Did you know, the average salon loses over £25,000 in revenue from no-shows and cancellations each year? Would you willingly kiss goodbye to so much cash, knowing there was something you could do about it?
Client no-shows and cancellations are bound to happen; schedules change, kids get sick, working late, you know the score. The key is to reduce the chance of no-shows and cancellations and minimise the impact that they have on your business, ensuring your time is put to its best use and revenue is maximised. Luckily for you, we have just the features you need to help you do this!
Let’s take a look at our top features that will help to cut your no-shows in half.
Cancellation Fees
Cancellation Fees is here to save the day when your client bails at the last minute! In this feature, you can set a time frame and amount to charge if they decide to cancel or no-show. Simply collect a client’s card details at the time of booking so they can be stored securely in Stripe.
There couldn’t be an easier way to reduce no-shows and last minute cancellations. Guests are more likely to show up for their appointment if they have already provided their credit card details and are aware of your cancellations policy.
Upfront payments
Imagine if you could reduce no-shows, encourage your guests to spend more and help your team work more efficiently, all with just one powerful feature. Upfront payments tick all these boxes and more!
With upfront payments, you can ask your clients to pay upfront in your app, on your website, and even when they book via Facebook and Instagram. The first time your guests enter their credit card details they will be stored securely in Stripe for future bookings, so they won’t need to reach for their wallet each time they book. This feature is also super-flexible, so you can adapt it to work the way that is going to reap the rewards for your business. You decide whether guests need to pay a deposit or the full amount upfront, whether or not to charge them if they don’t show up on the day of their appointment, and more.
Appointment acknowledgement
Once an appointment has been set up on your Appointment Book, you can choose to send automatic appointment acknowledgement SMS and emails to your customers, to notify them of their appointment details. The confirmation will be sent after an appointment is created. If an appointment is rescheduled to a different date, an updated acknowledgement will be sent to the customer. If a customer replies to an appointment acknowledgement email, their reply will be sent to your site email address.
SMS Confirmations
Free up your time! Did you know that you can send your clients an SMS asking them to confirm their appointment, without having to do a thing? When they respond, your appointment book will be updated automatically, and you will receive a notification if someone does happen to cancel. Not only will this provide exceptional customer service, it will also save hours of your valuable time and is the ideal way to cut back no-shows.
Pre-arrival messages
Keep your guests in the loop! We’ve added a tool in Shortcuts Marketing that allows you to schedule emails or SMS to be automatically sent to your clients before their appointment. Whether you want to remind them to wait outside the salon before their appointment or cancel if they are feeling unwell, you can set it up in a flash.
