How do you handle last-minute cancellations and no-shows? Looking for advice on Square setup/deposit

[mitin]

Hello my fellow Square Appointments family,

I searched for this topic but didn't see any recent posts, so I decided to start a fresh thread.

I own a nail salon, and we’ve been dealing with an increasing number of last-minute cancellations (within 24 hours) and no-shows. Currently, we don't require a credit card when clients book online, so we don't have a cancellation or no-show fee in place. This ends up blocking my technicians' calendars, preventing other clients from booking, and leaving us with open slots when people don't show up.

I’m looking to get some ideas and recommendations on how you all manage this:

• What strategies or policies have worked best for your salon to reduce no-shows?

• How have you configured your Square Appointments to require a deposit or card on file?

• Is there a way in Square to require a credit card/deposit only for new clients while letting returning regulars book as usual?

I’d love to hear how you handle this and any tips on transitioning to a stricter policy without upsetting regular clients. Thanks in advance for your insights!

[CurlyDoodle]

Hi! I have a dog grooming shop which is somewhat similar 😄. Many groomers reports similar problems to yours, being last minute cancellations and no-shows. I have to say both are rare for us, and I'm not sure why but I'll share our process. First, when clients book online -- either by themselves or by me or a staff person over the phone or in person -- they receive multiple push notifications: one at the time of booking, one a week before the appointment, and one an hour before the appointment. You can customize when these reminders are sent. I believe in both of these notifications they are prompted to click and confirm or request a change. Sometimes they cancel or reschedule which is fine, as it gives us time to accept another booking. 

As I check the schedule each morning, I notice which clients haven't confirmed and I send them another text message. As the business grows, I have less tolerance for non confirmation, as I have other clients on a waiting list, or just clients out there who would take an earlier appointment if it showed as available. So recently I have started cancelling unconfirmed appointments, and amazingly that gets their attention! They either text right back to reschedule or, if they don't, I know I did the right thing in opening up that slot in the schedule.

I don't do deposits as they are tricky to collect and can cause complaints. I'd rather use the methods described to minimize last minute changes. 

[TCSlaguna]

Hi @mitin 

We require full pre-payment for online and phone bookings. 

Even walk-ins we now require pre-payment because the client will either "forget" to pay and walk out or we get super busy and it falls through the cracks. 

In the early days we tried deposits, card-on-file, and so much more. Legally the customer has the right to remove their card on file, so we had customers remove them right before their service time. 

This obviously makes add-on services during the time of service more difficult to process, but at least it provides a layer of certainty for you and your service providers.