How to move your barbershop appointment in good time

You realise on Tuesday that you will not make Thursday, and you leave it until Wednesday night. By then the shop has closed, you go to bed thinking you will write tomorrow, and on Thursday you end up giving two hours notice or none at all.

The difference between telling them on Tuesday and telling them on Thursday is not good manners. It is that on Tuesday your slot can still be filled and you can still pick another good day. By Thursday, neither of those is true.

It depends on where you booked

The rule common to all four rows: use the same channel you booked through, because that is where the shop has your appointment written down. Messaging on Instagram about an appointment you made by phone is the easiest way for the message to go missing.

The message that works

Short, with the details, and with an alternative you propose yourself. That last part saves four messages:

Hi there. I have an appointment on Thursday the 9th at 4:00 p.m. for a cut with Andres. I am not going to make it. Would it be possible to move it to Friday the 10th in the afternoon, or Saturday morning? If there is no space on those days, let me know what you have. Thanks.

Four things: day and time of the current appointment, the service, who with, and two specific alternatives. With that the shop can settle it in a single reply.

Asking for a change is not having one

That last sentence matters. It leaves the shop a clear instruction instead of a slot held by somebody who is not going to show up.

When to tell them

There is no universal rule, because each shop sets its own and not all of them have one. What is general is the logic: give them enough time to offer your slot to someone else.

In practice that means the day before at the very least, and earlier if your appointment is in a band in high demand, like a Saturday morning or the days before a public holiday. Those slots fill up in advance, so they also refill in advance.

If the shop has a published policy, read it: it will state the notice period, the channel, and what happens if you are late in telling them. If they asked you for a deposit when you booked, the terms of that payment are the first thing to check, because that is where a consequence can sit.

Confirm the change the way you confirmed the appointment

When they reply, check that three things appear in the answer: the new day and time, the service, and the barber. If all you get is "done, Friday then", ask for the time. A half-made change is worse than no change at all, because both sides think it is settled.

And if the change means a different barber, ask them to say so: you booked with a person, and it is normal to want to know whether somebody else will be doing the work.

If it is already late and you will not make it

Tell them anyway. A message twenty minutes before is worse than one the day before, but it is far better than nothing: it lets them offer the slot to whoever is waiting, and it makes clear this was not forgetfulness.

And if you are running late but you will get there, say that too, with a number attached: "I am fifteen minutes behind, can you still take me?" The answer might be no, and knowing that on the way is better than finding out when you arrive.

If they change the appointment on you

It works the other way too: the barber falls ill, the shop closes unexpectedly, or they write to move your time. In that case you can ask for exactly what they ask of you: options. Keeping the day with another barber and keeping the barber on another day are two different things, and you decide which suits you.

If the change means another person and a different price, ask about it right then. And if you had already paid a deposit, ask what happens to it, because you did not cause the cancellation.

For next time

When you book, ask straight away how changes are handled. It is a ten-second question, you ask it at the calmest moment, and it saves you improvising when you are already in a hurry: "if something comes up, where do I tell you and how much notice do you need?"

Related: how to tell whether your appointment is really confirmed, when to book and when to walk in, how to explain the haircut you want once you are there, and what to check before booking a cut and beard.