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If you’re still avoiding charging for your no-shows, you are in the right place! In this post, I’m going to show you how to effortlessly (and without pushback) get your clients to pay for their no-shows, without any of the nervous sweats.

I’ve been dishing the deets on how to handle last-minute cancellations and deal with pushback or angry clients, but none of that matters if you’re not willing to step up and actually enforce and charge for that no-show.

So keep reading as I dive into…

How to Confidently Charge for No-Shows

Out of Your Control

A few years back I remember there was a massive snowstorm. I only live a 7-minute drive away from my salon and that day I had left 45 minutes early and got there just in the nick of time. The moment I got into the salon my phone rang.

It was my client and they sounded super distressed. They anxiously told me that they left their house 90 minutes early but were now stuck in traffic. With a worried tone they said: “I don’t know if I’m going to make it in time, but charge my card on file. I know you have a strict cancellation policy.”

I swear I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when they said that. They had absolutely no control over that snowstorm, they did everything that they could to get to their appointment on time, yet they still offered to have me charge the card on file.

All because I had put the right systems in place which made my clients respect me and my business that much.

I let them know that I appreciated their offering, that I wanted them to stay safe and try to get to the salon on time. I told them: “when you get here we’ll figure out a plan.”

When they finally made it safe and sound to the salon I told them how much I appreciated them and their willingness to pay my fees. But sometimes, things are out of our control.

Having your clients offer to pay for a late-cancel or a no-show is the ultimate goal, am I right? 

It starts with how you set up your policies and how you communicate them in order to build that trust, respect, loyalty and authority with your clients.

When You Have to Enforce It

While it’s all great and wonderful when a client offers to pay without you even having to mention it, what about those times when you do have to communicate and enforce your policies?

The first step is making sure that your clients understand your policies.

Next is keeping things factual when communicating it. More often than not, we want to get emotional because, let’s be honest, we’re emotional beings. But you need to get clear and take the emotion out.

You can still be a kind, caring, and empathetic person while delivering something very factual. 

“I want to remind you of my cancellation policy that we talked about during your consultation/when you first booked in. I do require 24 hours notice since this is only 12 hours notice this is what will happen…”

The final step is staying quiet while you let your client process what you just told them. You might feel like you want to jump in because the silence can be so uncomfortable, but it’s important to let them get it all out of their system before you respond.

If you’re dealing with an angry client who’s pushing back, check out my tips for confidently navigating that situation here.

Oftentimes, when you’ve done all the prep work, when you’ve clearly communicated, when you have your policy in place and they’ve agreed to it, they’ll be okay.

You just need to get comfortable stating the facts and practice is a great way to get there.

Remember, having a policy is not going to magically make people never late-cancel or no-show, the policy is in place to protect the revenue of your business.

Enforcing your policies is part of the process and the only way to get more comfortable is just to get started.

If you wanna get more confident with charging for your no-shows; if you wanna ditch that fear and overwhelm of enforcing your policies, you’re gonna wanna join me for my FREE 2-day policies and cancellations workshop.

As always, it’s been an absolute joy to hang out with ya! See ya next time, friend.