Payment for a cancelled hair appointment?

Common practice for me too. My appointments are never that expensive, or take a long time, but customers wanting balayage and extensions are a huge loss of money and take up a lot of time. I’ve never had to cancel for an emergency so I don’t know whether they would be more compassionate.

Common practice in ours too. Again they are flexible for Covid/family emergencies. I think it is fair enough.

I have had a hairdresser cancel me and no I did not get any credit or discount on the following appointment. It seems to be a one way street.

My hairdresser expects prepayment and will not usually refund/ move payment to a future booking, if less than 48 hours notice is given.

I m not saying it’s wrong just that it’s never happened in any of the hairdressers I ve used Maybe it’s more a city or a bigger saloon thing
I ve never been to therapists like nail people or any other beauty things so can’t comment on them
When I worked in the NHS we had many many irritating, no shows and that was normally with no acknowledgements and of course the NHS doesn’t charge perhaps they should

It not a fine though bluebelle it’s a charge for a cancelled contract.
The hairdresser, therapist, restaurant owner has contracted to provide you with a service for a certain period of time. They should provide you with the service promised and you should turn up.
There should, however, be a little bit of give and take in some circumstances. 48hours notice would be plenty of time for me to fill the space, a message left on the answerphone the previous evening
to be picked up on the day of the appointment probably wouldn’t.
Those of us who work in the world of personal services get last minute cancellations or no shows frequently. It adds up to a lot of money over a year.
I do agree that every customer should be made aware if the salon has this policy.

Good grief no they are lovely I haven’t been going to this hairdresser long, but my friend had to cancel the same day and no mention of a fine was made
I pay £17 for a wash, a cut and blow dry I have a pixie cut and thick hair and go every 4/5 weeks

I have been asked to give 24 hours cancellation time but never 48 hours: dentist, hairdresser, manicurist.

I never go to the hairdresser, so I don't know what they do, but everyone else, dentists, opticians, chiropractors, private tutors etc. etc. charge for late cancellations, so why shouldn't a hairdresser?

After all if we book an appointment they can't give the time to someone else, can they, just because we fail to turn up?

My hairdresser doesn’t charge but I’ve never cancelled at short notice, and only occasionally had to reschedule, but that’s been done with a week or more’s notice. If I had Covid or some other horrible bug, I think she’d be glad I’d cancelled because if I infected her, she’d then lose more business whilst she was away recovering. One time she was ill and when I arrived one of the other stylists said she’d do my hair, which I was okay about, so she did.

Oh well, I go to a hairdressers in town centre where no appointments are made. It is walk in and wait. Sometimes the wait can be quite long and they will then suggest you go to do some shopping and come back, keeping your name on their list. B.ut usually, it is no more than 15-30 minutes wait fora n operative. No receptionist there And, for a cut I pay just £16.00.

Common practice in mine.

They are also tolerant of super ate notice unexpected emergencies like medical situations, for example

I believe that these appointments are important and we should only cancel when absolutely necessary. I know my hairdresser well. He runs the business with his wife and they suffered a great deal because of covid. They’re still making up for this. You should of course be informed about the cancellation charge when booking. When some services can cost £100 or more they can’t afford to absorb cancellations. My nephew who owns a restaurant insists on a deposit with each booking for exactly the same reason.

It’s common practice. My hair dresser charges 50% if we cancel with only 24 hours notice. I think 48 hours is reasonable. She still has to pay her huge running costs and needs to try and fill gaps.
Other Self employed people, physio, podiatry etc all have last minute cancellation fees

Mine does too. I wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d been charged, but I suppose they don’t want to risk being infected by Covid-ridden clients, and they know that I don’t cancel on a whim.

Then again, they both book out months in advance.

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

It’s common practice for the two salons I go to. I’ve been able to negotiate once when I had Covid and once due to a family emergency, but I would never expect them to otherwise.

I’d imagine that, as hairdressers do rely on repeat business, charging for a cancelled appointment isn’t really good practice. Of course, if it happens regularly it would be different.

I think most of them will make exceptions for long-standing clients when they know it can’t be helped. I cancelled when I had Covid and he just moved the appointment to a fortnight later

My hairdresser never charges if I need to cancel at short notice which I only do for illness. She can often fit a client in or do some paperwork or train a trainee. It does help that she is the boss!

My hairdresser charges a deposit when you book, which you lose if you cancel with less than 48 hours notice. I think that’s fair enough really, as they are unlikely to fill that slot which could have gone to someone else. It seems that there has been a lot of cancellations of tables in restaurants and other appointments since Covid, and as running businesses is so expensive now the costs have to be covered somehow.

I thought it was common practice to charge if you cancel, I would expect to pay as they are unlikely to find a replacement customer.

I can understand how hairdressers feel when people phone at short notice to cancel their appointment. That means they lose £40 more or more and a wasted hour of their time. Some appointments will cost a lot more than that.

They can't just find some random person to fill in at a couple of hours notice. I think if you are a regular client they may be more accommodating, but for a new client I think some penalty must apply.

Of course, this should be made clear on booking.

My hairdresser hasn't charged for a missed appointment but I cancelled due to a virus.
I don't think people should cancel appointments unless absolutely necessary as it does mean the hairdresser is losing money.