5 Ways to Reduce Salon No-Shows

What’s your biggest pet peeve?

 

Traffic? Telemarketers? Those who just cannot tell the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re’?

In the salon business the most prevalent answer is the no-show.

The hair salon no-show is our very own industry specific pet peeve, a common annoyance that unites us all. No matter how many times it happens, no matter if it’s an accident or intentional, a client allowing their precious salon spot to go to waste somehow always manages to ruin your day.

Here’s 5 ways to put that pet peeve behind you. 

1. Send a Reminder
We like to believe the very best of our clients, meaning we assume they mostly don’t intend to waste our time by not showing up, they just simply forget. The easy fix it is to start reminding them.

And because you don’t have the ability to employ a full-time staff member to manually remind your clients, technology can do it for you. Timely’s Automated SMS and Email service is shown to reduce no-shows by up to 50%. Salons can specify when the reminders are sent and customise the template to suit their business. Employees are also sent immediate notifications with new bookings, changes and cancellations.

Basically everyone is on the same page (and, most importantly, at their appointment).


 
2. Make The Call
If clients don’t confirm their automated reminder, actually picking up the phone to give them a quick call can be key – particularly for those clients who have been unreliable in the past.

You can also take this opportunity to upsell other treatments or products to them while you have them on the phone.

3. Offer a Discount for Pre-Paid Services
You’ll be surprised how much better your client’s memory is once they’ve already paid for their service – offer them an incentive to do so in the form of a discount or special if they pay beforehand.
Timely allows you to ask clients to pay either a deposit or the full amount when booking online, securing the booking and reducing no-shows to a minimum.

As a bonus, you’ll find your clients are far more open to splurge on other services or retail products if they’ve put the bulk of the payment behind them by the time they’ve walked through the salon door.

4. Know Your Rules
You have to have a standard set of rules that you can’t break for any one client. No, not even your favourite client who just forgot this one time. If your policy is to charge no-shows, add the fee onto another bill or simply reschedule, consistency is key. You’ll lose credibility if you do something for one client, and something else for another.

5. Break Things Off
Letting go of clients can be difficult. We understand you don’t want to lose the relationship or turn away payment, but sometimes it’s necessary. We’re not calling for rash decisions, but if someone is constantly letting you down it may be time to cut the cord.

Timely helps you make the hard decisions – storing the no-shows in your Customer Records and alerting you of this the next time they book.

While the no-show has always been the collective salon nightmare, with these strategies in place, the next time someone asks you about your pet peeve, hopefully you’ll be able to simply complain about the traffic.