wedding hair!

[bexd]

I'm so angry with myself, i had a wedding party booked in on Saturday, bride, brides mum and 3 bridesmaids, i was travelling to her house so blocked 4 hours out of my day and her sister has just rang up and cancelled it saying she doesn't need me anymore Arrrrrrggggghhhh:irked:

I did the trial a few months ago and when she rang up she said she had been to lots of hairdressers and had trials but didn't like what any of them had done and she had been reccomended to me by her friend, and after i did it she was jumping up and down saying i love it i love it you have done just what i wanted!!! Now i don't charge for trials if a booking for the wedding is made, although she didn't know that at the time now i realise how stupid i was and wish i had took the payment for the trial and said it would be taken off her final bill, it's always been fine with all my other wedding parties i have done but now i've had my fingers burnt i'll never do that again!!!

Do people not understand this is our living, i've lost so much money this week now because of this!! I wouldn't have minded if she had given me a bit more notice but she's obviously found another hairdresser and i'm sure she knew she didn't need me more than 2 days before the wedding!!!!! I really want to send her a bill for the trial but feel a bit of a cow doing it

 

[lisa.sharrock]

That's a horrible thing to do and I guess it's a lesson learnt. :hug:

I would be inclined to send her a bill and see what happens and I definitely wouldn't be feeling guilty about it, thats for sure.

 

[becky_1992]

ahh that is terrible i would be soo annoyed, i think you should charge a certain amount for a trial run and then say if they book it with you theyll get it deducted from the total price on the day
send her a bill though and see what happends just dont send a silly amount x

 

[skankinchar]

i generally tend not to charge for trials if they are booking the wedding with me, but then stuff like this happens! it's just so out of order, i think sending a bill is a the way forwards, she totally wasted your time. We just have to remember that not all clients are like this x

 

[bexd]

Thanks Guys :hug: yeah i think i will send her a bill just for her trial, although she prob won't pay it but hey ho, it'll make me feel like she hasn't got away with it!! And in the future i'm going to stipulate that for weddings at least 2 weeks notification is needed for cancelling otherwise they'll have to pay 50% and i know you're right, MOST Clients aren't like this thankfully

 

[lucelasticx]

I take a 50% part payment of wedding day hair at the trial to secure the wedding day date.Oh and i also ask that they balance is paid before the big day as the last thing on the wedding parties mind is paying the staff!!
They dont seem to cancel if they know it's non-refundable!!!! I also charge for my time and travel when doing a trial.

 

[Katiestylist]

I think you should take all thing like this down to a good old lesson. First of all if you mentioned there was a trial price if wedding not booked I would then send an invoice for the trial as you are entiltled to the money.

Myself I always charge for the trial which has to be paid on the day or you should take 50% on the day of the trial for the booking which if cancelled give 4 weeks refund except trial otherwise you dont loose out and they will thin twice about cancelling

 

[A Bridal Artist]

I'm new to this site, so hello to you all

My advice to you is:

1) Do charge a nominal fee for the trial - after all, you are spending a considerable amount of time to carry out the trial. One thing I would say is to do a complete hair style and maybe offer to do two or three looks. But definitely do charge for the trial regardless of whether they go ahead to book or not.

2) Depending on how you price your service, you can offer to deduct the cost of the trial from the final bill if they book the service with you or you can offer a more competitive price and refrain from deducting the trial price off the final bill. Either way, the client will be less hesitant about doing a trial. I prefer to set a price for the trial which is non-refundable and non-deductable and then setting a more competitive price for the service.

3) Never assume a booking is confirmed until the client pays a deposit to reserve the date with you. I would recommend taking 50% of the total bill or say something like 10 or 20 pounds per hairstyle. Give the client a contract stating the T&C's which gives them a suitable cooling off period to cancel the booking after which the deposit is non-refundable.

4) Take the balance of the payments at least two weeks in advance so you have time for cheques to clear, troubleshoot any issues, etc. That way you can leave comfortably as soon as your work is done rather than being made to hang around while they sort you out with the money on the day. They will be paying in full, well in advance, for thier caterers, venue hire, florist, etc. So what makes hair styling service any different?

5) Add a call out charge to your service (which you might choose to waive depending on how much they book with you) and collect this on the day or if collected in advance, then this is the only part of the deal you should refund if they cancel on you at the last minute.

I know that it is only the minority who let you down, however, the more busier you get, the probability of people who are likely to let you down increases.

Hope this helps

 

[MillieMoo99]

Always charge for your time!!!

Trials usually take longer that the day but should be at least 75% cost of the wedding day hair. I would charge a booking fee to reserve the day (non refundable but comes off the final bill) charge for trial and then take further deposit for the wedding day!!

This way you won't get cancellations.

xxx