Operations

Updated Nov 2026

Late arrivals: grace periods, scripts and when to charge

One client arriving fifteen minutes late is an inconvenience. Three in a week is a scheduling system telling you where it is too tight.

Late is not the same as unreliable

The client who always arrives eight minutes late is fitting your appointment around a school run. The client who arrives thirty-five minutes late for a ninety-minute colour is a different problem, and a stricter sign on the door will not solve it. Before writing a policy, look at the bookings: are late arrivals clustered on one time of day, one service, or one staff member whose slots run back to back? Most of the time they are.

Set the grace period by service, not by shop

One rule for every appointment is easy to write and wrong in practice. Fifteen minutes is generous for a beard trim and near useless for a three-hour colour. Tie the grace period to what the service can absorb without cutting quality or pushing the day.

Put the number in the confirmation message: "Your appointment is at 2:00. If you are running more than 15 minutes late, call us — we may need to shorten the service or move you." That prevents most awkward conversations.

What to do at the ten-minute mark

At ten minutes past the start time, send one short message.

"Hi — we have you at 2:00 and it is now 2:10. Are you on your way? If you are more than 15 minutes out, let me know and we can look at the rest of today's book."

It lets the client say "five minutes away" instead of arriving at a closed door, and it starts a written record. If there is no reply by the grace period, treat it as a no-show rather than a late arrival. A client silent for twenty minutes is not arriving in the next two.

Scripts for the door

Three situations, three short answers.

They arrive inside the grace period

"No problem — we have 40 minutes, so I will skip the scalp massage and keep the cut. Same price." Say what changes before they sit down; surprises in the chair turn a late arrival into a bad review.

They arrive late but the service still fits

"We can still do it, but I need to finish by 3:30, so we drop the toner today. Want to book the toner separately?" A concrete alternative keeps the appointment and the revenue.

They arrive too late to deliver the service

"I cannot do the full colour in the time left without rushing it. I can move you to Thursday at 10, or refund the deposit." Give two real options, never a third you cannot honour.

Protect the next client

The hidden cost of a late arrival is not the fee; it is the on-time client who waits. If a delay will push the next appointment by more than ten minutes, tell that client before they arrive. A message at 2:25 for a 2:45 appointment is fine. The same message at 2:50 is an apology you should not have to make.

When to charge, and when not to

A late-arrival fee is defensible when the time was held and could not be resold: a Saturday slot, a guest practitioner, a service with preparation already done. Charge the same percentage you would for a late cancellation, and say the number before the service rather than after. The scripts in no-show fee wording apply, with one change: late arrivals get a warning first.

Do not charge when the delay was your fault — a running-over appointment, a locked door, a wrong parking note. Do not charge a first-time client who was not told the rule, or a regular who is late once a year.

If you are charging often, the fee is not working. Fix the booking pattern instead: shorter slots, more buffer, or a deposit that makes the time feel reserved. Track start and arrival times for a month; lateness usually clusters on one slot or one service. Fix that and the policy becomes a formality.

Frequently asked

How long should a grace period be?

Five to ten minutes for services under 30 minutes, fifteen to twenty for longer appointments — tied to what the service can absorb.

Should I charge for a late arrival?

Only when the time could not be resold and the client knew the rule at booking. Warn first, charge on a repeat.