I'm always fascinated by all the bizarre cancellation policies that exist in our industry. Many are draconian and the source of great conflict and ill will. Rigid policies rob us of our ability to use common sense and to show compassion and grace to our clients, often times when they need it most.
We have a 24 hour cancellation policy, some studios have a 48 hour policy and there are a few with a 72 hour policy. Some studios take a credit card number at the time the appointment is booked and they charge the appointment within the timeframe of the cancellation policy. Some studios don't allow appointments on the books that are not pre-paid.
Isn't it difficult enough to find good clients who can afford the work, who have the discipline to commit to the work and who you enjoy spending time with? Do you need to establish and support policies that create discord? Do you want to work in an environment where your common sense, human kindness and discretion are set aside for the sake of the written word?
If you've got a chronic canceller on your hands, you'll know it in no time. There will be absolutely no hiding it. They'll stand out like a lousy Teaser in an advanced class. Don't worry that someone will get away with something, that you'll lose and they'll win. Any grace you show will come back to you, many times over, since our clients are our lifeline, they support us, they pay our overhead, they make us comfortable and settled and secure. Be nice to them. They're your friends. Or at least they should be.
Here we go.
You wake up sick. You get charged.
You work late. You get charged.
Your daughter has a seizure. No charge.
The delivery truck backs into your garage door, denting it so that it won't lift, you can't get your car out of the garage. No charge.
You call an hour before your appointment to say you're still not feeling well enough to come in, that you're still struggling with the cold you got last week. You get charged.
My studio is 3 blocks from Key Arena (capacity 14,000), about 15 blocks from Qwest Field (capacity 70,000) and Safeco Field (capacity 45,000) and sometimes there's a concert at the Key, another one at Qwest and a game as the Safe. We're essentially trapped in the studio and anyone not in the studio can't get to the studio. No charge.
We have a family of clients who dominate our book one morning a week. Several times a year, they have spells of great instability in their schedules and they were cancelling in plenty of time to avoid the 24 hour cancellation policy but we were miserably unsuccessful in filling their slots because our book is a standing book, our clients have been camped in the same slots for years and they don't have an interest in moving around. The great news about a standing book is that your revenue is predictable, your client base is committed and you don't have to work to get in new people. The bad news about a standing book is everyone likes where they are so when you have cancellations, there aren't many options for filling them. There are the odd clients who want to pick up an extra session now and again and they're our best bet to fill a cancellation but routinely, we're not able to fill openings. So, about 2 years ago I wrote a long letter explaining the dilemma, I included the financial analysis of lost revenue and lost wages and I set out in clear terms the impact their cancellations had on the studio and on Heidi. As a result, they suggested we set a special cancellation policy just for them and they set the terms for it. If they cancel within a week of the appointment time, we charge them.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, Jeannie called 10 minutes before her appointment time, she was super frustrated and stuck, at a standstill, in Macy's Christmas Day Parade traffic. Only 1-1/2 miles from the studio - so close but so far - she realized she wasn't going to make it. I told her "put the top down and wave!" No charge.