Marking a no-show
A no-show is always your decision. ServeCounter never marks one by itself, because it can keep some of the customer's money.
Fifteen minutes after an appointment's start, the app asks whether the customer arrived, with the actions Arrived and No-show. The same question is a to-do on the Dashboard. Switching "Did they come?" off in Settings, Notifications stops only the push on that phone. The to-do on the Dashboard still asks.
When you mark a no-show, ServeCounter asks whether to message the customer. It is ticked by default and shows you the text: a missed appointment, the deposit kept if there was one, and a link to book again.
You can undo Arrived and No-show on the same day while no money has moved. If the no-show message already went out, the customer gets a short correction.
What a no-show costs
A barber's starter list has no no-show fee. You can set one per service, from nothing up to half of the service's price, and you can ask for a deposit. The no-show fee and deposits need Booking + POS, because a deposit is paid online.
- With a deposit, a no-show keeps the deposit. A customer who paid in full gets back everything above it.
- With no deposit, a no-show keeps the service's no-show fee. A customer who paid in full online gets the rest back automatically.
- The customer sees what would be kept before they pay.
When a customer cancels
A customer who cancels through the link in their message gets their money back. The time before the appointment in which a customer may cancel at no charge is your setting, up to 14 days. If you switch on "Keep the deposit on a late cancel" under Online, Booking page, a customer who cancels after that time loses the deposit, as after a no-show. That switch is off until you turn it on. If you cancel, the customer gets a full refund.
One button at a time
The links in the confirmation and the reminder show one button, so the customer is not choosing between three.
- While the customer's 14-day right to withdraw is open, the button is Withdraw.
- After that, or for a booking made in person, the button is Cancel, under your own policy and fee.
- Move stays beside it.
A customer who does not turn up cannot withdraw once the appointment is over. The deposit stays.