How salons cut no-shows with confirmation calls

Confirmation calls cut salon no-shows in two ways. They ask the client to say yes out loud a day or so before, which is harder to forget than a text they skimmed. And they find the clients who were never coming while there is still time to give their slot to somebody else. Ring the day before, ask a question that needs an answer, and offer a new time on the spot if they cannot make it.

Simple to describe, harder to keep up on a busy week, so this guide covers the practical side: which appointments to call about, when, what to say, what to do when nobody picks up, and how to fill a gap once you find one.

Why do confirmation calls work better than a reminder text?

A text tells the client something. A call asks them something. A reminder can be read on a bus, meant to be dealt with later and forgotten by lunchtime, and you are none the wiser until the chair sits empty. A call ends with an answer, or with the fact that there was no answer, and both of those are things you can act on.

A call also catches the problems a text never hears about. The client who meant to cancel and felt awkward. The one who has the day wrong. The one who has booked a cut but is hoping for a colour as well and has not said so. Each of those is a conversation, and a text cannot have it.

None of that means texts are pointless. They are quick and cheap, and for a regular who has never missed in years a text may be all the reminder needed. The skill is deciding which appointments deserve a call.

Which appointments are worth a call?

Ring about the ones that would hurt most as an empty chair:

• Long appointments. A missed full head of colour or a set of extensions leaves a hole in the day that a walk-in fringe trim will not fill.
• New clients. You have never spoken to them properly, and they have no habit of coming to you yet.
• Bookings made a long way ahead. The further off the date when they booked, the easier it is for plans to change without anybody telling you.
• Clients who have missed before. Not as a punishment, just as sense.
• Anything with a step beforehand. Such as an allergy alert test that has to happen before a colour. The rules for that test are set out on our virtual receptionist for salons page, and a confirmation call is a good moment to check it has been done.

When should the call be made?

Early enough to fill the gap, late enough that the client knows their plans. For a normal appointment, the day before gives you a working day to find somebody else. For a long appointment it can be worth ringing two days ahead, because a three-hour slot takes more filling than a half-hour one.

Think about when the client can talk, too. A call at eleven in the morning may reach somebody at work who cannot answer. A call when they are likely to be on their break, or early in the evening, has a better chance of a real conversation. If your diary asks how clients like to be contacted, use it.

What should you say on a confirmation call?

Keep it short, friendly and built around one question the client has to answer. An example, to change into your own words and your own salon's name:

• "Hi, it is the salon calling. Just checking you are still OK for your colour with us tomorrow at two?"
• If yes: "Lovely. It is about three hours, so you might want to grab lunch first. See you tomorrow."
• If no: "No problem at all, thanks for letting me know. Shall we find you another time now while I have you?"
• If unsure: "Would it help if I pencilled in a different day, and you can let me know by five today?"

Notice what is not in there. No "just reminding you", which invites a "thanks" and nothing more. No lecture about the cancellation policy to somebody who has just said yes. And no pressure on the client who cannot come, because the one who feels comfortable telling you is the one who will tell you again next time.

If you have a cancellation policy, the call is the place to mention it gently to a client who is wavering: "We do ask for a day's notice, so today is perfect."

What should the text say, for clients you do not call?

Make it do as much of a call's job as a text can. Give the day, the time, the treatment and roughly how long it takes, so the client can check it against their own plans. Then ask for a reply: "Reply YES to confirm, or call us to change it." A text that asks for an answer tells you something when the answer does not come.

Add one line about anything they need to do beforehand, and one line about notice if you have a cancellation policy. Leave out everything else. The longer the message, the less of it gets read.

What if the client does not answer?

Leave a short voicemail with the day, the time and a way to reply, then send a text saying the same. Try once more later in the day. What happens after that is your decision, but make it before the week starts rather than on the spot.

One rule is worth keeping whatever you decide: never quietly give away a slot the client still thinks is theirs. If an appointment will be released when it is not confirmed by a certain time, the client needs to have been told that, in writing, before the time comes. Otherwise the no-show you avoided becomes an argument at the front desk.

How do you keep track of who has confirmed?

A method only works if everybody in the salon can see where it has got to. The simplest version is a mark against each appointment in the diary you already use: confirmed, message left, or not yet tried. A notes field or a colour in booking software will do the job, and so will the margin of a paper diary.

At the end of the day, anybody can glance down tomorrow's column and see which chairs are safe and which are still a question. That is also what makes the rule about released slots workable, because nobody gives a slot away on a guess.

How do you fill a slot that opens up?

The confirmation call only earns its keep if the gap it finds gets filled. That is much easier with a list ready:

• A cancellation list. Every client who asked for an earlier date and was told you were full. Ring them first.
• Clients who are due. Somebody whose last cut was eight weeks ago and who has not rebooked may be glad of the call.
• The walk-in crowd. A post on the salon's social pages about a free slot tomorrow costs nothing.

Keep the cancellation list somewhere everybody who books can see it, so the person who takes the cancellation is the person who fills it.

Should salons charge for no-shows?

You can have a cancellation policy, and a deposit for long or expensive appointments is one way to run it. The law sets a limit on both, though. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists terms that may be regarded as unfair, and that list includes a term requiring a consumer who fails to fulfil their obligations to pay "a disproportionately high sum in compensation". In plain terms, keep any charge in proportion to what a missed appointment really costs you, rather than treating it as a fine.

Whatever you charge, tell the client before they book, not after they miss. Put it on your booking page, in the confirmation message and, where it matters, in the call itself. A policy the client only discovers when they are charged is the one that turns into a bad review. If you are unsure whether your terms are fair, take proper advice before relying on them.

Who makes the calls when you are fully booked?

This is where the method falls down in a busy salon. The day before is often a full day, and ringing tomorrow's clients between today's is the job that slides.

Reception Hub can take it off you. Outbound calls and customer follow-ups are part of the Premium plan, so tomorrow's clients can be rung to check they are still coming, in your salon's name, with the gaps reported back to you. The calls the other way are covered on every plan: a client ringing to cancel is taken and you are texted at once. On Growth and above, the cancelled slot comes out of your diary while the client is still talking, and a new date can go in straight away. Plans start at £59 a month, with Premium at £399, and every plan is laid out on plans and pricing. How the answering side works is on the telephone answering service page.

To talk it through for your salon, call 01709 222834, or send your details for a call back. The seven-day trial is free, and no card is needed.