8 Hair Salon Cancellation Policy Templates

I bet that if you have some years of experience in the beauty industry, you’re already familiar with how annoying no-shows are. 

The truth is, some people forget about their appointments. It’s not about bad intentions or laziness: they simply have so much to do, from work to children or other daily activities. Anyway, you should avoid this situation if you don’t want to waste time and money for too long. How? Just by making public your salon cancellation & no-show policy. 

Why Have a Cancellation & No Show Policy?

Because you have to cover your financial losses somehow. When a client doesn’t show up or cancels an appointment out of nowhere, you can still have your time paid.

As a hairdresser, your business success depends on not having your chair empty, not even for half an hour/day. For that, a hair salon cancellation policy is a must. 

Before introducing costs for no-shows and late cancellations, make sure your clients are fully aware of your salon cancellation policy. For example, you could add it in a Google Doc and share it on your professional social media pages to be accessible to anyone. Make sure you explain exactly how and for what you use your client’s data and the reasons why you request money in advance.

The law about Legally Charging for a Missed Appointment

According to FindLaw, businesses are allowed to create their policies, fees, and service agreements as they wish — as long as they don’t violate the laws. This practice is legal, and it ensures the owners that their business doesn’t lose money. 

Client no-shows and cancellations cost the hairdressing industry around $1.2 million every year, as recent research by Flossie says.

The salon cancellation policy is your only way to make up for the loss. Find out more about how businesses can charge appointment deposits and cancellation fees legally. 

What Should a Salon Cancellation Policy Include?

A timeframe

The main idea is not making people pay without showing up, but to have insurance that you’ll not lose money if someone cancels an appointment. For that, you have to establish precisely how much time you’ll allow your clients to cancel in advance without being charged. The 24-48 timeframes are the most common notice periods among small businesses. 

Charging

Next, you have to decide how you want to charge for late salon cancellations and no-shows. Be it a standard rebooking fee or a percentage of the service’s price, it is up to you to see what’s more convenient for both you and your clients. Also, you have to think about how you will charge this fee. Online banking? Other apps? Think about the most convenient method and stick to it, and never forget to assure your clients that their confidential information is safe with you with a solid GDPR policy.

Contact

Make sure your clients know exactly where to find you if they want to cancel in advance so that they can avoid the extra charges. You can give them alternatives such as text message, email, phone call, or social media DM. 

Prevent No-Shows Using Your Cancellation Policy

Hopefully, having a hair salon cancellation policy will decrease the number of no-shows cancellations in your business. Anyway, here are some tips you should consider to prevent this kind of situation:

1. Make your salon cancellation policy visible for everyone. Having your policy attached on your website or social media pages makes it easier for clients to know how they will pay if they don’t show up.

2. Using an appointment scheduling app can be a lifesaver. Goldie can send text message reminders to your clients when an appointment is coming up. Well, you don’t have to worry about no-shows anymore. The app automatically sends reminders to your clients whenever you want, you can customize them, and clients can contact you back if they need to reschedule. Also, you can take deposits or full payments directly in the app, via your personal payment link. Find out more about SMS reminders here, or download the app for free in the App Store or Google Play. 

3. In your appointment confirmation message, add a link to your salon cancellation policy and offer contact information if clients want to rebook.

Well, the best way to eliminate cancellations and no-shows is to prevent them, so appointment confirmations, reminders, and transparency regarding your hair salon cancellation policy are essential.

Hair Salon Cancellation Policy Templates

1. Cancellations made (48 hours) or less before an appointment will be subject to a rebooking fee of …$. Cancellations made via (customer’s email to [email protected]) sooner than (48 hours) before an appointment will be processed without penalty.

2. Please be advised that cancellations made up to (48 hours) before a scheduled appointment via (email, text, phone call) will be processed without a penalty.

Cancellations made (48 hours), or less before an appointment will be subject to a charge of (half of the service rate). This includes appointments where our service provider cannot access the property, is turned away, or the client is unavailable.

If (Company Name) cancels an appointment with less than (48 hours notice), a new appointment will be scheduled without penalty to the client, subject to availability.

3. Please note that once you have booked an appointment with us, it means that we have reserved time in our schedule exclusively for you. If you cancel your appointment less than (24 hours) before it is scheduled to occur, you will be subject to a penalty/fee/rebooking charge of …$. Please provide a cancellation notice at least (24 hours) before your appointment to avoid a cancellation fee.

You can cancel or reschedule an appointment by emailing us at ([email protected]), texting (xxx-xxx-xxxx), or calling at (xxx-xxx-xxxx).

4. Please understand that appointment times are limited. If you must cancel your appointment, we respectfully request (Period) notice. Missed appointments, or appointments canceled without (period) notice, will incur a fee of (Amount).

5. We know your time is valuable, and ours is too. Out of respect for our staff and our other clients, we ask that you give us at least (Period) notice if you need to cancel an appointment.

• The first time a client misses an appointment, we will make a note in your file.
• All future missed appointments will incur an (Amount) fee.

6. Cancellations made (Number) days or more in advance of the (Appointment/Service/Event) date will receive a (100%) refund. Cancellations made within (Number) days will receive a 50% refund. Cancellations made within (Number) hours will not receive a refund.

7. We understand clients occasionally need to change or cancel their appointments. Should you need to do so, we ask for at least 24 hours notice or (50%) of the treatment will be charged. Thank you.

8. Please let us know if you can’t make your appointment. We require (24 hours) notice for appointment cancellations/amendments; otherwise, a (50%) charge may apply. Thank you.

Otherwise, you can now personalize your own salon cancellation policy template here. Keep in mind that there are many effective ways to reduce salon no-shows and cancellations. Put them in practice and forget about wasted time in your job forever. 

Last but not least, if you choose to send your salon reminders and your salon no-show policy messages to clients via apps like Goldie, keep in mind that there are length limitations and you have to adapt your text to avoid spending too much on messages. I’d recommend you to keep the message template as short as possible and use Latin characters only. One message is generally composed of 160 characters. If the message composed has more characters, then it is recognized as two or three messages.

And you, do you use a salon cancellation policy in your business? 🙂 Let us know in the comments section below how you deal with your no-shows.