Member Article

Four Steps to Avoid Missed Appointments

Missed appointments happen to every business at some point and unfortunately there’s not one single way to stop customers missing appointments completely. Some businesses choose to charge their customers who fail to keep an appointment but we don’t think this is the best approach. In our opinion charging a customer for a missed appointment could just drive them to a competitor, but missed appointments do cost a business money so it’s a tricky dilemma. In this post we want to share with you four steps to avoiding missed appointments… So your business deals with no shows as little as possible.

1. Send a confirmation text or email.

How many of you have heard the expression “I completely forgot!” It happens to us all, we all lead such busy lives so it’s easy to let one little thing (like an appointment) slip out of our memory. A way to combat this is to send a reminder message a couple of days before the appointment. This has proven to significantly reduce missed appointments.

2. Take immediate payment.

If you charge for your appointments why not take payment or card details immediately? Research has found that customers are more likely to stick to appointments if they have already paid or they’re card details are on file. If you don’t want to take full payment initially, why not consider taking a deposit?

3. Set rules and stick to them.

Some companies have a certain policy in place for those that miss appointments on a regular basis. Whether it’s a three strikes and you’re out policy or maybe you decide to charge an extra 50% to their next appointment. Whatever the rule, make sure you stick to it. Appointments cost money so don’t let someone continually waste your time.

4. Keep your customers happy.

Finally it’s important to remember that you need to treat your customers in the way that you want to be treated. You should always keep your appointments and never double book. Why not try using an online scheduling system like Book the Slot who will manage your availability, take payment and send confirmations to your customers for you.

If you follow these tips you will see a massive decline in missed appointments.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chanelle .