To consider challenging paying this?

[Tatty3]

Long term customer of a local Hairdressers. Been going since it opened, for last 10 years.

My hairdresser is the owner and mentioned a few months ago that they were thinking about bringing in a deposit for every appt as people were cancelling last minute.

I booked again a month or so for this weekend. No mention of paying a deposit.

I've had an accident this morning and have had to get stitches in the top of my head which i cant get wet. I've messaged today to cancel, really apologetic with a proposed alternative time in a few weeks.

The hairdresser is asking me to pay because I didn't give 48 hours notice.

Would you pay? I want to support my hairdresser but if I pay now and don't get the service, I'm going to have to save up for a few months before I can afford to go again and I am in need of a cut. Also, this is a one off extreme situation. Then again that doesn't help her financial situation?

I'd pay the 50% then go in a few weeks.

If the was no mention or evidence of you being aware of it there being an agreement of a fee for late cancellation, then any demand for said payment is illegal.

Again, to confirm, there have been a hell of a lot more than 6 appts. I've had a change in circumstances and therefore I'm now going once every 3 months whereas previously, I was going every 6 weeks for my colour.

It's a tough one, I've never considered myself to be flaky - and I don't think cancelling 2 appts during a global pandemic with photographic evidence is unreasonable. But I understand self employed people are struggling particularly with late cancellations.

I'm going to message her to reiterate the situation. If she pushes, I'll pay half and either way I think finding a different hairdresser is the way forward. Thanks!

I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong OP, and I really don’t understand the people labelling cancelling over the last two years as some sort of flakiness. Surely we’ve all experienced it? We’ve had dentist appointments cancelled numerous times due to outbreaks at their practice, with on the day notice, and I’m sure I’ve had to cancel things myself, due to covid (which me and ds have had twice, dd once and dh still hasn’t had - it seems luck of the draw!)

cancelling with five days notice and 48 hours notice, as you have previously described isn’t flaky at all! It’s plenty of time and these things happen, it’s calling to rearrange, not just cancelling last minute and not turning up.

Hopefully she will see sense. I know times are hard for everyone, but most people don’t penalise loyal customers, who they know will come back again and again. Especially in exceptional circumstances, when she didn’t actually request a deposit (which she would be fair to keep if she had, and made her policy clear. As it is, she’s being unreasonable). I l hope you get it sorted, I know it’s an uncomfortable situation, where you don’t want to burn bridges etc

I'm going to message her to reiterate the situation. If she pushes, I'll pay half and either way I think finding a different hairdresser is the way forward. Thanks!

There's no need to message her - none of this is your fault. I would just ignore her and look for someone else as her lack of professionalism is pretty shocking.

She failed to have the correct cancellation policies in place. That's nobody's fault but her own. She definitely shouldn't be making you pay for her mistakes.

Three recent short notice cancellations. Think I would pay

I think it's reasonable to ask you to pay.

No I wouldn't pay, and she hasn't really got a leg to stand on. Even if you do pay you will always feel resentful, so I think the relationship is spoiled now unfortunately. Time to find a new hairdresser!

I don't think you should pay anything. Especially if you're looking for a new hairdresser anyway.
If moneys that tight don't throw it away.
I don't think it's fair to judge people on not showing up during a herbal pandemic either. I missed loads of appointments due to having covid or self isolating. Not everyone is lucky enough not to have had it.

What, fed up of her not showing up when she’s got Covid?

No she doesn’t. Appointments every 6 weeks for the majority of 18 months, 3 cancellations in total, 2 of which were Covid with photographic evidence and then this one? When the hairdresser has cancelled on her twice for Covid reasons herself? How a nightmare?

Bit off topic, but since I've been 'in reduced circumstances' I go to the local college for my haircut (hairdressing students rather than plumbing students :-) :-) ) Slow, but bargain prices and always supervised by their tutors.

(It's about £7 for a wet cut: I paid £25 plus for that before. Loved my old hairdresser, but that's a quarter to a third of my weekly income. A lot of people go there for colour etc)

There is no way they should be asking you to pay given you’ve got stitches in your head and you’ve offered to rearrange! The wound you have will still be visible in a few weeks when the hairdresser can safely do your heart so you clearly aren’t faking it or they other Illnesses!

And they didn’t ask for the deposit up front anyway!

I’d be going into the hairdresser with my head wound in person to ask in front of all the other customers if they want you to pay for a missed appt because it would be unsafe to have your hair cut today?

I would just say no. I wouldn’t pay a deposit for a hair appointment. I’ve never not turned up for one and if it was a real emergency such as yours, OP, I would expect them to let me rebook. Decent hairdressers get walk ins and people wanting last minute appointments anyway. It would be different if it happened regularly but with Covid still around people have to be flexible.

That's rubbish of your hairdresser. You have a legitimate reason for cancelling. I'd expect a more sympathetic response as a customer for 10 years 😠

I Wrote when she said every 3 month app.
that’s nearly half.
she wrote after she changed from 6 weeks to 3 months.

and 3 short notice cancellations is still a nightmare. The hair dresser is loosing income regardless of the reason.

My hairdresser uses a deposit system but it's done at the time the appointment is made.
What I would do is tackle this head on. By that I mean work out how much money you've spent in the salon in the past 6 months/12 months/18 months and then walk in to the salon and ask them, whether they are willing to risk losing you as a regular client over this. Say that had you been asked for a deposit at the time you made the appointment this wouldn't even be up for discussion but as you weren't, they can't charge you after the fact.

That's my take on the situation.

But you didn’t say ‘that’s a nightmare for the hairdresser’, you said ‘you sound like a nightmare’. We obviously disagree on what a nightmare is.

I imagine if she had cancelled on you 3 times in the last 18 months you would have found a new hairdresser by now

I wouldn't pay this unless I'd been very clearly told about it in advance. But, I'd accept I probably wouldn't be welcome back at that salon.

I sympathize with the hairdresser though. She probably has multiple cancellations most days and is struggling to make an income as it's not always possible to fill appointments at short notice. People in general have become far more unreliable since Covid, in my experience.

I'm self employed and in the past I've lost literally thousands of pounds to flaky customers. However, since I brought in payment in advance and a cancellation policy it's amazing how many fewer 'unavoidable circumstances' and 'emergencies' have occurred. When people stand to lose their own money, these things simply don't happen so often (funnily enough). I now only get genuine cancellations and it means I'm able to make exceptions in some cases (like yours).

A dry cut is a good idea and a compromise though. That way you don't have to cancel, will still be getting something for your money and the hairdresser isn't losing her income.

Hmm, doubt it from what we know so far. OP says hairdresser has already cancelled on her twice for Covid reasons, and yet here OP is, keen enough on this hairdresser to start this thread wondering what to do. So it’s kind of inherent in the OP’s situation that she doesn’t want to lose this hairdresser lightly.

Of course only OP can say though, but I think you’re probably wrong there.

Well, she has cancelled twice on me. But there's been a global pandemic so I'm not holding it against her 🤔

Thanks for everyone's views. We've had a chat today and she feels she can't make any exceptions as she has already been getting some pushback on the new system. I've decided to move on to a new Hairdressers and I'll start looking in a few weeks.

Wow, she's just lost a customer of 10 years!

In legal terms, the contract has been frustrated (due to your fairly serious injury) and neither party owes each other anything.

I would expect her to understand that a serious injury would be a reasonable ground for cancellation and not to expect any payment or if she did, maybe 10%, especially if you're rebooking. So the only logical conclusion is that she doesn't believe you.

She's being ridiculous. You're not even "in" the new system as she didn't take a deposit from you to keep. She really expects you to pop into the salon and pay it now, or give your card number over the phone? What an idiot. Legally completely unenforceable.

The point of a deposit system is that you take the money or a card number at the time of booking and that means that a customer thinks twice about booking if they are not certain they will be able to make it.

Also, as others have said, you have a pretty cast iron reason for the cancellation. Unless she thinks her other customers are going to start banging their heads in things to get out of paying it's hardly going to be difficult to explain why she made an exception for you, is it?