Payment for a cancelled hair appointment?

I don’t blame them to be honest. They are self employed businesses with bills to pay. Same with restaurant bookings, or any other smaller business. I’m pretty sure that if businesses said to their employees we don’t need you for the next hour and we’re docking you that money, there would be uproar. There’s more and more of this happening sadly, I really feel for small businesses trying to make ends meet.

Might be a bit different but round here there is a certain type of person who will book a table at a number of restaurants sometime ahead then decide on the day where they want to go. Frequently not even bothering to inform the other restaurants

It applies to appointment with dentists private doctors Physio’s etc. why not hairdressers they have overheads and expenses and need to take a wage home st the end of the month

pascal30

I think that if you cancel within 24 hrs that it is reasonable to ask you to pay, but not 48 hrs

I agree

Agreed, Dickens, and IME hairdressers are sympathetic to that. It's when people cancel because they've double booked, or just get a better offer that it isn't fair to expect them to absorb the costs. Many people (and I'm not including the OP here) really do think they can just decide on the day whether to honour a commitment - not just the hairdresser, but nights out/lunch meetings etc - and I think that attitude is getting worse.

I cancelled a hairdressing appt this week as soon as they opened, it was an early afternoon slot. I wasn’t well but had hoped I’d improve, instead felt I was getting worse and didn’t want to pass it on if it was infectious.

Explained all this to my lovely hairdresser,I have been a regular client for cuts and colouring for many years. He was absolutely fine about it, hoped I’d soon feel better and I rebooked for 2 weeks time.

I was very apologetic for the short notice but have rarely ever done it before so I didn’t have to pay anything. I can see both sides but no penalty for me

My hairdresser is a one person business. She has had so many 'no shows' and cancellations at the last minute that she has now had to say that appointments must have 50% of the cost paid in advance, and if not cancelled within 48 hours the deposit is lost. She said that people get to know her and then feel it is ok to either not turn up or expect her to rearrange on the day.

Medical emergencies aren't always obliging.

My OH woke up looking and feeling decidedly unwell on the day of his hairdresser appointment. He ummed and aaghed until I took his temperature, and he wobbled when he stood up.

I called the hairdresser to cancel (three hour's notice) and he was grateful that my OH wasn't going to attempt to spread a possible infectious whatever-it-was, around the salon.

I actually offered to pay- it was a beard-trim, hair wash and cut - but he said absolutely not and that he could probably juggle those who'd wanted an appointment and give them an option for that day.

It isn't always possible to give 24 / 48 hours notice. Real emergencies happen when they happen!

I think it is interesting that the OP, when faced with paying, was able to juggle things and keep the appointment. This shows that she was willing to cancel for her own convenience, rather than because of an emergency. This is exactly why the charge is made, I think. Business can't be expected to absorb cancellations based on inconvenience to the client. It's annoying when clashes occur, but it's up to us to find a way round them (which the OP was able to do), not to expect someone to basically take a cut in pay to accommodate us.

If I cancel, I pay.

Yes it is common practice. My hairdresser demands payment on booking (and she is not alone) I also recently learned that a dog groomer that my daughter uses also demands payment in advance

Same here pascal30

I can give 48 hours of cancellation notice and they do not mind. I have had to cancel when getting up ill on the morning and offered to pay next time and was told no. They do since Covid ask for cash payment not card or cheque which DH always comments on. It is a small market town and I pay £36 pounds for a shampoo and cut.
When I got my hair cut and coloured whilst living near a city it cost well over £100 and even 10 years ago they had a £20 fine for any cancellation however many days previous. Even when I was snowed in!!!
It did backfire on them though as a friend had her appointment cancelled at very short notice by the stylist she asked for £20 to be deducted from her bill. When she was refused she said she would not be back and spread the word among friends a lot of whom left as it had happened to them.
It is their living and they do lose money but lots of businesses and even the Health Service have to deal with No shows.
Personally I think 48 hours notice is fine. For illneses it should be negotiable.

I think most will be reasonable about Covid, or if you are a regular customer with a track record of reliability. People cancelling because a friend has asked them to go for lunch, or because it's raining, however, is a different matter. Would people want their salaries or pensions to be subject to the vagaries of other people's whims in this way?

I read that people were booking several tables in different restaurants then deciding on the night which one to go to. The others lost the income, and may have ordered ingredients in expectation of a group, too. When restaurants started demanding a deposit to book, they were outraged.

On this thread we may all be reasonable people who stick to our obligations, but there are a lot of others who think that 'self care' means that they should feel no guilt about letting others down if they don't fancy doing something at the last minute - the other people should 'be kind' and understand 🙄. I have little patience with that viewpoint when it is people cancelling a date for coffee, but when it is someone's living I don't blame them for expecting compensation.

That's pretty extreme imo, I think it's a practice to take a deposit, maybe £10 that gets forfeited for a cancellation, but sometimes the unexpected happens, I had to cancel an appointment once I found out I had Covid and the worst of it set in just before appointment. If I had to pay the full amount of what I have done, which includes highlights then it would be over £100. I agree it's important to show your hairdresser consideration, for example being late, I'm always on time, that's something my hairdresser complains about with a few clients who roll up half an hour late and that throws her appointments into disarray often meaning she has to go without any breaks.

If I cancel at short notice, I expect to pay. Why should a self-employed person lose money because of my 'whim'? Covid is a different matter.

I completely forgot about an appointment a couple of years ago and went in the next day and paid her. It is her living.
Seemed fair to me.

My hairdresser comes to the house and I don't think I have ever had to cancel but after covid lockdown I did pay her for the appointments I would normally have had. She really struggled then as a self employed hairdresser.

Slight deviation. In one of those random conversations you have with your hairdresser I mentioned that I now have a working fridge freezer to dispose of. She said her husband might be interested. ( They have lots of dogs, so it is probably now full of dog food.) Money was not mentioned. He collected it, but I forgot a small part, so I took it into the salon. She asked me if he had offered me any money and when I said no, she offered me a free hairdo. I regularly have a cut and colour, so I reckon that is a good swap.

I hasn't happened to me as I rarely go to a beauty salon and I'm not sure that it happens frequently . None of my friends , who go regularly have complained .

But I do understand how a hairdresser would feel if people fail appointments .
They have a living to earn .

I recall being shocked when my yoga teacher wanted money upfront for ten classes and then , I understood why -people often missed them .

I used give private English lessons and I thought of doing the same , but didn't :

One lady booked Friday afternoons and then , turned up three times in ten weeks .

Another owed me for three months tuition .

One decided that she was only having half a lesson and halved the fee !

If I teach again - it will be very different .

Hairdressers' have a living to make.
I am fully in agreement with the client being charged for non emergency, short notice cancellations.
Years ago I had my hair cut and blow dried for my husband's funeral.
When I went to pay my hairdresser said there was no charge.
So it can work both ways.

48hours quite reasonable for a cancellation it was only for your convenience an emergency is different you are being unreasonabe

Thanks for your responses. Seems like it is common practice and I should adjust my expectations. Am feeling very vulnerable on the hairdressing front as the stylist who had done my hair for ten years has left.

I cant remember the last time I went to a hairdresser - it must have been pre 1985 (when I came to live in this city) as I have never been to one here. My hair is waist length and easy to twist into a chignon. I can also borrow one of my numerous model wigs if required. Some are very glamorous updos. I must have saved a fortune over the years.

My local salon have been doing that for a few years now, I don't use them personally, but a few friends do