The single most frustrating aspect of operating a lash business or any service-based business is cancellations.

We’ve all been there: sulking over a no-show, a client cancels on you the day before or the day of. . . Or even if they cancel days in advance. It’s so frustrating because you spent so much energy, time, and money on getting a new client to book with you. You get your hopes up, you have the thrill of actually getting them to book an appointment and be ok with your price. . . and then you’re completely crushed when the appointment is canceled or even worse, the client didn’t even respect your time enough to cancel their appointment and straight up, just did not show!

I was no showed FREQUENTLY when I was an employee at a salon and had zero control over the booking process, BUT I did learn that there is a very specific reason why clients “no-showed” their appointments or canceled last minute.

Want to know why clients no-show or cancel on you last minute? Because they can!

Think about it. If there are zero consequences to cancel on you, if clients don’t know you, or care about your schedule or the money the salon was out because they canceled on you (and let’s be honest… clients care more about their money than they do about yours), then why wouldn’t they cancel on you last minute?

YOU need to set the boundary of what’s an acceptable way to engage and communicate with your business. When I was an employee at a salon… I kid you not, being no-showed by a new client was more common than a new client actually showing up. I would even get surprised when the receptionist told me my full set client had showed up… that was how common it was for me to be no-showed.

When I went out on my own, I KNEW I needed to avoid this heartbreak as much as possible. And it became clear pretty early on in the game that I had to come up with a strategy to make sure that clients respected MY time and more importantly my bottom line.

Let’s go over 3 strategies for stopping no-shows and last minute cancellations.

#1 CLEAR AND CONCISE POLICIES

If clients are missing their appointments and becoming no-shows it is most likely because you have not built in a “consequence” for them to second guess whether it’s really the best decision to cancel (hint… the consequence usually has something to do with their money). You need clear and to the point policies. You need to tell people what to expect should they need to cancel, what happens if they no-show, or even in the event of an emergency or if they (or a family member) become sick.

Clear policies for both potential clients and current clients can help minimize the amounts of no-shows you are experiencing in your business. You are setting the expectations to what an appropriate amount of time for cancellation without penalty looks like in your business.

Make sure that the policies are clearly communicated and easily accessible to your potential clients as well as current ones.

I had my policies clearly on my website (not on the homepage), but in a separate page or section on the website. If a client had a question regarding policies I could always refer back to the website. I would also send them via email in the form of a link when I sent the appointment confirmation.

Marketing Tip:  Leave social media for marketing your business and not for informing, scolding or educating the current clientele of your policies. This causes big red flags for potential clients who may see these posts as “red flags” that you’re difficult to work with AND because the algorithm is engagement based… your current clientele are not likely to see these posts as they are not likely engaging (liked, commented on, or shared)

I would also reiterate the no-show and cancellation policies during our first appointment as I went over the policies in person. We would have a conversation during this appointment to make sure we were both on the same page. You are clearly setting up the expectations you have for the client as well as educating them on when they could also cancel their appointments without a penalty/fee.

My time period was: 24 hours before the appointment they could cancel without any penalty. Within 24 hours, a 50% service fee was charged and if they canceled within 4 hours or no-showed their appointment, they would be charged the full-service amount (regardless of whether I could fill their appointment or not.)

I highly recommend that you give your client two opportunities to be reminded of their appointment or to have a chance to change it (72 hours for a confirmation and 24 hours as a reminder is a general guideline). I also had a grace period of 10 minutes, if the client was running late and did not contact me to change the appointment. At 10 minutes I gave a phone call if they did not respond or were not coming into the salon at that moment, I canceled the appointment and then charge the appropriate cancellation fee.   

There needs to be a penalty/consequence for them not showing up or them not being on time. Do not extend the service time because you are rewarding them for their behavior at that point. There’s customer service, there’s amazing customer service and then there’s you just giving away your time and getting walked on. Protect the business first. By simply educating your clients from their first appointment with you about your cancellation policy and then ENFORCING your policies consistently, you set a healthy boundary that is a win-win for everyone. A win for you as the business owner who has a reliable and consistent income stream and a win for the client who gets to get lashes from you.

I also gave them a 1-time emergency cancellation allowance as well. Look, I get it – I am a mom, things happen, emergencies, sick kids, traffic, accidents, etc. So, their first last minute cancellation (and not a no-show… if you no-showed me, you were blacklisted… you gotta have the respect of informing me you’re unable to make it) right at that moment, I would educate them that I do waive the fee as a one-time last minute cancellation policy for “emergencies” just like this, but going forward, unfortunately, regardless of the circumstances… the cancellation policy would be in effect and enforced.  This takes the emotion out of any sob story or questionable client cancellation in the future. They are fully aware of the consequences if they choose to cancel again. So if they cancel because they were hungover from the night before, if they left on vacay but didn’t tell me they wouldn’t be showing up, if they got arrested or they were in the emergency room, I had a policy in place to protect my business from any “excuse” that would cost me money (valid or not). Protect your business by setting those expectations clearly before providing service, remind them of it as needed, and make sure that your clients understand in full.  

#2 ONLINE BOOKING SOFTWARE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE NOWADAYS

The best way to stop no-shows and cancellations all together is: Online Booking. It’s a non-negotiable nowadays

The beauty of online booking is that it automatically sends appointment reminders so you don’t have to worry about sending the appointment confirmations or reminders manually. In my lash business, my booking software would automatically send appointment confirmations 72 hours in advance of their appointment and then a final reminder 24 hours in advance. I set it up to send alerts both to email AND text so there was no way they could miss it. Everything was automated and it took the process off of my to-do list and freed up my time to grow my business and focus on more of the income generating activities

Another beauty of booking software is that it should also take care of not double-booking your appointments (in case you were worried about that). Now, some of you may be worried or straight out complain about the cost of an online booking software being $20-40 a month.

But think about this: If it takes you 10-15 minutes per client to go back and forth with a client to find a mutually agreed upon appointment time that works, then confirm their appointment a few days before, AND then remind them of their appointment at the 24-48-hour mark…. Let’s do some math to see how much that’s actually costing you in time.

Let’s say you see 20 clients in a week, that’s 3-5 hours a week you spend in communicating with clients that can be automated and not involve you at all. That’s 12-20 hours A MONTH just in booking appointments!?!

Isn’t automation sweet?! What could you be doing to grow your business with an extra 20 hours a month? Get more clients in? Work on your marketing? Or go have a cocktail with your girlfriends, right?

The last beautiful part of online booking is the ability to hold credit card information. Some third-party booking software is able to not just hold credit card information but also protect their information so that you don’t have access to their info, just the ability to charge the card. DO NOT EVER WRITE DOWN A CLIENT’S PERSONAL INFORMATION INCLUDING THEIR CREDIT CARD INFO. You then become responsible for ensuring it is destroyed appropriately and if there’s anything ever fishy with their card… who do you think they’re going to start blaming for fraud.

#3 REQUIRE A CREDIT CARD DEPOSIT

Speaking of credit cards. . . I actually recommend you require a deposit and not just having a credit card on file. The reason for that is that you may have a client that gives you an invalid credit card or one that declines when you try to charge it.

I recommend that you charge a minimum of $25-$50 or the amount equal to the cancellation or no-show fee. By doing so, you are putting their money where their mouth is. You make them commit to it. If they’re uncomfortable with a deposit or “reservation fee”, FABULOUS! The deposit has done its job in keeping those that aren’t that committed to you, getting lashes, or who are likely to flake on you off of your schedule and out of your business!

Clients need to be able to book whenever they want and not wait for you to get back to them during business hours since according to Jerry Natuno, founder of Schedulicity, 70% of appointments are booked outside of business hours. So offering the benefits of online booking gives you an advantage of booking clients 24/7 without being involved in their 2:00 am impulsive desire to book a lash appointment right then and there, plus you can start avoiding last minute cancellations and no-shows. Save yourself 20 hours a month and get yourself an online booking software.

If you want a list of the most common Lash Business Online Booking Softwares I recommend, check out my list at www.thelashpreneur.com/episode20

Happy business building!