Diary and policy

The client fifteen minutes late, and what actually gets shortened

A client is fifteen minutes late for a forty-five minute appointment, and the stylist has someone else at the hour. Everybody involved knows what has to happen and nobody has written it down, so it gets improvised at the desk - differently each time, by whoever is standing there, in front of the next client. This is a policy problem disguised as a people problem.

Say what gets shortened, not what is not allowed

Most salons write a rule about lateness and none of them write the consequence, which is the only part the client needs. Fifteen minutes late on a cut means the finish is quicker; fifteen minutes late on a colour may mean the appointment cannot happen at all, because the processing time does not compress. Publish that distinction by service and the conversation at the desk stops being a negotiation.

The client in the chair is the one being charged for this

Running over to accommodate a late arrival takes the time from somebody who arrived correctly, and that person notices every single time. Any policy that only considers the latecomer is solving the wrong problem. The sentence worth writing is the one that explains whose appointment is being protected, because it makes the decision look like fairness instead of inflexibility.

The useful message is the one sent before they arrive

A client stuck in traffic who can say so at the moment it happens gives the salon ten minutes of warning, which is enough to shorten, reorder or offer to move. A client who cannot reach anybody simply arrives late and silent, which is the worst version for everyone. Whatever channel they are already using, make telling you easy and make the reply immediate and specific - can you still take me, and for what.

Nobody may promise to hold a slot that is not being held

"That's fine, we'll wait for you" said by software is the one sentence that must never appear, because the diary belongs to a person standing in the salon. An assistant can report the policy, record that the client will be late and by how much, and say that the salon will confirm. Anything more definite is a promise made on somebody else's behalf about the next twenty minutes.

Frequently asked questions

Can the assistant tell a late client they will still be seen?
No. It can state the published policy for that service, pass the message on immediately and say that the salon will confirm. The diary is live and held by whoever is on the floor, and a written "yes" that turns into a "no" on arrival is worse than no answer at all.
Should the policy differ by service?
It has to, because the chemistry does. A colour, a perm or any treatment with a processing time cannot be compressed, so lateness there has a different cut-off from a dry cut. Publishing one blanket rule guarantees it will be broken, and a rule broken routinely teaches clients the opposite of what it says.
What about charging for a shortened or missed appointment?
Whatever you charge, publish it in the same place as the appointment time rather than in terms nobody reads. The dispute is never really about the amount; it is about discovering the amount at the till. A client who saw the figure when they booked argues about it far less often.
How do we handle the client who is always ten minutes late?
Recognise it as a pattern rather than a series of incidents, which means recording lateness rather than only cancellations. A regular who always runs late can be booked at a time that absorbs it - the last slot before a break - which solves it quietly and keeps a good client.
Does an overrun need recording at all?
It is one of the more useful things to track and almost nobody does. A stylist consistently running fifteen minutes over is either booked wrongly or working at a different pace from the diary, and both are fixable - but only once it is a number rather than an impression.

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