Ask Felicia: Dealing with No Shows

Q: Dear Felicia -

I have some clients who book an appointment and then do not come. What can I do to "restrict" this problem? It makes me angry, especially if they do not call to cancel the appointment. I am also not so sure if it is good to call after the client does not appear to remind them of the appointment, or in order to rebook? Do you think if I do that, my clients would feel that I am "begging" them to book an appointment?

~ Maria

A: Dear Maria -

To cut down on the number of no-shows, inform clients of your cancellation policy when they book the appointment with you. Add this to your website, service menu, brochure, appointment cards, and post it at your reception desk. Even if you can't ask clients for a credit card deposit to hold the appointment, educating them that your time is valuable and that you have a specific policy on the issue is an important first step.

Next, call, email, and/or text clients the day before their appointment to confirm the day, date, time, and service scheduled. Remind them again of your cancellation policy.

On the day of the service, if a client is not at your spa at the time of the appointment, call them 5-15 minutes after they were due to arrive to see if they are on their way, running late, etc. They may still be able to make it for an abbreviated session if they are running late or simply forgot. This is not begging them for business, this is providing a courtesy call to make sure they are OK and to let them know you want them to be able to come enjoy the time and service that was planned for them.

If they no-show or give a really late cancellation, you can ask them to pay for the missed appointment or pre-pay for their next appointment in order to schedule it. Be nice and explain that you hold these appointment times just for them - and turn away other clients in order to see them. Let them know that it is important for them to only schedule appointments they plan to keep or can cancel with enough notice. Since they did not do so with the last appointment, you are asking them to guarantee you don't lose money a second time.

If it is a good or regular client who made a mistake and rarely does this, you can skip this practice or allow them an "oops" every once in a while. But for first-time clients or repeat offenders, you are better off letting them go if they don't understand why you need to do this.

~ Felicia