If you own a service-based business, you know how important it is for your customers and clients to keep their appointments. No provider wants to be the bad guy, hounding clients to show up when they say they will. Nevertheless, your bottom line suffers when you have too many no-shows. That’s why a well-crafted cancellation policy is a must.
Many providers post their cancellation policies on their websites, or hand out a hard copy for clients and patients to sign at their first appointments. It is also a good idea to provide a link to your cancellation policy in any appointment reminder emails or SMS messages you send to customers.
Before you craft your company’s cancellation policy, it might help to ask yourself the following questions:
We’ve created a series of cancellation policy examples and templates. These cancellation policy samples should be useful for a variety of B2C businesses. Whether you own a medical practice, law firm, or beauty salon, we hope you will find a template here that will work for your business.
Our goal is to provide quality health care to all our patients in a timely manner. No-shows, late arrivals, and cancellations inconvenience not only our providers, but our other patients as well. Please be aware of our policy regarding missed appointments.
When you book your appointment, you are holding a space on our calendar that is no longer available to our other patients. In order to be respectful of your fellow patients, please call Dr. [Provider Name] as soon as you know you will not be able to make your appointment.
If cancellation is necessary, we require that you call at least [Time Period] in advance. Appointments are in high demand, and your advanced notice will allow another patient access to that appointment time.
If you need to cancel your appointment, please call us at [Business Phone] between the hours of [Business Hours]. If necessary, you may leave a detailed voicemail message. We will return your call as soon as possible.
A cancellation is considered late when the appointment is cancelled less than [Time Period] before the appointed time. A no-show is when a patient misses an appointment without cancelling. In either case, we will charge the patient a [Amount] missed appointment fee.
For new patients’ first appointments, a no show or late cancellation will result in a full charge of the new patient fee.
Your appointments and well-being are very important to us. We understand that sometimes, unexpected delays can occur, making schedule adjustments. If you need to cancel your appointment, we respectfully request at least [Time Period] notice.
Our Policy:
Please understand that appointment times are limited. If you must cancel your appointment, we respectfully request [Time Period] notice. Missed appointments, or appointments cancelled without [Time Period] notice, will incur a fee of [Amount].
We know your time is valuable, and ours is too. Out of respect for our staff and our other clients, we ask that you give us at least [Time Period] notice if you need to cancel an appointment.
Our venue holds limited seating, and many of our [Events/Classes] sell out. For this reason, we request that you cancel at least [Time Period] before your scheduled [Event/Class]. This will allow us to offer your spot to another [Student/Customer]. You may call us at [Business Phone] between the hours of [Business Hours] to cancel.
Please note, we do not offer refunds. However, if you give us at least [Time Period] notice of your need to cancel, we will credit your payment toward another [Event/Class]. However, if you do not cancel with at least [Time Period] notice, you will lose any payments you have already made.
Cancellations made [Number] days or more in advance of the [Appointment/Service/Event] date will receive a 100% refund. Cancellations made within [Number] days will receive a 50% refund. Cancellations made within [Number] hours will not receive a refund.