Salon appointment reminders by SMS and WhatsApp: what to send and when

Most no-shows are not rude. The client forgot, or something came up and she did not know how to tell you without an awkward call. Either way, the chair stays empty and the stylist loses the income.

Reminders fix most of this. The trick is to send the right message at the right time, and to make it easy for the client to move the booking instead of simply not turning up.

What reminders should a salon send?

Send three messages for every booking: a confirmation when the booking is made, a reminder the day before, and a final reminder about two hours before. Long services, such as a full day of braids, deserve all three. A quick line-up might need only the confirmation and the day-before reminder.

1. 1Confirmation, as soon as the booking is made
2. 2Reminder, the day before
3. 3Final reminder, about two hours before

What should each message say?

Every message should answer the same questions in one short paragraph: what service, with whom, what day and time, where, and what to do if plans change. Keep it short enough to read on a lock screen.

Here are example messages you can adapt. Change the names, places and times to your own.

Confirmation: "Hello Akosua, your booking at Adwoa's Hair Studio is confirmed: knotless braids, mid-back, with Esi on Saturday 24 October at 8:00am. We are on Spintex Road, near the Flower Pot junction. To change it, reply to this message or call 024 000 0000."

Day before: "Hello Akosua, a reminder of your braids with Esi tomorrow, Saturday, at 8:00am. Please come with your hair washed and stretched. If you can no longer make it, reply and we will find you another time."

Two hours before: "Hello Akosua, we are ready for you at 8:00am with Esi. See you soon."

For long services, the day-before message is the place for instructions: come with hair washed, bring your own hair if you are bringing it, allow the whole morning.

When is the best time to send the day-before reminder?

Send it the day before. That is late enough to be fresh in the client's mind and early enough for you to offer the slot to someone else if she cancels.

If you open early, for example at 7:00am, a reminder sent the morning of the booking arrives too late to help. The day-before message is the one that saves the slot.

SMS or WhatsApp: which should you use?

Use both where you can. SMS reaches every phone, including a basic phone with no data, and arrives even when the client's data bundle has run out. WhatsApp is friendlier, can be longer, and makes it easy for the client to reply, send a photo of the style she wants or share your location pin with a driver.

Many salons send the confirmation and reminders by SMS automatically, then use WhatsApp for anything that needs a conversation.

Reminders for long services, bridal parties and group bookings

Long and group bookings need more care, because a no-show costs more. A bride and four bridesmaids booked for hair and nails on the morning of a wedding can fill your whole salon. If one of them forgets, two stylists may sit idle.

For these bookings, add a fourth message: a check a few days before, while there is still time to change the plan. Confirm the number of people, the styles, who is bringing hair, and what time each person should arrive. Send it to the person who made the booking and ask her to share it with the group.

On the day, a short message to each person with her own time works better than one message to the whole group. People read their own name. If your bookings are in one diary, each person's appointment sits under her stylist, so you can see at a glance who is due when.

What should you do when a client does not reply?

If a client has not replied to the day-before reminder for a long booking, call her. A two-minute call the evening before can save a whole morning of a stylist's time. For a short service, a missed reply usually just means she is coming.

When a client cancels, offer the slot straight away to your walk-in queue or to clients who asked for an earlier time. Our article on walk-ins and bookings in a barbershop explains how to keep one fair schedule.

Messages after the appointment

The best reminder is the one that brings the client back. A short thank-you after the visit, and a message when her style is due for a redo, keeps her booking with you instead of the salon next door. Keep a note of each client's usual style and when she is likely to be due, so you know when to send it.

Only message clients about their own bookings and services, and stop if they ask you to. Ghana's Data Protection Commission lists principles such as using personal data only for clearly specified purposes and keeping people informed about their data, so tell clients why you keep their number. Our guide to client records and loyalty points covers keeping client details well.

How MPOS helps

MPOS sends booking SMS when you turn SMS on: a confirmation, a reminder the day before and a reminder about two hours before. Each automatic SMS gives your business name, the day and time, and your phone number for changes; use WhatsApp for the service, stylist and directions. Reminders only go out between 7:00am and 9:00pm, so an 8:00am booking gets no two-hour reminder, and a booking made for the same day gets no day-before one. WhatsApp reminders are one tap from the appointments screen. Bookings made on your online booking page land in the diary under the right stylist, so the same reminders go out whether the client booked online, by phone or at the counter. MPOS does not take deposits for bookings, so reminders and a good relationship are your main protection against no-shows.

For more on filling the diary, read online booking for salons, or start from the complete guide to running a salon or barbershop. You can start a free trial and send your first reminder today.