Free checklist
The no-show reduction checklist
Work down the list and turn on what is missing. Most empty slots come from three things: no deposit, a reminder sent too early, and a cancellation rule that is never enforced.
Before the booking is accepted
- Require a deposit on every service that costs you time to prepare.
- State the deposit amount and what it goes towards on the booking page itself.
- Collect a mobile number as well as an email address.
- Write the cancellation window in one plain sentence: how much notice, and what happens to the deposit.
- Cap how far ahead people can book — distant bookings are forgotten more often.
Between booking and appointment
- Send the confirmation immediately, with date, time, address and the cancellation rule repeated.
- Send one reminder the day before, not three days before.
- Add a second reminder the morning of, for appointments after midday.
- Give a one-tap way to reschedule in every reminder — a moved booking beats an empty slot.
- Ask new clients to confirm; keep confirmation optional for regulars.
Protecting the slot
- Keep a waitlist and offer released slots to it automatically.
- Leave a short buffer after long services so a late arrival doesn't collapse the day.
- Group the same service type together so a gap can be filled by a similar booking.
- Track which services and times no-show most, and require a larger deposit there.
After a no-show
- Send one neutral message the same day offering a new time — no lecture.
- Apply the deposit policy exactly as written, every time, for everyone.
- Record the no-show on the client's record so the pattern is visible.
- After a second no-show, require full prepayment rather than declining the client.