> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.theroyalglow.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# No-Show Policy

> How Royal Glow tracks missed appointments — the escalating tiers, the 90-day window, manager approval, automatic recovery, and why walk-ins never count.

# No-Show Policy

A no-show is when a customer has a confirmed appointment and simply doesn't turn
up. The occasional miss happens to everyone, so the policy is gentle at first and
only adds friction for repeat offenders. There are **no fees, ever** — the only
consequence is that frequent no-shows eventually need a manager to approve their
bookings. This page explains how the tiers work and how a customer recovers.

<Info>
  A booking is marked `no_show` automatically 15 minutes after its end time if it
  was still `confirmed` and the customer never arrived. The policy applies only to
  pre-booked appointments — see why walk-ins are excluded below.
</Info>

## What it is

A fair, escalating system that protects the salon's calendar from repeated
slot-hoarding without punishing honest mistakes. The first few misses are just
noted; only a pattern of misses adds a check before future bookings.

## How it works — the tiers

No-shows accumulate on the customer's record. The consequence steps up as the
count rises.

| Cumulative no-shows                 | Consequence                                                                                                                                                                     |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1st, 2nd, 3rd                       | `noshow_count` increments and a CRM note is added automatically. No restriction on booking.                                                                                     |
| **4th** (within 90 days of the 1st) | `booking_requires_approval` is set to `true` — a manager must approve every future booking. A push and email go to the customer, and the **"No-Show Risk"** CRM tag is applied. |
| **5th** (any time)                  | A warning note is added to all future bookings for the receptionist: *"Repeated no-shows — verify before confirming."* The receptionist can still override per booking.         |

<Warning>
  The 4th no-show only triggers approval-required if it falls **within 90 days**
  of the first one. The window matters: misses spread thinly over a long period
  don't escalate the same way a cluster of recent misses does.
</Warning>

## How it works — the "No-Show Risk" tag

Once a customer crosses the 4th-no-show threshold, two things happen together:

* **`booking_requires_approval = true`** — their future bookings can't be
  auto-confirmed; a manager reviews each one first.
* **The "No-Show Risk" CRM tag** — applied to their profile so staff can see the
  pattern at a glance in the customer list and on the booking screen.

## How it works — automatic recovery

The policy is designed to forgive. A flagged customer earns their way back
automatically:

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="How does a customer clear the No-Show Risk flag?">
    Completing **3 consecutive bookings** with no no-show in between clears the flag:
    `booking_requires_approval` returns to `false` and the "No-Show Risk" tag is
    removed.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens if they miss again during recovery?">
    Any no-show **resets** the streak — `consecutive_completed_bookings` goes back to
    `0` — so the three completed bookings must be unbroken.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Info>
  Recovery is hands-off. No one at the salon has to manually clear the flag — the
  system removes it the moment the customer completes their third consecutive
  clean booking.
</Info>

## Why walk-ins don't count

A walk-in booking is created by a receptionist only when the customer is already
physically standing in the salon. There is no pre-reserved slot for them to miss,
so a `no_show` status on a walk-in does **not** count toward the no-show tier.

<Info>
  The same fairness applies to salon-side cancellations. If the salon cancels a
  booking — for example because a staff member went on leave — that is never
  counted against the customer. See [Staff Scheduling & Leave](/docs/features/scheduling-leave).
</Info>

## How it relates to cancellations

A no-show is different from a cancellation. Cancelling — even at short notice —
is handled separately and never carries a fee.

| Action                          | Counts as no-show? | Consequence                                                                   |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cancel more than 4 hours before | No                 | Free, no record, slot released immediately.                                   |
| Cancel within 4 hours           | No                 | Tagged in CRM, `late_cancellation_count` increments, a courtesy call. No fee. |
| Don't show up at all            | Yes                | Counts toward the no-show tiers above.                                        |

## Where the thresholds live

The no-show thresholds and the cancellation window are configuration keys, not
hard-coded values. A manager can adjust them under `admin.theroyalglow.in/settings`, alongside
other policy settings like the GST number and business hours.

## Related links

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Booking System" href="/docs/features/booking">
    The booking lifecycle, including how a booking becomes a no-show.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Staff Scheduling & Leave" href="/docs/features/scheduling-leave">
    Why salon-side cancellations never count against the customer.
  </Card>

  <Card title="CRM & Lead Pipeline" href="/docs/features/crm-leads">
    How the No-Show Risk tag and notes appear on a customer profile.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Admin — Bookings API" href="/docs/api-reference/admin-bookings">
    Marking a booking as no-show and the manager approval flow.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Data Model" href="/docs/data-model">
    The customer\_profile no-show fields and customer\_tag tables.
  </Card>
</Columns>


## Related topics

- [Admin & Staff Guide](/content/docs/product/admin-staff-guide.md)
- [Low-Level Design](/content/docs/system-design/low-level-design.md)
- [Booking System](/content/docs/features/booking.md)
- [Customer Guide](/content/docs/product/customer-guide.md)
- [Staff Scheduling & Leave](/content/docs/features/scheduling-leave.md)