So, my dentist’s assistant calls me today (one day before my appointment) to confirm like usual.  Just as is my typical arrogant-skilled-engineer response to every situation, I think to myself: I could build an app to solve this simple problem.

Then I stumbled on to Appointment Reminder today.  They nailed it.  Nailed it like a hooker with a self-esteem problem.  Well done, team, well done.

The service is designed for businesses just like my dentist, small law firms, massage parlors, and other professional service industries.  For a monthly fee, one schedules the appointments in their system (using a modern AJAX interface, compares well to Google Calendar).  The system then reaches out to clients using SMS and voice calls to confirm appointments as appropriate.

The service officially opens in October, but you can sign up for the beta test now.  Plans start at $9 a month (for 10 appointments) and include a plan that costs $79 a month (for 300 appointments per month).  

Appointment Reminder was built by an American-born entrepreneur, Patrick McKenzie, who is now living in Japan.

Venture Pimp is being guest written by Brian Klug for the month of September.