We asked Vancouver barbers about no-show appointments and the hardships they cause
There seems to be a growing trend in Vancouver’s hair industry that we wish would fade away — missing appointments. Whether it’s a last-minute emergency or forgetting the appointment altogether, if you’ve ever left your hairstylist or barber hanging, it could turn into a hairy situation for business owners.
While the cost to you might be living with hair that’s a little too long for your liking, missing an appointment can cost your barber time, money, and your local shop’s livelihood.
To discuss the perils of missed appointments, we spoke with Regal Grooming Lounge barbers Michael Amoroso and Jairton Alencar, and Evolve Grooming barber Victor de Sa about how you can better respect your barber if you do need to miss an appointment.
Dealing with no-show appointments
While both Regal Grooming and Evolve Grooming have a cancellation fee for missed appointments, the barbers all expressed frustration with the rise of no-show appointments.
“We get paid on a sliding scale — the more services you do and the number of hours you work, the more you get paid,” says Amoroso. “So if I have five to 10 no-shows a month, that would bring down my hourly wage, along with the possibility of losing out on gratuities as well.”
Each barber navigates a range of no-show appointments, with the more established stylists dealing with it far less frequently. But, for a newcomer like Alencar, he says he deals with three to four no-shows per week, resulting in about 20 appointments lost per month.
“Because the shop has a good reputation, people want to book appointments with us,” says Alencar. “We book a lot of appointments in a day, and when people don’t show up, that is a wasted slot for a potential new client. I probably lose three or four potential clients for every no-show.”
Filling up the calendar
While the barbers are all human and certainly understand when clients miss appointments for valid reasons, they all share stories of clients who regularly cancel their appointments with little to no notice.
“I have one client who cancelled his appointment five times in one month,” says Amoroso. “He’s happy to pay the cancellation fee but doesn’t really care about my time. We’re a busy barber shop, so a few no-shows on days we’re fully booked means those few people that wanted to come to get a haircut from us can’t because of the people that just don’t care about our time.”
Amoroso also shared that some clients will often book three or four appointments within a week due to them not knowing their schedules, and simply cancel the ones they can’t make. It not only wastes his time, but it also fills up his calendar with appointments he cannot fill otherwise.
How a no-show appointment can impact your barber
The occasional missed appointment is expected, but regularly missing your haircut means lost dollars for your barber. The barbers we spoke with all had families and commuted anywhere from an hour to two hours on the SkyTrain to get to work every morning.
“I live in Surrey, and wake up early to do my morning routine so I can always show up 15 to 20 minutes before my first appointment,” says de Sa. “When that first appointment doesn’t show up, it impacts the whole day and your attitude.”
Being in a customer service role is always challenging, but Amoroso says that putting on a friendly face to all your clients is important to establish that relationship.
“You’re just trying not to give someone a bad taste in their mouth or a bad experience,” he says. “It’s hard for me [when clients miss their appointments] because I don’t want to rub clients the wrong way. I can’t be upfront with them.”
How to cancel your appointments respectfully
Life happens, and you can’t always make your appointments — your barber understands that. But, if you need to cancel an appointment last minute for a valid reason, you should always let your barber know as soon as you can, especially if you’re developing a relationship with a new barber.
“For me, it’s about respect,” says Alencar. “People need to understand this affects my opportunities to get new clients.”
De Sa echos this sentiment, and is grateful to be an established barber with an already loyal client base.
“It’s a relationship. My client knows that if they don’t show, it’s going to impact me. They have respect for my time, the business — it’s all about respect.”
“Everybody’s struggling right now, so the little things matter,” says Amoroso. “That $1 or $2 that I missed on my hourly wage could affect me drastically. I have a daughter at home, and travel an hour each way to help people. If I’m sick or miss an appointment, I’ll come in on one of my days off to make it up to those people. I try to make the effort, and would like other people to acknowledge that and make an effort as well.”
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