Many of the salons I have visited lately have asked the same question - How do we control no shows, late arrivals and constantly complaining customers? It seems every salon owner has the same issues when it comes to controlling the behaviour of our clients.

Many of us have been bought up with the adage “The customer is always right!” Well, for the purposes of this article I would like to give this old chestnut a bit of a twist. “The customer is not always right, but they are never wrong!” In other words we know the customer is wrong but we can’t actually say that to them in fear of losing their business.

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We know that some of our customers waltz into our salons fifteen minutes late as if there is nothing wrong with this sort of behaviour - After all they are busy people. We all have clients that don’t even have the courtesy to call when they decide not to keep their appointment. And we all have the client from Hell, the one where we cringe every time we see that they are booked in because you know they are going to grizzle about something. Too often we are reluctant to do anything to alter their behaviour because we are scared to lose their business.

Let’s get a few things out into the open…

1.    You are in business. It’s a serious endeavour for you to make profits to pay the rent, feed your family, and pay your staff well. So your responses to problems that cost you money need to be serious as well. You cannot and should not turn a blind eye to the behaviour of customers that affect your business negatively. For example, your client’s behaviour can have a major impact on the job satisfaction and attitude of your staff as well as affect your bank balance.

2.    In all my years of consulting and owning businesses I have actually had very few clients that have absolutely lost the plot and never returned because you explained the ground rules for your salon’s successful operation. Of those that have never set foot in my salon again, the vast majority I was secretly pleased that I wouldn’t have to deal with them any longer. We picture a much worse confrontation than what actually happens when you respond politely but with clear intention. Most people are very reasonable and realise that their actions have impact on the other patrons of your business when it is explained to them courteously.

3.    If you actually calculate the costs incurred by persistent latecomers, no shows or the constantly disagreeable, you would be surprised at just how much they cost your business each and every week. Sometimes it is a blessing that they take their business and problems down the road to your opposition. Now you can concentrate on giving outstanding service to all those clients that are courteous and do arrive for every appointment on time.

So I believe the solutions are in very clear regulations that staff can follow and are easily explained to all clients. Coupled with some daily procedures that help eliminate these sorts of problems the rate of the problems occurring can be greatly reduced.

1.    Rules

Written on my salon menu and my introduction to the salon is a statement about exactly what will happen if you are late for your appointment. It tells the client that their appointment will either be shortened or cancelled altogether and that the full cost of that appointment may be charged as time and staff were allocated for that treatment.

Now if we can, we ignore this completely by shuffling clients or therapists, we shorten the treatment, basically do everything we can not to have to introduce this rule. We all have fabulous, lovely clients that there is no way we would even consider charging because we know they would have done everything in their power to attend and are never usually late. It’s the consistently late arrivals that this rule applies to. Most good salon software will allow you to flag these clients and your staff will be aware that they are inclined to be late when the booking is made. Use it!

The cost of wages added to lost income can really add up to staggering amounts over a twelve month period. Staff then can be directed to read out or explain the consequences of their client’s late arrival and the on flowing affects on the clients that follow. If they are persistently late and you are strict with the rule, one of two things will happen. They will either realise the importance of the allocated appointment time and alter their behaviour to be prompt or they will choose a different salon for their treatments. Either way, staff are sure of what to do and say and the problem is solved.

Couple this with making sure that every client is contacted by phone, email or SMS to confirm their appointment time and the excuses for failing to attend the appointment are reduced to the customer’s inability to make the allotted time. Consequently, they are more likely to accept responsibility and the implementation of any salon regulations regarding tardiness.

Also written on my menu and salon introduction is a statement about changing or cancelling appointments. It explains that because the salon is in high demand and that we allocate specialised equipment for many of our treatments twenty four hours notice is required for appointment changes and cancellations. New clients to the salon and customers who have longer appointments may be asked to provide a credit card deposit.

Again there are great customers that you know would only make a change to their time if it was a life or death situation. We can name these clients and probably know their entire family history. We wouldn’t ever ask them for a deposit. But there are those who are new to the clinic or that are regularly changing appointments, often at the last minute. These are the people we can apply this rule to. Again the computer can flag these clients for you so you are reminded to ask for the deposit when they make their booking.

Different salons I have worked with have decided on different approaches. Some have place the deposit rule on any treatments over a certain length of appointment, others have allocated a dollar figure to determine the need for a deposit. Either method will work as long as staff are disciplined in the rule and well versed in what to say on the phone to customers. If the rule is explained professionally then the majority of customers will accept the need for the deposit. After all, hotels require a room deposit on your credit card and you cannot book an airline flight or hire car without paying in advance. In fact, many salons that have begun this procedure have found that some clients automatically give their credit card details without any prompting when they make their booking. It becomes an automatic response.

2.    The back-up plan of course is to always have a waiting list that can be called if cancellations are made on short notice. There are two ways to do this. The first is to simply have a waiting list of clients that would prefer to get an appointment today but there are no available spaces. Tell them that you will keep them informed if a cancellation occurs. Some of the better software programmes can even allow you to have a spare column to list these people throughout the day. The second method is to have a list of people who want to take advantage of cheaper prices in the knowledge that they fill spare appointment gaps on limited warning. I have such a list and can either call specific clients or send out a mass SMS or emails with the available times to everyone on the list. These customers usually enjoy a discounted rate but it means that gaps in your appointment book are filled even at short notice.

3.    Don’t be too scared to lose a problem client. I never thought I would say such a thing until I owned my own salon. I had always been taught that client satisfaction is everything and must be maintained at all costs. Now don’t get me wrong, I will go to enormous lengths to make my clients happy and address any concerns they may have. However… we all know that some clients are never pleased no matter what you say, promise, give or bribe them with. Every visit, they make a scene or upset a staff member. They grizzle, complain and don’t want to pay. We have all experienced them. I now firmly believe that they cost you more in disruption and poor staff morale than they are worth.

A recent example of this was a customer who constantly complained. Her treatment was a few minutes short, she wasn’t satisfied with the final result, she didn’t like the way the therapist spoke to her, she shouldn’t have to pay full price or brought back a product half finished because she didn’t think it was working and wanting her money back. Her most recent episode created a scene in front of other customers and deliberately upset a young staff member. It was all over the facial massage not being very relaxing. She subsequently didn’t want to pay full price for the service. I was fed up and consequently addressed the situation by listening to the complaint with great empathy.

I then picked up the phone and called another local salon and proceeded to book this client in for a facial, which I paid for with my credit card. I turned to the lady in question and informed her that I had booked and paid for her to try a facial at this other salon in response to her complaint. She therefore received her requested free facial, and shouldn’t ever say that my salon didn’t act on her concerns. I wished her well and suggested that she may like to form a relationship with this other salon. Now my opposition can deal with her petty complaints and time wasting. My staff appreciated my support and were glad to see the back of her. The client was sent somewhere else and my opposition now have the problem. Sure it cost me $80 but it was money well spent!

I am not suggesting you do this for every difficult client you run into. However, my point is sometimes it is good business to lose these types of clients. They take up valuable time, cost you money and in some cases lose you staff. These are the very same clients that will baulk at paying a deposit or admitting they are at fault if they are late. In many respects by having these regulations in place you eliminate most of these troublesome clients before they become a problem.

As more and more salons adopt such measures the public will be more accepting of the conditions of utilising your facility. If you haven’t considered trying such ideas ask a few of your better clients and judge their responses.