My client canceled 30 minutes before a bridal trial I'd prepped 2 days for

I had a bridal trial booked for last Saturday morning, spent Thursday and Friday ordering her exact shade extensions and mixing a custom toner. She texts me at 8am, says she 'found someone closer' and cancels. That was 4 hours of my life and $60 in product I can't return lol. Now I'm sitting here with a half used bottle of Pulp Riot and no backup client to use it on. Has anyone else started charging a non-refundable deposit for trials after getting burned like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

coran6317d agoTop Commenter

Did you have her sign anything upfront? I started requiring a signed agreement and a 50% non-refundable deposit for all trial bookings a couple years ago after a similar situation, and it cut down on last-minute cancellations a ton. It doesn't cover everything if they cancel that late, but at least you're not out the product cost and some of your time. If you're worried about scaring clients off, I've found most serious brides are totally fine with it when you explain it covers your prep work.

the_jake17d ago

The interesting thing is that this whole needing a deposit thing isn't just for vendors anymore, it's like a pattern I see everywhere now. I've had friends who do freelance graphic design and they started doing the exact same thing after getting ghosted on projects they'd already started. It's kind of wild how many people just don't respect other people's time until there's money on the line, you know? Even my buddy who does custom woodworking has a non-refundable materials fee now because people would back out after he'd already bought the lumber. So yeah, it's not just us in the wedding industry dealing with this flaky behavior, it's pretty much anyone who does custom or prep work for someone else.