Carla is a solo skin therapist. On Sunday evening, she looked at her agenda, and it was almost completely full. Every appointment was a high-value treatment, so she went to bed knowing it was going to be a great week.
On Monday morning, she hadn't even finished her first coffee when the first WhatsApp message came in:
"Hey, so sorry, but I have to cancel my appointment on Wednesday at 3:30. Work deadline!"
Ten minutes later, another client cancelled online. Ever since her clients could cancel or reschedule in her online booking system themselves, it happened all the time.
Carla used to feel relieved when a client asked if she could come next week instead. At least she hadn't lost the money, she thought. But by now she knew better. Working alone, she wasn't going to fill this week's empty spot at such short notice, and she could have sold next week's spot to another client.
In just ten days, six of her appointments were cancelled or rescheduled, and she couldn't fill five of those spots again. It never used to happen to her. But now it happened more and more often, and every time, the same thought came up:
"Clients just don't have any respect anymore. Don't they understand this is my income?"
Maybe you recognise that thought too.
Carla told herself it was just part of the job, or maybe it was the economy. And she had already done everything the industry tells you to do.
Of course she had a strict cancellation policy. But her clients cancelled neatly, more than 48 hours in advance, exactly the way her policy asked them to. Her policy protected her clients, not her. She was still the one left with the empty spot, and the lost income was all hers.
Many estheticians also try one more thing: posting their last-minute spots on social media with a discount. It feels better than an empty spot, but it teaches clients that waiting pays off. You lose money on every discounted treatment, and it makes your clinic look cheaper. It's the opposite of how plane tickets work: the later you book a flight, the more you pay, not less.
And even with all of this in place, Carla could never fully trust her agenda.
To Carla, every cancellation felt like a lack of respect. But it wasn't. Almost all of her clients really did respect her and what her treatments did for them.
What really happens is the little conversation a client has in her head, right before she decides to cancel, reschedule or not show up at all.
For Carla, every appointment mattered. Working solo, her agenda was her income, and there was nobody else to fill the gap.
For her clients, it was one of many appointments in a very busy week. A client really does want that HydraFacial, just not at the moment she booked it. Maybe an unexpected bill came in, maybe her child is sick, or maybe she has a deadline that could finally get her that promotion. When she has to choose, the deadline wins in a second.
That's because, for her, it doesn't really matter whether she has her treatment this week, next week or three weeks from now. At Skin Clinic Growth, we call this the "Next Week Is Fine Too" Syndrome.
It's exactly what frustrated Carla most. The same client who cancelled still expected Carla to fit her in next week, even when her agenda was already full. For the client, next week was simply fine too.
And that's also why selling a package doesn't fix it [link to the solo client rebooking blog]. Whether it's her second session or her fifth, next week is still fine too.
At £175 per appointment, Carla's five empty spots meant £875 she never received, in just ten days. And working solo, that wasn't the clinic's money. It was her own income, while her rent and bills kept running.
It helps to see what this means over a whole year:
Based on £150 per appointment.
Take a moment to look at your own agenda. How many cancellations did you have last week, or last month? If you're brave, count the last 12 months.
What Carla needed wasn't another rule. No reminder, deposit or strict rule can do what this does.
She needed her clients to see their appointment with her as just as important as the doctor's appointment they had waited seven months for, their deadline at work, or picking their kids up from swimming lessons on time. Nobody ever thinks "Oh, that can wait" about any of those.
Think about how a Taylor Swift fan will do anything to be at that concert, no matter what the ticket costs or how far she has to travel. Nothing gets in the way, because missing it is simply not an option. We call this the Taylor Swift Effect.
Now imagine your clients feeling that way about every appointment with you.
That's what happened in Carla's clinic. Now she runs a solo Skin Clinic 2.0, and her income is no longer up and down from week to week. Her clients see her as the expert she really is. And that gives her real peace of mind.
No-shows and cancellations were never about respect, and stricter rules were never the answer.
Want the Taylor Swift Effect in your own solo clinic? In the in-depth training Skin Clinic 2.0: the next generation skin clinic, you'll learn how to make your clients see every appointment with you as one they would never miss, without strict rules, deposits or ten reminders.
Start with Skin Clinic 2.0 today