Booking an Appointment
Use these phrases to successfully schedule, change, confirm, or cancel your appointments for everyday services.
Key Phrases
Hola, quería pedir una cita para esta semana, por favor.
neutralHi, I wanted to request an appointment for this week, please.
Using the imperfect tense ('quería') instead of the present ('quiero') makes requests sound more polite.
Buenos días, me gustaría concertar una cita lo antes posible.
politeGood morning, I would like to arrange an appointment as soon as possible.
The verb 'concertar' is slightly more formal and precise than 'pedir'.
¿Tienen algún hueco libre para el miércoles por la mañana?
neutralDo you have any free slots for Wednesday morning?
'Un hueco' literally means 'a hole', but it's the natural way to refer to an open time slot.
¿Sería posible conseguir una cita para hoy por la tarde?
politeWould it be possible to get an appointment for today in the afternoon?
Me viene mejor por la tarde, a partir de las cinco.
casualThe afternoon works better for me, from five onwards.
'Me viene mejor' is a very natural conversational way to say a time suits you.
Prefiero ir por la mañana, si todavía hay disponibilidad.
neutralI prefer to go in the morning, if there is still availability.
Llamo para confirmar que todavía tengo mi cita del viernes.
neutralI'm calling to confirm that I still have my Friday appointment.
Me gustaría confirmar la hora exacta de mi cita para mañana.
politeI would like to confirm the exact time of my appointment for tomorrow.
Necesito cambiar mi cita del jueves para otro día.
neutralI need to change my Thursday appointment to another day.
¿Podríamos posponer la cita para la próxima semana, por favor?
politeCould we postpone the appointment to next week, please?
No voy a poder ir a mi cita de esta tarde.
casualI won't be able to go to my appointment this afternoon.
A direct but common way to cancel when talking to familiar service providers like a regular hairdresser.
Me ha surgido un imprevisto y tengo que cancelar la cita.
neutralSomething unexpected has come up and I have to cancel the appointment.
Using 'un imprevisto' is a great way to vaguely explain why you need to cancel without giving personal details.
Voy a llegar un poco tarde, lo siento mucho.
casualI'm going to be a little late, I'm very sorry.
Disculpe las molestias, creo que me retrasaré unos diez minutos.
politeSorry for the inconvenience, I think I will be about ten minutes late.
Uses a reflexive verb ('retrasarse') which is standard for expressing a delay at this level.
¿Es necesario que lleve algún documento a la cita?
neutralDo I need to bring any documents to the appointment?
Notice the use of the present subjunctive ('lleve') after the trigger 'Es necesario que'.