Reducing no-shows and late cancellations

Why clients don't turn up

Behind most no-shows sit a handful of familiar reasons. The appointment was booked weeks ago and slipped their mind. Plans changed, but ringing the salon, waiting on hold and explaining felt awkward. The booking was made in passing at the desk and the time was misheard. Or the client was never quite sure the appointment was confirmed. Nearly all of these are process problems, so it pays more to find where your process breaks down than to blame the client.

Start by measuring. Which days, times, services and clients see the most no-shows? Marking each missed appointment as a no-show instead of deleting it gives you a real picture after a few weeks.

Send reminders at the right time

A reminder is the cheapest and most effective way to cut no-shows. Timing matters: sent too early, it is forgotten; sent too late, the client has no time to rearrange and you have no time to fill the slot. For most salons a reminder the day before is a good starting point. For early-morning appointments the previous evening works well, and for long, expensive services such as colour or extensions you might remind earlier.

• Keep it short: salon name, day, time, stylist and service.
• Tell the client how to cancel or move the appointment.
• Don't send several reminders for the same appointment; it starts to feel like nagging.
• Send reminders automatically, not by hand. On a busy day, manual messages are the first job to slip.

Make confirmation clear

An uncertain booking is a booking at risk. When a client books, they should get a confirmation straight away. You can confirm online bookings automatically or review them first; if you review, don't sit on them. A client who isn't sure they're booked in may book somewhere else as well.

Set clear booking rules too. How much notice do you need for a booking, and how far ahead is the diary open? Appointments booked months in advance are forgotten more often. Limiting the booking window to something sensible, and leaving a short lead time before same-day appointments, makes life easier for stylists and clients alike.

Make cancelling easy

It sounds backwards, but making cancellation easy reduces no-shows. If a client can cancel in a couple of taps, they let you know instead of simply not coming. A cancellation with notice is a slot you can sell again; a no-show is just an empty chair.

Set a cut-off: within a few hours of the appointment, clients can no longer cancel themselves and are asked to ring the salon. That limits last-minute cancellations while still rewarding people who tell you early.

Waiting lists, deposits and cancellation policies

A waiting list for busy times is the quickest way to fill a gap. Even a simple note will do: which client wants which day and time range. When a cancellation comes in, contact the list in order.

Many salons take a deposit for long or expensive services, or publish a cancellation policy with a charge for late cancellations and no-shows. Deposits can cut no-shows, but they can also put off new clients and strain the goodwill of a neighbourhood barbershop. If you use one, apply it only to certain services, write the policy down clearly, tell clients before they book and explain when the deposit is refunded. Makastam does not take deposits through online booking at the moment, so any deposit has to be handled your own way.

Keep a record of no-shows

Don't delete missed appointments; mark them. If a client misses several in a row, confirming by phone before giving them a peak-time slot, or offering quieter times, is reasonable. Without a record you are relying on memory and may be unfair. A record also tells a loyal regular who slipped up once apart from someone who rarely turns up.

1. 1

   Measure

   Mark every no-show for a few weeks and look at days, times and services.

2. 2

   Switch on reminders

   Send confirmations and reminders automatically and tune the timing to your salon.

3. 3

   Make cancelling easy

   Give clients a way to cancel themselves and set a cut-off.

4. 4

   Refill the gap

   Contact your waiting list; a cancelled slot should free up in the diary straight away.

Reducing no-shows with Makastam

In Makastam a confirmation goes to the client when an appointment is booked, and a reminder goes before it; you choose how many hours ahead. Messages are sent free through the Makastam Telegram bot. Automatic WhatsApp reminders are coming soon. Details are on the Telegram reminders page.

In the online booking settings you choose how many days ahead clients can book, the minimum notice and whether online bookings are confirmed automatically. A client who booked through Telegram sees upcoming appointments under "My appointments" and can cancel there until a set time before the appointment; the slot then frees up in the diary. You mark missed appointments as "No-show", and the count appears on the client profile.