to find this lack of human empathy really upsetting

[hatingthehairdressertoday]

I had appointments booked for my kids to have hair cuts last week. My MIL died unexpectedly last week and I forgot about the appointments. Remembered the next day and called to explain. They were sympathetic on phone and I rebooked for today. DC have haircuts and when I go to pay she says that's £x and £x for last weeks no-show. I say I phoned to explain we had bereavement so completely went out of my mind. Too bad, you have to pay. AIBU to have come home and cried my eyes out over this. Please say I'm not. Have name changed for this.

Oh, that's hard. You'd think in the interests of good customer relations, at least, they'd not charge you.
Something similar happened to me - on day of hair appt., my daughter admitted to hospital with complications of late pregnancy, so I had to rush off to help look after my grandchildren. I forgot about the hair appt. However, when I contacted them a day or so later, thinking I'd be charged, they were fine and said in the circumstances, I didn't have to pay. Toni & Guy - if you're interested - always found them very pleasant to deal with.

Not sure they can legally insist on it..... But I wouldn't have paid that's for sure

Yanbu. Presumably they've lost your custom?

did they charge you the full price twice?

I work for myself and if this happens I don't charge. I'm surprised the hairdressers did. Poor customer service. You won't return and pass on poor feeling to friends. Short sighted. Not sure how it sits legally

That's very stupid of them - for the sake of a few pounds they have no doubt lost many years of future custom. I wouldn't go back somewhere that treated me like that.

YANBU at all. I missed an appointment for a haircut a few weeks ago simply because I forgot. I was on my way somewhere else when the hairdresser phoned to see why I hadn't been. I apologised profusely, explained it was entirely my fault and rebooked. Not only was I not charged for the missed appointment, but the hairdresser said she was just concerned that either I had been taken ill, or wasn't happy with my last appointment, and asked me several times if I was happy with the service I'd been getting.

Poor customer service. I'd be telling everyone and anyone willing to listen and I'd have told them them that that was what I was planning to do too

Oh my word. That's sorry sighted of them as presumably they've lost your business and that of friends and family that you will tell. (They'd certainly have lost mine and I'd be telling everyone who stood still long enough! )

Terrible customer service.
They will lose your custom and anyone you tell.
after quite a few cancellations from me they were lovely, they knew my DH was terminally ill. The first time I went back to my hairdressers, They did my hair and wouldn't take any money. They still have my families custom and that of my friends.

That'd be an offence worthy of naming-and-shaming in my eyes. Sorry to hear about your bereavement

Surely they can't charge you for missing an appointment. When you go to the hairdressers you pay for a service, you received that service once so you pay once. I know it must be irritating when people cancel appointments but you could have called to cancel the appointment (or to apologise for missing your appointment) and never gone back to that hairdressers. How could they enforce anyone to pay for missed appointments?

That is truly disgusting!
DH was taken suddenly, seriously ill a month ago and we missed out on a few things, not one charged us, not one.
I am sorry for your loss and that you have then been treated so badly

Oh you poor thing. That's horrendous. And to wait until after you've had the haircuts before telling you is even worse.
Maybe someone on here could write a letter or email to them for you? I'm sure it's the last thing you want to do but they need to know that what happened isn't okay.

So what would she have done if you'd never shown your face there, ever again?

I can understand her needing to keep afloat, but taking the opportunity to charge you the full amount just because you were there is pretty unkind.

Do they have a FB page? My hairdressers does, and it would be worth pointing out on there that this is their policy. Very short sighted of them to be so lacking in compassion.

horrendous. name nd shame

That's vile, I'd be naming and shaming all over the place. I don't think it's that bad to charge for no-shows, but there are exceptions to every rule and it doesn't take a genius to work out this should have been one FFS.

Sorry for your loss too

I've heard it all now! Charging for missing a hair appointment? No hairdresser I've ever known does that. Unbelievable and crass to charge you under the circumstances.

Sorry for your loss OP

That's very harsh, I think it would be obvious that a sudden death in the family would eclipse minor things such as haircuts. I'm sure it's very annoying for them but that kind of attitude stinks (not to mention makes bad business sense)
Definitely name & shame

I agree with everyone else. Absolutely appalling behaviour. You should definitely name and shame,.

Oh my god, did you pay?! I'm not usually one to say name and shame but it's almost like she's profited from your bereavement! Awful, awful thing to do. Never go back, tell her why and tell her you'll be telling everyone you know.

How awful for you. The hairdresser sounds lacking in empathy and rather stupid. You obviously wont go back so she's lost a customer.

Thank you. It was £10 for the cancellation so not about the money from my point of view. On a different day I would not have paid but was ready to burst into tears right there and then so just threw the money at her and rushed out. Obviously she has lost my custom. I name changed because I am totally ready to name and shame. Even thought about calling the local paper. Other companies I have had to deal with in the last week have been compassion itself so I was not really expecting this. Feeling emotionally fragile anyway as in shock. At least the kids have had their haircuts so will look respectable at their grandma's funeral.

I have no sympathy for her but the tiniest wee bit of understanding. I too work freelance - not hair - and it's typical in my industry to have a cancellation charge if cancelled within so many days.

This is because if a client cancels then we lose out on the money we would have earned through accepting another booking for that time. Cancellations add up and could amount to a fairly hefty financial loss if we didn't apply the policy.

However. You presumably didn't have a written contract with this woman and she didn't mention anything on the call last week about a charge being applied. She didn't mention it when you came into the shop today. She didn't mention it until after the hair cuts were done. This is plain cynical and nasty. She deserves to be bad mouthed all over town.

Unless she has obvious signage in the shop displaying her "cancellation charges", I wouldn't think she legally has a leg to stand on. I would not have paid, although I appreciate someone who already feels fragile from bereavement probably doesn't have the necessary fiestyness at the moment.

She sounds like a nasty piece.