More on Standing Appointments

As you have read in Standing Facial Appointments (link below), having these pre-made appointments is intrinsic to the health and future of your business. If you have a small clientele, you may not have many standings, but it’s really a matter of client preference vs. size of the business that dictates whether or not you’ll have standing clients.

One downside to standing appointments is if a client needs to move her facial up or back a week. This can really throw her whole standing schedule off. What I usually recommend in these cases is this: If she is coming in every 4 weeks and needs to change one appointment up or back a week then, for those 2 facials, have her come in at 3 weeks and 5 weeks (equaling two 4 week intervals). This way you won’t have to redo her entire standing schedule, and she will simply be getting a facial at 3 weeks out and 5 weeks vs. every 4 weeks for those 2 months. Doing the 3/5 week appointments for this one time period keeps you from having to erase months of standing appointments, which isn’t the end of the world but it is an inconvenience.

If one of my standing clients needs to move one of her appointments and doesn’t want to do the 3 week/5 week schedule, I will gladly do her entire standing schedule over again once. But only the one time. If she needs to redo her appointments a second time and again isn’t willing to go 3/5 weeks, I will take her off a standing basis; she simply doesn’t fit in to what a standing client is. She will have to make her appointments as any other non-standing client does. And that is OK. I have many clients who book with me 6 months out, but on different days and at different times. Standings, which are somewhat rigid, don’t work for everyone even if they want regular appointments.

The simplest solution for a client needing to change an appointment in any given week is if she can come in the same week she is already scheduled, but at a different time and/or on a different day. This way it doesn’t mess up your standing schedule and your client can keep with her 4 week facial intervals.

I generally book standing appointments 6 months out. At around the 4 month mark, I contact the client, usually by email or when I see them in a facial, and give them a list of the next 6 months of standing appointments—the exact days of the months their appointments will be on. Doing this keeps the client on track and gives you a heads up if she needs to rearrange her schedule (and therefore yours). And of course this will alert your client if for a future appointment you have a conflict.

If client A (we’ll call her Susie Smith) is coming in on Fridays at 5pm every 4 weeks, I’ll write on one Friday of the month of my standing schedule, “5pm Susie Smith—4wks.” Whoever the other standing appointments are that come in on the same week client A does, I’ll put them in the standing calendar on that same week.

Some clients want standings who come in every 6 or 8 weeks. They, too, go on my standing appointments calendar. “Wednesday, 2pm Client B—8wks.” Then, if I have another standing client who wants to come in every 8 weeks, I will try to get her into the every 8 weeks on the same Wednesday my other client comes in at 2pm. And if I can’t exactly coordinate everyone how I’d like them to come in, at least with my standing calendar I am aware of the days, time slots, and frequency I have available.

Regardless of their intervals, for every standing client (Susie Smith will again be our example), I will email the following at around the 4 month mark (2 months before her standings, 6 months worth, are over):

Hi Susie,

Here are your next 6 months of standing appointments. As you can see, the November and December facials are on holidays, so we’ll need to change those. Just let me know what works best for you (and if any of the other dates don’t work), and I’ll get you scheduled in.

Fridays @ 5pm

July 10

August 7

Sept 4

Oct 2

Oct 30

Nov 27*

Dec 25*

November 27th (2015) is the day after Thanksgiving, a day I usually do not schedule appointments. Also her December 25th appointment needs to be moved, which is Christmas Day. Having the next 6 months worth of dates gives both you and your client the opportunity to see where things might need to change. In the case of this specific example, perhaps Susie can come in on November 26, Wednesday, therefore not throwing off that month’s standing time. And the same with her December appointment. However, many people go on vacation during the winter holidays, so your November and December standings may get thrown off.

In some cases your client may just have to skip a facial—possibly two—if you can’t get your schedules to jibe. But in other cases she will come in the week before or after, making her appointment schedule during those times every 3wks and/or every 5 weeks until the standing schedule is resumed. This is just as I was describing earlier when a standing client needs to move an appointment. You can go to a 3/5 week time frame for those 2 months worth of appointments.

One last thought: Even though your standing client has her appointments in writing (either by email or on a card you’ve given her), you still need to confirm each appointment the day before just like with all of your appointments.

If you aren’t currently offering standing appointments for your regular clients, start now! Simply ask each client if she wants to go on a standing basis. Some will, some won’t. Letting your clients know this service is available and getting a standing schedule up and running is good for you (you’ll know your schedule ahead of time) and it’s good for your business. 

For more information, see:

• Standing Facial Appointments
• Confirming Appointments—Part I
• Confirming Appointments—Part II