What to do if customers don't keep their appointments?

What to do when customers don't keep their appointments?

Self-employed people know the annoyance of a customer not showing up for an appointment. Apart from the annoyance, you are left with an empty hour, cannot give it to another customer and also lose part of your earnings. So what should you do if customers don't keep their appointments?

Missed appointments are detrimental to business

In various industries, it is now common practice to work with cancellation fees if agreed appointments are not kept or are canceled at short notice. Nevertheless, many are reluctant to establish this measure in their business because they are worried that it will put off new customers.

Although we can understand this concern, especially when someone is at the beginning of their self-employment, it is important in the long term that you can make a living from your work. And missed appointments have financial consequences that can be downright detrimental to your business. If the customer stays away, the room is still heated and illuminated by lamps and lights, and the employees also have to be paid. There are therefore various ways in the service industry to respond to this situation.

Charge a cancellation fee

We at CFB Cosmetics® have therefore included the cancellation fee in a form that is filled out and signed by all new customers. If an appointment is not kept or canceled at short notice, a cancellation fee of 50% will be charged. First and foremost, it is important to remind customers to keep their appointments. Anyone who does not work in one of these sectors is not necessarily aware of the operational consequences of a missed appointment. Therefore, education is always the first step.

If customers are informed and have agreed to pay the cancellation fee if a missed appointment is unavoidable, both parties can live with it. And so far, every customer has come back. The cancellation fee is to be understood as compensation for lost income and is standard practice in our industry. So take heart, customers understand this as soon as they are informed.

But the cancellation fee is more than just compensation: If it is not absolutely necessary, the customer will think twice about simply staying away. After all, they have to pay 50% of the price if they don't attend the appointment. This makes it twice as worthwhile to have the treatment carried out.

Rhetoric experts also have a small, simple trick to manifest an appointment. They advise asking the customer two or three questions that they can answer with "yes" or "no". For example: "I'll see you on Wednesday at 2 p.m. for lashlifiting?" - "Yes." - "Would you be so kind as to let me know in good time if something comes up?" - "Yes."

If the customer has confirmed several times, they will feel bound by the agreement. After all, both parties want to keep the appointment and you can make sure of that by simply asking.

We hope that we have answered the question of how to deal with customers not keeping their appointments. And that we have perhaps even been able to encourage you to include cancellation fees or charges in your business.

Your CFB Cosmetics Team