Eleven client leaks
Each one takes about two minutes to check. Nine of the eleven need nobody but you. Tick what you already have, and the gaps are your to-do list.
The basics
Quick to confirm. You likely have these already
- 1. Your Google hours are right, including the day you are closed. Most shops close Sunday or Monday, and a wrong hour sends someone to a locked door.
- 2. Your prices are visible somewhere. Cut, beard, kids. People check before they walk in, not after.
- 3. People can tell if you take walk-ins or appointments only. It is the most common question you get, and it is answerable once, in public.
- 4. Your address and phone match everywhere. Google, Instagram, and any directory that listed you.
Beyond the basics
Not every business has these. Each is free to set up yourself
- 5. Your voicemail says your hands are busy. “I am with a client. Text this same number, or book at [your link].” Honest, and it turns a missed call into a booking.5 min
- 6. Your Google listing has a booking link and messaging on. Both free, both off by default, and it is where people look at 8 p.m. on a Thursday.20 min
- 7. Ask for the next appointment at the chair. While you are brushing them off: “same time in three weeks?” The cheapest booking you will ever take, and it costs nothing but the habit.today
- 8. Your Instagram bio has a booking link, not “DM to book.” A clear call to action is what turns someone admiring your work into someone in your chair. Every extra step loses a few of them.10 min
- 9. You reply to reviews, including the bad ones. A calm, specific reply is read by everyone who checks you out afterwards. The angry review is not the problem. The unanswered one is.30 min
Modern-Day Solutions
Where people are at now: time, a hire, or something built
- 10. Clients book you while your hands are busy. The hours you are cutting are the hours people call, and they book the first shop that answers.needs a hand
- 11. Booking that shows real chair time, reminds them, and asks for the review. A reminder the day before turns a booked chair into a filled one. A short text after the cut is how Google reviews actually happen, and reviews are what bring the next stranger in.needs a hand
Your three options
| Someone on shift | A phone answering service | A receptionist that runs itself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calls answered | Only the hours you pay for | Yes | Yes, day and night |
| Texts and chats | When hands are free | Usually calls only | Yes |
| Calendar booking | Yes | You get a message instead | Yes, on the spot |
| Knows your prices | Yes | Works from a script | Your best employee, no mistakes |
| Google reviews | Usually asked for verbally | No | Asked after booked visits |
| Cost | Wages, quiet hours included | Per call or per minute | One setup, then a monthly fee |
I build the third kind, and at Répond Allo that means the whole list on page one: all eleven, set up within 56 hours. The first two routes are real options all the same, and one of them may suit you better; if so, take it.
Before spending
Whichever route looks tempting, count first. One week of unreturned calls, times what one is worth to you. If the number is small, stop there: the free fixes above are plenty. If it is bigger than you expected, you now know what solving it is worth: to you, not to whoever is selling.
Where to count: your recent calls, your voicemail, and your Instagram message requests. Worth remembering as you read the total: a client who comes back every three weeks is roughly seventeen cuts a year, so a lost regular costs a great deal more than the one cut in this sum.
Nine of the eleven need nobody but you, and if you only ever do those, this sheet did its job. If you would rather not do any of them, that is what I am for, but the list is yours either way.