08/05/2026
Today was really hard as a small business owner.
I came into the spa early, prepared a full 4-hour treatment, set up the room, organised products, towels, refreshments, and dedicated my entire work day to one client appointment… only to be completely no-showed.
No message. No call. No cancellation.
Last month, the same appointment was cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, and I chose to let the cancellation policy slide as a gesture of understanding and goodwill. Today, despite reminder emails being opened, text messages being sent, and phone calls being made, there was still no communication at all.
To make matters even harder, the card on file declined, meaning there is currently no way for me to recover the income lost today.
I think sometimes people see a home-based spa and forget there is a real family behind it. This isn’t a hobby for me. This business helps feed my children, pay our bills, cover groceries, school costs, and keeps our household running.
When a small business loses an entire day of income through a no-show, there isn’t a corporation absorbing that loss in the background. It lands directly on my family.
This is a little behind-the-scenes video today of what goes into preparing these long luxury treatments, because I don’t think many people realise the time, care, preparation, and cost involved before a client even walks through the door.
I completely understand that emergencies happen and plans can change. All I ask for is communication and basic respect for the time and effort that goes into running a small business.
Unfortunately, situations like this also mean policies sometimes need to change. Moving forward, all treatments over 2 hours will require pre-payment at the time of booking.
To all of my wonderful clients who do show up, communicate kindly, and support local businesses with respect and care… thank you. You keep small businesses like mine alive. 🤍
