Salon Policies (Cancellations, Redos, Covid etc.)

Hello, friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylist Podcast. So today, we're gonna be talking about salon policies, and you know, as I normally do, we are gonna be breaking down salon policies from top to bottom. I'm gonna be diving deep into, like, what salon policies you should have and, like, the ins and outs of all of them and what decisions you gotta make, so all of that good stuff.

Um, we're gonna be talking about COVID-19 and sickness policy because I don't know what time and day you're listening to this, friend, but right now as I'm recording this, it's December 2021 and shit's still crazy even after two years of this pandemic. And we have to make sure that, um, we have our policies and our boundaries, procedures, all of the things in place based upon the current day and the way that the consumer thinks and what they are at risk for and all these things nowadays, right? We're gonna be talking about the classic salon policies, um, and what you should look for in those, and we're gonna be talking about salon etiquette, all of those things. Great.

Fantastic. Beautiful. Cool. But what I really wanna talk to you about today because I think it's the most important, if not, I mean, like, if we don't talk about this, then none of this even matters, is how you actually use your salon policies, okay, how you actually efficiently use all of these salon policies that you're gonna systematically put into place.

It's so important that we write these down and they're set in stone so that way you have a system to rely on so we're not making emotional decisions. But, uh, what really matters is how we are using these salon policies efficiently in our business. That is where the magic really happens. So we're gonna break it all down for you today.

Let's go. Let me guess. You are a hustling, bustling hairstylist behind the chair working so hard to build a beautiful career for yourself, one that gives you time, freedom, and energy to spend with yourself, your family, and your friends, but you feel like you're always working in your business even when you're not behind the chair. My name's Hunter Donia, and I help you automate your systems and implement really beautiful strategies so you can grow your business without the overwhelm, and this is the Modern Hairstylist Podcast.

So when we're starting our salon businesses, we often don't consider the really important systematic fundamentals that we really need to have in place to have a legit, protected, efficient business, right? And that's just because we as a service industry and as hairstylists have just- we've just been robbed of all the essential very important business education that other industries have been getting for years and years and years, right? But now luckily, we have beautiful education out here. We have the internet.

We have communities. We have podcasts such as this one that can teach us all of those things that we often neglected. And salon policies is one of those really important systematic fundamentals that is going to allow you to run an efficient business as a service provider, but it really takes understanding how to use them properly. I was really lucky that when I was getting into my own suite that I understood that I should have salon policies and I knew how to use them effectively, but it was really easy to get distracted by figuring out what the wall color was gonna be and what decorations I was gonna have in the suite, what kinda vibe that I wanted to create, and what kinda music I wanted to have, which is all so important.

That's part of your branding, that's part of your marketing, that's part of your experience, but all of that stuff falls apart if you don't have these systematic fundamentals. And because I knew from the get to use these salon policies in a really effective and efficient way, I very rarely get lis- last minute cancellations. I literally never get no-call no-shows. I very rarely have people show up late.

I almost never have redos, and that's all because I've had these things in place from the beginning and I use them efficiently daily in my business and I make people aware and clear of what my standards are for them, for this to be a beautiful relationship between service provider and client, okay? So salon policies is- are very, very, very important and are very much a part of that, and that's why I'm gonna break them down for you today, because we deserve respect from our clients. We deserve to be joyful in our day-to-day lives, no matter if it's in our careers or outside of our careers. We need to make sure that we are properly communicating to our clients and to everybody in our lives how we prefer to be respected.

We need to teach people how to respect us or make them aware, at least, of how to respect us in order to expect respect from a human being, right? You cannot expect anybody to respect you unless you have made your boundaries clear to somebody, okay? So before we get into, you know, uh, how to actually use the salon policies, we actually have to have the salon policies, so let's talk about it. So like I said a little bit before, today, uh, we're living in pandemic world, and if you're listening to this, at one point of our lives, there was a big pandemic and it really shook up the beauty industry in so many different ways.

But as- I think right now the way that it's shaking up the beauty industry the most is last minute cancellations, um, sickness policies, and wearing masks, vaccine mandates, all of that stuff, right? All that good stuff. First off, check your local laws, talk to an attorney, all of the good things. This is not legal advice whatsoever.

Um, this is just business administration advice that you need to crosscheck with whoever you need to crosscheck to know that it's official and legit, okay? So don't sue me, period, okay?So first, let's talk about, uh, last minute cancellations because of sickness. So for me personally, I want, I want my client to cancel.

There is not enough money in the world for me to let that person into my business and then for me to get sick and then risk giving that to my family members or another client, whatever it may be, right? And, you know, sometimes people will say, "Oh, well, uh, I'm nervous that my client's just going to pretend that that's happening and they're gonna cancel on me." Friend, if you're working with that type of clientele, then you're probably attracting the wrong people in your marketing. Like, I am very confident that my clients would never do that with me, like whatsoever, and I'm confident that they know what my policies are, and I have their card on file, and that my time is valuable and precious and that they are going to respect that, right?

So I'm, I'm confident that, you know, if somebody is letting me know that they're sick and they just want to protect themselves and protect me, then I'm not gonna charge them a cancellation fee. So that way I don't want them to, the next time that they are sick during the day of their appointment, I don't want them to come in sick because they don't wanna pay this fee. Like, I would rather take the L and lose that money and that space versus them come in sick and then risk me getting sick and, and getting my, the rest of my clients sick 'cause that's not cute. That's not doing a service for yourself or anybody else, all righty?

Now if this is a common occurrence with somebody, I would have the conversation and I would say, "Listen, friend, this is the second or third time that, uh, y- we've canceled within 24 hours because of sickness. What I would appreciate that we could do is, is that from now on," and this could be one of your policies, this should be one of your policies, right? Is that if you have a sickness within 24 hours and it happens, you know, two or three times and you have to cancel, that you'll have to put down a deposit for future appointments or you'll have to pay a rebooking fee for future appointments because of lost income. Now, that's just something that I think is fair because, I mean, what are the odds?

I mean, even if somebody's coming to see you every three weeks, what are the odds that that person is sick on the day of their appointment every three weeks within, like, a certain time span, you know? So I feel like it's fair to do that after a couple times, but definitely not the first time. Let them go the first time, remind them of what your cancellation policy is, maybe remind them of what your, uh, of your, uh, three strikes rule is, whatever it may be, whatever you want to do, whatever what that looks like for you and your business. That is how I would handle that, period.

Now when I first opened up my suite, it was actually right as Pennsylvania quarantine was lifted and the State Board of Cosmetology, uh, they put out a notice that we, as the service providers, we had to kind of, like, screen our clients. We had to ask them if they had been out of the country, if they've traveled, if they had, uh, uh, direct, uh, exposure to COVID, if they had any symptoms, whatever it may be. And if they said yes to any of them, I believe it was highly advised that they reschedule or they aren't allowed in your business. Um, we, I was even taking temperature checks even though that wasn't required, um, and I have actually kept that going until this day.

I, I have a screening process, um, and it's all done with digital forms, so that's a lot of what I'm gonna be talking with y'all about today, um, but I, I have questions and a COVID-19, uh, screening waiver that says, "I have not blank. I do not blank. I don't have symptoms. I have not traveled."

Whatever those things may be, right? Um, I have that so that way they agree that they say that they, uh, have not experienced or are not experiencing any of those things, which it's not full... Yes, it is. It's to make sure that, you know, that they're not walking into my business with, like, a risky situation What it's more for is just in case, right?

Just in case state board or state inspectors or whoever the hell wants to come for me and ask me if I was letting these people into my business or I was creating an unsafe environment for people, whatever it may be, just in case. And yes, it's probably far-fetched that something like that would happen, like somebody would come after me, but just in case it does, I have those things, right? It also gets your client kind of thinking and self-reflecting of, like, "Okay, wait, is it the right thing for me to walk into this business? I should be honest with Hunter before I actually step in here and let him know that I did just, uh, get exposed to COVID from my husband," or whatever it may be.

So it does a couple different things, right? And it establishes that I'm taking this virus seriously and that I'm creating a safe space for every single one of my clients because I'm not just asking them that quash- question, I'm asking every single one of my clients that qua- that question. So if I have one of my clients who is kind of nervous about coming to the salon, when they see that, they're gonna see, oh, Hunter's creating a safe space for me, right, and that he actually cares, and that's important. That's a good guest experience, right?

People wanna be able to trust you, and more than ever, safety is an amenity nowadays Now, you run your business how you wanna run your business, friend, but this is just how I run my business and what my opinion is. Now, I promise we'll be done with COVID-19 in just a moment, but stick around. This is some juicy stuff. So the other thing that I do is I have statements in my COVID-19 policy waiver thingamajig on my digital form that say that Hunter is not responsible for if you get sickNow, by the way, this digital form is filled out every single appointment, so they're getting screened every single appointment and they're making sure that they're waiving away their rights to sue me or blame me for getting them sick every single appointment, okay?

Because it's within that instance for that date that they're actually stepping into my business. That's really good for my bookkeeping, that really covers my ass if somebody wants to go crazy and sue me if they think that I gave them COVID or whatever it may be, right? So not only do we, uh, screen them, but we also make sure that we're waiving away any liability. What we are also doing is making sure that our expectations for what they are, uh, uh, what they are doing or what they are walking into our business are clear.

So if you require masks in your suite, say that in your policies or in your digital form, so that way it's not this, like, con- uh, uh, this confrontational awkward conversation that you have to have. That way somebody is very clear and it's in writing, you know that they signed and saw it, and it is what it is. Sorry, no ma'am, I don't let these people into my building until they've filled out that digital form and they have a mask on, on their face because I can't afford to get sick and I can't afford to let my family get sick right now. So therefore, I have them see that in my digital form in a non-confrontational way.

That way I don't have to, like, awkwardly ask somebody to put on their mask and make it like this whole argument or this weird thing. And then, I mean, if you h- if you're in a county or a place that has, like, a vaccine mandate, that's just another really great non-confrontational way to get that out of the way to make sure that they show that they agree or they say, "Yes, I am vaccinated," or whatever it may be, just for your bookkeeping, okay? Now, this is all up to you, friend. This is all your decisions and all...

it's all... it's gonna be different for every single one of you listening to this, um, how you run your business with COVID-19 and how you are screening people, if you're screening people, if there's masks, if there's not, whatever it may be. I'm just telling you to protect yourself. Now, let's get into your classic salon policies, right?

Your good old salon policies. Your cancellation policy, your redo policy, your lateness policy, your product return policy, and your salon etiquette policy. Those are the five that we're gonna go over today. I don't think it's necessarily limited to those, that you should have more, right?

You can have a photo release policy, um, you can have all the policies. But those are the five main core ones that I'm gonna be going over today. So first thing is your cancellation policy. So the cancellation policy is to make sure that you are guaranteed income, that...

Because if you're not working, you're not making money, right? If you don't have a butt in your chair, then you're not making coin. And so therefore, to be able to predict how much money you're gonna make in a day, in a week, in a month, in a year, you need to make sure that a butt is in your chair and that those appointments that stole that time, um, you know, that they're held accountable and that they have skin in the game and that there, uh, is a policy and boundary that is in place that makes sure to reduce those cancellations as much as possible So when you're coming up with a cancellation policy, you want to first come up with a timeframe, right? How, uh, how many, uh, hours out from that reserved time are they able to contact you without getting, um, charged, right?

So if your minimum is 24 hours they have to g- reach out to you to let you know, uh, that they're canceling, then within 24 hours, if they do reach out to you, then they would fall under your cancellation policy, and that means that they would need to be charged whatever your cancellation policy is, right? And then that brings us into the next decision, is, how much do you want to charge them, right? How much is worth that missing time, that missing space in your book? And c- it could be a per- uh, percentage or it could be a dollar amount, and a lot of booking systems nowadays, they actually allow you to set that up so that way they do the math for you, and I think that's pretty cool.

Now, what you can also do is you could have a card on file, which I highly recommend that you do, because having a card on file is going to actually prevent those cancellations from happening very much in the first place as long as you're showing these people your policies very often, okay? So like I said earlier, it's all about how you use these salon policies. Now, I was talking about the digital form that I use for my COVID waiver, right? I use that digital form for a lot of different things, but I, uh, they fill it out every single appointment they come to see me, okay?

So in that form, they're signing all of my policies, including my cancellation policy, so they're reading and signing and understanding and agreeing to it multiple times. They're signing and reading and agreeing to, "Your card will be saved on file in a secure space and will be charged blank if blank." So that way I have receipts that they signed and understood this agreement and this policy every single appointment in every single instance, not just once, okay And they're gonna be consistently reminded of what your policies are and what your boundaries are, especially if you have a low maintenance clientele. You're only seeing your client every three months, so how are you gonna expect your client, the first time they came to see you, who's been seeing you for a year, who only sees you four times a year, how are you, uh, going to expect them to remember that you even have a cancellation policy?

You have to put it in front of their face. And so I use the digital form on the day of their appointment every single time so that way they read and sign every single time. 'Cause if they cancel on me and if they try to tell me, "Oh, I didn't know about that policy," or, "Oh, I never agreed to that," you got the PDF, you got the receipt, you got the screenshots, you got everything that you need to back you up... friend, okay?

Because my philosophy with salon policies, though, okay, I don't even want you to have to have the receipts. I don't want you to have to charge your card on file. What I want you to do is I want you to reduce those cancellations and no shows in the first place. I want you to reduce those redo requests and those retail returns.

I want you to reduce all of that from the very beginning and that all comes from making your client aware, because they know, "If I cancel within 24 hours, I'm gonna get charged this, so it's not worth it to cancel." That is how you use salon policies effectively, is you consistently remind your clients of them, and you can do it in a non-confrontational, really beautiful way with digital forms, which I teach all about in my programs, in pre-visit pathway, how to use jot form, how to roll out a day of appointment form, all of the good things. Okay? So cancellation policy, timeframe, how much you're gonna charge them, um, you can even put in there, like, we were kind of covering earlier, you could put, like, a sickness policy in there, um, "If this happens more than blank, then blank," right?

Um, "If there's th- more than three last minute cancellations, you'll require a full deposit on, on future appointments." Like, you can make all of these decisions and, and go deeper than just the surface level that you think of, right? Think about all of the case scenarios. That way, you are fully covered and your client fully understands what the T is.

Okay? Now let's get into your lateness policy. So your lateness policy, you're gonna have to decide how late can someone be before blank, right? So does that mean before they are charged a certain extra surcharge because they were late?

Does that mean before they may have to be rescheduled and forfeit their appointment for that day, or forfeit a part of that scheduled service, but still have to pay full price for that service, right? So those are the type of decisions that you're gonna make. Then you have to decide, are you gonna be fair and are you going to charge yourself a late fee if you're running late, right? Because what's it gonna look like to your clients if you have a lateness policy, but then you run 10 minutes late as a stylist?

So you could hold yourself accountable to that lateness policy as well, and then that way, you know, your client sees it as a very fair exchange. Now, I think that that's just gonna depend on if you have a client who runs really late often and if you just wanna apply that to somebody who runs late, you know, after two or three times. Um, if... That's gonna depend on if you run late as a stylist very often, but those are just some ideas and some decisions that you have to make when it comes to your lateness policy.

Now, when it comes to your redo policy, what you're gonna wanna consider, okay, is you're gonna wanna consider the fact that you are setting expectations in your consultation. We hear it all the time, underpromise, overdeliver, right? So did you promise something that your client did not get, okay? Or did you set the expectation and your client got the expectation, right, and you fully believe that you delivered on what you expected and promised on, but they're still upset or they are upset about what they have?

Because if you set an expectation, right, and if you told Suzy that she was not gonna be able to get white blonde today, "It's very unlikely, Suzy, that you're gonna get, uh, that you're gonna be white blonde today. However, we can absolutely try our best, but I cannot guarantee that I'm gonna get you there. Do you understand? Is that okay?"

Right? Because the moment that they say that they understand, then that means that they know what they're paying for today and they know that they're not paying to be white blonde, they're paying for you to do your best. So if, Suzy, if you deliver and you try your best and you don't get to white blonde, that's okay. You delivered on what you promised and what you set the expectation on, so by no means should you have to come in and do a complimentary service for that person.

So if Suzy reaches out to you and says, "Hey, I was really looking and hoping to get white blonde, but this isn't really looking that good for me. Is there any way I can get a refund or is there any way I can come in and get this fixed for free?" You can give them the cancel or the redo policy that you, that you have in your, uh, digital forms that they signed, and you could even have a consultation form that they could sign with the game plan, right, and show them those receipts. And in that way, that person can see, like, "Oh, I vocally agreed that this was the expectation and that if the expectation was met, then there would be no redos or, or whatever it may be."

But if you did not deliver, right, or if that person is talking about something that was s- that was, um, not spoken about in the consultation, like, you had, like, a bleeder spot in the back or, uh, you know, there's, there's just something that didn't really go that well or that your client wasn't expecting, right, or doesn't see- seem to hold to the standard that they're expecting for the price that they're paying, then that's when your redo policy needs to come into effect and you, you should probably do that service complimentary. But that's gonna be up to you to decide and it's gonna be really important that you are very clear about what your expectations are and what their expectations should be in your consultation. So in your redo policy, you need to decide, right, how many days out from the appointment will you allot a complimentary redo based upon the service provider's discretion that i... what the client is referring to was not set in the expectations of the consultation and agreed to verbally.

I just came up with that on the top of my head, but something like that, right? So you need to come up with a timeframe that they can reach out to you, if it'll be complimentary, if they're gonna pay for products still or not, um, when they will have to pay for full price. If the expectation was set based upon the service provider's discretion and they believe that the expectations were delivered upon, then, then the client will be held responsible for the charges or fees of what that service carried out will look like. You know, something like that.

Like I said, off the top of my head. But make sure that you're pretty detailed in what that actually looks like, so that way your client signs that away and you can send the receipts if they have an issue. Purr. Then we get into your product return policy.

So do you wanna decide, you know, how many days out they can return that product for a discount, credit towards their next appointment, full refund to their card? What does the use of the product have to look like? Could you, could it be fully empty? Could it be half empty?

Could it be lightly used? Can the bottle be damaged? Can it not be damaged for them to get a full refund or to, for them to get some sort of com- compensation? So how soon do they have to reach out to you, how long can they have it, et cetera, et cetera.

So you're gonna have to come up with those types of decisions. Then we get into your salon etiquette policy. So salon etiquette policy is something that I think is super relevant for today in which we live in a very political world, um, very controversial world where a lot of people have a lot of different opinions and things to say about things. And, um, uh, and people are just friggin' crazy, right?

So you wanna decide when is enough, when, what is enough, what kind of behavior and conversations are you going to allow to occur within your space? Is politics off the, off the limits? Is, uh, COVID-19 off, off limits? Is vaccination off limits?

Um, uh, uh, is talking about a triggering topic off limits, right? Put that in your salon etiquette policy. Make sure that your clients are reading that, so that way they have a non-confrontational expectation of what that service is going to look like, what those conversations are gonna look like that you don't prefer or allow to have in your space, and then what the consequence will be if they do bring up these things or if they treat you disrespectfully. So for me personally, I have a no discriminatory language or derogatory statements in my salon, right?

That's one of my salon etiquette policies. And I say if, uh, it, it's up to the service pro- provider's discretion whether or not something of this sorts was said and if s- if warned once and it happens again, then the service provider is allowed to stop in the middle of the service and discontinued from completing the service, et cetera, et cetera. So you're gonna wanna come up with your decisions for what that looks like for you, okay? So I hope that this episode was helpful for you, friend.

I know that we live in a crazy time right now, and, uh, I know that it can be really difficult to set these boundaries in the first place. And what I want to let you know is it is completely possible to professionally, effectively, and accountably set these expectations for your clients and to make sure that you reduce cancellations, that you create the environment and space in your salon suite that you want to create, or your salon space, whatever it may be, that you want to create so that way you can be truly joyful when you show up to work and you can live a happy, beautiful life, uh, behind the chair and beyond the chair, okay? So so much love to you. What I want you to do right now is leave a testimonial in this podcast, wherever you're listening, Spotify, Apple Music, wherever else, sir, and I want you to tell me what's one policy that you are really powerful and strong about or what's one policy that you love that you have in the salon or what's one thing that you're gonna implement now that you've listened to this episode into your salon policies, okay?

Now what I really wanna encourage you to do is use these salon policies to prevent these situations from happening in the first place, and you can do that by consistently having your clients read and sign them every single appointment. And like I said, I go over how we do that in a really fun and professional way in Pre-Visit Pathway, so if you want to join the wait list for Pre-Visit Pathway, you can go to the link in my bio @hairbyhunty on Instagram and check it out there, and we will get you up in that gig as soon as it possibly reopens, okay? So so much love to you, friend. I hope that you have a blessed rest of your day.

You set all those boundaries, and I will see you in the next one. Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2022 Hunter Donia LLC.