We’ve all been there. Your whole week (or month) is planned out. You’ve turned potential business away and are feeling good about things. Then that dreaded text or email comes in. “I know you’re supposed to be watching Trixie tomorrow through the weekend, but our plans changed and we don’t need you to do it anymore. Sorry!”
Now it’s too late to fill that spot and you’re simply out of luck. Not great, right?
That’s why more and more pet sitting and dog walking businesses are putting official cancellation policies in place that bring in some percentage of the expected billing and ease the pain of losing that business.
Others, however, are struggling to create and even more so, enforce their own cancellation policies.
After all, enforcing those policies can feel cold and even anger your clients. At a minimum, it can lead to a very uncomfortable conversation that no one really wants to have. But there are three very important reasons you should be creating and enforcing cancellation policies.
- Placing a value on your own time. You’re working very hard to grow your business and have a plan. You may even have frustrated another client to save this spot. Accepting late cancellations without a penalty can make clients think you will say yes to anything, when in fact it leaves you scrambling to make up for that lost income.
- Limiting repeat offenders. Creating and enforcing fair cancellation policies can act as a deterrent to your clients canceling at the last minute. No one likes paying for services they didn’t get, but it can help people understand that you need more notice in the future if their plans change.
- Remind people that you’re a business, not a charity. This is a key point to remember. You do this work because you love it and because you love the pets you work with. But you also need to pay rent or a mortgage, buy groceries, and pay your bills. While some pet parents may think your business is all fun and games, you’re not running a charity, you’re trying to make a living providing great pet care.
Enforcing policies: Let the software be the bad guy
If you’re using pet sitting software for your business, like PetPocketbook, you can avoid some uncomfortable conversations about your cancellation policies by letting your software be the bad guy. That way if someone logs on to cancel their appointment too late in the game, they are warned about the policy before they cancel and know that an extra charge is coming.
You can even use your software to create multiple policies for each type of service you provide, letting the system automatically apply the right one at the right time. For example, you may require that clients pay 50% of the fee for an overnight pet sitting appointment if they cancel less than one week out and 100% if they cancel within 48 hours of the start of the appointment.
The key is making sure that your policies are both fair and clearly communicated. That means including them on your website, on your invoices, and discussing them in your meet and greets.
When should you waive a cancellation fee?
Despite everything written above, there are still times when it makes sense to waive or reduce a cancellation fee out of the kindness of your heart. For example, a loyal client who has never canceled before has a last-minute change to their work schedule. Or perhaps a family member becomes sick with COVID or something else serious, altering plans. Or the pet themselves isn’t feeling well and the pet parent is staying home with them.
Whatever the case, having cancellation policies in place doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be human. In fact, telling your client that normally they would have had to pay the fee but in this case, you are waiving it can help build even stronger relationships than you had in the past.
Ready to start automating cancellation policies, billing, scheduling, and payments? Schedule a demo of PetPocketbook today.