No shows and last-minute cancellations
No-shows and last-minute cancellations is probably something that affects most salons. It can cause endless frustration when a 2-3 hour cut and colour client doesn’t turn up! How much time and money does that cost your business? What can your stylist do with that time? Why hasn’t the client shown up?
If you are regularly getting 1-2 no shows a day, and you have an average bill of £40, this could end up costing your salon over £2000 per month! Can you afford to be losing out on that kind of money?!
Advance Bookings
If the client is booking the appointment a few weeks in advance a lot can happen in that time for it to slip their mind. They can get her dates mixed up or even just change their mind and forget to cancel the appointment. What do you currently do to confirm and remind clients about their appointments? What can you do to ensure that your client turns up for the appointment they have made? Shortcuts can help the appointment process to ensure that no shows and last-minute cancellations are kept to a minimum.
Email Confirmations
Do you email confirmation of the appointment out to a client when they’ve made a booking online? You can have their appointment date and time on the email when they book an appointment online or via your app, so they can double check they have booked the right time and it doesn’t clash with anything else in their diary.
Text Reminders
You should be reminding your clients at least 48 hours prior to their appointment by text. With Shortcuts 2-way messaging, a client can reply by text to confirm that they will attend, and the system will update to show that they have confirmed. Likewise, if something has come up and a client can’t make the appointment they can text back to cancel so you have 48-hours to fill that space rather than 5 minutes before the appointment starts.
No Reply?
What if the client hasn’t replied to the text? It might be a regular client that you know will always turn up no matter what! If it isn’t then give them a call the day before to confirm that appointment, a quick call is all it takes to make sure you have a fully confirmed diary for the next day giving you peace of mind all your clients have been reminded and have confirmed they will be coming to see you. Clients will appreciate and even expect reminders. It’s good customer service! Chances are they are looking forward to coming to see you because they enjoy the salon experience, some time to relax and of course a great cut and colour!
Upfront Payments
Have you used one of our latest developments? By asking your clients for a small deposit when they book online, they take their booking more seriously, and are more likely to turn up for their appointment. 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.
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