No Show & Short notice cancellation/rescheduling policy
Our policy for productivity loss prevention
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To our valued customers
This policy is strictly enforced; it is not a fake or dummy policy intended to mislead our clients or to discourage them from not showing up or cancelling/rescheduling their bookings on short notice without penalty. It is incorrect to assume that we will never enforce this policy and are merely bluffing, even with our regular and loyal clients who are fully aware of this policy but choose to downplay it. It’s always better to let go of clients who waste our valuable time.​
This policy is the most comprehensive due to customers' excuses, downplaying, and ignorance regarding it. Clients often attempt to pay penalty fees with "sorry" or heartfelt apologies, sometimes resorting to guilt-tripping or verbal abuse when we enforce this rule, as well as exploiting any other loopholes they might create. Most no-show customers will seek to justify why they should be exempted or may resort to gaslighting. We reserve the right to adjust our rules at short notice whenever we identify loopholes in our policy.
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These policies are in place to protect our business, minimise the loss of productive time, and allocate available time to other customers—nothing personal. The customer is being charged for the time they reserved that became unavailable to others wishing to book that timeslot and for the work we missed as a result. We acknowledge our clients' right to cancel their bookings or appointments; it is not a criminal offence like shoplifting or vandalism. There are no personal negative feelings from our team towards any no-show, last-minute cancelling, or rescheduling customers. However, please also recognise our right to enforce penalty fees for the time wasted, or our freedom to refuse service to those clients we know may waste our productive time. Whenever they choose to disregard these policies, we are simply enforcing our procedures. Please do not equate us in the services and hospitality industry to the retail sector, as unlike in retail, where you can return merchandise to the shelf for resale when unused, we cannot return the time you have booked, which we lost, nor can we recall other customers we have turned away, resulting in missed work we could have completed.
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Thank you for your understanding,
From Khunchai Thai Massage management
Proof that we are not bluffing
Unfortunately, as a small business, our policies are often overlooked by some of our regular repeat clients. They tend to express strong negative remarks about us, in contrast to how they become understanding when a large business penalises them for not showing up or cancelling/rescheduling on short notice, like airline companies, hotels, or luxury spas. Please allow us to demonstrate our seriousness by providing screenshots of just two of the countless abusive messages we have received from no-show or short-notice cancelling customers whom we refused to rebook.
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This is not "just another Thai Massage" when it comes to customers not showing up for their bookings. Operators or Thai massage business owners may simply respond, "OK, that's fine, see you next time," or some other passive response to a no-show or last-minute cancellations/rescheduling. While we believe in always being humble, accommodating, and hospitable to our customers, we also need to be assertive. We won't be pushovers or allow ourselves to be taken advantage of, letting any customer waste our productive time, whether intentionally or unintentionally, without compensation. We understand that we can’t please everyone, and we’ll take the necessary actions, even at the cost of losing regular, loyal customers or risking negative word-of-mouth advertising that could deter potential clients.
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How does it affect us and why do we have this policy?
We reserved the timeslot and turned away other bookings due to that reservation. If the booked customer did not show up or provide reasonable notice time allowance for cancellation, we lost productive hours and missed opportunities with those we had to decline.
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A common misconception is that we are comparable to the retail industry. It's like going to a supermarket or a retail store, picking up goods, and then deciding not to buy them at the counter because you've changed your mind; the supermarket or retail store doesn't lose anything. The therapist doesn't do any work, expend physical energy, or get tired, so nothing is lost in that sense. However, the service industry, like ours, is very different. We lose our productive hours whenever there's a no-show or a short cancellation notice, which prevents potential customers from booking the time that a no-show or a last-minute cancellation has taken and then dropped. We cannot recover the lost earning opportunities from the time that a no-show or short-notice cancellation has occupied. We could have booked someone who would definitely come and engage in a successful service with us, but instead, we had to turn them away because a no-show customer took the timeslot that could have been available for other potential clients.
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Customer: "But something unexpected (sickness, a call to work, an accident, etc.) happened, and I cannot come." As a business, our objective is to generate revenue, enabling us to continue operations and provide employment for our staff, which includes having loss prevention policies like this one. Personally, we sympathise with others' situations, but from a business operations perspective: business is business, and it has no sympathies or emotions. Any customer who fails to attend their booked appointment should cover the loss and pay penalty fees, regardless of any circumstances or reasons. It’s not our fault that those unexpected events occurred; we didn't cause or wish for them to happen.
- We understand that customers may feel incidents are beyond their control and justify refusing penalty fees for the time they have spent, as they feel they have no choice. However, we are equally justified in our position; we can also choose not to rebook or prevent anyone from booking if it means our productive time is not compensated in order to protect our business and the employment of our staff. This applies regardless of reasons, whether stemming from poor time management or even mere bad luck. Neither side is wrong; both of us have reasonable justifications. It's perfectly fine to end a business relationship if we cannot agree on paying penalty fees, allowing the client to take their business elsewhere. No hard feelings, guilt trips, or gaslighting are necessary—let's just agree to disagree.
What happens when a booked customer will not show up or cancels/reschedule on short notice?
They will be added to our do-not-rebook list. Reserving a booking with us will be unavailable until penalty fees are paid, and all their contact details will be blocked from all our communication devices and online booking software to prevent them from re-booking, as we cannot take the risk of losing productive time again with a no-show or short-notice cancelling customer. This will also affect the convenience of claiming a gift voucher from us, if they receive one. We will not require a no-show or short-notice cancelling/rescheduling customer to pay any penalty fees; it is up to them whether they want to pay and be able to book again or say goodbye to us and start a new business relationship with another similar service provider.
Penalty fees must be settled using email messages or the contact form on this website, and they must be documented. We will not settle any penalty fees over unrecorded phone calls.
All "No Shows," short-notice cancellations, and rescheduling incidents are recorded, and they are not pardoned after a year. They will remain indefinitely until the penalty fees are paid, regardless of how long ago they occurred. In mid-2023, a significant number of recorded No Show clients from 2022 attempted to call to book, based on the caller number screening app report. In 2023, a substantial percentage of No Show clients were regulars who mistakenly thought we were just bluffing and would not add anyone to the do-not-rebook list. They tried to downplay this policy, claiming they hadn't had any No Shows at their appointments.
Still welcome to our services but not allowed to re-book
Clients who have no-shows or cancel at short notice and are not permitted to re-book are still welcome to access our services as walk-ins, provided we have availability when they arrive, even while they remain on our do-not-rebook list. Any clients on this list cannot make or request a booking in advance until the penalty fee is settled.
However, any individuals who are banned or have trespassed cannot make a booking or be served, even as walk-ins, under any circumstances. If a customer listed on our do not re-book list harasses us—by sending angry messages or making angry calls in response to being unable to re-book—or tries to book under another name, number, or a family member's online booking account, they will be added to the banned list.
Why Other Thai massage does not have No show / Short notice cancellation policy like yours ?
This is up to each business operator. Most Thai massage operators are fine with it, as they value all paying customers, regardless of the occasional no-show for appointments. They hope these customers will continue returning, or they worry about losing many customers, or they struggle to handle both assertive and passively abusive clientele. This contributes to the perception among many customers that it’s acceptable not to show up for appointments, cancel, or reschedule at short notice. However, we are sure that, despite being lenient or lacking formal policies, many Thai massage operators and staff are not pleased when customers fail to show up, cancel, or reschedule with little notice. This behaviour wastes their productive time and often results in missed opportunities to serve other customers who wanted to book at the same time as a no-show or someone cancelling on short notice. While we don't take it personally when clients waste our time, whether intentionally or not, we tend to screen out clients who lack respect for others' time and those who, despite valuing others' time, demonstrate poor personal or work time management that ultimately impacts us. We don’t tolerate this abuse and view it as a short-term loss leading to a long-term benefit by reducing no-show customers in our bookings.
Additionally, we noticed that most newly established Thai massage businesses from 2020 onwards have added or begun implementing these policies to protect their operations. Some larger, established Thai massage businesses that had been operating before us have started rephrasing their policies to phrases like "Did not show" or similar.
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​​The CAB, or Citizens Advice Bureau, was consulted before implementing these policies. We do not see any violation of consumer laws regarding penalty fees for failing to attend appointments or cancelling/rescheduling at short notice.
Infected by covid?
- As of 14 August 2023, Covid restrictions were dropped by the New Zealand government. Therefore, there will be no exemptions for anyone using Covid-19 infection as a reason to not show up or cancel an appointment on short notice.
- As of December 2023, we are aware that Covid is still around. While we are sympathetic to our customers, please let us know as soon as possible to help us replace the appointment you will be canceling. We may still add you to our do-not-rebook list or charge penalty fees to customers who cannot provide proof of being infected with Covid.
- As of December 2025, it is less believable. Proof is required, or it is not considered believable. With fewer cases and virtually no casualties, it is hard to distinguish a common cold from Covid without testing.
I'm sick, I took some medicine/rest time expecting to feel better, but / unfortunately, I'm still feeling ill so I'm canceling on short notice.
Please don't put our productive time at risk of being wasted. Anyone feeling sick yet waiting to improve but still feeling unwell and needing to cancel their bookings on short notice will not be excused. Please give us a chance to book others if you're unsure whether you can make your appointment. Any sick or unwell customers should call and cancel their booking as early as possible, rather than gamble with our productive time by coming if they feel better later or cancelling on short notice if they’re still ill. Please keep in mind that we don't intend to force any unwell customers to attend their booking; it's about ensuring we have the opportunity to book someone else by providing us with reasonable cancellation notice if a booked person is uncertain about attending. The booked customer will still be penalised for holding up the time and not attending, but not for cancelling on short notice due to illness.
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Do Not book if you feel sick then cancel /re schedule later on short notice
- Booking in the morning on the same day and then cancelling a few hours later will not qualify for an exemption, and penalty fees will apply. Most people should be aware of their medical condition (if they feel unwell) by morning and should avoid making a booking they are uncertain about attending.
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Canceling an appointment when sick
* Please cancel before 12:00pm. If the appointment is scheduled for anytime before 12:00pm., we will not consider it a short notice cancellation and will not impose any penalty fees out of sincere consideration (except if the client books on the same morning and cancels before 12:00 pm). Any cancellations from 12:00pm to evening due to illness will not be exempt and will incur either a 50% short notice cancellation/rescheduling penalty fee or a 100% penalty fee if we have followed up after the appointment time has passed, or if the customer cancels their appointment within 90 minutes before the scheduled time or after the appointment time, as that will be considered a No Show appointment. There will be no exceptions for any booked customer who falls sick or feels unwell but merely forgets to cancel or reschedule on time. We believe our clients should value our productive time, regardless of their condition, by cancelling the appointment as early as possible so we can fill the slot.
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* We still reserve the right to apply penalty fees even if the customer who booked calls before 12:00 pm to cancel due to illness, if we suspect the customer is using this as a loophole or has made a booking for someone else (e.g., a customer wishing to book a family member who has no intention of going for a massage but was still booked by the customer without prior consent).
Can you hold the timeslot for me? Booking just to hold the timeslot.
Answer: No. Please let other customers who are sure of their schedule book and take the available timeslots. This will allow us to earn and be productive by not holding any available time slots and canceling or rescheduling on short notice. Doing so will incur penalty fees.
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​Booking an appointment to simply hold a time slot. In our first year of operation, it’s notable that a significant number of our regular clients book on weekends or during busy periods, like holiday weeks, when it becomes difficult to secure a booking. They reserve a time for themselves but often cancel the appointment on short notice when attending is no longer convenient. This behaviour is quite selfish from the booking customer. It’s inconsiderate towards us as the business operators who miss out on work, as well as other customers who wanted to book an appointment but couldn’t find a slot. This is why we’ve implemented a short notice cancellation and rescheduling policy.
How about re schedulling on short notice?
Re-scheduling is fine as long as the booked customer has given us plenty of advance notice before the appointment time. This allows us to replace or offer the timeslot to other customers who want to book the slot you will give up, regardless of the reason. Re-scheduling an appointment on short notice affects our productivity, as there is little to no chance to fill the booking at such short notice. The impact on our productive time is caused indirectly by a customer who is simply trying to re-schedule and not cancel. It is more practical for us to add to the do-not-rebook list any customer who consistently re-schedules on short notice. While it's true they will still pay and we will receive their money on the day they re-scheduled, it will actually cost us more to take their money next time, as we keep missing out on other customers who should have taken the time slot they booked and abandoned, leaving our staff idle. Our time is wasted if we cannot fill the booking on short notice.
Cancelling or re scheduling an appointment very close/near to appointment time.
Any cancellation or rescheduling made close to the booked appointment time is considered a No Show and not classified as a short notice cancellation if we are notified less than 90 minutes before the appointment. The penalty fee will be 100% of the service price booked, rather than 50% for short notice cancellations, as the client did not provide us an opportunity to accommodate other clients who may wish to book due to the late notice. Clients on our waiting list may have other commitments or have already booked with another Thai massage spa, making it too late for us to inform them about openings.
Long weekend holidays.
probability of booked clients not showing up on appointments or cancel their booking on short notice.
It is always anticipated that there will be last-minute cancellations and customers not showing up for appointments on long weekends. Going outdoors for a picnic or outdoor lunch with family is enjoyable, especially on a long weekend with good weather. Customers are more likely to abandon their bookings with us or book in advance to secure a spot on known busy days and then cancel or reschedule at short notice if their family or personal plans change. Please note that we do not impose a holiday surcharge, but we do not allow leniency for short-notice cancellations due to reasons such as sickness, family emergencies, accidents, etc., even if these situations are legitimate, during long weekends. Customers will be placed on our do not rebook list and will not be able to rebook until the penalty fee for short-notice cancellation is paid, regardless of the circumstances.
Our staff turned up for work to meet the customer's appointments on any long weekend. It’s not fair to us if the customer cancels their booking due to illness, accidents, or emergency cover-ups that guilt-trip us. There will be no excuse for cancelling at short notice on long weekends.
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Fact: We have this policy due to our experience over a long weekend. We drafted this Short Notice and No Show policy on Auckland's anniversary day, the 1st of February 2021, when 50% of our booked clients (including regular repeat clients) claimed they were sick and unable to come on short notice, along with a number of no-shows during that weekend. Since then, it's always been expected that at least one booked client will not show up or will cancel on short notice. Although we aren't wrong in this expectation, we manage to minimise the number of customers doing so because of these policies. Please understand that we don’t take pleasure in charging any penalty fees; we are simply protecting our business.
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- We believe we are the first Thai Massage and Spa in NZ to implement this starting from 1st February 2021. We were inspired by a motel reservation policy and a Luxury Day Spa in Auckland regarding no-shows and short-notice cancellations or rescheduling. This gave us the confidence to adopt this policy, especially after noticing that several larger Thai massage spas, which have been operating longer and have multiple branches, have also adopted our idea and established their own cancellation policies and penalty fees, merely rephrasing it to "did not show" or something similar.
Reasons we encountered for not attending a booking or cancelling the booking on short notice
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No one will look after the children, parents, or any family members, including sick family members or dependents.
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The kids are unwell.
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The client has to look after the pet or take the dog for a walk.
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The schedule of the booked client has become chaotic and disorganized, so they will not attend or will just cancel the booking at short notice.
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The client has apparently been called by their employer to work or has picked up work if they are self-employed, and they are too busy at work to leave—this includes any heart-wrenching logical reasons one can think of for work—and ends up dropping the appointment at short notice or simply not showing up.
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A neighbour is blocking the driveway, preventing the client from driving out to come.
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They may be suffering from a hangover or alcohol intoxication from the previous day.
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Traffic was painfully slow and terrible, with the booked client driving or coming from quite a distance.
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The client may have suddenly experienced an accident or any emergency close to the booked appointment time or just moments after the scheduled time, which requires us to follow up.
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If the client was having a little rest, a nap, or sleep, unfortunately, their alarm clock failed to wake them up on time, causing them to miss the booking.
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Someone else has booked for a particular person without the booked person's knowledge.
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The clients do not have our number and are unable to call to cancel their appointment.
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The booked client thought they sent the cancellation request on time, but it didn’t go through.
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The client forgot about the appointment for any reason despite receiving a 24-hour text reminder from our software.
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The doctor, lawyer, secretary, minister, judge, principal, president of the country, or any VIP has contacted me to schedule an appointment at the same time as the existing booking, so the scheduled client cannot attend.
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"Something's come up. Sorry, I can't make it today."
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Car breakdown, and so on.
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I’m feeling unwell and forgot to cancel.
Family - The client should take responsibility for their schedule and organise any family arrangements without disrupting others' livelihoods or businesses by missing a booking they requested or cancelling on short notice for personal reasons. Therefore, booking or requesting an appointment is advisable only if you are certain of your family arrangements or personal schedule. It is also not our fault, nor do we wish it, that a family member might become sick, leading the booked customer to abandon their appointment with us. Our staff have left their families at home to be present at your appointment. We should not bear the loss of our productive time due to any family or personal reasons, as we did not cause those circumstances, while the customer agreed to arrive at the time they requested for their booking, so penalty fees still apply.
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If kids or my child are unwell - While we empathise with the child's situation, we cannot absorb the loss incurred by these unexpected circumstances. This responsibility should rest with the individual or parent who made the booking, by implementing penalty fees to cover the wages of staff who also have children or families to support, and who have lost productive hours due to short-notice cancellations or rescheduling, regardless of the reasons provided by a parent needing to attend to their child. We are not unkind, lacking empathy, villainous, or inconsiderate; this is merely a protective business measure, so please, no guilt-tripping or gaslighting. Any regular customers who use their children as a reason to cancel appointments at short notice will be required to provide a deposit to secure future bookings.
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I got called to work, meetings, etc. - We understand that our clients' work and source of income are valuable to them, and so is our productive time that any client has booked with us. Just like you and everyone else, we are also working, and abandoning a booking with us on short notice due to work denies us of our potential earning opportunity. We aren’t having a recreational or leisure time, playing snakes and ladders while enjoying a relaxing tea and chat as we wait for another player to turn up. Instead, we are waiting for the person or customer who booked and requested to hold or reserve the timeslot for themselves. They should not give that timeslot to other customers and should agree to come at the appointed time to trade our services for the customer's currency, just as they get paid when they work.
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Family emergencies and accidents - We sincerely sympathise ​with all our clients during unfortunate, unforeseen incidents such as emergencies or accidents. However, we must adhere to our policy and add clients to the do not re-book list until penalty fees are settled. A booked client or customer failing to show up or cancelling on short notice for any reason is also unfortunate for us as it results in lost earning opportunities. We will not absorb this loss; those who do not show, cancel on short notice, or reschedule will be added to the do not re-book list and will not be permitted to make any future bookings until penalty fees are paid.
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My spouse booked an appointment for me; it’s not my fault. I was unaware of the booking. Each person is responsible for their important personal details, such as name, email address, and phone number. That information shouldn't be used by anyone else for bookings and shopping online without consent. If a friend or family member makes an appointment for you, we assume you have granted them permission to use your personal details for the booking (or are negligent on your part in securing your personal details). Please note that our booking system includes mobile number verifications, and we do not accept private calls to maintain proper documentation of who called us or made a booking from which number. Reasons like “my spouse, friend, or sibling booked it for me, and I didn’t know I had an appointment" or any similar excuses will not be accepted.
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I will see the doctor, the lawyer, the celebrity, or any VIP first and will cancel or reschedule the booking. Regardless of who the client is meeting and whether the booking is made in advance, we consider that we have an agreement on the appointment time first, and it is not justifiable to cancel the agreed appointment time or to reschedule the booking due to any urgent calls from anyone important or with higher social or professional status. Our time is equally important, just like those with higher social status or professions. The client should inform the doctor or any VIP that they cannot come at the specific time assigned due to a prior booking with a massage spa and look for another time to meet them. If unavoidable, the client who booked in advance and agreed to the appointment but could not attend should bear the loss by paying penalty fees for short-notice cancellations, reschedules, or no-shows.
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For any other reasons such as a neighbour's car blocking the driveway, hangovers/alcohol intoxication, the bus not arriving on time, the alarm clock not working and failing to wake the person up on time, being too tired to go, bad traffic, car breakdowns, negligence with schedules, bad luck, or any other reasons, we are not liable and we did not cause those incidents. We will not grant any exemptions for these random reasons why a client may not attend their booking on short notice. We will not absorb the loss of productive time due to any of these random reasons which we did not cause or have nothing to do with. The client will be added to the do-not-rebook list with no possible exemptions, unlike cancellations due to emergencies; paying the penalty fee is the only way out of the do-not-rebook list.
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- Any individual will be aware of their health condition in the morning. Out of consideration, we exempt anyone from any penalty fees for cancelling or rescheduling on short notice if done before 12:00pm. It is challenging for us to believe that any booked client is unwell if they cancel or reschedule their booking in the afternoon or later.
Please note that you aren't calling your boss or supervisor at work for sick leave; rather, you are taking away someone else's valuable, productive time.
- Please do not hold up our productive time by waiting to feel better before cancelling. If you need to cancel, please do so as soon as possible to free up the time for us to work. Anyone who does not do this will be added to the do-not-rebook list. This penalty is not for being unwell, but for wasting our time and not attending when expected.
- "I'm feeling really unwell, and I forgot to contact you to cancel my booking." This is not an adequate excuse, particularly since we must follow up only moments after the scheduled appointment time has elapsed. The customer should value our time by cancelling the appointment promptly or asking a family member to do so, rather than simply forgetting about it. We won't cover any losses due to failing to cancel the booking.
* We may not be accurate with that, depending on each individual's health and immunity, but that is our condition, and all customers who book with us agree to our terms and conditions.
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- Our approach will be more technical than humanitarian. Over-apologising with any heart-touching reasons won’t get a short-notice cancellation or no-show customer an exemption from penalty fees. We will adhere strictly to this policy: "Business is business." No guilt-tripping is necessary. It’s not that we’re heartless or inconsiderate; we’re just implementing the rules we’ve established to protect our source of income.
Guilt tripping and gaslighting.
We are not rude, lacking empathy, inconsiderate, mistreating customers, villains, or greedy if we do not accept any "sorry" or "big apologies" as a substitute for penalty fee payments. Additionally, we may add someone to our do-not-rebook list due to no-shows or last-minute cancellations or rescheduling of appointments. We don’t want to add customers to our do-not-rebook or banned lists, but we feel we must if necessary. We are simply protecting our business and our staff's employment, not our "nice guys" image. There is no need for guilt-tripping or phrases like, "I will not book again," "I will go elsewhere," "I will take my money somewhere else," or "you have lost my business" to make us feel like we've lost a valuable customer and their money. We value everyone's freedom to choose where they want to go. We cannot be guilt-tripped; it's better for us to have no bookings and a slow day than to deal with clients who do not show up or cancel at short notice. This situation can prevent serious bookers from making appointments with us.
Accepting a booking from a known no-show or a client who cancels or reschedules on short notice is like gambling with our valuable time, as if we're placing a bet. It’s fortunate if the customer shows up, but we lose productive time if they don’t. We’re not fans of gambling. To avoid this unpleasant situation, please only book if you’re certain of your schedule. Our team appreciates all clients who value our time and respect this policy.
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Emergencies of any kind and accidents: We sympathise with clients regarding these unfortunate incidents. However, they can be powerful excuses that may evoke guilt, such as family emergencies or accidents, leading us to appear inconsiderate and lacking sympathy for others. Please note that penalty fees still apply unless the client who cancelled or rescheduled on short notice, or failed to show up, can provide proof of the incident, such as a visit to a physician or medical centre, a panel beater invoice, insurance claims, or any solid evidence that these unfortunate incidents occurred at a matching time and date with the missed booking.
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You lost a regular repeat client. This is a common occurrence; we have lost many clients since 2020, the year we started. A regular client can be lost for countless reasons at any time, and not necessarily due to negative customer experiences. Other reasons may include moving out of town, health issues, economic recessions, rising costs of living, and more. While we value our customers, we do not feel guilty or lose anything when a client or regular repeat client chooses to go to a competitor, whether due to our strict no-show and short-notice cancellation policies or any other reason. We always wish our fellow businesses are busy and thriving; after all, they are like us—human beings making an honest living while serving others. We will never beg, "please stay" or "please come back," nor offer anything to clients who may say, "You lost a regular client." We cannot be blackmailed. It is perfectly fine for us to lose an unreliable regular client who does not respect others' time and is more likely to no-show or cancel/reschedule on short notice without compensating for it. We are more concerned for the other Thai massage businesses that a no-show customer may patronise next, for wasting their productive time on appointments.
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This is detrimental to business. It’s the most common line from no-show customers or those who cancel at short notice when reminded about the do-not-rebook list or penalties that apply before they can make another appointment. Customers who book and waste the time of professional service providers lack the moral high ground to offer self-serving business advice to avoid penalty fees. We view a no-show or short notice cancellation that refuses to pay penalty fees and opts for the competition as a short-term loss. Allowing any customer to waste our time without taking action is also bad for business. It’s beneficial for business to screen no-show and short-notice cancelling customers during the booking process, ensuring we have available time slots for serious customers. This could also negatively impact regular customers who frequently cancel or don't show up, as they may miss out on bookings with their preferred massage therapist. They might be forced to invest time and money seeking an equally skilled therapist elsewhere, facing costly trial and error in the process.
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​You've lost; they have lost my business. Ironically, a no-show or short-notice cancellation by customers who refuse to pay the penalty fee is also damaging our business. So, perhaps it is best to end our relationship with less reputable clients who do not value other people's time, as it becomes more costly to keep them when productive time is wasted. A reasonable customer should be willing to compensate for the productive time they booked for themselves but missed for any reason. It's perfectly acceptable for us to lose those clients and their business who do not recognise the damage they have done to our productive time.
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You could have gotten more money back from me if you allowed me to book again (without paying penalty fees). No, please pay the penalty fees first before booking again. This is out of fairness to other regular repeat clients who paid penalty fees when they couldn't make their appointments on short notice, respecting our time. Other regular repeat customers who didn’t show up once were added to the do-not-rebook list and then came back, paying the 100% penalty fees. It’s not fair to them if we let it slide for any passive-aggressive clients.
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I have been recommending or referring customers to your business; why not grant me an exemption? We appreciate any recommendations that bring new clients to us, but these cannot be used as justification for missing appointments or for cancelling/rescheduling at short notice. The client acted out of goodwill voluntarily. Any gifts or monetary tips given to staff, or any acts of goodwill from clients, are not expected but are highly appreciated. However, anything we receive from clients is regarded as "no strings attached" and will not result in reciprocated favours for extended requests, discounts, or exemptions from this policy.
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I have arranged many appointments and generated more income for you in the past, so why am I being penalised for a single offence? Yes, the policy remains in effect regardless of how many times a client has done business with us. Please keep in mind that the money the customer paid to us has already been reciprocated by our staff, who provided the best service possible. We have exchanged the customer's money for our service, completing a fair transaction, and there should be no strings attached after that. A business or service provider should not be made to feel guilty about this.
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You treat your customers badly or poorly. We disagree with not rebooking clients who either fail to show up for their appointments or cancel/reschedule on short notice. Our policies help protect our business from continual revenue loss; it’s nothing personal. We will still accommodate them as walk-ins, if availability allows upon their arrival, but we cannot rebook until penalty fees are settled. We will not engage in any verbal or physical abuse towards customers who don't show up or cancel on short notice, as we are mindful of potential civil or criminal repercussions and do not want to be reported to any consumer rights organisations. It’s purely business, nothing personal. Many express disappointment when we don’t grant them exceptions or respond indifferently to their remarks like, "I’ll go elsewhere" or "you’ve lost a regular customer," which they may use as tactics to manipulate or guilt us. Charging penalty fees for no-shows and short-notice cancellations is compliant with New Zealand consumer laws and is not morally wrong. However, any aggressive or unpleasant responses, remarks, or messages will lead to the client being moved from the do-not-rebook list to a permanent banned list. From this point on, we will not accept any penalty fees, and we will ask banned customers to leave if they come in person to pay the penalty fees in the future.
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Out of fair consideration, we may waive penalty fees for short notice cancellations or rescheduling, just in case we can manage to replace the booking with another customer through last-minute inquiries, walk-ins, or by contacting anyone on our waiting list for the same service and price. However, the likelihood of these fortunate incidents occurring is quite low. Penalty fees will not be waived if the booking is not replaced, no one is available to cover the time slot that was dropped, or if a customer from the waiting list has already booked elsewhere, turned away other customers, or if there is a high volume of visitors on the website's online bookings page for that day.
Other asked questions
It's not a busy weekday, and it’s very likely that you won’t lose any customers if I don’t turn up for my appointment or cancel on short notice on a slow day.
The penalty fee still applies, regardless of the day or how busy we are. We do not encourage or offer any exemptions for failing to show up or cancelling an appointment on short notice, irrespective of whether it’s a slow day or any other day of the week. A customer who no-shows or cancels on short notice may rebook on any busy day and can similarly disrupt our productivity.
My friend, family or partner booked for me and I did not know so I didn't come to my appointment and show up
If the booking is made under your name, phone number, and email address, you are liable for the no-show appointment. The booker will also be added to our do-not-rebook list if we determine who made the booking for someone that did not show up. We believe that the person booked is responsible for safeguarding or disclosing any of their personal information used to make a booking. Whether the booking was made by a friend or family member, with or without their knowledge, it is assumed that the booking has the consent of the person for whom it was made.
I have a voucher given by a friend, but I am recorded on the Do not re book list due to short notice cancellation or not showing up, can I claim the voucher?
Yes, you can claim your voucher, but you cannot book an appointment as we still see you as a risk of wasting our productive time if you cancel at short notice or do not show up again. Vouchers cannot be used as a loophole to book for anyone on our do-not-rebook list. As long as the penalty fee is unpaid, you're not allowed to book with us. You are welcome to walk in only, and service is available if we have time for you when you arrive. We are not liable or responsible to ensure that we have availability upon the arrival of any walk-in customers, regardless of having a voucher.
I have plenty of money to spend, and I book on a regular basis, about once a week or every two weeks. Will you put me on the do not rebook list if I don’t show up for my appointment or if I cancel my booking on short notice, even just once?
We treat all customers with the same level of hospitality, respect, and care, regardless of how often they do business with us or how much they spend. There will be no exemptions for a regular customer who spends a lot with us yet disregards our rules, regulations, and policies, which is considered a form of passive abuse for undermining our policies. This reflects self-respect; we will not tolerate this abuse simply because someone has more money. It's acceptable for us to lose a regular client who disregards our policies.
I booked for my family or friends, but they did not show up or suddenly could not make it. Who is liable?
The individual who made those appointments is accountable for any no-shows. Therefore, it’s best for others to book for themselves rather than having someone else do it for them. The customer whose appointment was made will also be liable if the booker shares their name and contact details. Please note, the same applies to anyone making bookings for couples or multiple appointments, such as taking a friend or family member along, but if the booked companion suddenly can’t make it.
Tip:
- Don’t book for others, like family members, unless you’re certain they can make the appointment you’re scheduling for them.
- Safeguard your personal information, such as your phone number and email address. Don’t allow anyone to use it for anything else, like online shopping or booking flights with your details.
If we are so serious with No show and Short notice cancellation policy, why don't just collect deposit before an appointment?
We will do our best to abstain from collecting any debit or credit card details with third-party financial services. In the event of cyber attacks that may compromise card information, our clients will remain safe as they have never provided any card details. However, collecting deposits through bank transfers may complicate matters. Therefore, we will add no-show or short-notice cancellation clients to the do-not-rebook list.
- If incidents of no-shows and short-notice cancellations continue to rise, we may consider removing our phone and email contacts, taking bookings solely through online channels with mandatory agreement conditions. We will require payment for services upfront using debit or credit cards when booking online, which will be non-refundable in the event the client does not show up, cancels, or reschedules on short notice.
Warning
Do not assist anyone on our do-not-rebook list due to no-shows and last-minute cancellations who has not settled any penalty fees to make an appointment with us. Anyone helping a no-show or last-minute cancelling client who has not yet paid the penalty fees will be banned from our services. Repeat clients who did not show up while booking under a different name or account will receive a trespass notice if we identify them, as we review our CCTV footage from the last time they booked with us. We reserve the right to ask for any ID if we suspect that a no-show client booked using the name or account of any of their family members.
Acts of nature
In the event of calamities such as heavy rain followed by flooding, or when it is too risky to travel to attend an appointment with us, we value the safety of our clients. It is advisable to cancel your booking on short notice or simply not attend the appointment, thereby staying safe at home. Our policies regarding No Shows and short-notice cancellations do not apply when there is an advisory from Civil Defence NZ to stay home and stay safe.
This policy is the most misunderstood by consumers who believe it is acceptable to do so, just like many of our counterparts and other Thai massage spas that are lenient with it. Additionally, short notice cancellations, rescheduling, and no-shows are often subject to individual interpretation if we are not direct and precise. The original page contained only a few paragraphs before evolving into its current form. Thus, we created this page with as much detail as possible based on our operational experience.