Cancellation Culture
Cancellations. The bane of any small business owners existence.
Cancellations don’t make either clients or practitioners feel good. So why are so many practitioners struggling with cancellations?
Be honest now, if I asked you when your next dentist appt is, or when the dog is next due their vaccinations, or when the car MOT is due… could you tell me? I’m going to hazard a guess at no. Unbeknown to us as a population, we have all become dependant upon reminders. The reality is if you’re not using a system that helps to micromanage your clients, you will get forgotten and you will have cancellations.
A part of running the best practice you can is about providing the best service you can. This doesn’t just mean the therapeutic service but also the customer service. Being able to help clients to remember their appointments isn’t just a benefit to you but also to them.
We are all slightly overwhelmed, whether it’s with our job or running a business, home life, child care, or animal care, often several of these at once. Gentle reminders ahead of a clients appointment not only reminds them of their appointment but helps to create the best working environment for you. A client who only remembered their appt at the eleventh hour, dashing around to try and get a horse in on time, feeling a little embarrassed that their horse is still muddy and the stable isn’t mucked out is less likely to communicate clearly and listen well. So something important may not get communicated to you, and even if you’re leaving a report they are less likely to take in all the advice you offer. As opposed to a client who made arrangements in advance, left extra time to call by the cash point, has their stable and horse clean and is feeling calm and relaxed - and I’m sure we can all agree a calm owner usually = a calmer horse, all of which can be achieved by simply sending reminders!
I don’t think anyone feels wonderful by cancelling an appointment for their animal. Reminders can help your clients to avoid this awkwardness not to mention help with managing your diary.
So as practitioners what can we do? I used to sit and manually message all of my clients at the start of the week. Though this certainly added a personal touch it was immensely time consuming. Since integrating Equigate to my practice my clients receive automated reminders 7 days, and again 24 hours before their appointment by email and as a notification within the app. Not only that clients have an easy view calendar within the app that syncs with the diary on their phone making it easier for visual learners to be able to see their next appointments. Because messaging and all client details are easily found within the app it’s easy to keep track of arrangements that have been made for BOTH of us.
And for anyone who has a repeat cancellation offender - there’s a cancellation fee facility built in too.
So rather than joining the ranks of therapists putting spicy posts on their social media threatening cancellation fees and a 3 strikes your out rule… how about taking a step to HELP your clients. Download Equigate, start a 30 day free trial and invest is a positive step to prevent cancellations this year
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.