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Last-minute cancellation – is it my fault?
Cancellations are typical for any business. Yes, they are unpleasant, but we work with people, so it feels. Unfortunately, even the best software and the most skilful staff cannot guarantee that you won't face cancellations. The best you can do to prevent them is to learn well how human psychology works. Then, you can combine it with some smart IT solution, and here you are. Success!
Okay, it may sound not that complicated, but you still have to work hard to learn the fundamental reasons why clients do not come. The bad news is that there are so many reasons you even can't count. We will talk about them later, covering the most popular ones.
Then, the main question – whose fault a cancellation is. You may wonder what was wrong, so the client decided to cancel. Well, in most of the cases, everything was fine. (S)He just had some personal reasons to do that. The most effective way to prevent cancellation is to work well before a client even books an appointment. It would help if you prepared your business for the first clients.
The EasyWeek team has collected some handy tips to help you with business automation, which leads to no-shows minimizations.
A no-show is a person who booked an appointment but didn't appear. It is a pretty popular term, so that we will use it later.
Yes, it does. Any software won't guarantee you 100% protection against no-shows, but CRMs minimize their impact on your business.
The market is full of budget and expensive CRM programs. So we advise you to try the modern one – EasyWeek online appointment software.
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The most popular reasons for last-minute cancellations
So, you know what a last-minute cancellation is. Now let's see how to use this knowledge for your business benefit. First of all, the only fact that you understand what a no-show is matters. Then, you can get why it happens to your company and how it influences your business.
No-shows exist. That's the fact. We've collected the main reasons why people cancel appointments.
TOP reasons for appointment cancellations
A client forgot about the appointment. Reminders help to minimize this cause.
A customer has some personal family or work issues. Well, accept that. The only chance to prevent such situations is to stop working with people.
A client faced some problems while getting to your company. Transportation issues are among the most popular ones.
A customer was sick. (S)He couldn't manage to come.
A client has read some negative reviews about the place. The best solution is to work better. It is the ideal way to prevent negative comments.
A customer chose your competitor. Sad, but it happens. We advise using modern marketing techniques to minimize this notion.
A client thought that the appointment wasn't essential. You must be ready to work 24/7 to grow in the eyes of your clients.
A small percentage goes for all the other reasons. We have already mentioned that too many of them are to count here.
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Best tips to deal with last-minute cancellations
Now, let's see the best ways to deal with the last-minute cancellations.
10 hacks to deal with last-minute cancellations
Charge no-shows. Clients appreciate only the services they paid for. It is suitable for us. Just ask for payment before the appointments to save your business from trouble. You can ask for 100% payment or just some percentage. The optimal solution would be 50% before the meeting and 50% after it.
Establish a penalty for last-minute cancellations. Yes, it may be strict, but that's the optimal way to eliminate constant no-shows. In the end, your time matters.
Ask for contacts while making an appointment. Just a phone number can save you from a no-show. Just call and remind clients about the visit. If you can notify a guest about the upcoming event, it's even better.
Use a user-friendly website. If your site looks fine, a customer can quickly get all the data about the future event. It is one of the best techniques to prevent no-shows. Transparency helps.
Use reminders. Notifications are your first helpers. Remind a few times to help a client not forget about the booking.
Allow rescheduling. Everything can happen, so simple rescheduling will help retain a client effortlessly.
Organize waiting lists. This method helps busy companies that cannot afford a single no-show. Just create a handy waiting list to minimize last-minute cancellation issues. Even if you couldn't prevent the cancellation, you'll have another customer for that time.
Become picky. Yes, you can! If a customer repeats some lousy behaviour patterns, reject him. It won't damage your budget but will save nerves.
Treat clients well. Quality often defines income. It also helps to prevent rapid no-shows. If people like you, they come to you.
Market the business. Marketing can motivate your audience to try your services. Together with the other advice, it can minimize no-shows as well.
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How does the CRM program help with cancellations
Appointment software is an excellent tool to stop thinking about last-minute no-shows. In addition, CRMs automate daily routines, including reminders and notifications.
Benefits of online appointments
Online appointments save your time. A client can book a calendar position in a snap, even without your help, and out of working hours.
Booking online costs less than hiring a person to deal with clients. Administrators can manage more important tasks while the software will arrange schedules.
Online appointments build client trust. Transparency helps to establish better relationships with your audience. Online booking is the best way to satisfy customers.
A happy customer is your first guarantee against no-shows.
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EasyWeek online appointment scheduling software
We are a German IT company that offers free and paid solutions for various businesses. EasyWeek has over 10 thousand clients worldwide, satisfying each one daily.
Nowadays, we have launched two types of tariffs:
PRO EasyWeek tariff plans;
A free EasyWeek basic tariff plan.
Who can use EasyWeek for free?
Any entrepreneur who works alone can use our system 100% free. The basic plan includes online appointments, a website, and widget, etc. But, of course, you can always sign up and try the system for free, then decide what option you would like to choose.
What do EasyWeek PRO plans include?
We have launched a set of handy plans to suit any business. You can choose one, according to the number of employees and branches you have.
EasyWeek PRO tariff features:
Online appointments;
Notifications;
Widget;
Business analytics;
Financial module;
Website;
Marketing tools;
Our partners trust EasyWeek for transparency and quality. Our competitors are creating complex tariffs with a lot of useless features. While we highlight quality over quantity, setting up free tariff plans for our audiences.
The huge benefit is that the system is customizable. You can make it look exactly as your company needs it. Even the number of tariffs is customizable. Just contact our support to add some more users if you need. Together, we will solve every issue.
Conclusions
No-shows are a big problem for any business. EasyWeek online appointment software can minimize the issue for you. Just use the simple hacks we have collected in this article. A dash of intelligent work, motivation, and handy hacks will help your business succeed. We are working more to make our clients work less. Please, contact our technical support in case of any queries or feedback. Join EasyWeek and try it for free!
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