Cutting Cancellations and No Shows

The short version

• A confirmed appointment is a different thing from a booked one.
• Reminders work best the day before and again the morning of.
• A stated cancellation policy prevents more cancellations than it ever collects fees for.
• A card on file at booking changes no show rates substantially.

An empty slot is the most expensive thing in a service business. The overhead ran anyway, you turned down other work to hold it, and the drive that got you there was not billable to anyone.

Most no shows are preventable, and the prevention happens at booking rather than on the day.

Confirm, do not just book

A booking made three weeks ago is a memory. A confirmation is an action the customer takes that reactivates it. Ask for a reply, a tap, or a click, and treat unconfirmed appointments as at risk.

The confirmation also catches the customer who has already decided not to proceed but has not told you. Finding that out the day before gives you a chance to fill the slot.

Remind twice, at the right times

The day before is when people look at tomorrow. The morning of is when they plan the day. Those two moments are worth more than any other reminder you could send.

Keep each one short and make it actionable. Time window, address, what they need to do to prepare, and a way to reach you if something changed.

• Day before: confirm the window and the address
• Morning of: confirm you are coming and when
• On the way: a short heads up when you leave the previous job
• Every message: an easy way to reply if plans changed

State the policy before it matters

A cancellation policy stated at booking prevents cancellations. A cancellation policy produced after a no show starts an argument. The value is almost entirely in the prevention.

Keep it simple. Notice required, what happens inside that window, and what happens if nobody is home. Say it once at booking, include it in the confirmation, and rarely enforce it. The customers who were going to flake mostly do not, once they know you have a policy.

Put a card on file at booking

Taking a payment method at booking, even without charging it, changes behavior. The appointment feels committed in a way a verbal booking does not.

Be explicit about what will and will not be charged. A customer who understands the card is a hold, not a charge, almost never objects, and the ones who do object were often the higher risk bookings anyway.

Have a fill list ready

When a slot opens at eight in the morning, you have a couple of hours to sell it. That only works if you already have a list of customers waiting for an earlier appointment.

Keep that list actively. When someone asks for sooner than you can offer, ask whether they want to be called if something opens. Most people say yes, and an empty slot becomes a filled one instead of a loss. The list is also worth keeping because it tells you where demand is outrunning your capacity, which is the clearest signal you will get that it is time to add hours or add a person.

Where no shows get prevented

| Moment | What you do | Effect | | --- | --- | --- | | Booking | State the policy, take a card on file | Commitment at the point of decision | | Day before | Confirmation requiring a reply | Catches changed plans early | | Morning of | Short reminder with the window | Puts you on their day plan | | On the way | Heads up when you leave | Removes the waiting anxiety | | Slot opens | Call the fill list | Turns a loss back into revenue |

Do this before your next job

Move the prevention back to the booking conversation.

1. State the cancellation policy at booking and repeat it in the confirmation.
2. Ask for an action that confirms the appointment rather than assuming a booking holds.
3. Send a reminder the day before and a short one the morning of.
4. Take a payment method at booking and explain exactly what will and will not be charged.
5. Start a list of customers who want an earlier slot, and call it the moment one opens.

Common questions

Should I actually charge a cancellation fee?

Rarely. The policy does its work by existing. Charging it is a judgment call, and for a good long term customer it is usually the wrong one.

How much notice should I require?

Enough to refill the slot. For most residential work that means a day. For a job that blocks a crew, more.

Do reminder texts annoy customers?

Two short, useful messages do not. What annoys people is a marketing message disguised as a reminder.

What if nobody is home when I arrive?

Call from the driveway, wait the period your policy states, photograph the arrival, and then move on. Documented attempts protect you in the conversation that follows.

Keep reading

• How to Schedule a Full Day of Jobs
• How to Get Paid Faster on Every Job
• Invoicerus for HVAC companies
• Invoicerus for pest control companies

Try it on your next job

Open the job price calculator and run one real job through it. No account, no card, nothing to install. If it saves you time, the free invoice generator is the next one to try.

Invoicerus does the same work on autopilot once your services and prices are set up. Start free and bring one week of jobs with you.