Business Growth

The one thing most waxing salon owners get wrong about online booking

👑 VIP Freelancer · Blackpool · 2mo ago
Something nobody warns you about when you switch to a proper booking system: you'll realise how much time you were wasting before and you'll be quietly furious about it.

I've been using Treatwell for a year now. Before that I was on a cobbled-together system of WhatsApp, a free calendar app and a lot of post-it notes. I thought I had it under control. I didn't.

The Treatwell analytics tab showed me things I didn't know about my own business. I could see which services had the highest cancellation rate. I could see which time slots were consistently unfilled. I could see that four of my regulars accounted for most of my income. None of this was secret information — it was right there in my bookings all along — but I'd never been able to see it clearly until I had a system that organised it for me.

The other thing: client retention. Treatwell lets you see who hasn't been back in a while and I use that to send a gentle check-in. Not spammy, just a 'haven't seen you in a bit, your usual slot is free if you want to book in' kind of message. I've re-engaged eight clients this way who I thought I'd lost permanently.

If you're on the fence about switching, I'd say just do the free trial for two weeks and actually use the analytics. You'll convince yourself.
#beauty-salon #client-retention
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Sophie Fraser 👑 VIP
👑 VIP 2mo ago · 16 posts
Been using Trafft for a year and I'd echo everything in this post. The one thing I'd add: set up the automated follow-up message asking for a review. I get three new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#1
Molly Stewart 👑 VIP
👑 VIP 2mo ago · 19 posts
The deposit psychology point is spot on. I've said this for years — a £20 deposit doesn't stop genuine clients, it stops time-wasters. Anyone who values the appointment enough to actually show up doesn't think twice about a deposit.
#2
Grant Bell 👑 VIP
👑 VIP 2mo ago · 12 posts
The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £10 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.
#3