Struggling with no-shows at your salon or spa and wondering what you can do about it? Below we’ll share some missed appointment message templates you can customize specifically for your business. We'll cover everything from friendly reminders to addressing salon and/or spa cancellation policies, and teach you how to craft a professional yet empathetic message that encourages future bookings while protecting your time.

Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!

10 Missed Appointment Message Templates For Your Salon & Spa

Missed appointments, commonly referred to as “no-shows,” are one of the biggest challenges for salon and spa owners. Aside from wasting time, they also cost your business money, and if not handled properly, can create animosity between the owners and their clientele. Research shows that in the beauty industry alone, approximately 30% of appointments are missed every year, which can total upwards of $67,000 for the average salon. But even losing $10,000 can be a death sentence for smaller operations, so the best course of action is prevention. 

If you own your own spa or salon, keep reading to find out how you can avoid no-shows, get templates for crafting an appropriate missed appointment message, and see other tips for communicating with clients so you can handle no-shows like a pro. 

How To Avoid Salon & Spa No-Shows

Sometimes, a client will miss their appointment due to a sudden personal, family, work, or medical emergency. Albeit frustrating for you, it’s totally understandable that their salon/spa appointments just aren’t the first thing they’re thinking about when life happens.

However, there are many more instances where a client simply forgets that they’ve made an appointment, which is an avoidable scenario you can take steps to help prevent. If you can successfully avoid no-shows, you can keep your business from losing valuable time and money, as well as help reinforce your client base. Below are some strategies to make sure your clients show up to their appointments. 

Send Automated Appointment Reminders

Automated appointment reminder messages are an effective way to remind your clients about the time and place of their upcoming appointment. While you can certainly send reminders manually, you’re a busy business owner! Even with only 10 clients, remembering when to send out reminders for each appointment can be a hassle. (At that rate, you’d have to set reminders for yourself to send the reminders!) 

With GlossGenius, you can set up automated appointment reminder messages so that you don’t have to spend any more time than necessary dealing with administrative headaches. Check out this article for handy appointment reminder templates you can use for your spa or salon. 

Add A Card On File / Require Deposits

It’s always good practice to ensure your clients fully understand your salon or spa cancellation policy before they schedule their first appointment—and that they’re reminded of it each time they rebook—especially if there is a monetary charge for missing the appointment. Keeping a card on file makes it easier to charge a no-show fee rather than chasing after the client. 

You can also take it one step further and require a deposit. Many salons will ask for a flat rate or specific percentage to put down before the appointment. This amount may be refundable or nonrefundable, or serve as a credit toward service (where it gets deducted from the total cost at the end of the appointment). The one drawback to this, however, is that it can scare away new clients who don’t have a strong enough relationship with you or your business yet. 

Track Repeat Offenders

Take note of salon and spa clients that bail multiple times and consider blocking them from booking again. Your time is valuable, and no one should get to waste it—because that time is also money. At a certain point, the client relationship is no longer beneficial, and you lose more trying to retain them than you would cutting them loose. It’s a tough decision to make, and one you shouldn’t take lightly, but it’s important to keep in mind for the health of your business! 

Did we mention GlossGenius can also help you track no-shows with a single tap? Our platform also allows you to block clients if you don’t want them to book again.

[CTA_MODULE]

How Much Salon & Spa Business Owners Charge for No-Shows

Each appointment slot represents potential income. When clients don't show up, you're left with idle staff and unused resources – both of which cost money. Owning a salon and/or spa means you have to make the best decisions for your business, and unfortunately that can mean charging clients for missing their appointments. How much to charge, if anything at all, depends on the spa or salon rendering services. 

Benefits of Not Charging A Fee

Newer clients might get intimidated or turned-off by having to provide a card number when booking an appointment. Giving away credit card info to a new business before you even set foot inside of it or have a relationship with anyone who works there is not everybody’s cup of tea. No no-show fees can make your business feel more accessible to first-timers, while also avoiding penalizing loyal customers who may just be bad at scheduling. 

Flat Fee

Some salons and spas may charge a flat rate like $50 for a no-show, but it’s also common practice for businesses to charge 50% of the full service cost in the event of a no-show. How much you want to set the fee at is entirely up to you (but make sure you detail the exact costs in your cancellation policy). One downside to this structure is that you can lose a lot of income for expensive services.

Price Of The Appointment

Some establishments will charge the full price of the appointment as the no-show fee (or for cancellations under 24 hours). Again, this is up to you and how you feel comfortable running your business. If a no-show was expected to spend $350 on hair services or on a 90-minute massage, that’s a not-so-small chunk out of your schedule and revenue, and it’s understandable you’d feel entitled to recoup that amount (especially if this client has a history of no-shows). 

Tiered System 

With a tiered system, you can set different price amounts depending on the client’s previous behavior. For instance, for first-time no-shows, you can opt to charge nothing. For the second no-show, you can charge a fee like $50 or 50% of the appointment cost. After the third no-show, you could charge 100% for the missed appointment, while also blocking the client from booking with you in the future. The drawback of this system, however, is that it’s a lot to track, especially if you have multiple clients. 

How To Write A Salon & Spa Missed Appointment Message

Depending on the service you use, you can send missed appointment texts via SMS, or missed appointment emails to the client’s address. If you need to set up a missed appointment message for your clients, remember the following helpful tips: 

Keep A Friendly Tone

The client may know they missed their appointment, and might already feel bad or embarrassed about it. Or, despite the reminders you’ve (hopefully) sent, they still just forgot. Stay polite and friendly (or at the very least, neutral) when leaving your message, and never assume their no-show was an intentional action. 

Provide Clear Information

When leaving the message, you can still be kind while being direct. The best time to send a missed appointment message is the day of, and within a reasonable timeframe of the appointment. Let the client know who you are and why you’re calling, and whether there will be any no-show fees. If so, you may also want to remind the client of your cancellation policy. Provide a phone number or direct contact link where the client can reach out to you if they have any questions.

Let Clients Know How They Can Rebook

Provide a link or call-to-action that gives instructions for clients to rebook their missed appointments. Whether it’s a text link, email, or form on your website, provide a streamlined way for your clients to get their butts back in your chair. 

5 Missed Appointment Message Templates With a Deposit Requirement

If you’re wondering what to say when someone misses an appointment with a deposit requirement, we’ve got a few templates you can use to remind your clients they missed their session and will now owe a no-show fee. You can use this template for a missed appointment email or text, or to leave as a voicemail.

Below are some helpful ways you can communicate with your clients for missed appointments that include a deposit:

To The Point

“Hello (Customer Name), you didn’t make it to your appointment at (Business Name) today. As per our cancellation policy, your deposit is nonrefundable (or, the card we have on file in your name will be charged (X) amount). Please call (Phone Number) or click the following link to rebook your services.”

Nice And Neat

“Hi (Customer Name), this is (Business Name) informing you that you missed your appointment with us today! In accordance with our cancellation policy, we won’t be able to return your deposit, but we hope everything is okay, and look forward to having you back at (Business Name) soon. Please call (Phone Number) or click the following link to rebook your services with us!”

Informal

“Hey there, (Customer Name)! This is (Your Name) from (Business Name). It looks like we missed you today, bummer! Just as a reminder of our cancellation policy, we cannot refund deposits for missed appointments, but we do hope you’ll consider booking with us again in the future! Give us a call at (Phone Number) or click the following link to rebook your services with us!”

Formal

“Hello (Customer Name), this is (Your Name) on behalf of (Business Name). We noticed you did not show up for your appointment today. While your deposit is nonrefundable as per the no-show policy you agreed to at the time of booking, we hope that does not affect your future business with us. Please call the following (Phone Number) or click the included link to reschedule a future appointment with us. Thank you.”

Apologetic

“Hi (Customer Name), we’re so sorry to see that you weren’t able to make it to your appointment today. As stated in our cancellation policy, we are required to keep the deposit amount for missed appointments or late cancellations. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but would like to help you rebook your service for the future: Please call (Phone Number) or click the following link to schedule a new appointment with us!”

[CTA_MODULE]

5 Missed Appointment Message Templates Without A Deposit Requirement

If your spa or salon does not require deposits for booking, you’ll still want to inform your clients that they missed their appointment. Whether via missed appointment text or email, or even as a voicemail message, it’s important that clients know when they’ve missed their scheduled session. 

Below are some helpful ways you can communicate with your clients for missed appointments without a deposit:

To The Point

“Hello (Customer Name), you didn’t make it to your appointment at (Business Name) today. Please call (Phone Number) or click the following link to rebook your services.”

Nice And Neat

“Hi (Customer Name), this is (Business Name) informing you that you missed your appointment with us today! We hope everything is okay, and look forward to having you back at (Business Name) soon. Please call (Phone Number) or click the following link to re-book your services with us!”

Informal

“Hey there, (Customer Name)! This is (Your Name) from (Business Name). We’re bummed to have missed you today! Let us know if we can help you rebook your appointment by giving us a call at (Phone Number) or click the following link to reschedule your services with us!”

Formal

“Hello (Customer Name), (Business Name) would like to inform you that you did not show up for your scheduled appointment today. Please call the following (Phone Number) or click the included link to reschedule a future appointment with us. Thank you.”

Apologetic

“Hi (Customer Name), we’re so sorry to see that you weren’t able to make it to your appointment today. Apologies if our appointment reminders didn’t reach you! We hope you’ll rebook with us again soon. Reach out at (Phone Number) if you need any assistance in rescheduling, or click the following link to directly schedule a new appointment yourself.”

Avoid No-Shows With GlossGenius

Avoiding no-shows can help keep your business on track by cutting down on lost money and time. Use our missed appointment and appointment reminder templates to make it simple to customize your own message for clients. While all the reminders in the world can’t guarantee your client will actually show up, you can rest assured knowing you’ve done your part to reduce the risk they won’t. 

Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!

GlossGenius is an all-in-one platform that helps salon and spa owners stay in contact with their clients, while also offering features like Scheduling and Client Management to help manage daily tasks. GlossGenius also has SMS and email marketing tools that can send appointment reminder messages to avoid no-shows, as well as missed appointment messages when they happen. There’s even a Waitlist Feature so you can fill any sudden empty spots with clients who are ready to show up. GlossGenius’ Built-in AI Tool can also help with other marketing needs so you can grow and glow with your business!

‍Start your free trial with GlossGenius today and see how we can streamline your spa and salon management.