What’s Your Snow Day Cancellation Policy?
Print This Post
By Sal | February 4, 2009
Having a clearly defined set of policies and procedures is vital to the successful running of your business. You must have a policy that deals with appointment cancellations, especially when dealing with "snow days."
If you live in a place where winter weather can disrupt business you need to have a clearly defined policy on snow day cancellations and communicate this policy to your clients. Having such a policy and discussing it with your clients is a great reflection on your business and will help your clients to appreciate your professionalism.
Bad weather - even the threat of bad weather - can cause a lot of lost business (which is bad) and a shoddy or poorly communicated snow day cancellation policy can make a bad situation worse. If you follow a few simple steps you can make sure weather causes you to lose as little business as possible and help you to avoid trouble with your clients.
Actually, this article assumes that you already have a clearly defined cancellation policy for non-weather issues. If you don't have one, you're courting trouble and definitely not doing your business any favors. This is the simplest and most important policy you can have. Here's my cancellation policy; personal trainers must be notified of all cancellations at least 24-hours in advance. Take exceptions on a case-by-case basis. I'll cover the details of this general cancellation policy in more detail in a future item.
So back to the snow...the first step is to make sure you communicate with your clients. If bad weather is in the forecast talk about it with them if you see them in person, call them or send them an email. Tell clients that you will contact them either way first thing in the morning of the day in question. Emails and cell phones have made this process much easier, so there's no reason not to communicate.
With a 24-hour cancellation policy you need to have some flexibility when foul weather strikes. If an afternoon forecast for the following morning takes a turn for the worst, you can't charge your clients if they cancel as a result (Well, you can, but that's a bad move). This is where a little proactive communication is key and can save a lot of trouble. In this case, call your client and leave a message that as a result of the forecast if they plan on canceling they need to let you know by a certain time.
If you can get to work in any conditions short of a state of emergency your clients should know this and you should tell them that when in doubt cancel their appointment. Give clients the opportunity to rebook the appointment the next day if it turns out the weather doesn't keep them homebound. When school is cancelled or there's a delayed opening you shouldn't charge your client. Obviously, if your clients don't have kids this isn't a factor. You can make the call if the weather doesn't warrant a cancellation, just make sure your clients know that if they don't show up they will be charged.
The bottom line is that bad weather is going to result in a loss of business. Just make sure you have policies in place to minimize the loss and that don't create problems with clients.
Related Posts
Topics: Personal Trainer Coaching | No Comments »
Comments
« Preach What You Practice | Home | How to Develop An Elevator Pitch »