OR 20+ visits"

Prefers Silence Badge:

  • Apply when a customer explicitly requests quiet service
  • Staff should minimise chat and focus on the service
  • Still provide excellent service, just with less conversation

Often Late / Often Early:

  • Apply when you notice a pattern (3+ occurrences)
  • Helps receptionists prepare appropriately
  • For late customers: call 15 minutes before appointment
  • For early customers: prepare station sooner

Frequent Visitor:

  • Apply to loyal, regular customers
  • Staff can acknowledge: "Great to see you again!"
  • Consider loyalty rewards

New Customer:

  • Apply to recently added customers
  • Staff should be extra welcoming and explain processes
  • Remove after 2-3 visits when they're established

Step 5: Configure Badge Settings (Owners/Admins)

Owners and Admins can control which badges are available:

  1. Click the salon name in the top navigation bar
  2. Select Salon Settings from the dropdown menu
  3. On the General tab, click the Badges sub-tab
  4. Click the Customer Badges sub-tab (the Badges sub-tab opens on Appointment Badges first)

The Customer Badges settings card, with toggles for each built-in badge and a section for custom badges

Nothing here saves until you click Update Salon. Every change on this tab - built-in toggles, added badges, edits and deletions - is held on the form until you click Update Salon at the bottom of the page. Leaving the page first discards the lot.

Enable/Disable Built-in Badges:

  • Toggle the switch next to each built-in badge
  • Disabled badges won't appear for staff to use
  • Click Update Salon when you're done

Add Custom Badges:

  1. Click Add Badge
  2. Enter a Badge Name (e.g., "Ambassador") - up to 50 characters
  3. Choose a Badge Color from the 12-colour palette. The Preview shows the finished badge as you type
  4. Click Add Badge
  5. Click Update Salon to save

You can create up to 10 custom customer badges. The heading shows how many you've used (for example, Custom Badges (3/10)), and the Add Badge button disappears once you reach 10.

The Add Custom Badge form, with a name field, the 12-colour palette and a live preview

Edit Custom Badges:

  • Click the Edit button next to a custom badge
  • Update the name or colour inline
  • Click Save, then Update Salon

Delete Custom Badges:

  • Click the trash icon next to a custom badge
  • Confirm in the Remove Badge dialog by clicking Remove Badge
  • Click Update Salon to save
  • Warning: This removes the badge from all customers who have it

Step 6: Creating Custom Badges

Common custom badge ideas:

Badge Name Colour Use Case
Ambassador Orange Customers who actively refer others
Staff Family Violet Family members of staff
Influencer Pink Social media influencers
Accessibility Blue Customers with accessibility needs
Colour Sensitive Red Known sensitivities to colour products
Price Conscious Green Customers who appreciate value

The available colours are: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Teal, Cyan, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Pink, Stone, and Gray.

To create:

  1. Go to Salon Settings > General tab > Badges sub-tab > Customer Badges sub-tab
  2. Click Add Badge
  3. Enter name and select colour
  4. Click Add Badge
  5. Click Update Salon to save your changes

Where Badges Appear

Badges are visible in several places:

Location What Shows
Customer profile header "Has Allergies" indicator (auto-applied if allergies are recorded - this is separate from customer badges)
Customer profile Details tab All available customer badges in the Badges section, where you toggle them on and off
Appointment sidebar When you open an appointment from the calendar, the customer's badges appear in the Badges section under the Customer heading, where you can also toggle them
Appointment detail page The customer's badges appear in the Customer card and can be toggled there (appointment badges have their own Appointment Badges card)
Dashboard Customer badges show alongside today's and the next upcoming appointment

Note: The main customer list doesn't show badges - you need to open the customer profile to see them. Badges are also not shown on the calendar grid itself, only in the appointment sidebar that opens when you click an appointment, and they don't appear on the new appointment form while you're booking.

Common Pitfalls

"Badge changes aren't saving"

Badges save automatically via the network. Ensure you have a stable internet connection. If a badge shows animation for too long, refresh the page and try again.

"My badge settings didn't stick"

Badge configuration behaves like the rest of the salon settings form - toggles, new badges, edits and deletions only save when you click Update Salon at the bottom of the page. If you switched tabs or navigated away first, the changes were discarded. This is different from toggling badges on a customer, which saves as you click.

"I can't see the badges section"

Your salon may have disabled all built-in badges. Ask the salon owner to enable at least one badge in settings.

"Staff are using VIP badge inconsistently"

Define clear criteria and document them. Share with all staff: "VIP = £500+ annual spend OR 20+ visits"

"Too many badges cluttering the view"

Owners can disable unused built-in badges. Delete custom badges that aren't being used. Aim for 6-10 total badges maximum.

"Customer was marked 'Often Late' unfairly"

Be careful with negative badges. One late arrival doesn't make a pattern. Apply after 3+ occurrences.

"I can't add more badges to a customer"

Customers can have a maximum of 10 badges. At the limit, the badges the customer does not have go grey and a line says so. Remove a less relevant badge first, then add the new one.

Tips and Best Practices

  1. Review badges during check-in - Glance at badges before greeting to personalise the interaction
  2. Update badges promptly - If a customer mentions they prefer quiet, add the badge immediately
  3. Don't over-badge - Not every customer needs badges; use them for notable traits only
  4. Remove outdated badges - A "New Customer" who has visited 10 times is no longer new
  5. Colour code strategically - Red for caution, green for positive, blue for preferences, amber for VIP
  6. Train staff on meanings - Everyone should know what each badge means
  7. Combine with notes - Badge: "Accessibility" + Note: "Uses wheelchair, prefers station #3"
  8. Review VIP criteria quarterly - Customer spending patterns change; update accordingly

Related Tutorials

  • Tutorial 3.1: Adding and Managing Customer Profiles - Where customer information lives
  • Tutorial 3.4: Organising Customers - Other ways to categorise customers
  • Tutorial 3.3: Customer Preferences and Communication Consent - Recording preferences

Frequently Asked Questions

Can customers see their badges?

No. Badges are internal tools for staff only. Customers don't see badges in any communications.

How many badges can one customer have?

Up to 10 badges. However, we recommend using 3-5 for clarity.

How many custom badges can we create?

Up to 10 custom customer badges per salon, on top of the six built-in ones. Appointment badges have their own separate allowance of 10.

Who can toggle badges?

All staff members with access to view customers can toggle badges. Badge configuration (adding/removing custom badges) is restricted to Owners and Admins.

Do badges appear on the calendar?

Not on the calendar grid itself. However, when you click an appointment to open its sidebar, the customer's badges appear under the Customer section. Customer badges also show on the dashboard's today's and upcoming appointment cards.

What happens if I delete a custom badge?

The badge is removed from all customers who have it. This cannot be undone.

Can I create badges for products or services?

Products and services use Categories (not badges). See the Categories section under Products or Services.

Will badges sync across multiple salons?

No. Each salon has its own badge configuration. Customers visiting multiple salons would have separate badges per salon.

Is there a badge for allergies?

Allergies are handled separately in the Preferences section with the Allergies & Sensitivities toggle. When enabled, a "Has Allergies" indicator appears automatically on the profile.

Last Updated: August 2026