SmartPointment wants to change the way appointments get made:

Have you ever tried to schedule a meeting with a busy person using Google Calendar? Isn’t it great that it can find a free block of time that works for both of you? SmartPointment is kind of like that, but for businesses — hair–dressers, mechanics, that sort of thing. Businesses can push their available appointment times to SmartPointment, which lets customers select and manage their own appointment information.

This sort of appointment booking functionality would fit together with Yelp in an almost magical way, so I’d like to hope someone else is at least thinking about that. In the meantime, businesses can integrate the SmartPointment widget into their websites without much trouble.

It’s a great idea, and they already have a clear monetization path by charging businesses to manage their appointments. It offers a pretty clear value. Unfortunately, the site itself looks and feels a bit dated, and doesn’t offer a very good mobile experience. That’s an easy enough thing to change, but doesn’t necessarily offer up a good first experience.

Follow them at @smartpointment, and watch their blog for product announcements.