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Cancellation fees

3K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  davet1 
#1 ·
I am to the point that I feel like I need a cancellation policy. At least for residential cleaning.

What is your policy and fee? Do you still charge a fee if customer cancels the day before and reschedules for another day?

Thank you for any feedback!
Thanks
 
#2 ·
With a 24 hour notice and the ability to reschedule the job quickly I would not charge a cancellation fee, if it's a one off situation. Going on 13 years in this business and I've never had an 'official' policy regarding cancellations. This is why: once you've figured out a particular account needs a cancellation policy, you are pretty much doomed with them. Customers who want and need regular cleaning just don't cancel (unless there really is an issue out of their control). Customers who cancel frequently have over estimated their budgets - they aren't going to happily pay a cancellation fee every time they want to skip a cleaning or move days around. You'll end up losing - I prefer to lose on my terms, which means unless we can negotiate another frequency of cleaning that customer will be dropped from service. That being said...if I did one time cleanings, phone or one line appointments for new accounts I certainly would require a non refundable deposit to hold the appointment. $50.00 would be adequate.
 
#3 ·
I agree with you, Cleanexp. "lose on my terms" is a good way to put it. I, too, considered a cancellation fee and decided not to do this. If I see that a particular customer has a tendency to cancel too often, I first talk with them about it and try to find out why they do it. And if it continues, I disengage myself, because I dont need t work for people I cannot deal with. Nor can I afford to get cancelled often!

Keeping good customers can sometimes be hard to do. And I have made my share of mistakes. I try to learn from them. A good customer is worth working with, even if sometimes a situation occurs where they have to cancel.
 
#4 ·
I agree with both those previous comments.
You are in business to return a profit and losing and having to deal with unorganized people is not good.

Concentrate on your good customers and look after them.

Maybe lose on your terms and drop the ones that cost you money.
 
#6 ·
You need a clean policy for all. This doing it sometimes and not others is just going to get you clients bitching that "you never did this in the past". You are better off having a solid policy and sticking to it. Cancellation fee makes sense. The explanation to customers is that you are trying to keep their costs down and that you lose a lot of money when people cancel which is why you charge. They will appreciate that you are trying to keep prices down and they will relate to you losing money for last minute cancels. I'd say that less than 24 hours notice is non-cancellable. Full charge.

Julia
All City Cleaning Services
 
#9 ·
I believe that it is imperative to have a cancellation policy. Anything less than a 24-hour notice is unacceptable. Obviously there will be occasional situations that arise, emergencies, etc., and in those cases, you can work with your client one-on-one as you see fit. If the client is going to reschedule in the very near future, or is a very good customer of yours, then you can bend your policy a bit for them. However, if it's just due to poor planning on their end, you must collect from them if you want your business to stay strong. After all, you set your schedule to accommodate them... If they cancel on you at the last minute, it's not likely you will be able to pick up another customer for that time slot. Time is money... people need to respect other peoples time.
 
#10 ·
Hi

Well, there is very little you can do unless you pre-charge. Some level of cancellations is to be expected unless you run some very unique business. I have a long list of terms and conditions on my website but it is pretty useless. If you charge x lady 200 euro for a job but then she cancels, well, going by my terms and conditions, i should keep 50% of the deposit but if she brings me to court i am 100% sure to lose so whats the point.

Usually people that email and call 100 times before booking are likely to cancel. I have developed a nose for cancellation dudes. I just know

Carpet Cleaning Dublin
 
#12 ·
Late cancellations can be challenging, especially as you lose the opportunity to service another customer during this time.

How you handle this depends on your situation. When a customer cancels at an inconvenient time, we tend to explain the impact of their decision on us. If it continues then we explain that if this is going to be a regular occurrence then perhaps we're not a good fit for their needs and suggest they find another supplier.

This might be painful in the short term but pays off in the long run.
 
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