Many people have noticed recently that we have started requiring a credit card in order to hold a reservation. This has lead to a number of questions as to why that is, as well as some outright indignation from people who feel as though we are trying to tell them they cannot be trusted. Let us reassure you, it has nothing to do with us not trusting you! Our system recently went through several updates, and now it requires a valid credit card in order to book any appointments, including from existing guests of our, even those we have seen for years!
The major reason that the industry has made it a standard practice to have a card on file for booking is that many people do not realize the impact on their designer if they simply don’t show up. Most salons and spas require 24-hour or greater notice of cancellation. This is because our designers are booking out about three weeks in advance on average. If a guest books a color or chemical service – which can be upwards of three hours, and hundreds of dollars – and then does not show up, not only is that three or more hours worth of appointments the designer could otherwise have accommodated, but it’s almost an entire day’s worth of pay that they are now out.
For most people, it doesn’t seem like a big deal if they just miss an appointment, because they don’t see what goes on behind the chair, or behind the massage table. The designers and technicians who service you are only paid for the services they perform. This means that if they take a cancellation last minute, or if someone simply doesn’t show up, and they therefore have to turn other clients away for the time you have reserved them, they lose out on a huge chunk of their income.
This is why we also have our 24-hour cancellation policy. We require our guests to let us know by 7:00 pm the night before their appointment if they need to change or cancel their reservation. If a client simply does not show up, especially without notice, they are charged the full cost of the service for which they were scheduled. This is never done out of malice, but it is unfair to the designer and to their other guests if a “no call, no show” happens, and we need to hold people accountable.
Studio 7 the Salon and Spa 