By Nyawira Githae
We had planned this snorkeling trip a couple of weeks ago. It was a full day excursion where we would be picked up by a van, travel for 3 hours, get on a dhow (traditional boat that is now typically powered by a motor), watch dolphins swim, snorkel and see all kinds of beautiful fish, have lunch on an island, head back to our drop off point and travel back home. A Sunday fun day.
Slowly, people in the WhatsApp group excused themselves from attending the excursion. Finally, we were down to only two people who had paid a deposit and confirmed that they would be going on the trip.
One of the group members who hadn’t said a peep since she joined the WhatsApp group, sent me a message saying that she would be attending. When the organizer called me to confirm the number of people who would be attending, he verified that he had also received a deposit from this third attendee.
We were supposed to be picked up on Sunday at 6 AM so by 10 PM the night before, I was out like a light. I wake up in the morning and guess what I see? A message that had come in close to 12 AM from the third attendee telling me the she wouldn’t be coming with us on the trip. No explanation given and she left it up to me to tell the trip organizer that she had canceled.
How to Cancel a Service You Have Paid a Deposit For
Canceling last minute without an explanation seems to be the standard nowadays. It’s almost like ghosting but in business. People don’t realize how inconsiderate and inconveniencing it is to a service provider. It also tends to mean a loss of income for the service provider.
When a client cancels with a service provider, they have prevented them from making the optimum amount of money that they could have made for that service. For example, if someone has booked a stay at a 2 bedroom Airbnb, and they cancel last minute, the Airbnb host suffers a loss. If they hadn’t reserved that client’s booking and would have instead taken a booking from a different client, they would have been paid the whole amount. Imagine what that does for their business if they didn’t even receive a deposit?
Here’s how to practice cancellation etiquette without burning bridges:
1. Cancel a Service for Valid Reasons
It should go without saying that you should cancel for a really good reason like being sick or dealing with a crisis at work. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Remember, this is someone’s livelihood and they may be supporting their family and a team of employees with that business. Not feeling like it is not a valid reason. Neither is being hungover.
2. Cancel a Service in Advance Instead of Last Minute
Some providers stipulate a period where you are allowed to cancel a service in their terms and conditions. If the cancelation period has expired, it’s highly unlikely that you will get your deposit back.
If your cancel early enough, you may be able to receive part or all of your deposit back and the service provider may still be able to make a profit from a different client making it a win-win.
3. Politely Explain Why You Are Canceling a Service (Do it Yourself)
Don’t pass the buck and leave it up to someone else to explain why you are canceling the service. Call the service provider to explain why you are canceling their services. Calling is usually the best option because you can answer any questions the service provider has and reduce the feeling of ill will. If you would prefer to send a text or an email, explain in detail why you’re cancelling. There’s no need to lie. People lie so that they don’t have to feel guilty if the service provider gets angry or emotional but everyone appreciates sincerity.
4. Apologize
An apology goes a long way when canceling a service and your service provider will appreciate it even if they don’t express it.
5. Instead of Demanding a Refund, Negotiate for Your Next Service
To be honest, most professional service providers will not refund your deposit. As mentioned before, a lot of service providers have terms and conditions that they issue to their clients that state just as much.
Remember, you are trying to maintain a relationship. Even if you think you will never need their services again, it’s a small world and it’s always smart to be amicable throughout the cancellation process.
That being said, instead of cancelling and losing out completely, you can work out a deal where you could use the deposit for a future service or at least organize for discounted rates the next time you want to book the service provider.
If, say, you cancelled with an events planner for a party that you paid a deposit for, they probably purchased all the décor for that event using your deposit making it unlikely that they will refund you.
Alternatively, you could ask them for a 30 or 40% discount if you book them for a similar themed party within a reasonable amount of time where they would use the same décor they have already purchased.
