Real talk: is Treatwell worth listing your waxing salon on?
Leah Cameron
🏪 VIP Seller
🥇 Gold Seller
Lash Artist · Rotherham · 3mo ago
Six months ago I had four no-shows in a single week. Six months ago I was running my spa in Cardiff with a WhatsApp number, a paper diary, and a growing sense of dread every Monday morning when I'd open my messages.
Today I run on Acuity Scheduling. I take £15 deposits on every booking. I have automated reminders going out 48 hours and 2 hours before every appointment. My no-show rate is down to almost zero.
Here's what changed and how I did it.
Step one was accepting that my old system wasn't sentimental — it was just inefficient. The 'personal touch' of WhatsApp bookings is lovely in theory but in practice it means being available 24 hours a day and having no real protection when someone lets you down.
Step two was choosing Acuity Scheduling after a week of free trial. The setup took me an afternoon. I imported my services, set my working hours, connected my payment account and turned on SMS reminders. That's genuinely it.
Step three was telling my clients. I sent a group message saying I'd moved to a professional booking system and included the link. I framed it as a service improvement — which it genuinely is — rather than a policy change. No one complained. Several people said they preferred it.
Step four was adding deposits. I did this a month after the switch, once clients were used to the new system. I kept the amount reasonable at £15 and the policy clear: non-refundable within 48 hours. Done.
Today I run on Acuity Scheduling. I take £15 deposits on every booking. I have automated reminders going out 48 hours and 2 hours before every appointment. My no-show rate is down to almost zero.
Here's what changed and how I did it.
Step one was accepting that my old system wasn't sentimental — it was just inefficient. The 'personal touch' of WhatsApp bookings is lovely in theory but in practice it means being available 24 hours a day and having no real protection when someone lets you down.
Step two was choosing Acuity Scheduling after a week of free trial. The setup took me an afternoon. I imported my services, set my working hours, connected my payment account and turned on SMS reminders. That's genuinely it.
Step three was telling my clients. I sent a group message saying I'd moved to a professional booking system and included the link. I framed it as a service improvement — which it genuinely is — rather than a policy change. No one complained. Several people said they preferred it.
Step four was adding deposits. I did this a month after the switch, once clients were used to the new system. I kept the amount reasonable at £15 and the policy clear: non-refundable within 48 hours. Done.
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The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £50 a month to no-shows and cancellations before I introduced deposits. That money was just gone. Now it's protected. The maths on deposits is completely obvious once you see it.
#1
The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Vagaro showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#2
The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Phorest showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#3
Totally agree about Fresha's transaction fee adding up. I did the maths for my price point and the 'free' plan was actually costing me more than a paid subscription to SimplyBook.me by the time I factored in the percentage on every booking. Read the small print before assuming free is cheaper.
#4
Just want to add for anyone reading this who's worried about the tech side — I am not a tech person at all. I set up Jane App by myself in one afternoon by just following their setup guide. If I can do it, genuinely anyone can.
#5