No Show

[JDub]

Hello everyone! Need some advice on something.

Seems to me, lately, there have been a few no-call no-shows for appointments. I have not had this problem in the past.

My questions to all of my fellow studio owners. Do you make them pay a booking fee? And how long do you wait, until the appointment is cancelled (say they had a 3:30 and didnt show up, its now 3:45, 3:50, 4:00, how long do you wait). Just curious, because its not fun wasting your time pacing the studio waiting, or calling the client only to get a voicemail.

Its probably a normal thing, I am just fortunate enough, I guess, to have never dealt with it in the past 11 years.

Thanks!

[Pupator]

I'm not a pro-photog, but today I booked some studio time with one. She insists on the full "sitting fee" for studio time within 48 hours of selecting the date and time. I think this is completely fair. If I'm not able to make it due to emergency I can reschedule with 24+ hours notice. Otherwise if I'm a no-show she keeps the $$.

As a customer this doesn't bother me at all. She's setting aside the time for me and I'm committing to use her for that time. If I don't hold up my end of the bargain it's not like she can instantly find a client to compensate for my failure to show. Her time should be compensated for either way.

When people put "hard" money down (non-refundable) it really makes them more serious about showing up.

And by the way - Go dawgs.

[Icebear]

I do architectural photography. I get a deposit and letter of agreement to save a date, and the letter of agreement says that if they cancel or postpone within 24 hours of the scheduled date, $100is added to the fee. I've only had to impose the addl fee once, but the client didn't grouse at all.

Don't know how that would work for your studio work. Without a deposit, you're prolly screwed.

[JDub]

Thanks for your responses. Looks like I will charge them the full balance up front, to cover any losses that might happen. Hate to do that, but as the old saying goes a few bad apples can ruin the bunch, or whatever it is, lol! And I should also probably do the cancel fee within 24 hours, I have had a lot of changes too from people here lately.

And HOW BOUT THEM DAWGS! Lol!

Thanks!

[urbanaries]

I feel like I charge a pretty nominal sitting fee ($125 for 2 hours on location) so to keep the wishy washies out, I require a fee upfront to reserve their date. It has worked for me very well, no complaints.

[Scott_Quier]

Josh,

My first thought is to look at the timing of these no-shows. Are they recent, or have they been accumulating over time. If they are recent - is there something in the way you deal with your clients that has changed that may be impacting on the number of no-shows? For example, have you changed the way you pre-qualify your appointments before you make the appointment? This is something I do to make sure they are serious. So far (knock on wood) I've not had a problem with a no-show, but I do a pretty good job of qualifying the client before I schedule. I hold a conversation with them, find out what their objectives are, how busy are they on that day, is there a chance that they can find some quiet time before the shoot - that sort of thing.

On the other hand, if you've not changed anything that you can think of, there might be market forces in effect of which you aren't aware and, in this case, getting a non-refundable reservation fee up-front (NOT a deposit as, in some locales, deposits are required to be refundable) before the sitting sounds like it might solve the problem. I do this for weddings, but there's a lot more at stake there - a whole day blah, blah, blah.

All the above seems to be working for me and it's only an idea for you. Hope it helps.