11 January 2022
The idea of securing each appointment with a deposit from your clients will give you a lot of reassurance. The thought of implementing this policy in your salon feels like such a huge task that you end up putting it off, week after week, month after month.
No shows and late cancellations have very often been a challenge for many salons in our industry, with many questions being asked on how you implement such a big change in your salon.
Consistency
What you do for one client, you should be doing for all your clients, both existing and new. This way it keeps it fair and clear, avoiding any unnecessary mistakes within your team.
To ensure you and your team are consistent when requesting a deposit at the time of booking, make sure you brainstorm the reasons behind a deposit before you implement this change.
Ironing out all these questions before you make any implementation will certainly help you make this a new rule that sticks.
Education is key
Knowing the ‘Why’ behind deposits is so important and can be the make or break of you finally having this as the norm in your salon.
Your clients should be aware that they are not being singled out and it is a new policy you have had to put in place to manage cancellations and deposits. Sadly, you are unable to request deposits from certain clients but instead need to make it a rule for all clients to avoid confusion.
How far have we come as an industry with deposits in the last 2 years?
At time of writing, deposits have gone through the roof, and we have finally seen a shift that our industry was so desperate to see.
Online bookings have seen an increase in deposits by 346%, with in-salon bookings seeing an increase in deposits by 5,241%. These figures are staggering and almost unbelievable, but they are true, and it is only the beginning. Very soon this will be something clients expect when making a hair or beauty appointment.
It is not different to booking a holiday, a restaurant or a hotel stay – 9 times out of 10 a deposit will need to be paid to show commitment and your willingness to turn up and complete the reservation or appointment.
Where to start?
Online bookings are a great place to start, when you allow clients to book online via your website you open the doors to endless bookings being made 24/7. It’s a great place to direct your clients to during busy periods, promoting your most popular services could not be easier when using SalonIQ.
There is also no confrontation or awkward moments when having a deposit in place online.
Value or percentage?
Decide on how much you are going to set your deposits at, with SalonIQ you can choose from a set value or a percentage per service. Often, salons choose a percentage across all services, this keeps it super easy for your team and your clients to know where they are when making an appointment.
If you want you do have the option to only request deposits from new clients, however as mentioned before we advise to have this policy in place for all clients and all appointments.
Your refund policy
Have a clear refund policy on deposits is very important, you should also ensure this is displayed in a place where salons can access it. Often this will be on your website under a Terms and Conditions or displayed in your salon.
The most common refund policy is if a salon cancels or moves their appointment without giving 48 hours’ notice they will lose this deposit. However, if they cancel in good time they will not lose the deposit and can move it across to their next appointment.
Many salons to do give the deposit back when a client cancels in good time but instead they hold the deposit for their next booking. These terms should be outlined within your refund policy for deposits.
Contact us
For any assistance in setting up deposits within SalonIQ please call our team on 01892 280123 or email help@saloniq.com
Call a member of our team today on 01892 280 123
