Every artist has their own policy(s) for cancellations + reschedules, so I want to make sure that I’m clear that this post in particular only references my own.
Let me begin by acknowledging this: I know, I know, my policy is strict!
I’ve been a microblading artist and business owner since 2017 and in those earlier years I experienced sooo many run-ins with no-shows and day-of reschedule requests (this was back when I hadn’t implemented a prepaid deposit fee). This resulted in me not only losing money, but most importantly, I lost a lot of time. My microblading business is my only job & source of income. Over the years I have had to learn how to avoid frustration the hard way, & as a result I’ve implemented a strict, no-nonsense cancellation policy to ensure that my time is maximized with clients that are as serious about me as I am about them.
For reference, here is my cancellation policy:
I’ll break the policy down to better explain it.
PREPAID DEPOSIT FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. THERE ARE ZERO EXCEPTIONS. THE REMAINING BALANCE WILL BE DUE AT THE END OF YOUR APPOINTMENT.
When clients book an appointment with me, a prepaid deposit fee is due to secure the requested day and time. The reason the deposit fee is non-refundable is because the appointment time is dedicated only to that client. The deposit fee is applied to the total cost of the appointment. The balance that remains will be due on the day of the appointment, once the appointment is complete.
IF YOU NEED TO RESCHEDULE, YOU MAY ONLY DO SO 48 HOURS OR MORE BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF YOUR APPOINTMENT DAY AND TIME. RESCHEDULE REQUESTS WILL NOT BE HONORED IF YOUR APPOINTMENT IS LESS THAN 48 HOURS AWAY. THERE ARE ZERO EXCEPTIONS.
The cutoff time to reschedule an appointment is 48 hours. When someone gives me less than 48 hours notice, I can no longer fill that slot in with another customer because the pre-care instructions require clients to discontinue very specific items such as aspirin and caffeine 48 hours before an appointment. So, when a client asks to reschedule the day before or on the day of their appointment -- I hate saying it this way, but that is money lost on my end. As a reminder, the prepaid deposit fees are as always, non-refundable. So as unfair as it sounds to not receive a prepaid deposit back for having to reschedule less than 48 hours prior to an appointment, the balance is that the client and I both end up being at a loss.
Something else to note regarding reschedules is that we do not reschedule appointments directly for clients since we use Square - an online booking system that we pay for to manage such requests. If you need to reschedule and you are well outside of the 48 hour cutoff window, you can reschedule your appointment anytime through Square. Simply refer back to your appointment confirmation email (if it helps to do an email search, look for “Brows By Katrina LLC has accepted your appointment”) and scroll down to the bottom of the email. There will be a link to reschedule your appointment. Tap that link & it will bring you to our calendar, where you can choose a new day & time without any penalties.
IF YOU DECIDE TO CANCEL YOUR APPOINTMENT ENTIRELY, PLEASE GIVE US AT LEAST 48 HOURS NOTICE AS A COURTESY SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO FILL YOUR DEDICATED APPOINTMENT SLOT WITH ANOTHER CLIENT. AS A REMINDER, PREPAID DEPOSIT FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE YOUR DEPOSIT BACK SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO CANCEL YOUR APPOINTMENT FOR ANY REASON.
My hope is that clients don’t spend $100+ on a non-refundable, prepaid deposit fee if they think they might cancel. I especially hope that my client’s don’t request that I refund them their non-refundable, prepaid deposit fee (this happens often)! As I mentioned before, the cancellation policy is in place to ensure that my time is maximized with clients that are as serious about me as I am about them.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT LIFE HAPPENS, BUT PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT WE CAN ONLY PROVIDE A MAXIMUM OF 10 MINUTES OF "RUNNING LATE" BEFORE MARKING YOU AS A "NO-SHOW" AND FORFEITING YOUR APPOINTMENT, AS WE ARE BOOKED BACK TO BACK DAILY.
I see clients by appointment only, and the appointments are booked back to back. When a client is more than 10 minutes late to their appointment, not only might I be rushing through the appointment (& probably coming off as rude), but most importantly I would be late to my next client’s appointment. My next client paid a deposit for their appointment to start at a specific time. From a professional standpoint, I refuse to be late to anyone’s appointment due to someone else’s tardiness. So, if/when clients show up even 11 minutes after their booked appointment time, they will be marked as a no-show & sent home. The deposit fee as always is non-refundable and again, we both end up being at a loss.
This is in place as a general courtesy not only for my time, but also out of respect for my other clients’ prepaid & booked time. It is never personal. Please be sure to plan ahead!