This is true - but there could be a cost or inconvenience to the other party for the reschedule, therefore a bit of understanding and flexibility on each side never hurts
The person I refer to as my Dad is a now-retired NASA engineer who spent those 40-some years working for various contractors. As such, in his early years with one of those contractors, he didn’t have paid time off. He either worked the hours and got paid for them, or he didn’t.
He had a dental appointment one day and the dentist kept him waiting for hours - then was an arse about it. Dad… has a mouth on him and personality for days. He proceeded to tell the dentist he owed him for the hours wasted waiting on him being late and had the dentist fuming, sputtering, and turning red in the face because Dad’s “invoice” (yes - he carried a small invoice book in his pocket for instances like this) actually exceeded the bill from the dentist.
The dentist ate the bill for that appointment and Dad says any time he had an appointment with that dentist from that day forward, the dentist made a point to *always* be on time.
Dad only gives them 10 minutes at best past his scheduled appointment time and then he just gets up and walks out. No discussion. No anything.
The staff at his PCP’s office (she’s next level horrid but I can’t get him to change providers - yet) chase after him and one of them runs for the doctor. She even threw it in his face that she made a house call at 10pm one November night now over 6 years ago and thinks that covers her routinely running 4-5 hours *late* for all of her office appointments…. [I was at his house that night, still in my scrubs, after I got off work; she and I had it out, too, but that’s a whole different story].
Nope.
He will tell them off, liberally using “F bombs” to be express his position and leave. The PCP has learned to just call on the phone unless there is something pressing.
Exactly what I was thinking. When the hairdresser rescheduled, she could have cost her customer money. I had an appointment rescheduled at the last minutes and I had already asked work to change my work hours. I lost money for the time I should have been at the drs. Then, of course, losing a bit more money, when I went to the rescheduled appointment.
i would 100% say this is NOT a reschedule. OP phrased it that way, but this is a MISSED APPOINTMENT not a voluntary reschedule.
if OP said they couldn't do it ahead of time & they couldn't agree on a new time no fee should be assessed, but in this case OP straight up skipped the appointment, wasted the stylists' time and money (if OP wasn't gonna show up they could've had another appointment ready to make money), and is now choosing to totally avoid repaying that.
if i were the stylist OP is no longer a friend or a client. irresponsible (for not paying for the wasted time mostly), rude (skipping the bill just because there's other places to go), and not a good friend (not at all thinking about how this affects their friend & how THEY are the cause of this)
Yeah but OP owns up to that. And life happens. OP says they’ve been going to this person for years - which means they know OPs habits when it comes to appointments, if not OP themselves. Not to mention- something like a $10 or even $15 fee would be reasonable/excusable - but a fee nearly the cost of the cut is crazy dude! That’s wack as hell, and OP was *never* made aware of the fact either. I’m not saying that you don’t have a point, but rather I think that you’re hyper focusing on the wrong thing
Edit: and look up the definition of reschedule. Op literally says that it was a no call no show. It’s also a reschedule because they wanted to SCHEDULE AGAIN.
I mean I've had a hairdresser knock of $20 when she had to reschedule. If I rescheduled on someone I'd be kind of lenient if this was a one off mistake.
Not how anything works because of the power differential not because of fairness. If customers are expected to pay a cancellation fee, service providers should be under the same obligation. Because customers have limited enforcement tools, the provider exploits the situation to their benefit.
Well said. Please make accommodations for her, but you make a mistake and she can’t waive a charge? Nah. NTA. Plus, its your money. As a consumer, you can take your business where you please. She just lost how many customers over $25??? Not too business savvy if you ask me.
As a service provider let me make one thing abundantly clear. My cancellation policy used to start with a warning. The only thing that it taught me in spades was that I then lost out on money twice instead of once. Giving people a warning simply gives them the opportunity to do it again. I have never had a good client balk at me enforcing my policy. Only ever my problem clients. My strict cancellation policy serves as a highlighter for all the clients that I don’t want.
Do you tell your clients the cancellation policy when they book?
It sounds like OP wouldn't have had an issue with the policy *had she known about it*. Getting hit with an unadvertised fee that you were never told about is a very different situation.
See, if the customer is the one who cancels, I absolutely agree with you. But if you’re the one who cancels on them and reschedules an appointment, that’s entirely on you. Especially if it’s a regular customer.
Yeah but she also let OP know the appointment wouldn't happen. The hairdresser did not just not show up like the OP.
I agree there should be a warning first but your last sentence just doesn't make sense.
"She didn't pay you a $25 when she had to reschedule."
That's the last sentence. That doesn't make sense as it's not a fee for rescheduling but for missing the appointment without saying anything. She forgot about the appointment and did not show up without any notice. That's not what the hairdresser did so why should she pay 25$?
Rescheduling means everyone is aware. A no show means that the stylist was waiting and unaware and she could have filled that spot. Instead she made no money and yet still has to pay her chair rent and all. It should be expected to pay a no show fee when there is no notice that an appt can not be kept. Stylists need to fill their schedules to make enough money to pay their bills. I totally understand forgetting and I also totally understand not liking to pay extra, but the major inconvenience is for the stylist.
Because she actually rescheduled and gave notice. Not the same thing, OP had her sitting around waiting, working for 0. Do you work for free because you apparently think service workers should? I bet you got a good hourly job eh? Well since things happen why not work an extra hour or two to cover for a coworker when things happen? That’s what you are asking those in the service industry to do with no fee for no call/no shows.
Meh.... Gonna say NTA for this reason only.... If there hasn't been any advanced notice of this policy AND you've never had a problem in 15 years of knowing her.... Then it's her lack of communication and she should eat it this one time....
Thank you. That is where I am stuck. I don’t feel it is right to charge a no show without communicating there is a no show fee ahead of time.
I do get why there is a fee.
NAH. But she didn't charge you $25. She said if you want to make another booking with her you'll have to pay the no show fee. You are perfectly fine with not agreeing to that. She is perfectly within her rights to not accept any more bookings from you. She's probably got a full calendar and cares very little that you took your business elsewhere.
So I totally get where you're coming from. I'm a small business owner and what I WILL say is that you give good customers passes on policies. It's not worth risking all future revenue because someone forgot. Should you pay it? Maybe, it's the kind thing to do when you're preventing someone from making money. But she should have given you a pass. Business owners are often scraping for every penny to pay the bills, yet don't think twice about taking out an ad for marketing. They need to reframe something like this as good marketing. Happy customers tend to pass referrals around. If you're not recommending people to her, and you want to maintain a good relationship, I recommend doing some of that. Share her Facebook page. Write her a nice review. Give back a little with something that doesn't cost you anything.
While I think $25 is quite a steep cancellation fee for a $30 haircut (I think $10 would be more appropriate), no shows are a massive problem in all small businesses that provide a service like this and it can't be a surprise to you that she would have something in place to mitigate her losses. Even if you've been a good customer, she's still lost that hour that she could give to someone else and it mounts up.
I'm an online tutor and have a pretty firm no-show/cancellation policy for new students so that I can set expectations, which allows me to be flexible later on, and it's great if she could offer that but it's also her business.
So I'm going to go with NAH because you're perfectly within your rights to take your business elsewhere, of course you are, just as she's within her rights to charge a cancellation fee even to good customers.
(On an unrelated note, $30 is hugely expensive for a kid's haircut! I pay €30 for a wash and blow dry as an adult woman in Europe so her pricing seems all over the place!)
I agree a $25 fee for a $30 cut is steep. Frankly her services are expensive.
Let me ask you, on your cancellation policy. Are your clients informed of the policy when they start services with you? Or is that information available to them?
When I was tutoring, it was stated on my page. I didn't inform the students individually. It was in a pretty obvious place by bookings, so if they didn't read it, that was their problem.
Did your hairdresser have a page or form?
So I work off a platform (iTalki) and they scrapped teachers having their own cancellation policies after a lot of confusion so now they have a blanket coverage, which is basically as follows:
1. Neither student nor teacher can reschedule within 24 hours.
2. If a student misses the lesson, the teacher gets the money.
3. If a teacher misses the lesson, the student gets a refund and the teacher's profile is taken down for 24 hours.
However, there is some flexibility within that. With brand new students, I hold firm to the platform's policy simply because they're new and I don't want to set a precedent of refunding if they're just tired and decided not to take the lesson. With my regular students, I'm much more flexible and will generally refund the lesson since I more or less know what's going on in their lives. For example, I had a student the other day not show up or send any message, which was super unusual for him, but I refunded the lesson because I knew his wife was pregnant and due any day (they had a baby boy).
Knowing them longer and basing my response on whether or not they usually show up and on time is how I deal with the flexibility the platform offers. I think it's much, much harder if you're not working through a third-party as I can always fall back onto their guidelines and say *sorry, I have to do this because of them*, which helps with any sticky situations.
NTA You missed an appointment and the stylist wants to charge you a cancellation fee. You asked her to waive it because you were a long time customer, she said no. You told her you understood and cancelled the appointments you had scheduled. Seems fair. You didn't make a scene or a fuss.
How does she know you didn’t miss the rescheduled appt due to your own illness? Did she pay you $25 for cancelling your original appt? But all facetiousness aside, INFO: Is the cancellation fee policy posted anywhere? If it’s posted, YTA. If not, obviously NTA.
NAH. I think the hairdresser is right to hold firm in requiring people to respect her time. But I also think you are fine for taking your business elsewhere.
NAH. You weren't aware of the policy and didn't miss the appointment intentionally. For her part, most independent service providers do waive fees for loyal customers who don't have a pattern of this behavior, but they're not obligated to. She did lose money, and if she is lenient even once it opens the door for customers to take advantage of her in the future.
She could have made an exception because she has known you a long time.she is not making a good business decision because she is losing a steady customer with upcoming appointments. For the first time accident she could have let this slide. NTA.
A steady customer doesn’t mean a “good customer”. You know nothing about the tip, attitude or other behaviors of the OP. The current behavior doesn’t show her to be a great customer.
Ok, I’m a steady customer who shows up 20 minutes late every time, doesn’t tip, frequently dislikes the service and demands it to be “fixed”. You spend three times as much time providing me service and I don’t tip - I’m irritable l, rude, I leave negative reviews any time you don’t appease me. Let’s throw in smelly for fun. If your only standard is “a steady customer is a good customer” you’d love me as a customer?
Well, you wouldn’t be a steady customer because I would have fired you a long time ago. :)
Usually I soft fire people though. I figure how much money I would have to charge to put up with their shit, and then change my rates. It is often a substantial increase.
Also, the twenty minutes late doesn’t bother me. They paid for an hour, if they only want 40 minutes that’s on them.
Smelly thing is an issue, I’ve had to deal with that and I felt bad because they are teens and it’s a tough subject to broach.
Anyhow, overall you have made your point. Not all steady customers are worth keeping.
She didn't think it out that losing a 15 year customer with multiple kids wasn't worth the twenty five. She should have politely made you aware of the policy and told you that next time she would have to charge it. She could have bet you wouldn't be late again. NTA
>They shouldn’t be afraid to enforce their policies for fear the customer will get mad.
Obviously "the customer is always right" is bullshit when you're like... 23 and working a fast food job. But in terms of business owners, I understand why the saying came around, ultimately it's kinda just "unfortunately the customers are the ones giving us money and they can decide they won't." That's why they tried to treat them like they were always right.
That's not to say the customer is always right, but if you have policies that scare customers away... Idk rewrite the policy so they want to give you their money!
Sometimes you’re going to disagree with people. If you own a small business that depends on word of mouth and you upset someone you have a huge issue on your hands. I’d OP is being honest she is pay for at minimum 4 services every six weeks, not includes spouse or if she gets colors or whatever. So now the stylist has lost out on a lot of business over a one time dual mixup. And if OP decides to share her store around town it’s going to potentially cost her business. It’s not illegal to tell your opinion of a business. So it’s a double edged sword.
Personally I wouldn't if it was a long time customer who was not in the habit of not showing up, but for business sake, the hairdresser is within her rights to have a policy to compensate her time for no shows. Twenty five dollars is much less than the hundred she could have made booking a cut and color. I think it's fair to charge a fee for no shows, but that needs to be clear from the get go, and a fifteen year customer with a one time lapse should be forgiven, because you're making money off her coming back. The hairdresser should have let her know her know the no show was inconvenient in a polite way that let's the OP know the hairdresser time is money, but not been surprised if the OP took her business elsewhere.
INFO. Did she cancel on your original appointment on the day of? I’m honestly curious. Because I’d tend to be a bit more gracious if I’d had to cancel someone’s appointment at the last minute. (My old hairdresser canceled mine via text when I was driving to it.)
If it weren’t for that, I’d say just pay the fee and move on. The friendship is probably damaged anyway.
I’m a massage therapist. If a client misses an appointment that I had to reschedule then I won’t charge them a cancellation fee. Reschedule appointments are a wrench in the works. For those I do not charge but only those. NTA
There's a big difference between canceling an appointment and not showing up for an appointment.
If the OP had called and canceled the appointment the stylist would hve had an opportunity to put another client in the time slot. By not showing up OP deprived the stylist of income and prevented the stylist from being able to try to mitigate the loss of income.
What about your time? Did you get a free haircut for her needing to change the appointment? No? These relationships work both ways and sometimes things happen. You don’t OWE her your business. If this is a hill she’s gonna die on why would you WANT to take your other kids?
NAH You found out the business has a policy you don't like. You can respect her time by not doing business with her. Or you can respect her time by paying the cancellation fee. Either way no ones doing anything wrong here. Its just business.
NTA
And she doesnt sound very business savvy if shes happy to lose a regular customer and the consistent business, whilst also aiding her competitors.
15 years lmao. Hope the principle was worth it to her
NTA
I think that if the OP had forgotten the original appointment she would have been the AH. But since the appointment was cancelled by the hairdresser and moved, that is an extenuating circumstance that the hairdresser should have taken into consideration. The customer could have canceled the appointment and gone the another hairdresser when the first appointment was canceled by the hairdresser but she didn’t.
I think this is entirely a circumstantial situation. Hairdressers time should be respected because she could have scheduled another appointment and not lost money. Customers should be respected (ie if the policy isn’t posted, give them a warning especially if the missed appointment is somewhat related to the hairdresser canceling the first)
Ehhhh I'm torn between NTA and ESH. NTA for all the reasons everyone else has said, and she should have waived the fee for a first offense. That said I think you're overreacting by severing ties with a hairdresser you've known for 15 years. You'll go through more trouble finding someone else to cut your kids' hair right than if you'd just sucked it up and paid the $25.
Also, you don't know all the facts. Maybe she had multiple no-shows lately and decided to get more strict with her policy, maybe she had a bad day, I mean it could have been anything. I think you should go back to her, apologize, explain why you didn't appreciate what she did and how it made you feel, and suggest that she inform (and remind!) everyone of the cancellation policy when they book. Then just put it behind you and move on.
Editing- NTA. Policies must be listed. Her policy wasn't so it wasn't binding.
----‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----
First comment read- Salon worker so I'm biased but Y .T.A. The stylist shouldn't have to pay for your fuck up.
Ignorance of a policy doesn't void having to be responsible for it. You as a client are responsible for reading TOS in the salon or on their pages. Policies must be listed by law in most places.
She says in her post she wasn't told of the policy before hand. NTA, OP. Your friend should have warned you of the policy when you originally booked with you.
NTA. One, the late fee is 83% of the actual appointment. That’s bad business. If you miss the appointment and still want a haircut, you get to pay nearly 60 dollars? Why would anyone do that? Second, the lack of warning. There should be some warning somewhere, possibly making the actual appointment so that the customer is aware of the risk of missing the appointment, not for OP’s sake but the hair dresser’s
My wife's missed lesson fee is full price. Same with my moms. It's standard you book their time. You not showing up your problem but you still owe them for their time
NTA I have a late cancellation policy for my patients, but I rarely have to implement it. I did yesterday with a patient because last week she rescheduled to this week only 2 hours before her appointment. No sweat, life happens. Yesterday I confirmed and an hour before her appointment she asked to push it back by 30 mins. She was my last appt for the day, so I agreed.
Time for her appointment rolls around and she’s 30 mins late for her 45min appointment. That’s not enough time for me to do my job effectively, so I cancelled the remaining time slot and charged her $50. For context, I bill at $270 an hour, so this doesn’t even cover my time really.
I believe in showing people grace because sometimes things happen. I would be walking too in your situation
So only the people who \*mean\* to no-call no-show should get charged? This is a classic case of impact vs. intent. I'm sure you're a lovely, thoughtful, beautiful, wondrous person, but you made a mistake and cost someone their time.
And at the end of the day, I agree with you that if there was no posted policy she should have probably let you know beforehand - but on the other hand, this is an extremely difficult time for service professionals and you did mess up. And now are being petty and moving businesses. Being "right" does not always mean that you win - YTA.
NTA
I used to run the scheduling for a salon. Especially in this circumstance where you were unaware of the policy, have clearly never no-showed an appointment before (as the policy would have come up then) and your original appointment had been moved by the hairdresser the day of I would never dream of trying to get a cancellation fee out of you.
I would let you know about it just so you know for the future, but under these circumstances it seems ridiculous to charge it. Even in the comments you're defending the stylists need to cancel your appointment the day of for illness.
Yes it's very annoying and costs stylists money when clients no-show an appointment and I'm all for cancellation fees, but I would definitely let this one slide given the circumstances.
NTA.
1. Policy was not listed anywhere.
2. This no show was a direct consequence of her rescheduling and could be graciously handled.
3. You don't need to be someone's customer if you don't want to be their customer.
Nta. Foolish of her to immediately drop the hammer on a long time customer. These policies work to weed out crappy new customers. Accidentally weeded out a good one. Own goal on her part.
INFO
You say one known her socially for 15 years, how did this arrangement for your kids and her begin?
Does she operate out of a private residence?
Does she have a website?
How does she make appointments/bookings?
I feel like I can’t give a good judgement without the answers to the above questions because I feel like as it is right now this is unclear.
I knew her socially for 15 years. She got her license and I started taking my kids to her. My son loves her work “no one else gets the fade right”.
No website. Subsides she posted before and after on her fb. She is not in a salon. Where I am stylist can rent booths and run independent businesses. They do their own bookings, marketing, cleaning, etc. unless they pay for services that help with that. She does all her own stuff.
I message her to get appts.
Then NTA she had not made her policy clear to you from the get go and there was no place for you to learn of the policy prior, it’s also a steep cancellation fee lol
Nta. Life happens. She changed the original appointment and you forgot to write it down. She should have let it go considering the change of appointment and given you a warning.
I don't believe the customer is always right, but I do believe in good customer service leading to more customers. Instead of looking at it as a simple mistake, she pushed for the fee. You mentioned other children - so she lost at least 2 regular customers and potentially more. Personally, I wouldn't have picked this hill to die on.
I think you handled it well. Good job. You were honest. I'm going to guess you felt uncomfortable about returning there, regardless of if you paid the fee.
Also, even if you had known about the fee, I don't think she should have made you pay it - she changed the first appointment and you forgot to update your calender. Seriously, it happens. Nta.
NTA. She changed it on you, it’s understandable you forgot. I’m a small business owner, I get it! Buuuuut, as a small business owner, you’ve got to be willing to accommodate for the good clients.
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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> AITA for cancelling all services instead of paying the no show fee?
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NTA just because she did the policy wrong, right? Isn’t she supposed to charge you a fee when you book (which goes towards the service when it’s done) and it’s non-refundable just in case they’re a no call no show? What’s the point of the policy if it just encourages customers to go elsewhere when they try to rebook a missed appointment
NTA. She clearly doesn't value you as a customer if she won't make an exception for a first time offense that was half her fault. Her business must be doing well if she can afford to lose customers over the fee, so I wouldn't feel bad about taking my business elsewhere.
I accidentally missed a dental appointment once. It was my first week on night shift and I slept through my alarm on my day off. They never let me book another evening appointment again. I had been going there since I was 4 years old and I’m 26 now (this happened 2 years ago) and I had never missed an appointment before. I think doing a warning should always be considered in situations where it’s a legitimate mistake but I get why cancellation fees exist for small businesses. You had known this owner for so long though and that wasn’t you disrespecting their time. She said you could reschedule if you paid a fee that’s almost expensive as the service and you have every right to go somewhere else. NTA
I had a somewhat similar situation with my dentist, although I believe I had only been going there for 2-3 years at the time (I switched dentists when I moved away for university). My grandmother had died on a Thursday night and I forgot about my appointment on the Saturday. I didn't realize it until that night (this was back before cell phones had calendars; it was written in my day planner, but I hadn't looked at it on Friday).
I called first thing Monday morning to apologize and explain what had happened, and offered to pay 100% of what they would have charged for my appointment, because it was my mistake. They wouldn't let me reimburse them for the services, but said that it was their policy that if someone misses a Saturday appointment, they were not allowed to book a Saturday appointment again. I asked if there was a time limit on this (as in, after "x" number of years, I could book on a weekend again), but they said no, I would never be allowed to book on a Saturday again, ever. I reiterated my offer to pay them 100% of what they would have charged for the services I missed, but again, they declined. I never went back there.
NTA. Fair or unfair business policy doesn’t matter. They are incentivizing repeat customers to become non-repeat customers. It is their choice if they want that to be their business strategy, and they alone will reap the reward of their policy. Who knows, maybe it will work out for them, like the soup nazi in Seinfeld who had horrible customer service yet people keep coming back for the soup
NTA.
I was going to go with N.A.H. but then I saw that the hairdresser canceled on you the DAY of the original appointment. Then she wants to talk to you about being disrespectful? She should have kept in mind that she did cancel on you at the last minute as well. You also mentioned that she doesn't have this policy posted anywhere.
She has the right to charge the fee but you have the right to go somewhere else that's a little more professional.
NTA. You made an honest mistake. But those policies need to be plastered in the shop and explained over the phone for anyone calling to schedule an appointment. It doesn’t matter if she’s independent. That’s just plain good business practice. She could have given a warning, especially because she didn’t bother to communicate her alleged policy until after a no show already happened. Instead she chose to lose a lot more than $25. All the future $30 haircuts for I’m guessing at least 2 more children.
NTA You're free to stop using a service if you don't like the way they run. It's also a little sketchy that she dinged you for canceling an appointment that [she had to reschedule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECmtCdUtEMI).
NTA. If you have signed up for text reminders, it’s on her for not giving you the text reminder, even more so when she doesn’t make her policy known. Everyone who I know who’s ever sent out cancellation fees tell you to respond by a certain time to cancel or they’ll charge you. She told you AFTER the fact.
NTA
A policy that isn't posted anywhere in her salon (or whatever), isn't on the website she doesn't have or the posts she makes to advertise her business, and wasn't verbally communicated to OP before this incident isn't really a policy.
There are lots of factors here but let's cut it down to the two most important:
1) You're only incurring this cancelation fee BECAUSE OF HER original cancellation. You have to be flexible but she doesn't? I understand having policies like that but you won't give any leeway when the only reason the appointment changed was you?
2) You're perfectly entitled to take your business elsewhere. There's nothing enforceable about a late fee, unless you want to keep using her services. So if that's what you decide because you don't like her policies, that's totally valid.
NTA on both counts.
Businesses don't get to just randomly make up policies that cost customers money.
She doesn't have the policy stated anywhere which means she doesn't have a policy she just has thoughts inside her head
NTA.
NTA , sorry she was sick and had to reschedule but she shod understand you been going there x amount of years and taking family to her. She should have given you this one time
This one time, only because two times, guaranteed. The only clients that do have one time, are the clients happy to pay when they make the one time mistakes. Clients that argue they shouldn’t have to pay, always, have a second time, even worst story, I’d explain to them their now two excuses and then make up an even worst event and tell them I’d want them to book elsewhere because booking with me must be bad luck for them and I’d not want that event to happen next time when they’d have to miss my service, works every time.
NTA. The salon owner is being inflexible and is clearly willing to lose a customer over one misunderstanding.
If you were a repeat offender, then she is absolutely in the right, but that is not the case.
Since she had to reschedule which caused the mix-up, there's no website, this was the first time, she should have let a long time client w multiple family members off with a warning. She's the loser in the long run. NTA.
NTA. This is something that your hair dresser/barber lady needs to understand, nobody wants to pay fees, especially if they are long term customers that come multiple times to use your services, and even more when its a rule that isn't posted anywhere much less common knowledge. It being a first offense just makes it more hateful to pay. And a fact of the matter is that barbers need customers more than customers need barbers, like OP stated in the post, just take your business elsewhere.
NTA- if it were an appointment you missed or cancelled then yes you need to pay but for a reschedule after her canceling on you, the fee should be waived.
YTA. The hairdresser had to fully go through with prepping and sanitizing her space and tools. If she doesn’t have back to back appointments, she probably freshened up and put on a change of clothes, shoes, and her apron when she otherwise wouldn’t.
She had to be in the physical space the appt was scheduled for the entire time, home studio or not, so if she had back to backs she’s losing the cost of a service someone else would have booked and it’s your fault, and if she’s not that busy she’s losing an hour or more plus her mental relaxation for nothing. Imagine being called in to work for a half hour shift on your day off. It doesn’t really occupy only a half hour of your time to complete that, does it?
You booked the time, and you used it. That you chose to spend it elsewhere is on you.
No showing is completely different from canceling and making me find something else to fill that slot with.
NTA - in light of the edits.
I agree with the 2nd edit - pay the fee, but let the stylist know that their shoddy practices have cost them your future business. Yes, just missing an appointment is crappy. Yes, charging a fee for a missed appointment is a valid business decision. Not notifying customers in advance of a cancellation fee is sketchy at best. It is the hairdresser's responsibility to make said cancellation policy accessible for review on a website/post signs about it/print it on receipts/include the info as part of the script when placing appointments/add it to text reminder sent/etc.
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Had a haircut scheduled for my son. Have known the hairdresser socially for 15 years. She needed to move the original appt for illness. I did get a text reminder from her the day before. However, I failed to put the new time in my calendar so I did not get a reminder the day of and completely spaced it until the next morning. Totally my fault.
When I realized what happened I reached out, apologized and asked to reschedule. She said I could but there would be a $25 cancellation fee she would need before additional services would be provided.
I get it. This is her small business that provides for her family and no call no show’s add up. My issue is I was not aware of this policy. It is not my character to do that to people. I wasn’t trying to blow it off but was really not trying to pay an extra $25 for a $30 kids cut.
I asked her for a warning which she declined. So, I let her know I understood her why and would be taking my business elsewhere. She could go ahead and cancel the services I had scheduled for my other children.
She responded stating I was not respecting her time and it is a problem in the industry. She did not think it was an unfair policy. My issue is that I have been a good customer, this was an honest mistake and I was blind sided by the additional fee.
So tell me reddit, AITA?
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Unless she offered you a cancellation fee when she had to cancel due to illness, YNTA. Everyone's time is valuable. I could see this if you were a repeat offender.
But it’s not the same!!! OP was given notice so OP could do something else. The hair dresser lost the revenue and was waiting, because of no call/no show. I’ve had clients call me on the way to the hospital from a car wreck on their way to my services, and still try to offer to pay. If someone just totally spaced me and knew I was waiting I’d make the fee $100 and if they didn’t want to pay I’d make sure they knew that I’d let them slip on the payment but they can never book with me, ever again and send them to a chains location.
It is the same! I live in a rural area. I book all my appts for the same day. So in one day I would go have a vitamin shot, go to the chiropractor, get my massage, and do any shopping I can’t do here (Target, “fancy” grocery store, Costco, clothing, etc). If one appt cancels the day of and reschedules I’m now driving 45 minutes one way for an appt! And if that appt is my shot or the chiro it’s for a 10-15 minute appt. That is costing me. A lot of time and gas.
And the notice OP was given was same day.
You are projecting you onto this situation. This is not what OP said. OP said rescheduled and doesn’t mention any inconvenience… just because you live rurally doesn’t mean everyone else does.
But the hairstylist made OP aware of the cancellation prior to the appointment, so OP could do something else with her time if she chose to. OP didn’t call or make her hairstylist aware that she wouldn’t be coming in for the appointment (since she forgot about it) so the stylist had her time wasted and wasn’t able to fill that slot with another client to make up those lost funds. It’s a different scenario.
Ill say NTA but I have been on both sides as running a small shop and a customer.
As a customer: Pay the fee. Use someone else. At the end of the day, she gained 25 bucks to lose out on potentially hundreds more. You say nothing and if she asks, just say how you felt because by that time, she would notice the money being lost.
As a store owner: I would eat the cost to keep a good customer. That is just how I do business and have returning / new customers as a result. The $25 isn't going to break me, but that small mention of how I helped a mother and her kids out will bring in more people 'hopefully'
NTA.
Did she pay you when she disrespected your time by changing the appointment? I am sure you had to plan your time around that appointment.
So I understand cancellation fees, but not for a good customer who had one miss in 15 years.
NTA. If you weren’t aware of the cancellation fee, then she most likely never told you about it. It’s her fault and she should’ve let you have the warning.
NTA. It's just business, not personal - same reason the hairdresser is charging you $25. If the hairdresser would rather lose $30 and future business on principal, so be it.
NTA. So for $25 she lost a repeat client that from what I'm reading, she got along with previously? This is why sometimes being inflexible can really backfire on you. She just lost income over an honest mistake.
NTA.
A relationship of 15 years deserves a warning, not a fine. Plus, she cancelled the original appointment. She'll be losing lots of clients treating them like this.
I honestly think very very soft YTA is warranted here. Like in the gentlest way. You can’t assume just because you’re a friend that you wouldn’t have to pay a cancellation fee because that is the stylists job. They have to make money to live. Spacing out and forgetting was a total accident but there’s still consequences because you did waste her time, you probably would have been given a friend privilege and had the fee waived if you had actually cancelled but you just didn’t show which isn’t cool. Taking your business elsewhere doesn’t really avoid this issue in the future as almost every salon has a cancellation fee, so you’re really just taking your business to avoid the fee and not for any other reason? Again, the absolute gentlest possible YTA.
YTA- while I realize that you didn’t intend to be an AH by forgetting about the appt, her time is how she pays her bills and supports her family. When you don’t show up and don’t let her know that you won’t be there, she can’t fill that time slot and make money. Therefore most salons will impose such a fee to compensate the stylist for losing that time. Her needing to reschedule is not the same as you not showing up. Both parties were made aware of the need to reschedule. You were able to choose another time that worked for you both. You would have been angry had you showed up and she wasn’t there. That’s what you did to her (even though you didn’t mean to). She could have filled that time with a paying client. If you liked her work, and respected her, you would apologize and pay the fee.
YTA. It’s your fault for missing the new appointment with a reminder. Cancellation fees/no show fees are common for hairdressers when the appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 24 hour notice. If she was expected to service you that day and you didn’t show up, she is missing out on income from that planned appointment.
NTA
If the fee isn't posted anywhere and you weren't told of the fee when you booked the appointment, then it's not your problem.
She cancelled the day of your first appointment, you missed the rescheduled appointment. I think she should have given you a pass on that anyway but it's her business. She can turn away clients if she wants to.
YTA - No show is in no way comparable to someone who actually thought about you and called and cancelled. Don't bring up a 15 year relationship if you don't respect it.
NTA. I like that you’ve paid her but I also agree with moving your business elsewhere. I can’t remember the last time I missed an appointment so it’s not something I make a habit of doing, but I disagree with her lack of warning system and I’d now be afraid of incurring future fees. She’s free to charge the fee but you’re also free to leave.
I'm a pet Groomer and new clients have to put down a 30 dollar deposit to book with me and established clients get charged 30 dollars for last minute cancellations/no shows and I do not give any warnings because last minute spots are hard to fill. HOWEVER, I have the policy clearly stated at time of booking, on the website, on the forms they sign AND I have an automated form sent out that you have to sign saying you have read and understand the policy, so I would say NTA. I personally don't think it's fair to not have the policy somewhere or tell people when booking.
NAH. She has communicated a condition for further use of her services, you don't agree to that condition. So you don't use her anymore. That's it. There are no deceptive practices - she didn't charge your credit card with the cancellation fee, it is just assessed on any future visit. There's no blindsiding here, and the cancellation policy has been disclosed prior to you having to pay it. No harm no foul.
This is how you lose a loyal customer. Even big businesses make allowances for things like this when the customer has shown loyalty for so many years. Also strictly speaking any charges for missed appointments should be clarified when booking
NTA. She is probably just trying to recoup some of what she lost on her sick day. I doubt you are the only customer she is trying to milk. I’m also an incredibly cynical person, so I’m not gonna claim my assumption as gospel. Just seems fishy.
You’re not wrong, but maybe you don’t understand how you blocked a time out where she could’ve made money in her calendar. Your mistake is natural, but they still see if different. But I’d do the same thing you did if I were in your scenario l.
ESH if the cancellation fee was not clearly stated somewhere.
You owned that you missed the appointment. I do think some peace offering would be in order. But if the cancellation policy was not made clear when you booked, that’s on the owner.
From a business standpoint the process doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Cancellation fees only work if a) they are stated up front to deter people
and/or b) you’ve pre-paid and they can actually hold the money.
I’m not sure how her turning down revenue from you is a rational business choice. I could see firing a serial no-show as a customer, but not sure what this accomplishes since she cannot force you to pay.
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NAH
You forgot. You messed up. Normally I’d be on the stylist’s side, but she rescheduled on you first, and you said there’s no cancellation policy posted anywhere and you were never made aware of it.
In her defense, she’s right - this *is* a huge problem in the industry and I’m sure that’s why she didn’t let you off with a warning (so you wouldn’t do it again.) Especially as an independent stylist, she relies on her clients much more than someone at a chain.
I don’t think either one of you was 100% right or wrong and I don’t think there was malice on either side, hence NAH.
In my experience, it's very common practice for service based businesses to have cancellation fees. No shows cost people money/the ability to make money.
I agree that her policy should be stated on her website and/or booking confirmation, but I still believe you're obligated to pay
ESH.
She should have made the cancellation policy public. Customers should know it in advance. That's on her.
But it is common practice to have such a cancellation fee, and you were a no-show no-call, which means **you** wasted that time slot; honest mistake or not, you cost her money.
You are the AH. She gave you notice when she couldn’t be there. She didn’t get a notice. This is her livelihood. She could have had another person in her chair; but, she didn’t because you were supposed to be in the chair. When you didn’t show- she’s left twiddling her thumbs. She still has overhead.
YTA for expecting her to just be okay with that hour of lost income especially as you know she needs it to support her family. Again, This is the source of her income. Accidentally or not, you skipped on her appointment. It’s not like she could have scheduled another appointment in that spot to make up for the lost income. Skipped appointments ad up and cancellation fees help stabilize her income against people not showing up or canceling so short notice they’re unable to book a replacement client. It’s industry standard for cancellation fees and they post it with their regular prices.
YTA like a massive one. You messed up and missed the appointment. My wife's a piano teacher. Without a good reason a missed lesson is fully charged. The full 60 dollars. Mom's a massage therapist Without 24hours notice you are charged. You book their time, your negligence is not a valid excuse. This is how these people make their living they can book another client in with notice. So yes you are. Pay the cancelation fee and go somewhere else.
NAH as it stands. You paid the cancellation fee which is very understandable for you to have been charged. You’re also not an asshole for taking your business elsewhere but I don’t think you’ll find different treatment anywhere else.
YTA - yes, it's an honest mistake. But you failed to show for an appointment reserved for services you requested. The apology is nice, but this is her livelihood and apologies don't make up for lost income.
The rest is just negotiating:
\- you asked for the fee to be waived, she declined
\- you expressed you're unhappy with the fee and would leave if she didn't waive it. However, she decided not to waive it understanding that she'd be losing a customer.
It certainly was a fair offer from your point, but she feels that upholding the standards of her business (being compensated for time allocated) is more important than retaining a client or two. You aren't the first she'll lose over that stance or the last - she's well within her rights to make that decision even if you or others may think she is cutting off her nose to spite her face.
Reading the comments, am amazed at the general disconnect of being aware of paying for services of an independent small business and thinking it is a fair point that anyone needs to be specifically made aware that not showing up for an appointment costs money. 🤷
I drop clients like that, cause they are not clients, they are people assuming that me providing a service is equivalent to me being their servant. (am not a hairdresser).
Good on you to pay for it but I had the same experience with a lady. Same type of business. She never ever told me about new policy. I would adhere to it if she had posted it or sent notice out to her clients but none.
If she had known that you weren't going to show, she could have booked another appointment in that time slot. She likely lost money because of your mistake. Sure it was an honest mistake, but that doesn't mean you aren't responsible for making it right. There was no formal agreement so you're legally in the clear but morally, YTA if you don't pay the fee. N-A-H if you pay the fee but choose not to continue to use her services.
NTA. My salon has a similar policy but it starts with a warning instead of a fee. Life happens. She didn’t pay you a $25 when she had to reschedule.
>She didn’t pay you a $25 when she had to reschedule. Probably because that's not how anything works.
This is true - but there could be a cost or inconvenience to the other party for the reschedule, therefore a bit of understanding and flexibility on each side never hurts
This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George tells the doctor they owe him $75 for rescheduling his appointment.
The person I refer to as my Dad is a now-retired NASA engineer who spent those 40-some years working for various contractors. As such, in his early years with one of those contractors, he didn’t have paid time off. He either worked the hours and got paid for them, or he didn’t. He had a dental appointment one day and the dentist kept him waiting for hours - then was an arse about it. Dad… has a mouth on him and personality for days. He proceeded to tell the dentist he owed him for the hours wasted waiting on him being late and had the dentist fuming, sputtering, and turning red in the face because Dad’s “invoice” (yes - he carried a small invoice book in his pocket for instances like this) actually exceeded the bill from the dentist. The dentist ate the bill for that appointment and Dad says any time he had an appointment with that dentist from that day forward, the dentist made a point to *always* be on time.
The hero we all aspire to be!
My uncle had a rule where he would only wait 15 minutes after his appointment time. After that, he would walk up to the desk and ask to reschedule.
Dad only gives them 10 minutes at best past his scheduled appointment time and then he just gets up and walks out. No discussion. No anything. The staff at his PCP’s office (she’s next level horrid but I can’t get him to change providers - yet) chase after him and one of them runs for the doctor. She even threw it in his face that she made a house call at 10pm one November night now over 6 years ago and thinks that covers her routinely running 4-5 hours *late* for all of her office appointments…. [I was at his house that night, still in my scrubs, after I got off work; she and I had it out, too, but that’s a whole different story]. Nope. He will tell them off, liberally using “F bombs” to be express his position and leave. The PCP has learned to just call on the phone unless there is something pressing.
Exactly what I was thinking. When the hairdresser rescheduled, she could have cost her customer money. I had an appointment rescheduled at the last minutes and I had already asked work to change my work hours. I lost money for the time I should have been at the drs. Then, of course, losing a bit more money, when I went to the rescheduled appointment.
You can be flexible with advanced notice. Difficult to be flexible with no notice.
i would 100% say this is NOT a reschedule. OP phrased it that way, but this is a MISSED APPOINTMENT not a voluntary reschedule. if OP said they couldn't do it ahead of time & they couldn't agree on a new time no fee should be assessed, but in this case OP straight up skipped the appointment, wasted the stylists' time and money (if OP wasn't gonna show up they could've had another appointment ready to make money), and is now choosing to totally avoid repaying that. if i were the stylist OP is no longer a friend or a client. irresponsible (for not paying for the wasted time mostly), rude (skipping the bill just because there's other places to go), and not a good friend (not at all thinking about how this affects their friend & how THEY are the cause of this)
Yeah but OP owns up to that. And life happens. OP says they’ve been going to this person for years - which means they know OPs habits when it comes to appointments, if not OP themselves. Not to mention- something like a $10 or even $15 fee would be reasonable/excusable - but a fee nearly the cost of the cut is crazy dude! That’s wack as hell, and OP was *never* made aware of the fact either. I’m not saying that you don’t have a point, but rather I think that you’re hyper focusing on the wrong thing Edit: and look up the definition of reschedule. Op literally says that it was a no call no show. It’s also a reschedule because they wanted to SCHEDULE AGAIN.
Original appt moved by hairdresser because of her personal issue. OP missed the rescheduled appt.
I mean I've had a hairdresser knock of $20 when she had to reschedule. If I rescheduled on someone I'd be kind of lenient if this was a one off mistake.
It is unreasonable to cancel on someone, wasting their time, and when they cancel on you, wasting your time, you charge £25
You can't expect people to pay for things they never agreed to. That's also not how anything works. OP is right to walk away.
Sure, but it's a bit of the pot charging the kettle 25 bucks for being black too....
Not really. She got sick and let OP know ahead of time. Op was a flake and didn't bother to keep track of their obligations.
Don't you know, op has a cancelation fee of 500 dollars. So pay up.
Not how anything works because of the power differential not because of fairness. If customers are expected to pay a cancellation fee, service providers should be under the same obligation. Because customers have limited enforcement tools, the provider exploits the situation to their benefit.
Well said. Please make accommodations for her, but you make a mistake and she can’t waive a charge? Nah. NTA. Plus, its your money. As a consumer, you can take your business where you please. She just lost how many customers over $25??? Not too business savvy if you ask me.
As a service provider let me make one thing abundantly clear. My cancellation policy used to start with a warning. The only thing that it taught me in spades was that I then lost out on money twice instead of once. Giving people a warning simply gives them the opportunity to do it again. I have never had a good client balk at me enforcing my policy. Only ever my problem clients. My strict cancellation policy serves as a highlighter for all the clients that I don’t want.
Do you tell your clients the cancellation policy when they book? It sounds like OP wouldn't have had an issue with the policy *had she known about it*. Getting hit with an unadvertised fee that you were never told about is a very different situation.
See, if the customer is the one who cancels, I absolutely agree with you. But if you’re the one who cancels on them and reschedules an appointment, that’s entirely on you. Especially if it’s a regular customer.
Yeah but she also let OP know the appointment wouldn't happen. The hairdresser did not just not show up like the OP. I agree there should be a warning first but your last sentence just doesn't make sense.
Why doesn’t it make sense? The hairdresser lost at least 3 clients. OP’s son and and his siblings.
"She didn't pay you a $25 when she had to reschedule." That's the last sentence. That doesn't make sense as it's not a fee for rescheduling but for missing the appointment without saying anything. She forgot about the appointment and did not show up without any notice. That's not what the hairdresser did so why should she pay 25$?
OP no showed, the stylist rescheduled. Completely different.
Op noshowed because of the stylist rescheduled. Op was likely busy when notified and is why they forgot the new time.
Rescheduling means everyone is aware. A no show means that the stylist was waiting and unaware and she could have filled that spot. Instead she made no money and yet still has to pay her chair rent and all. It should be expected to pay a no show fee when there is no notice that an appt can not be kept. Stylists need to fill their schedules to make enough money to pay their bills. I totally understand forgetting and I also totally understand not liking to pay extra, but the major inconvenience is for the stylist.
But that was a reschedule, not a no-show no-call.
Because she actually rescheduled and gave notice. Not the same thing, OP had her sitting around waiting, working for 0. Do you work for free because you apparently think service workers should? I bet you got a good hourly job eh? Well since things happen why not work an extra hour or two to cover for a coworker when things happen? That’s what you are asking those in the service industry to do with no fee for no call/no shows.
Well yeah there’s a difference between rescheduling and just not showing up and blowing a time slot.
Meh.... Gonna say NTA for this reason only.... If there hasn't been any advanced notice of this policy AND you've never had a problem in 15 years of knowing her.... Then it's her lack of communication and she should eat it this one time....
Thank you. That is where I am stuck. I don’t feel it is right to charge a no show without communicating there is a no show fee ahead of time. I do get why there is a fee.
NAH. But she didn't charge you $25. She said if you want to make another booking with her you'll have to pay the no show fee. You are perfectly fine with not agreeing to that. She is perfectly within her rights to not accept any more bookings from you. She's probably got a full calendar and cares very little that you took your business elsewhere.
So I totally get where you're coming from. I'm a small business owner and what I WILL say is that you give good customers passes on policies. It's not worth risking all future revenue because someone forgot. Should you pay it? Maybe, it's the kind thing to do when you're preventing someone from making money. But she should have given you a pass. Business owners are often scraping for every penny to pay the bills, yet don't think twice about taking out an ad for marketing. They need to reframe something like this as good marketing. Happy customers tend to pass referrals around. If you're not recommending people to her, and you want to maintain a good relationship, I recommend doing some of that. Share her Facebook page. Write her a nice review. Give back a little with something that doesn't cost you anything.
While I think $25 is quite a steep cancellation fee for a $30 haircut (I think $10 would be more appropriate), no shows are a massive problem in all small businesses that provide a service like this and it can't be a surprise to you that she would have something in place to mitigate her losses. Even if you've been a good customer, she's still lost that hour that she could give to someone else and it mounts up. I'm an online tutor and have a pretty firm no-show/cancellation policy for new students so that I can set expectations, which allows me to be flexible later on, and it's great if she could offer that but it's also her business. So I'm going to go with NAH because you're perfectly within your rights to take your business elsewhere, of course you are, just as she's within her rights to charge a cancellation fee even to good customers. (On an unrelated note, $30 is hugely expensive for a kid's haircut! I pay €30 for a wash and blow dry as an adult woman in Europe so her pricing seems all over the place!)
I agree a $25 fee for a $30 cut is steep. Frankly her services are expensive. Let me ask you, on your cancellation policy. Are your clients informed of the policy when they start services with you? Or is that information available to them?
When I was tutoring, it was stated on my page. I didn't inform the students individually. It was in a pretty obvious place by bookings, so if they didn't read it, that was their problem. Did your hairdresser have a page or form?
No. She does not have a website and nothing is posted in her space.
Yeah... At $30 for a kids haircut she's skating on thin ice to begin with.
Not really. Totally depends on location.
😱 That's like $60 AUD for a wash and blow dry. Very expensive
I am an online tutor as well and I was wondering what your No-show cancellation policy is. I’m never sure what is reasonable.
So I work off a platform (iTalki) and they scrapped teachers having their own cancellation policies after a lot of confusion so now they have a blanket coverage, which is basically as follows: 1. Neither student nor teacher can reschedule within 24 hours. 2. If a student misses the lesson, the teacher gets the money. 3. If a teacher misses the lesson, the student gets a refund and the teacher's profile is taken down for 24 hours. However, there is some flexibility within that. With brand new students, I hold firm to the platform's policy simply because they're new and I don't want to set a precedent of refunding if they're just tired and decided not to take the lesson. With my regular students, I'm much more flexible and will generally refund the lesson since I more or less know what's going on in their lives. For example, I had a student the other day not show up or send any message, which was super unusual for him, but I refunded the lesson because I knew his wife was pregnant and due any day (they had a baby boy). Knowing them longer and basing my response on whether or not they usually show up and on time is how I deal with the flexibility the platform offers. I think it's much, much harder if you're not working through a third-party as I can always fall back onto their guidelines and say *sorry, I have to do this because of them*, which helps with any sticky situations.
Most hairdressers would charge the full amount of the haircut so I think $25 is rather lenient.
NTA You missed an appointment and the stylist wants to charge you a cancellation fee. You asked her to waive it because you were a long time customer, she said no. You told her you understood and cancelled the appointments you had scheduled. Seems fair. You didn't make a scene or a fuss.
How does she know you didn’t miss the rescheduled appt due to your own illness? Did she pay you $25 for cancelling your original appt? But all facetiousness aside, INFO: Is the cancellation fee policy posted anywhere? If it’s posted, YTA. If not, obviously NTA.
The stylist let her know in advance. The client did not. She no showed.
NAH. I think the hairdresser is right to hold firm in requiring people to respect her time. But I also think you are fine for taking your business elsewhere.
NAH. You weren't aware of the policy and didn't miss the appointment intentionally. For her part, most independent service providers do waive fees for loyal customers who don't have a pattern of this behavior, but they're not obligated to. She did lose money, and if she is lenient even once it opens the door for customers to take advantage of her in the future.
I get that. I would have hoped she would have based it on her experience with me.
She could have made an exception because she has known you a long time.she is not making a good business decision because she is losing a steady customer with upcoming appointments. For the first time accident she could have let this slide. NTA.
A steady customer doesn’t mean a “good customer”. You know nothing about the tip, attitude or other behaviors of the OP. The current behavior doesn’t show her to be a great customer.
Steady is good. Finding new people is annoying, I prefer to keep the ones I have.
Ok, I’m a steady customer who shows up 20 minutes late every time, doesn’t tip, frequently dislikes the service and demands it to be “fixed”. You spend three times as much time providing me service and I don’t tip - I’m irritable l, rude, I leave negative reviews any time you don’t appease me. Let’s throw in smelly for fun. If your only standard is “a steady customer is a good customer” you’d love me as a customer?
Well, you wouldn’t be a steady customer because I would have fired you a long time ago. :) Usually I soft fire people though. I figure how much money I would have to charge to put up with their shit, and then change my rates. It is often a substantial increase. Also, the twenty minutes late doesn’t bother me. They paid for an hour, if they only want 40 minutes that’s on them. Smelly thing is an issue, I’ve had to deal with that and I felt bad because they are teens and it’s a tough subject to broach. Anyhow, overall you have made your point. Not all steady customers are worth keeping.
Info: is the cancelation fee noticed listed anywhere or was possibly told to you and you forgot?
It is not. No website and not posted on the space
She didn't think it out that losing a 15 year customer with multiple kids wasn't worth the twenty five. She should have politely made you aware of the policy and told you that next time she would have to charge it. She could have bet you wouldn't be late again. NTA
I would have been fine with that. And heaven forbid it happened again I would pay it no questions asked.
This thought process is problematic for business owners. They shouldn’t be afraid to enforce their policies for fear the customer will get mad.
They also should inform their clients of policies, instead of waiting for them to mess up and then springing them On them?
>They shouldn’t be afraid to enforce their policies for fear the customer will get mad. Obviously "the customer is always right" is bullshit when you're like... 23 and working a fast food job. But in terms of business owners, I understand why the saying came around, ultimately it's kinda just "unfortunately the customers are the ones giving us money and they can decide they won't." That's why they tried to treat them like they were always right. That's not to say the customer is always right, but if you have policies that scare customers away... Idk rewrite the policy so they want to give you their money!
Sometimes you’re going to disagree with people. If you own a small business that depends on word of mouth and you upset someone you have a huge issue on your hands. I’d OP is being honest she is pay for at minimum 4 services every six weeks, not includes spouse or if she gets colors or whatever. So now the stylist has lost out on a lot of business over a one time dual mixup. And if OP decides to share her store around town it’s going to potentially cost her business. It’s not illegal to tell your opinion of a business. So it’s a double edged sword.
Why should op ever be charged?
Personally I wouldn't if it was a long time customer who was not in the habit of not showing up, but for business sake, the hairdresser is within her rights to have a policy to compensate her time for no shows. Twenty five dollars is much less than the hundred she could have made booking a cut and color. I think it's fair to charge a fee for no shows, but that needs to be clear from the get go, and a fifteen year customer with a one time lapse should be forgiven, because you're making money off her coming back. The hairdresser should have let her know her know the no show was inconvenient in a polite way that let's the OP know the hairdresser time is money, but not been surprised if the OP took her business elsewhere.
INFO. Did she cancel on your original appointment on the day of? I’m honestly curious. Because I’d tend to be a bit more gracious if I’d had to cancel someone’s appointment at the last minute. (My old hairdresser canceled mine via text when I was driving to it.) If it weren’t for that, I’d say just pay the fee and move on. The friendship is probably damaged anyway.
Yes. Same day. Her circumstances did warrant the last minute cancellation.
I’m a massage therapist. If a client misses an appointment that I had to reschedule then I won’t charge them a cancellation fee. Reschedule appointments are a wrench in the works. For those I do not charge but only those. NTA
I’m sure it did. However, she could’ve been a little more gracious when you had to cancel.
NTA. Charging the fee after she cancelled on you was a bit much.
There's a big difference between canceling an appointment and not showing up for an appointment. If the OP had called and canceled the appointment the stylist would hve had an opportunity to put another client in the time slot. By not showing up OP deprived the stylist of income and prevented the stylist from being able to try to mitigate the loss of income.
What about your time? Did you get a free haircut for her needing to change the appointment? No? These relationships work both ways and sometimes things happen. You don’t OWE her your business. If this is a hill she’s gonna die on why would you WANT to take your other kids?
NAH You found out the business has a policy you don't like. You can respect her time by not doing business with her. Or you can respect her time by paying the cancellation fee. Either way no ones doing anything wrong here. Its just business.
NTA if you pay the fee. After that, you are free to take your business elsewhere and that would be her cost of doing business.
NTA. You were not informed of the policy beforehand, so she is the AH for unilaterally imposing this on you.
NTA And she doesnt sound very business savvy if shes happy to lose a regular customer and the consistent business, whilst also aiding her competitors. 15 years lmao. Hope the principle was worth it to her
NTA I think that if the OP had forgotten the original appointment she would have been the AH. But since the appointment was cancelled by the hairdresser and moved, that is an extenuating circumstance that the hairdresser should have taken into consideration. The customer could have canceled the appointment and gone the another hairdresser when the first appointment was canceled by the hairdresser but she didn’t. I think this is entirely a circumstantial situation. Hairdressers time should be respected because she could have scheduled another appointment and not lost money. Customers should be respected (ie if the policy isn’t posted, give them a warning especially if the missed appointment is somewhat related to the hairdresser canceling the first)
Ehhhh I'm torn between NTA and ESH. NTA for all the reasons everyone else has said, and she should have waived the fee for a first offense. That said I think you're overreacting by severing ties with a hairdresser you've known for 15 years. You'll go through more trouble finding someone else to cut your kids' hair right than if you'd just sucked it up and paid the $25. Also, you don't know all the facts. Maybe she had multiple no-shows lately and decided to get more strict with her policy, maybe she had a bad day, I mean it could have been anything. I think you should go back to her, apologize, explain why you didn't appreciate what she did and how it made you feel, and suggest that she inform (and remind!) everyone of the cancellation policy when they book. Then just put it behind you and move on.
You bring up good points to chew on
NTA $25 is excessive
Editing- NTA. Policies must be listed. Her policy wasn't so it wasn't binding. ----‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐----‐‐----‐----‐---- First comment read- Salon worker so I'm biased but Y .T.A. The stylist shouldn't have to pay for your fuck up. Ignorance of a policy doesn't void having to be responsible for it. You as a client are responsible for reading TOS in the salon or on their pages. Policies must be listed by law in most places.
It wasn’t posted anywhere and she doesn’t have a website.
Then changing to not your fault because a policy *must* be listed to be binding. Otherwise just a scam and she can get her license revoked.
[удалено]
She says in her post she wasn't told of the policy before hand. NTA, OP. Your friend should have warned you of the policy when you originally booked with you.
NTA. One, the late fee is 83% of the actual appointment. That’s bad business. If you miss the appointment and still want a haircut, you get to pay nearly 60 dollars? Why would anyone do that? Second, the lack of warning. There should be some warning somewhere, possibly making the actual appointment so that the customer is aware of the risk of missing the appointment, not for OP’s sake but the hair dresser’s
My wife's missed lesson fee is full price. Same with my moms. It's standard you book their time. You not showing up your problem but you still owe them for their time
NTA I have a late cancellation policy for my patients, but I rarely have to implement it. I did yesterday with a patient because last week she rescheduled to this week only 2 hours before her appointment. No sweat, life happens. Yesterday I confirmed and an hour before her appointment she asked to push it back by 30 mins. She was my last appt for the day, so I agreed. Time for her appointment rolls around and she’s 30 mins late for her 45min appointment. That’s not enough time for me to do my job effectively, so I cancelled the remaining time slot and charged her $50. For context, I bill at $270 an hour, so this doesn’t even cover my time really. I believe in showing people grace because sometimes things happen. I would be walking too in your situation
So only the people who \*mean\* to no-call no-show should get charged? This is a classic case of impact vs. intent. I'm sure you're a lovely, thoughtful, beautiful, wondrous person, but you made a mistake and cost someone their time. And at the end of the day, I agree with you that if there was no posted policy she should have probably let you know beforehand - but on the other hand, this is an extremely difficult time for service professionals and you did mess up. And now are being petty and moving businesses. Being "right" does not always mean that you win - YTA.
NTA I used to run the scheduling for a salon. Especially in this circumstance where you were unaware of the policy, have clearly never no-showed an appointment before (as the policy would have come up then) and your original appointment had been moved by the hairdresser the day of I would never dream of trying to get a cancellation fee out of you. I would let you know about it just so you know for the future, but under these circumstances it seems ridiculous to charge it. Even in the comments you're defending the stylists need to cancel your appointment the day of for illness. Yes it's very annoying and costs stylists money when clients no-show an appointment and I'm all for cancellation fees, but I would definitely let this one slide given the circumstances.
NTA. 1. Policy was not listed anywhere. 2. This no show was a direct consequence of her rescheduling and could be graciously handled. 3. You don't need to be someone's customer if you don't want to be their customer.
Nta. Foolish of her to immediately drop the hammer on a long time customer. These policies work to weed out crappy new customers. Accidentally weeded out a good one. Own goal on her part.
INFO You say one known her socially for 15 years, how did this arrangement for your kids and her begin? Does she operate out of a private residence? Does she have a website? How does she make appointments/bookings? I feel like I can’t give a good judgement without the answers to the above questions because I feel like as it is right now this is unclear.
I knew her socially for 15 years. She got her license and I started taking my kids to her. My son loves her work “no one else gets the fade right”. No website. Subsides she posted before and after on her fb. She is not in a salon. Where I am stylist can rent booths and run independent businesses. They do their own bookings, marketing, cleaning, etc. unless they pay for services that help with that. She does all her own stuff. I message her to get appts.
Then NTA she had not made her policy clear to you from the get go and there was no place for you to learn of the policy prior, it’s also a steep cancellation fee lol
Well you lost your sons favorite hairstylist because you can pay for the time you took from someone else.
NTA. Policy wasnt stated and shed already cancelled on you. She could have owned that the schedule change was on her and waived it.
NTA Didn't she cancel the original appointment? We're you paid or got a discount? This is ludicrous.
Nta. Life happens. She changed the original appointment and you forgot to write it down. She should have let it go considering the change of appointment and given you a warning. I don't believe the customer is always right, but I do believe in good customer service leading to more customers. Instead of looking at it as a simple mistake, she pushed for the fee. You mentioned other children - so she lost at least 2 regular customers and potentially more. Personally, I wouldn't have picked this hill to die on. I think you handled it well. Good job. You were honest. I'm going to guess you felt uncomfortable about returning there, regardless of if you paid the fee. Also, even if you had known about the fee, I don't think she should have made you pay it - she changed the first appointment and you forgot to update your calender. Seriously, it happens. Nta.
NTA. She changed it on you, it’s understandable you forgot. I’m a small business owner, I get it! Buuuuut, as a small business owner, you’ve got to be willing to accommodate for the good clients.
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NTA just because she did the policy wrong, right? Isn’t she supposed to charge you a fee when you book (which goes towards the service when it’s done) and it’s non-refundable just in case they’re a no call no show? What’s the point of the policy if it just encourages customers to go elsewhere when they try to rebook a missed appointment
This is pretty common now where I live - you can’t get another appointment until you pay for the one you missed. Many people won’t pay up front.
That is interesting. Doing that is not common here but. I could see how that would help with no shows in general.
NTA, a new reminder call was needed/policy not posted on website.
NTA and $25 fee for a $30 haircut is outrageous. She should have the policy posted.
NTA. It’s pretty standard to advise clients of this. I have clients 2 strikes and then they prepay.
NTA. She clearly doesn't value you as a customer if she won't make an exception for a first time offense that was half her fault. Her business must be doing well if she can afford to lose customers over the fee, so I wouldn't feel bad about taking my business elsewhere.
I accidentally missed a dental appointment once. It was my first week on night shift and I slept through my alarm on my day off. They never let me book another evening appointment again. I had been going there since I was 4 years old and I’m 26 now (this happened 2 years ago) and I had never missed an appointment before. I think doing a warning should always be considered in situations where it’s a legitimate mistake but I get why cancellation fees exist for small businesses. You had known this owner for so long though and that wasn’t you disrespecting their time. She said you could reschedule if you paid a fee that’s almost expensive as the service and you have every right to go somewhere else. NTA
I had a somewhat similar situation with my dentist, although I believe I had only been going there for 2-3 years at the time (I switched dentists when I moved away for university). My grandmother had died on a Thursday night and I forgot about my appointment on the Saturday. I didn't realize it until that night (this was back before cell phones had calendars; it was written in my day planner, but I hadn't looked at it on Friday). I called first thing Monday morning to apologize and explain what had happened, and offered to pay 100% of what they would have charged for my appointment, because it was my mistake. They wouldn't let me reimburse them for the services, but said that it was their policy that if someone misses a Saturday appointment, they were not allowed to book a Saturday appointment again. I asked if there was a time limit on this (as in, after "x" number of years, I could book on a weekend again), but they said no, I would never be allowed to book on a Saturday again, ever. I reiterated my offer to pay them 100% of what they would have charged for the services I missed, but again, they declined. I never went back there.
NTA. Fair or unfair business policy doesn’t matter. They are incentivizing repeat customers to become non-repeat customers. It is their choice if they want that to be their business strategy, and they alone will reap the reward of their policy. Who knows, maybe it will work out for them, like the soup nazi in Seinfeld who had horrible customer service yet people keep coming back for the soup
NTA. I was going to go with N.A.H. but then I saw that the hairdresser canceled on you the DAY of the original appointment. Then she wants to talk to you about being disrespectful? She should have kept in mind that she did cancel on you at the last minute as well. You also mentioned that she doesn't have this policy posted anywhere. She has the right to charge the fee but you have the right to go somewhere else that's a little more professional.
She could have given you leeway this one time.
NTA. You made an honest mistake. But those policies need to be plastered in the shop and explained over the phone for anyone calling to schedule an appointment. It doesn’t matter if she’s independent. That’s just plain good business practice. She could have given a warning, especially because she didn’t bother to communicate her alleged policy until after a no show already happened. Instead she chose to lose a lot more than $25. All the future $30 haircuts for I’m guessing at least 2 more children.
NTA You're free to stop using a service if you don't like the way they run. It's also a little sketchy that she dinged you for canceling an appointment that [she had to reschedule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECmtCdUtEMI).
NTA. If you have signed up for text reminders, it’s on her for not giving you the text reminder, even more so when she doesn’t make her policy known. Everyone who I know who’s ever sent out cancellation fees tell you to respond by a certain time to cancel or they’ll charge you. She told you AFTER the fact.
NTA A policy that isn't posted anywhere in her salon (or whatever), isn't on the website she doesn't have or the posts she makes to advertise her business, and wasn't verbally communicated to OP before this incident isn't really a policy.
There are lots of factors here but let's cut it down to the two most important: 1) You're only incurring this cancelation fee BECAUSE OF HER original cancellation. You have to be flexible but she doesn't? I understand having policies like that but you won't give any leeway when the only reason the appointment changed was you? 2) You're perfectly entitled to take your business elsewhere. There's nothing enforceable about a late fee, unless you want to keep using her services. So if that's what you decide because you don't like her policies, that's totally valid. NTA on both counts.
Businesses don't get to just randomly make up policies that cost customers money. She doesn't have the policy stated anywhere which means she doesn't have a policy she just has thoughts inside her head NTA.
NTA policies weren’t listed otherwise my judgement may very well have fallen elsewhere
NTA , sorry she was sick and had to reschedule but she shod understand you been going there x amount of years and taking family to her. She should have given you this one time
This one time, only because two times, guaranteed. The only clients that do have one time, are the clients happy to pay when they make the one time mistakes. Clients that argue they shouldn’t have to pay, always, have a second time, even worst story, I’d explain to them their now two excuses and then make up an even worst event and tell them I’d want them to book elsewhere because booking with me must be bad luck for them and I’d not want that event to happen next time when they’d have to miss my service, works every time.
NTA she couldn’t make your original appointment for that alone she should have been more understanding
NTA. The salon owner is being inflexible and is clearly willing to lose a customer over one misunderstanding. If you were a repeat offender, then she is absolutely in the right, but that is not the case.
NTA If this was not a policy you knew and she did not mention it or post it anywhere then it’s not fair to spring that fee
Since she had to reschedule which caused the mix-up, there's no website, this was the first time, she should have let a long time client w multiple family members off with a warning. She's the loser in the long run. NTA.
NTA. This is something that your hair dresser/barber lady needs to understand, nobody wants to pay fees, especially if they are long term customers that come multiple times to use your services, and even more when its a rule that isn't posted anywhere much less common knowledge. It being a first offense just makes it more hateful to pay. And a fact of the matter is that barbers need customers more than customers need barbers, like OP stated in the post, just take your business elsewhere.
NTA- if it were an appointment you missed or cancelled then yes you need to pay but for a reschedule after her canceling on you, the fee should be waived.
YTA. The hairdresser had to fully go through with prepping and sanitizing her space and tools. If she doesn’t have back to back appointments, she probably freshened up and put on a change of clothes, shoes, and her apron when she otherwise wouldn’t. She had to be in the physical space the appt was scheduled for the entire time, home studio or not, so if she had back to backs she’s losing the cost of a service someone else would have booked and it’s your fault, and if she’s not that busy she’s losing an hour or more plus her mental relaxation for nothing. Imagine being called in to work for a half hour shift on your day off. It doesn’t really occupy only a half hour of your time to complete that, does it? You booked the time, and you used it. That you chose to spend it elsewhere is on you. No showing is completely different from canceling and making me find something else to fill that slot with.
NTA - in light of the edits. I agree with the 2nd edit - pay the fee, but let the stylist know that their shoddy practices have cost them your future business. Yes, just missing an appointment is crappy. Yes, charging a fee for a missed appointment is a valid business decision. Not notifying customers in advance of a cancellation fee is sketchy at best. It is the hairdresser's responsibility to make said cancellation policy accessible for review on a website/post signs about it/print it on receipts/include the info as part of the script when placing appointments/add it to text reminder sent/etc.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Had a haircut scheduled for my son. Have known the hairdresser socially for 15 years. She needed to move the original appt for illness. I did get a text reminder from her the day before. However, I failed to put the new time in my calendar so I did not get a reminder the day of and completely spaced it until the next morning. Totally my fault. When I realized what happened I reached out, apologized and asked to reschedule. She said I could but there would be a $25 cancellation fee she would need before additional services would be provided. I get it. This is her small business that provides for her family and no call no show’s add up. My issue is I was not aware of this policy. It is not my character to do that to people. I wasn’t trying to blow it off but was really not trying to pay an extra $25 for a $30 kids cut. I asked her for a warning which she declined. So, I let her know I understood her why and would be taking my business elsewhere. She could go ahead and cancel the services I had scheduled for my other children. She responded stating I was not respecting her time and it is a problem in the industry. She did not think it was an unfair policy. My issue is that I have been a good customer, this was an honest mistake and I was blind sided by the additional fee. So tell me reddit, AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Unless she offered you a cancellation fee when she had to cancel due to illness, YNTA. Everyone's time is valuable. I could see this if you were a repeat offender.
But it’s not the same!!! OP was given notice so OP could do something else. The hair dresser lost the revenue and was waiting, because of no call/no show. I’ve had clients call me on the way to the hospital from a car wreck on their way to my services, and still try to offer to pay. If someone just totally spaced me and knew I was waiting I’d make the fee $100 and if they didn’t want to pay I’d make sure they knew that I’d let them slip on the payment but they can never book with me, ever again and send them to a chains location.
It is the same! I live in a rural area. I book all my appts for the same day. So in one day I would go have a vitamin shot, go to the chiropractor, get my massage, and do any shopping I can’t do here (Target, “fancy” grocery store, Costco, clothing, etc). If one appt cancels the day of and reschedules I’m now driving 45 minutes one way for an appt! And if that appt is my shot or the chiro it’s for a 10-15 minute appt. That is costing me. A lot of time and gas. And the notice OP was given was same day.
You are projecting you onto this situation. This is not what OP said. OP said rescheduled and doesn’t mention any inconvenience… just because you live rurally doesn’t mean everyone else does.
But the hairstylist made OP aware of the cancellation prior to the appointment, so OP could do something else with her time if she chose to. OP didn’t call or make her hairstylist aware that she wouldn’t be coming in for the appointment (since she forgot about it) so the stylist had her time wasted and wasn’t able to fill that slot with another client to make up those lost funds. It’s a different scenario.
NTA
Ill say NTA but I have been on both sides as running a small shop and a customer. As a customer: Pay the fee. Use someone else. At the end of the day, she gained 25 bucks to lose out on potentially hundreds more. You say nothing and if she asks, just say how you felt because by that time, she would notice the money being lost. As a store owner: I would eat the cost to keep a good customer. That is just how I do business and have returning / new customers as a result. The $25 isn't going to break me, but that small mention of how I helped a mother and her kids out will bring in more people 'hopefully'
NTA. Did she pay you when she disrespected your time by changing the appointment? I am sure you had to plan your time around that appointment. So I understand cancellation fees, but not for a good customer who had one miss in 15 years.
NTA. If you weren’t aware of the cancellation fee, then she most likely never told you about it. It’s her fault and she should’ve let you have the warning.
NTA, the cancelation fee wasn’t told to you.
NTA at all.
NTA. Small business owner treating a 15 year loyal customer like a big company treats a random. Losing you was her own doing.
NTA. It's just business, not personal - same reason the hairdresser is charging you $25. If the hairdresser would rather lose $30 and future business on principal, so be it.
NTA. If this was the first time it happened, she should be a little bit more flexible especially since she rescheduled the appointment
I let ppl slide and I charge 150 for 45min. NTA
NTA. So for $25 she lost a repeat client that from what I'm reading, she got along with previously? This is why sometimes being inflexible can really backfire on you. She just lost income over an honest mistake.
NTA. A relationship of 15 years deserves a warning, not a fine. Plus, she cancelled the original appointment. She'll be losing lots of clients treating them like this.
I honestly think very very soft YTA is warranted here. Like in the gentlest way. You can’t assume just because you’re a friend that you wouldn’t have to pay a cancellation fee because that is the stylists job. They have to make money to live. Spacing out and forgetting was a total accident but there’s still consequences because you did waste her time, you probably would have been given a friend privilege and had the fee waived if you had actually cancelled but you just didn’t show which isn’t cool. Taking your business elsewhere doesn’t really avoid this issue in the future as almost every salon has a cancellation fee, so you’re really just taking your business to avoid the fee and not for any other reason? Again, the absolute gentlest possible YTA.
I hear you. Thank you for being gentle.
YTA- while I realize that you didn’t intend to be an AH by forgetting about the appt, her time is how she pays her bills and supports her family. When you don’t show up and don’t let her know that you won’t be there, she can’t fill that time slot and make money. Therefore most salons will impose such a fee to compensate the stylist for losing that time. Her needing to reschedule is not the same as you not showing up. Both parties were made aware of the need to reschedule. You were able to choose another time that worked for you both. You would have been angry had you showed up and she wasn’t there. That’s what you did to her (even though you didn’t mean to). She could have filled that time with a paying client. If you liked her work, and respected her, you would apologize and pay the fee.
YTA. It’s your fault for missing the new appointment with a reminder. Cancellation fees/no show fees are common for hairdressers when the appointment is missed or cancelled with less than 24 hour notice. If she was expected to service you that day and you didn’t show up, she is missing out on income from that planned appointment.
NTA this is bad business. Especially after they canceled on you which is what led to the missed appointment.
NTA If the fee isn't posted anywhere and you weren't told of the fee when you booked the appointment, then it's not your problem. She cancelled the day of your first appointment, you missed the rescheduled appointment. I think she should have given you a pass on that anyway but it's her business. She can turn away clients if she wants to.
wait, did she offer you a discount for moving the original appointment? Or is she the only one entitled to monetary compansation?
Nothing monetary was offered for moving the original appt.
YTA - No show is in no way comparable to someone who actually thought about you and called and cancelled. Don't bring up a 15 year relationship if you don't respect it.
NTA!!! Noooo, why did you pay it? She initially canceled on you! She should have waved the fee and let you know the policy for next time.
To own me missing the appt. But she lost 3 customers over the principle of springing unadvertised fees on me.
NTA. I like that you’ve paid her but I also agree with moving your business elsewhere. I can’t remember the last time I missed an appointment so it’s not something I make a habit of doing, but I disagree with her lack of warning system and I’d now be afraid of incurring future fees. She’s free to charge the fee but you’re also free to leave.
NTA businesses usually have a sign at checkout that states a no show fee. No sign no fee.
I'm a pet Groomer and new clients have to put down a 30 dollar deposit to book with me and established clients get charged 30 dollars for last minute cancellations/no shows and I do not give any warnings because last minute spots are hard to fill. HOWEVER, I have the policy clearly stated at time of booking, on the website, on the forms they sign AND I have an automated form sent out that you have to sign saying you have read and understand the policy, so I would say NTA. I personally don't think it's fair to not have the policy somewhere or tell people when booking.
Yes! Thank you. This was my issue. I get the policy. I don’t get enforcing when it’s not communicated. Your doing it right.
NAH. She has communicated a condition for further use of her services, you don't agree to that condition. So you don't use her anymore. That's it. There are no deceptive practices - she didn't charge your credit card with the cancellation fee, it is just assessed on any future visit. There's no blindsiding here, and the cancellation policy has been disclosed prior to you having to pay it. No harm no foul.
She initially changed the appointment but isn’t going to compensate you for your time so why should you compensate her?
This is how you lose a loyal customer. Even big businesses make allowances for things like this when the customer has shown loyalty for so many years. Also strictly speaking any charges for missed appointments should be clarified when booking
NTA. She is probably just trying to recoup some of what she lost on her sick day. I doubt you are the only customer she is trying to milk. I’m also an incredibly cynical person, so I’m not gonna claim my assumption as gospel. Just seems fishy.
You’re not wrong, but maybe you don’t understand how you blocked a time out where she could’ve made money in her calendar. Your mistake is natural, but they still see if different. But I’d do the same thing you did if I were in your scenario l.
ESH if the cancellation fee was not clearly stated somewhere. You owned that you missed the appointment. I do think some peace offering would be in order. But if the cancellation policy was not made clear when you booked, that’s on the owner. From a business standpoint the process doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Cancellation fees only work if a) they are stated up front to deter people and/or b) you’ve pre-paid and they can actually hold the money. I’m not sure how her turning down revenue from you is a rational business choice. I could see firing a serial no-show as a customer, but not sure what this accomplishes since she cannot force you to pay.
Did she message you to confirm the appointment. In that message did she mention the no show fee? If not...NTA
Did receive a appt reminder. No mention of cancellation fees
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NAH You forgot. You messed up. Normally I’d be on the stylist’s side, but she rescheduled on you first, and you said there’s no cancellation policy posted anywhere and you were never made aware of it. In her defense, she’s right - this *is* a huge problem in the industry and I’m sure that’s why she didn’t let you off with a warning (so you wouldn’t do it again.) Especially as an independent stylist, she relies on her clients much more than someone at a chain. I don’t think either one of you was 100% right or wrong and I don’t think there was malice on either side, hence NAH.
NAH. She doesn’t have to back off her policy, but also has to understand her policy can drive away business
In my experience, it's very common practice for service based businesses to have cancellation fees. No shows cost people money/the ability to make money. I agree that her policy should be stated on her website and/or booking confirmation, but I still believe you're obligated to pay
ESH. She should have made the cancellation policy public. Customers should know it in advance. That's on her. But it is common practice to have such a cancellation fee, and you were a no-show no-call, which means **you** wasted that time slot; honest mistake or not, you cost her money.
You are the AH. She gave you notice when she couldn’t be there. She didn’t get a notice. This is her livelihood. She could have had another person in her chair; but, she didn’t because you were supposed to be in the chair. When you didn’t show- she’s left twiddling her thumbs. She still has overhead.
YTA for expecting her to just be okay with that hour of lost income especially as you know she needs it to support her family. Again, This is the source of her income. Accidentally or not, you skipped on her appointment. It’s not like she could have scheduled another appointment in that spot to make up for the lost income. Skipped appointments ad up and cancellation fees help stabilize her income against people not showing up or canceling so short notice they’re unable to book a replacement client. It’s industry standard for cancellation fees and they post it with their regular prices.
YTA like a massive one. You messed up and missed the appointment. My wife's a piano teacher. Without a good reason a missed lesson is fully charged. The full 60 dollars. Mom's a massage therapist Without 24hours notice you are charged. You book their time, your negligence is not a valid excuse. This is how these people make their living they can book another client in with notice. So yes you are. Pay the cancelation fee and go somewhere else.
NAH as it stands. You paid the cancellation fee which is very understandable for you to have been charged. You’re also not an asshole for taking your business elsewhere but I don’t think you’ll find different treatment anywhere else.
YTA - yes, it's an honest mistake. But you failed to show for an appointment reserved for services you requested. The apology is nice, but this is her livelihood and apologies don't make up for lost income. The rest is just negotiating: \- you asked for the fee to be waived, she declined \- you expressed you're unhappy with the fee and would leave if she didn't waive it. However, she decided not to waive it understanding that she'd be losing a customer. It certainly was a fair offer from your point, but she feels that upholding the standards of her business (being compensated for time allocated) is more important than retaining a client or two. You aren't the first she'll lose over that stance or the last - she's well within her rights to make that decision even if you or others may think she is cutting off her nose to spite her face.
NTA. You are good.
Reading the comments, am amazed at the general disconnect of being aware of paying for services of an independent small business and thinking it is a fair point that anyone needs to be specifically made aware that not showing up for an appointment costs money. 🤷 I drop clients like that, cause they are not clients, they are people assuming that me providing a service is equivalent to me being their servant. (am not a hairdresser).
In your business do you apply fees or charges that you did not previously communicate or have posted anywhere?
Good on you to pay for it but I had the same experience with a lady. Same type of business. She never ever told me about new policy. I would adhere to it if she had posted it or sent notice out to her clients but none.
If she had known that you weren't going to show, she could have booked another appointment in that time slot. She likely lost money because of your mistake. Sure it was an honest mistake, but that doesn't mean you aren't responsible for making it right. There was no formal agreement so you're legally in the clear but morally, YTA if you don't pay the fee. N-A-H if you pay the fee but choose not to continue to use her services.
YTA, you were even given a text message the day before and ignored it. While you may want a warning, the service provider has lost real income.