Reducing No-shows and Cancellations with DINGG

Unable to work out how no-show appointments can be reduced? You are not the only one facing these challenges. You may make phone calls, send reminders via text or email, post your appointment policies at the front desk, or add a cancellation charge to recover any of the missed revenue. And yet, no shows and cancellations remain a challenge.

For Spa and Salon business , customer no-shows and last-minute cancellations are money and resource-consuming fact of life. There is no way around them all together, but there are some practical steps that can be taken through procedures to hold them to a minimum. For minimizing the number of no-shows, here are some tried and tested best practices.

Make Daily Reminder Calls

Designate a staff member for the next day’s appointments to make reminder calls every afternoon. It might be a good idea to ask customers to let you know if they can’t do it and to tell them that if they know they won’t be able to come in, you would appreciate the opportunity to give someone else the time slot. Rather than a last-minute no-show, this will trigger a timely cancellation. They are less likely to no-show when you have customers on the phone and have verbal assurance from them.

Setup Automatic Reminders

If you’re still making reminder phone calls, using an automatic notification service to send a protected text or email appointment reminders is a smart idea. It offers an extra way to reach customers, and if you have a day when it is not possible to make reminder calls, if you have automatic reminders in place, you will always have your bases covered.

Keep a waiting list

Keep the waitlist updated and specific, so you have options to fill in the gaps. You will want to include the days and times available for customers, and whether they are close enough to your practice to take short notice of an appointment. You should refer to this list to fill the time slot and not risk revenue if you have a no-show.

Don’t Wait to Reschedule Your No-Shows

Rescheduling no-shows after they happen is not a solution in the first place to prevent them from occurring. The fact that you have made an effort to reach out in person to check on the customers, however, demonstrates care and concern and creates the kind of personal bond that will make them less likely to no-show next time. customers who miss an appointment will also make an attempt to guarantee that the next one is not missed.

It’s a safe rule of thumb to reach out to no-show customers right away. You will be waiting in vain if you wait for the customer to call you. Awkwardness over a missed appointment often prohibits individuals from calling.

Keeping a non-accusatory tone is the way to go if you want to get the client back in the door rather than reprimanding the customers for missing the appointment or discussing no-show fees. If a fee is paid by your office, wait for the next appointment, when the customer is right in front of you at check-in.

Some Customers Need Extra Reminders

At a particular moment, some customers want to get a reminder, outside of when you usually make your daily reminder calls. And if you call them the day before, some customers just don’t remember them. For these customers, it would negate them being a no-show to call the morning of their appointment or even an hour or two before. This may sound like a lot of extra hand-holding, but it’s worth not wasting the revenue from a missed appointment for the little effort it takes you to make an extra call. Some customers will know this about themselves and, at a certain time, request a reminder. Or when you find that some customers often forget no-show appointments, recommend that they pursue this method and see if the no-show rate can be minimized.

Be Proactive with Your Schedule

Almost every practice has one customer, who often appears late for each appointment. Like clockwork, after their appointment period has passed, they step through the entrance, always hoping to be seen. You may opt to proactively handle these customers’ scheduling, rather than continuing this cycle every time, threatening them with no-show fees or turning them away from treatment when you are already with the next customers.

For example, with their late arrivals, some customers are very predictable, turning up 15 or 30 minutes late each time. If you see a clear trend, tell them their appointment is at 10 a.m., remind them to come at 10 a.m. with their reminder call, but place them on your 10:30 a.m. schedule. “late” They’re going to be right on time when you genuinely wanted them to see them, and you’re not going to have a break in your schedule. This is not supposed to be sly, and the case is rare enough that you won’t need to use this technique too much. But this tip will save you a lot of stress in the end, for those customers who clearly can not be educated to arrive on time.

Have a Written Policy

The standard operating procedure should be for a customer to read and sign a missed appointment policy on their first visit along with the other new customer paperwork. It may also be beneficial to post a sign at the front desk with this policy. No one can say that they did not know about the implications of no-showing for an no-show appointments in that way.

It is popular to accept one missed appointment free of charge, but it can help to minimize missing appointments by charging a missed appointment fee for any no-shows after that. Exceptions can, of course, be made on a case-by-case basis, and offices usually do not bill for sickness or emergencies. In addition, Medicaid customers are constitutionally unable to be charged. Encourage the customers not to cancel their appointment after they do so, rather than threaten them.

TAKE AWAY:

It doesn’t take much effort to influence your outcomes-something as easy as a notification call will go a long way to lower your no-show rates. Give them a try and see for yourself with these tips. You should also try to automate the appointments, reminders, and follow-ups by implementing a Spa and Salon management software with your business. It will help you to effectively manage your booking and appointments and reduce the manual efforts.