The new tab on the website, POLICIES.

On Saturday July 28 I had a full day of clients at the salon, a few colors, a few cuts, and a formal style. It was a great variety of services that I was looking forward to. I arrived at the salon an hour before my first appointment, so I could return phone calls, set up, clean my tools, and get ready for the day. Shortly after arriving my first appointment called to cancel her color correction appointment, because she changed her mind. I blocked out three hours of my day for her and she cancelled forty-five minutes before her appointment. Okay, no big deal, these things happen.
                      
About an hour later I get a text message from my next appointment, she informs me that she will not be making her appointment and she’ll call me next week to reschedule. Alright, I’m a little irritated at this point, but now I have the entire morning/afternoon off! I decided to go to a yoga class and re-center myself.
                      
I come back to the salon, do a few haircuts and then wait for my last appointment. I watch the clock tick as she is 5 minutes late, then 10, now 20 minutes past her appointment. She hasn’t called to inform me she’ll be late or anything. We call this a ‘no call, no show’, at this point I’m done, more than half of my day fell apart, I gather my things and leave for the weekend.

This week I had no intention of writing about cancellations or ‘no shows’, however I wanted to write this post to give insight on why I am now implementing some policies with my business starting immediately. I’ve been in this industry for a decade and never wanted to create these types of policies, even though most salons have similar policies. Starting today these policies are now in affect for all clients:

CANCELLATIONS
Confirmation text messages and/or emails are made a minimum of 48 hours in advance as a courtesy to the client to allow them a 24-hour period in which they may cancel or reschedule their appointment if needed. This allows enough time to fill the open appointment time with a client from the waiting list. Cancelling with less than 24 hours of your scheduled appointment will be subjected to pay 50% of the services reserved to reschedule the appointment.
No shows will be charged the full dollar amount of the scheduled appointment. These charges must be paid in full before any future appointments are made.  
 
TARDINESS
A 15-minute grace period is allowed to all clients, however, to ensure that I am to stay on schedule, any client that is more than 15 minutes late to their scheduled appointment (for whatever reason) will be required to reschedule. If you are running late, please call the salon or text me to let me know.
As your hairstylist, on the rare occasion that I maybe running more than 15 minutes behind schedule, a courtesy call will be made as soon as the situation is realized to alert you of my tardiness.
 
DEPOSITS
Color corrections and Brazilian Blowouts require a $100 non-refundable deposit that goes towards the price of the service. Hair Extensions require a non-refundable deposit that covers the cost of the hair.
 
CHILDREN
Don't me wrong, I love our tiny clientele just as much as our grown-up clientele, but as a courtesy to the entire salon, I ask that children under the age of 10 be accompanied by an adult while in the waiting area.
                      
I’ve always strived to be understanding and compassionate to the client’s circumstances. Coming from a place of compassion people have taken advantage of this, canceling at the last minute, not showing up, or not calling when running late to their appointments. Not only is this disrespectful towards me, but it is disrespectful towards other clients, if someone arrives 20 minutes late for their appointment, that puts me 20 minutes behind for my next client, and everyone after them. If someone ‘no shows’ their appointment, that time could have been used for someone on the cancellation list.

I hope this post is educational and allows you to understand why I am implicating these policies, it’s not because I’m mean or angry, I’m not trying to ‘nickel and dime’ people, I’m simply asking for respect and accountability.
                      
Thank you for reading this and thank you for understanding. You’re all amazing, beautiful people!
                      
​DJH