How Stylists Are Handling Last Minute Cancellations and No Shows in 2026

Okay, my friend. So, for this one, I am going to need your help. Let me break it down. So, there is nothing like being in on a raw, real conversation between real beauty professionals who actually get it, right?

You can talk to your friends and your family about the industry and your job on the day-to-day, but they don't actually get it, right? But hearing from real perspectives, being inspired by those real perspectives, and just feeling seen and heard, I feel like is so special and very important for the human condition, particularly in our industry. And this all brings me back to the feeling that I had when me and other hairstylists would frequent this social media app back in the day called Clubhouse. And we would get into these audio-only rooms and we would just talk.

We would just have conversations, share our real, raw, honest thoughts between each other about topics of the day-to-day in this career and job. And it was so magical and I've been wanting to bring something like that to the podcast for a very long time. And so I finally pulled the trigger and I got together some amazing beauty professionals to just have a conversation today and their honest opinions and thoughts on how they go about things when it comes to policies. So last minute cancellations, no-shows, redos, all that stuff.

And I think it was an absolutely amazing conversation and I'm really looking forward to you getting to listening on it today. So what I need from you, my friend, is I need you to DM me after this episode is over. And I want you to, first off, tell me if you want more episodes like this one. Tell me if you enjoyed the conversational aspect of this all, and then also, of course, tell me if you have any topics that you think that we should bring to the table and if you would even like to join us possibly for one of these conversations in the future.

So that way I have that good feedback and that way I know that all the time and effort that goes into these releases is worth it and the majority of you guys are actually enjoying it. And I just wanna make it clear that I have prepped everybody for this conversation that I don't want right or wrong answers. Maybe they have been listening to the podcast and they know what my advice is, what my opinions normally are. I told them that I don't care about any of that.

I want them to share what their honest thoughts are, what actually is working for them, because just because it might work for one person doesn't mean it's gonna work for the other, and there are so many people who listen to this podcast. So I wanted to make sure that we got a diverse range of perspectives and the way that people handle things today, and that's how I would like it to go in the future as well. But without further ado, I would love to introduce to you the amazing beauty professionals who are gonna be joining us today. I just put out an application to anybody who wanted to join, and these are the people who signed up.

I will be sharing their Instagram handles in the show notes of this episode. So, make sure to go check that out and check them out 'cause they are all doing really badass things in their businesses. We have Stephanie Lanshan from South Dakota, Jordana Lorraine from California, May Liu from Maryland, Gina Virnamonti from New Jersey, Samantha Hathaway from Vermont, and Kelsey Morrison from Oregon. One of the questions that I have written down for all of you guys is, what is a policy hill that you are willing to die on, and what is one that you're still shaky about I can go first.

Go ahead, Sam. Okay. So, my one that I would die on is you get one shot. If you no-show me, show up late, if you cancel last minute, you get one chance.

I tell you my policies, and then I go from there. Where I'm a little iffy is my redo policy because if you've lived in your hair more than a week and something pops up, I'm okay with you coming in, as long it's a me mistake and not a you mistake. Yeah, I feel that. And redo can be tough, right?

Because- Mm-hmm. it really comes down to perception, I feel. Like, when it comes to a cancellation or like a no-show or something like that, there's factual evidence and factors that you get to make your decisions upon, 'cause time is inarguable and it's quantifiable. Yeah.

Whereas with redos, it has to do with, like, your perspective and then the client's perspective and y'all's opinions. It's not quantifiable. It has to be something that is a little bit left up in the air, I feel. Yep, totally.

I owned a salon from 2014 to 2017, and I was just about to enforce having card on file because I had employees. I wound up closing down the salon with landlord issues, but it is something that I still enforce, especially post-pandemic because, like, people just got a little weird with actually coming in and keeping their appointments. The one policy where I waver every so often is, when do I really charge someone for that no-show? Because I don't want it to cost me a long-term client.

It has in the past. So, for those of you who do require a card on file, have you ever had pushback from it? How did you handle it? Actually, I just lost a client over the requirement, and I wasn't mad about it because I told that client specifically, "If you contact me within the week and you let me know where you wanna book, I'll book you without your card on file, but I can't let you be the exception when everybody else has the same rule."

Yeah. It's honestly helped so much because I've been out of the salon and had someone wanna pick up product and I can just charge their card and let someone know where the product is and they run in, grab it, and you make money when you're not there, so it's a win-win. So, how I do my card on file is everyone who books online has to book with a card on file. And I have had a couple clients message me through Facebook or Instagram wanting to book with me, and I tell them, "You can go ahead and book.

My booking link is this link." And they're like, "I did do that, but I don't wanna leave a card on file." And, to me, I feel like that's a red flag because if they don't wanna leave the card on file and they read my cancellation and no-show policy-... a red flag that they are a person who is gonna cancel last minute, and they're gonna get charged the fee, so they're afraid of that.

So I wouldn't really want to take them on as a client anyway, because right out of the gate, they're not gonna respect my time or policies. I definitely do a card on file. Before I started MSM and doing things more automated, and transferring over to booking online, I- I did get some pushback, and it was only clients who were either a little older and they're just like, "I don't wanna do that." But I'm like, "You gotta do it this way."

That's a must, because I do a lot of high-ticket services, mostly extensions. That takes up a lot of my day. I'm working seven and a half hours a day. Sometimes it takes up the whole day.

I just can't wing it. I just can't risk no-shows like that. So it had really protected me and my time, and to get my clients really serious about booking. I think the point of high-ticket services when it comes to really protecting yourself for those, I think is so important, particularly maybe if you have purchased hair prior to it, or when there is so much time taken out that could have been filled with another appointment, for sure.

When do we decide to charge the no-show or the last-minute cancellation fee? Do you believe in making exceptions, and is it only exceptions for loyal clients? Is it exceptions only for the one strike, like Samantha was talking about earlier? What do those exceptions look like for you guys, and when is it okay to do that, when is it not?

Is it a trap? What are your guys' thoughts? So I know a lot of my clients for the majority of my career, so when they've needed to cancel last minute, I've known the reasons why. And they've always worked around my schedule when I was a mom with a traveling athlete, so it was always hard.

So they stick with each other. We make it happen. The policy's there. They see it all the time.

They know, and it's just been a blessing. No-show, 100%, right away, I'll communicate with you. Communication is key, especially with a chargeback. You don't communicate back, it is what it...

and you're blocked from booking again. I have recently had this, and I leaned into the Facebook community to help me. I don't typically charge my no-show policy. Communication is key.

I have several autoimmune diseases, and it debilitates my ability to work, and my clients are good with it. I can wake up in the morning, I'm really not feeling well. Let's reschedule you. They're great about it.

So I give that forgiveness back to them. This client, I had- I gave her the morning-of-text message. "I can't wait to see you today." Ghost.

Nothing. Sh- I sent two or three reminders, 48 hours ahead, 24 hours ahead, and then two hours ahead of your appointment. Never responded, never did anything to that. I messaged her 15 minutes after her appointment.

Nothing. I messaged her two hours after appointment, "Hey, is everything okay? I just wanna make sure you're okay." Nothing.

If she had communicated with any of that, I wouldn't have charged her, but she didn't. And the moment I charged her is the moment she reached out to me. And it is what it is. I went through all of my policies that she signed multiple times.

I think with her, it was 10 times she signed my policies. And screenshots of all of it, and I said, "I'm really sorry. This is what you agreed to. These are my policies.

You've done it before, and I gave you grace, and I can't do that again." And she dropped it, but this is why Hunter is always policies and have the communication, 'cause you do need it at the end of the day. People are offering to pay the fee. The consistent communication of the policies makes people aware of them enough to understand that there are consequences.

If we don't have a client in our chair, we don't make money, and I don't think people b- really understood and believed that. And now that you talk about your policies, they're, "If I'm not there, you're actually making $0." And I think it just opens that line of communication with clients that didn't know that before. If that client were to reach out to you and want to get on your books again, would you allow her, because you did charge her the no-show fee?

I, this particular client, no. She has done it before. She is a salon hopper, and says it out loud and mentions it. And I'm graceful when she comes and chooses my salon, but expect my time if you're choosing me.

I respect my clients deeply, and I just ask for that back, quite honestly. I respect their time. I respect them as humans. I respect their lives.

Expect me back and respect my time, and that's all. And I just didn't feel I had that, so that's a hard boundary for me, is the respect part. Yeah, I agree. I think respect and communication are the two key points here, and I also agree that clients...

You know, people have so many different ways that they work and that they get paid that they don't necessarily understand how we do. I'm reserving this time specifically for you for the services you asked for, because I will say, I've not had a lot of trouble with c- no-shows. Short cancellations, not too bad, but for a while, I noticed a pattern of people, um, re- reducing services. They book for X, Y, and Z, and they're like, "I'm just gonna get the X."

And let's say two hours of a three-hour appointment, that's a big deal, and for someone else, that would be two other appointments, but I mostly do longer services, so that was something that I had to consider. And, uh, going back to the, uh, concept of the policy hill that you would die on versus the one that you're a little uncertain of, for me, my hill is confirming, and they have to actively confirm the appointment. Before I was online booking...It was literally spelled out, the services they had booked for, and that really helped cut down on this problem that I was having.

Uh, with session booking, it's a little more like, "You booked for this chunk of time." And someone says, "I don't think I'm gonna do this," I'm like, "Okay, let's do this. We have the time." The one time it's been a problem is when someone was like, "Oh, I need to leave by this time.

I can't stay for the whole appointment." That's where it gets dicey. That's the one where I'm still a little iffy on how to approach it, because I want to protect my income and other clients' access to appointments. I had written a policy which, in some cases, has helped and not been an issue, and then in one case, bounced back and bit me hard.

So... I don't find that as often with session pricing. For me, if my client's gonna say, "Oh, I don't want that, it's a haircut," so instead I do a deep conditioning treatment. I feel like with session pricing, people aren't nitpicking as much as they used to, because they know what they're spending.

There's no, um, "Oh, God, how much is that gonna cost at the end?" Your service is your, is what you're getting. I did find that a lot with a la carte, is people were just, "Oh, I don't really wanna do that today. I have an hour and a half of my time booked."

But now you're sitting around for an hour and a half, when you could've had somebody else come in. When it comes to pr- your pricing structure, the concept is that you are paying for the time that is reserved with me, not necessarily the time that it takes for me to do the service. That's always been my philosophy as far as when I'm teaching package pricing, but at the end of the day, if it's that significant of a change, think that it can become circumstantial. Does it become, "This is a cool client and it just is what it is, and I've been seeing them for 20 years, I'll let this slide?"

Or, i- i- and then maybe, "This is a newer client and I don't really care if they like it or not, they're gonna be paying for how much they reserved with me." But I really do, Jordanna, like... The concept of the confirmation, I think, is, could be really powerful when customizable. Know that with Square, for example, you can customize the texts and the emails that they get, including the confirmation texts and emails.

And I do believe that you can pull in different variables, so I believe that you could say, "You are booked for X. Could you please confirm, and if you confirm that this is what you're going to be getting?" I think, possibly, you should be able to do that. But don't take my word for it.

I am gonna throw Stephanie into the ring, and I'm gonna ask her what her thoughts about this. How I do my policies is, if you are a new client and you no-show me, I will reach out to you via text and say, "Hey, I had you down at this time. Are we needing to reschedule?" If you don't respond to me, you're getting charged.

'Cause you're not respecting my time, you're not respecting my communication with you, and I probably don't want you as a client. A loyal client, it's hard for me. I usually give my loyal clients, on their second strike, I remind them, "Just a reminder of my policies." They see them everywhere, my website, my...

I give them three reminder texts. "Next time, if this happens, I am gonna have to charge you your fee." That's how I do my ch- cancellation and no-shows. I did have a certain circumstance where someone, I charged them four weeks in a row, because ...

And they told me to. They were booked, I do body sugaring, they were booked for a body sugaring at the beginning of July, she's like, "I can't come in," and her appointment was in one minute. And she's, "Totally, charge me through your cancellation policy, I read it, charge me." I'm like, "Perfect."

So she wanted to book for the next week. Again, she called me two minutes before her appointment, she's, "Charge me, whatever." She booked the next week, no-showed me, so I just charged her again. And the fourth time, she rebooked again online, she no-showed that appointment, this is the fourth week in a row, and I went to charge her card and it was declined for insufficient funds.

So, you do run into that too, and at that point I'm like, "You know what? I've been charging you all month a no-show fee, and you were totally okay with it for the two times." And then I just let the fourth time go. I'm like, "Okay, girl.

We're just not gonna reschedule, 'cause this is not working out." So- You blocked her from online booking too, right? Right. Good.

I guess I'm a little more stricter with my no-shows, for sure. Um, if they come in late, I don't charge a late fee or anything like that, at all, for anybody. Just no-shows. Thank you for sharing that crazy story.

You were talking about how you give them the communication that, "Okay, this time, fine, but just so you know, next time, possibly we might have to charge you this fee." I personally really that method. I personally really like making sure, directly to this person, from you, not your system, not your form, but from you, when they mess up the first time, when they get the first strike, you directly communicating, "If this happens again, this is what will happen." Because then there is literally no question about it.

And I think that is respectful communication. We talked a lot about how communication is such a big part of this here, and how respect mutually within these relationships. And Gina brought it up earlier about how, thinking about how these people may have been graceful with me when I've had to cancel them in the past. And a philosophy that I've toyed around with when it comes to just teaching and thinking about these decisions is...

What would feel fair to you if you had to cancel on the client, if you were running late for the client? When we turn the tables, right, what are your guys' thoughts about that? Should that be taken into consideration, or is it so different that it shouldn't be taken into consideration? For example, let's say that you have to cancel on somebody last minute because you're sick, your kid is sick, whatever it may be.

Are you going to offer them some sort of accommodation as far as a 50% off their service for the inconvenience or whatever it may be, right? What are your guys' thoughts about that? So I personally- Go ahead, Gina. if I've ever had to cancel last minute, which usually whenever I've had to move, there's been some notice more than last minute, but it's always been, "When can I get you in?"

I've come in on off-hours to make it happen. Um, I do have customers who are friendly with each other, so I could overlap them if need be. I worked and lived in the same community for the majority of my career, up until COVID. I always try to make it work out.

I feel bad. It's my fault. Do I discount or anything like that? No.

But will I come in and make a time work? Absolutely. Good to know. Any other thoughts about this topic?

Sam? I, uh, run into this a lot. So I have chronic migraines, so I never know when I'm gonna have it and I can't function when I have them. So I do have to cancel my clients a lot.

My personal take on this is, I will get you in within the week if I can, if it's not an elongated sickness. Hours are open to you if that works for your schedule. I've come in on a Saturday. It happens.

Life happens. But you are not gonna go longer week if we can help it. For clients that I've had to do it multiple times, too, I usually give them a Starbucks card or a little thank you, or little goodies in there. I give them little to-go bags that just say thank you and it has a little scrunchie, and I'll throw some candy in there from all my clients.

But I'll put shampoo, sometimes full-size, too, just, "I appreciate you supporting me always, and I just love that you give money," quite honestly. And then I respect them, that life happens. And again, clear communication with them. I can't control my chronic illness.

I just can't. And they can't control their life. So as long as we have mutual respect, that just is how it goes, and yeah. Okay.

Let's do Jordana. I agree that it does need to be a two-way street, and that that might look different for everyone. So if your life is very consistent, you might, uh, be able to afford to be more strict with it. But if you need some leniency, then you give some leniency, or the special accommodations that you both are talking about, Gina and Sam, about extra hours or days off, really making that work for someone.

I'm a person who's generally consistent and strict. I do give one free pass, because there could be a misunderstanding. And I don't charge first for illness, 'cause I don't want it, like you said, Gina. I think in the past five years, that's changed a lot.

People used to come in sick and I was annoyed by it. Now I'm like, "Please, don't come in. I will not charge you." But one time, I was traveling.

I think my first plane was delayed and I missed my connection and I was supposed to just get home at night and work in the morning, and I couldn't get home until the morning and I had to cancel my first client. And I was like, "I would be ticked if she did that to me. That was risky planning." And I gave her 50% off, and she was stunned, and also a client for life.

She's like, "You have these strict policies, but you respect me, too." And I'm like, "Of course I do, because that's your time and your life." And I have seen sometimes stylists are like, "But our time is money." And I'm like, "So might theirs be."

They might be taking off work, using PTO. It's still, that's still part of their money. They might be paying a babysitter. Who knows what they're doing?

Um, when something does come up, I try to accommodate them in some other way. I'm actually on family leave right now, and it was unexpected and quick. I sent the messages out. I gave people the option of seeing my assistant or a trusted stylist friend, or that I would rebook them as soon as possible, and everyone's been really understanding.

I guess it's a do-un to others. Super interesting perspective. I love it. Kelsey?

I think we've made it very clear that if you're sick, stay away. I, I wake up at 6:00 in the morning and I am not feeling hot, I know I'm not gonna do the hottest hair for you. So I will be rude and inconsiderate and I will text you at 6:00 in the morning to let you know, "Your day is now open." I want that same respect.

So I recently just had someone cancel on me a couple hours before their appointment. She's a teacher. She's sick. 'Tis the season.

And I was like, "Just let me know earlier. If you woke up not feeling great, just let me know, 'cause I could have adjusted my day." So that's why I will text my clients when I wake up. But I'm also like, I am the person who has that dog that is the excuse of everything.

"My dog ate my homework," or, "My dog is sick," or whatever. So recently, o- our dogs collided into each other playing ball, and my female's tooth got into our male's leg, and she bit. And the next morning, his leg was four times fatter than what it usually is. And I had to cancel on my client, because I took him to the emergency vet.

She's lovely, very forgiving. I waxed her face for free. That's something that I do, is instead of giving a 50% off the entire service, I'll give you a service that you don't have booked, because then maybe you'll like it and you'll wanna come back and pay me more money for it, too. Thankfully, everyone has been great with this, but I give what I hope to receive.

And if someone has an emergency, if someone has a lot of emergencies , I have to revisit pre-booking. You have to be compassionate and human, and give respect and hope that you get it back. But if you don't, then you do need to have a talk.Seems like a lot of us have a lot of long-term, loyal customers who we've been through there and back with probably over and over.

You know, so obviously, they give us grace, we give this. We've built relationships. They're extensions of our regular, everyday life. When it comes to a newer client who we don't necessarily know and they've not really gotten to know us, we don't know them, at what point do we say, "Okay.

I understand"? That, the grace gets tricky in that area too. We hope and we pray that they're good people and they appreciate us like we would them, but there's a taking advantage portion also. Definitely a hard line.

Yeah. It's very interesting how the longevity of the relationship, the history of the relationship, and the trust that is built in those relationship between you and the client definitely affects these decisions, obviously. That's becoming very apparent in these conversations. And I would even argue that, on the flip side of that, that it can make it 10 times harder to have to make difficult decisions when you do have a long-term client who may have overstepped a boundary and it's not something that you're necessarily willing to let slide by.

And also, I feel like even then, it can even create some entitlement in long-term clients sometimes as well too. Uh, maybe you guys have seen that before, maybe even with price increases. Like, you'll have a client who has been seeing you for a very long time and they're like, "Oh, I've been seeing you for 15 years, so that doesn't apply to me. I've seen it happen before."

And so, it's interesting how there's a dichotomy of we have these really long-standing relationships where we have a lot of mutual respect, but maybe at some point, because of one weird situation, that might go south and actually bite us in the butt one day in one way or another, and make things harder to make changes or to stand up for ourselves or to enforce our policies, whatever it may be. I also just wanna bring up what Jordanna was talking about earlier, when we were talking about how maybe a lot of the times we won't... When we have to inconvenience the client, we won't offer discounts, but it sounds like we will offer our time. Mm-hmm.

So, it sounds like we oftentimes aren't offering money, we are offering time. Which maybe one could argue that when a client inconveniences you, they're inconveniencing your time and your money, but when you're inconveniencing a client, you're really only inconveniencing their time. But what Jordanna said earlier was also super interesting and added a new perspective to what I'm talking about here, which was how their time may be money, right? Because they paid for a sitter, they took PTO.

I am somebody who I am extremely limited with my availability behind a chair. I'm barely working, and so that people are absolutely taking off work, m- flexing, and doing what they need to do to come to see me. And so I know that they're sacrificing a lot, and that very well may be ha- sacrificing money as well too. And that's where maybe if the philosophy is we are only inconveniencing their time, not necessarily inconveniencing their money, then we can make up for it with our own time, but not our money.

Am I making sense? By not discounting. I don't know. Just some ideas and theories and philosophies that I'm gathering from these conversations.

I'm gonna give you guys a scenario, okay? So, let's say a long-time client texts you at 7:30 AM the day of their 11:00 AM appointment to say that they're not feeling well and want to reschedule. But then you see them post on Instagram later at the drag brunch, twerking and living their best life, putting a dollar in the drag queen's bra. They already rescheduled late once this same quarter, and you're fully booked for the next three weeks and you don't have any time for them.

How would you handle this? Who wants to go first? I'm laughing 'cause Samantha and I are on the same page. I can see it.

We're both gonna call you out on it. I'm gonna call you out and I'm gonna comment underneath it, and you're gonna get in whatever you can get in. And I may or may not charge you. It depends on the response probably at that point, just 'cause of my personality.

But, no. I would definitely call you out, because we would have been called out, for sure. There's no doubt in my mind. And especially 'cause a lot of our clients are friends with us on social media, on our personal pages, not necessarily even just our business pages.

I'm gonna piggyback on that, 'cause yes, I would be a little bit petty and call them out. However, I have anxiety Ugh ... and it does play into your appointments, so I'm a little bit forgiving, but I'm damn well gonna heart that picture on Instagram and say, "You live your best life, girl. Yeah But I won't hold it against them, because you can only take what people say to you as truth You, you said it from the very beginning of this recording, Sam, you can only take what somebody's saying to you at face value.

Mm-hmm. That's all you have, and you have to trust it. Yeah. Hm.

Five years ago, we wouldn't have been friends with our clients on social media. Right. And now, they book an appointment, they friend request me. It's just how it goes.

Let's say that somebody was feeling sick, so they were in bed all day, so they were bored, so they posted their drag brunch- True. from last week. Exactly. I think that's very...

Kelsey, go ahead. Exactly. That's what I mean. That's what I was gonna say.

You don't always know that it's actually what's happening now. My response would've been, "Where is my chicken and waffle and mimosa flight?" I would probably respond snarky that you didn't invite me, but that's exactly what I was gonna say. How do you know that they're just not laying in bed and posting from last month's vacation or whatever?

So, yeah. Say something snarky, for sure. But I just wouldn't want the invite next time Period. May, how would you handle this situation?

I don't really react on social media too much. I will respond to a client. Every client's treated the same in my eyes. That's how I'm able to keep up.

I can't compartmentalize. I just do it the same way. It just have to be the same routine. Um, I probably will heart it, but leave it like that, and then, I go by their actions more than what I see.

So, if it's something that keeps at it, the first person I look to is how am I responding and how am I showing up? What am I doing to take responsibility for what I don't really feel comfortable with? Um, I'll give someone a waiver the first time. They know that if they're sick.

It's hard. When they're sick and they say they have COVID, I don't want that either, and I just want to respect it. But if it keeps happening multiple times, it's actually kind of like red flag. It's not gonna work out.

Right. So, I'll just... At the end of it, I look at it like it's my responsibility as a business owner and a leader to remind them of my policy. Right.

Um, and say it in a way that is professional. Yeah. I think that you bring up a good point, if this kept happening. Because let's say that we take what they have to share with us at face value, and we take it at the truth, as the truth, right?

And then they're sick, and they... But then they end up doing this multiple times. That's when it starts to become a red flag, like you say, Mae, and then we have to maybe start to do something differently. And that doesn't mean that we maybe call them out and say, "Oh, I think you're lying to me," but maybe it means, "Hey, I'm noticing this is happening pretty frequently and this is how it's affecting me.

Would we be able to put down a deposit? Are you okay with us only booking an appointment if I have an opening or a last minute cancellation within that same day?" Like, you would have to start to, like, work around the assumption that they're sick, but now offer these different, less desirable alternatives. So, what you would most likely want to say is say, "The next time this happens, this is how we're gonna have to move forward with it, as far as booking appointments."

What were you going to say, Mae? I'm really glad you made that more clear. I'm not sure if any of you guys get close to your clients, not personally, but you just grow, like, you care about them. You want them to look good.

You see their transformation. I do it all the time 'cause I do extensions and color. There are long appointments and we're together in the styling room. I have one client, a nurse, and it, it wasn't a good fit, um, that someone keeps canceling on me like that.

The type of client and their job. She got mad at me. She said that there should be stylists that will be more flexible with clients who have nurse jobs. And then I realized, you know what?

That's so true. I responded very professionally too. That's very true. It takes a lot of courage, as a stylist, to actually admit and let a client know that we're not a good fit.

I realized we're not a good fit. I'm not the stylist for you. Always try to make it about them first, which is true. Um, and it also helps me to realize that that might not be my ideal client, someone who is a 24 hour nurse, always on call.

I need... My hours, it's daytime. I don't work weekends, so I have to take on clients who can come in during the day. Yeah.

It, it absolutely makes sense. I think there are a couple different ways to approach it when somebody has some sort of chronic condition that will pop up on them without much notice. Like I said, I always give a waiver on illness, but if it's something that does happen regularly and they can't predict it, then maybe they don't book far out. Maybe I try to slip them in when I can.

And then when we've had a compassionate conversation about that, it hasn't been a problem. And I know some people will just be like, "This ain't gonna work." That's okay, too. But I think being compassionate and communicating about it is what's most important.

I would argue that there's actually plenty. There is hella out there that are 100% still working those hours, bound to a salon as an employee, in which the salon is gonna make them work Saturdays, afternoons, evenings, come in for this client. Those stylists absolutely exist, and what I love about what Mae said and her philosophy, "I am not the fit for you," right? "I want you to be happy, and therefore, I am no longer the right fit for you, and it's okay if we, you...

This has to happen. Although, I love getting to see you." And I think that it definitely becomes true when you've created a relationship with that person. It becomes very hard to make that split and admit that.

Yeah. You actually got the last part of that story because that was, like, the first time I had to tell a client. Before, I had to give her that message 'cause it's hard. It's not easy to say to someone, "We're not a good fit."

I did offer her, "This is the third time this happened with last minute cancellation. Another I can give you is just let me know, like, the week that you can make it, or even within the day, but you just can't book in advance." Um, didn't work either, but that's an option. It's an option, but for example, with extensions, it might not be an option because you're gonna have the hair.

Yeah. But for some things it could be. Mm-hmm. And yeah, I think it's good you tried.

That was a Okay. bad - But it's good you tried and it's good you let her... Just let her know. Yeah.

Thanks. I think you were really patient with that. And I wanted to piggyback on that too. I have plenty of nurse clients.

I live in a college nurse medical school town. I have an ER doc that does a 24 hour rotation and sits in my chair. No questions. The right person will make it work for you, but if it's not the right f-fit for you, it's not the right fit for you.

It's the person. It's not necessarily you or your availability. It's their willingness to work ar- with their schedule or be flexible, and not everybody is with their hair and that's fine, but I'm not willing to break my policies and boundaries just because you don't wanna say no to a shift. Stephanie.

Your client was at the drag show. They were getting it down with the drag queens. What is this? Justice for drag queens.

Love drag queens. Go ahead, Stephanie. My initial reaction would be pretty salty, but I would scroll past it and then, obviously, I've already rescheduled them if they text me at 7:30. But when she comes into her appointment, I'm gonna be like, "How was the show?"

They're gonna be like, "Oh my gosh, you saw that?" "Yeah, I did. You put it out on the interwebs." "So if you wanted to go to the show, just tell me you wanted to go to the show.

We don't have to lie." You know what I mean? Yeah. That would be my reaction.

Nothing- Yeah. And I- calling it out is enough to get your message across as that first time little warning, I guess you could say. So I enjoy it. I love all- I love it- all that y'all had to say today.

Did y'all have a good conversation with me today? With each other today? Yeah. Most definitely.

Yeah. Good. Yes. It makes me want to check my clients' stories way more often- Period.

to find out what's the realness. Period. It's- actually, it's a great strategy to follow your clients on social. Mm-hmm.

It gives you so many opportunities to be able to- Yeah. connect with them, connect with their friends, put yourself out there more with marketing and stuff like that. So highly recommend that you try your best to follow your clients. Okay.

So I've had a blessed conversation with y'all today. I wish we had more time to get into the more niche policies today- Ooh. such as salon etiquette policy- Yeah. redo policies- Mm-hmm.

things like that. So maybe we'll have to do that another time on our community roundtable. I would love to have you guys back again. Thank each and every one of you so much for your time and for your insight and your perspective.

Thank you for wanting to be a part of the greater good- ... of helping this industry evolve as it continues forward into these crazy times. It means the world to me. And thank you, my friend, tuning into the Modern Hairstylist podcast.

I hope that you enjoyed this episode and learned something from it. I'm gonna leave the Instagrams to all of these amazing beauty professionals in the show notes, so that way, you can go check them out and hang with them if you would like to on the interwebs. So much love to you guys. Thank you so much for being on the pod, this group.

Thank you for listening. Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye. Bye.

Bye.

End of transcript. © 2025 Hunter Donia LLC.