So many people lie these days about 'exceptional circumstances' that the world has turned cynical!!

I think they have acted badly. No empathy at all and you clearly not only gave notice, but rang again to rebook which shows your good intent. I would take them to small claims court just on principal.

Go for it Annie .. you're no push over!

IMHO, customer service is a lost art. Personally, I would have let you test whenever it was convenient for you. For a lousey 10, she lost a customer. I don't think that's smart business sense.

And I agree with you, it's not the money...it's the principle! I hope all is well, now!

Couldn't agree with you more! What do people offering a service think these days?? Actually they don't think . They put their feet in their bl**dy mouths and don't give a damn about the customer!

I personally don't believe that the customer is always right and as geeg rightly pointed out, the customer excuses can range from the sublime to the rediculous. However, you gave more than 24 hours notice and you had the common courtesy to phone and cancel...... another polite characteristic sadly lacking nowadays!

For £10 I would have just moved your appointment to another date. The therapist has lost a client..... for £10 quid!

If you were one of them clients that always cancelled then I would understand.
It is annoying when people cancel, granted, BUT I think everyone should be given a chance. Things come up, that's life and if we treat clients like this then we will just end up with none! I think it's awful the way they have treated you in my opinion.
They ave lost the chance of repeat business from you as a client for the sake of a tenner!!! You definitely will not tell your friends to go there.
Have you spoken with a manager?
xxx

tbh with everything thats gone on lately I had totally forgotten about this, but the last few comments are making me think. I never got back in touch with them and kinda feel like I have missed the boat so to speak.

Regarding small claims how does it work and more importantly how much does it cost as unfortunately if I am not careful I am going to be living on bread and water soon

anne xx

You can ring and ask for nothing. There is also a question of consumer rights? I bet a small threat to the salon that you are thinkin of going this route will see a return of your 10.00 without any further fuss. Youhave a true and valid story to tell .... be prepared to tell it to anyone who will listen ... I'd enen threaten to go to the local papers with the story ... they love stuff like this!!

Btw, if you paid your deposit by card over the phone ie card not present payment, then you can contact your credit card company and raise this payment as a dispute.

Strictly speaking, if there is a deposit and cancellation policy, and you have cancelled with sufficient notice period, your reasons for cancelling are none of the salon's business, and irrelevant. Under the T&C the salon is legally bound to refund your deposit. It's rather pathetic and poor business sense that this situation has arisen, for just £10 !!!

Likewise, if a client cancels without the required notice, they are subjected to cancellation fees, however most of the time the salon are *so nice* they hardly ever charge.

"the therapist said she would see what she could do but seemed more concerned about her loss of income."

Ultimately she loses more money by you never returning & from word of mouth when you talk to your friends about your experience.

as you cancelled giving the required notice , then I dont believe it was appropriate to have your deposit taken from you.

I would suggest you contact her, drawing her attention to the policy and request an immediate refund. You complied with her terms and conditions and so you should get your money back.

tigi

I rung up this morning and they were more concerned that I had left it so long, they accused me of swearing at the therapist (I know I didnt do this cos I don't swear over the phone), I was shouted at down the phone by the manager (I was quite angry myself at this point) so I said that I had sought advice and that I was going to take the story to the newspapers if they didnt give me my money back. The manager said go to the newspapers, so I guess thats the next step!!

one word APPALLING!

anne xx

OMG, that's absolutley shocking. Definitely go to the local newspaper.

instead of papers i suggest CAB. you complied with their terms and conditions and they dont have a leg to stand on about your deposit. I would also contact your bank too.

dont rise to them, you gave the required notice, they cant change the facts.

Going to CAB and bank is also good advice, thanks, I'll consider them options if I dont get anywhere with small claims court. But on principle I am going to the newspapers, bad publicity is really bad, sorry but this has turned personal. She accused me more or less of being a liar when I said I didnt swear at the therapist, she also said I can tell you are beligerant (in so many words) actually I'm not a beligerant person and anyone on here who has met me would probably agree to that fact. I was angry about the situation, wouldnt anyone be? she also said I had cancelled twice, well actually there is no way I would pay two lots of £10 deposit. The manager also said are you the one that rang in sick? So that infers to me its a common problem and/or they have mixed me up with someone that did swear. Oh and they also said that they tried to ring me cos they wont have anyone being abusive to their staff, well I never recieved such a call, in fact the phone didnt ring that evening I remember it well it was the night my mother was at her sickest, the phone didnt ring once. I seriously think they have mistaken me for someone else, well I am the quietist person until someone rattles me, and I am well and truly rattled!!

I gave that deposit in good faith, I wont in future.

anne xx

We do not charge new clients for cancellation but we tell them are procedure , if someone make s a habit of it i.e 2 times in a row then they get charged. If you where willing to rebook and can not rebook there and then we just leave a note on your account . Plus you gave them 24 hours notice! what do they think they are doing ?

I know we wouldn't charge, especially if you had taken the time to call up and explain your situation. I would think that if you had the manners to do that, it says a lot about you as a person.

I would have thought by law they couldn't charge for a service they hadn't supplied. You should ask for terms and conditions and see what they say. You have quite a few things on your side as a consumer.

It is always a tough call to treat people individually, especially if you don't know them or if they are new. For regular clients, yes, you can accept. But as a salon that relies on the revenue from the time, the incidents of no-shows is quite high (and frustrating).