How To Manage No-Show Clients

Let your clients know the policy when they book the appointments.

Last-minute cancellations are not canceling within your cancellation policy, so one of the most important things is to have your policy written. And it makes it so much easier to have those conversations when your client no-shows or cancels at the last minute. It'sIt's not an emergency I forgot, or I got tired, but work does not constitute an emergency and doesn't count.

 

So you have an appointment, you come in early and start getting prepared for it a few minutes before the appointment. And the client is not here yet. 10 minutes after, the clients were not here yet. This is when you believe it's a no-show. So first you have to decide if you are going to charge them or not. If it is their first no-show, do not charge somebody. If it is their first time, don't charge them. If it is their second-time no-show, sometimes charge them depending on the situation. If it is a third time no showing, always charge them no matter who it is and why they have.

  

Create a cancellation window. Have a 24-hour cancellation policy which is standard in private practices. Make sure you both got all the information: It is recommended to call them on your phone. If you have to message them or Facebook chat them, make sure they have seen the messages.

  

Tell the clients about the value of time.

If a client does not show up, you need to give them a direct call and say something along the lines of "Hey Joe (any names, purely coincidental) " This is Wendy with Hairlaya Salon. We had an appointment at 11 o'clock today. It's now 11:10. I am calling to see if you're on your way. Had you forgotten, or if you weren't going to make it, I'm not going to charge you today because this is your first no-show. But please give me a call back if you can. I hope you have a great rest of your day and talk to you later. ""

  

If you were going to charge them, switch that second line and say, "unfortunately, it is your third no-show, so I am gonna have to charge you today, but I hope everything is okay and please give me a call back if anything else comes up" Simple as that. And then you charge them it doesn't have to be over-complicated, and most people, if there are no showing you for multiple times they're expecting that something terrible will happen, know there are consequences to their actions. So don't be afraid as a business owner to charge them but note that when making those phone calls, be cheerful and optimistic instead of complaining.

  

You don't take it personally and only take it professionally. You care about them as people and not simply about their money, but make no mistake that they know your time is precious and authentic with your client. Tell them what it does to your business and how it doesn't allow you to fill that spot very easily. This can be done in a kind manner.

Have a confident expectation if you have a general idea about the no-show rate

No shows do suck. They do happen, and especially when you have a book today that you know would have been filled up, and you're losing out on a hundred dollars. That can be very frustrating when that person doesn't show up, and you don't get that money, but it will happen.

  

Therefore, you can factor in about a 10 to 20 percent no-show rate when scheduling your week. If you want to see 15 clients that week, you could schedule 18 to 20 clients. Knowing one or two people might cancel with advance notice, and one or two people might completely no-show. That way, you still end up seeing the number of clients you were planning to see rather than feeling disappointed that your caseload is lower than expected.