Every stylist has to deal with no-shows and late cancellations. Unfortunately, many professionals are afraid to hold clients accountable. Stop thinking that way. You’re running a business — your clients expect you to show up on time, you should expect the same from them.
Did you know?
- The average stylist faces 1-2 no-shows a week. For some stylists, this can add up to nearly $5,000 a year.
- Feel comfortable that 80% of stylists charge a no-show/late cancellation fee. Good clients understand time is money.
That means……
- When a client books an appointment, they are “purchasing time” with you. If the client doesn’t show up or is late, they are still responsible for paying for that time lost.
If you are trying to build up your clientele, charging for no-shows seems extreme — Stop thinking that way, it’s not.
Having a policy in place is about incentivizing clients to show up, fostering respect, setting boundaries, and (most importantly) getting paid.
If you want to build your reputation and grow as a professional, clients need to take your time seriously. You can evaluate no-shows on a case-by-case basis to determine how strictly you want to enforce your policy. Clients are human and mistakes happen, but the truth is: clients who consistently show up late are killing your business.
Stop wasting your time, money, and energy.
Set up a no-show/late cancellation policy today with StyleSeat’s NSLC (no-show late cancellation) tool and start charging clients who arrive late to an appointment, cancel last minute or don’t show up at all.
StyleSeat automatically displays your policy on your profile page for all of your clients to see.
This is all you need to do to create your custom policy:
(If you aren’t already using StyleSeat, you can start your FREE trial here. )
- You can select how strict you would like your policy to be (flexible, moderate, or strict ) in the “More Tab” under “Payments and No-Show Protection.”
- For example, if you select a 50% No-show fee, and your client books a $50 appointment but never shows up, they will be charged $25.
- Once enabled, clients will now be required to enter a credit card when they book an appointment. If the client cancels within 24 hours of the appointment, they will be charged your “Late Cancellation” fee. If the client no-shows, you have the option to charge the “No Show” fee.
Pro Tip: In the rare occasion a loyal client is late, you can choose to waive the fee. Typically, stylists wave the no-show fee for first-time clients. It costs time and money to acquire new clients and it may be worth giving them a second chance.
See how StyleSeat’s “NSLC” tool saves you time and money here.
For more business tips, check out these articles:
Can there be a no call / no show / late cancellation page that clients must agree to or stating they understand the policy to be directed to confirmation booking page. Some clients claim they did not see this disclaimer on the page or profile upon booking? This would be great, that way clients can’t say they did not see it….no you clicked the “I agree button”!!!
Hey Shamona, that’s great feedback. We definitely understand the need for an “agree” button. I’ll share this with the team and see what we can do.
This is a great idea!!!
I am having a late cancellation issue that is yet to be resolved. There should be a way that stylist can Late Cancel a client AND charge them. My client cancelled 20 minutes b4 her appointment, I told her about policy, she didn’t respond back. I then marked appt “cancel” but couldn’t charge-she has credit card info on file. I was told that the client had to cancel.. she didn’t actually book through StyleSeat- I booked the appt. Now I’m upset that I wasn’t able to actually charge her even after I told her she would be.
Hey Beverly, we’re sorry to hear this happened to you and we appreciate the feedback. Our team is actively discussing ways to improve the way professionals accept payments and the way they protect themselves from no-shows and late cancellations. I’ll make sure to share your thoughts with them.