CANCELLATION POLICY

"There will be a late cancellation fee of $100 for cancellations made within 12 hours of session time."

From February 2023, it was with a heavy heart that I decided that Summer's should have a cancellation policy.

Since I started Summer's in 2015, we never had a cancellation policy, for the full 7-8 years. It is because I strongly believe the following:

(1) All parents knows that our therapy is beneficial and will not be absent without valid reasons. 

(2) Young children fall sick often; young children with special needs fall sick even more often. 

(3) Children with special needs may have sudden meltdowns, making last minute cancellations unavoidable. 

(4) Summer's will have enough profit margin to buffer 'last minute cancellations without penalty'. (It would also give my staff members some down time for other work such as preparing for sessions, reading up on the latest research, or even just some me-time.) 

We did have enough to buffer for last minute cancellations until the pandemic hit when we had a cancellation rate of 50%. Even then, I did not want to implement a cancellation policy. Everyone was struggling at that time; families were falling sick, parents' work arrangement was constantly changing and school situation was unstable. Summer's had some cash savings, and should be able to tide everyone through this difficult time. 

However, as the pandemic started easing, I noted that there were some families who were still cancelling at the last minute - 'last minute' means an hour or less before the session. Or worse, there were 'no shows'. And some of these families did that for every other session. 

Some of the given reasons include: 

1. The rain is too heavy.

2. We woke up late.

3. We have forgotten that there is a session today. 

I felt taken for granted. My staff members felt taken for granted. They could have made other plans. 

After about 4 months of consideration and discussion with my team, I decided that Summer's should have a cancellation policy. Not to make money. Not to cover our overheads. But to set the boundary for parents, so that we are not taken for granted. It is respect. And here is our full cancellation policy. 

"You need to inform your therapist as soon as possible for all cancellation of sessions. 

There will be a late cancellation fee of $100 for cancellations made within 12 hours of session time. 

Waiver of late cancellation fees may be given if: 

• Your child's attendance has been regular, i.e. at least 80% of in the past 60 days, or 
• A make-up session is scheduled before the next session, depending on our availability."

It has been three months after the implementation of the cancellation policy. We have given 5 waivers and made 1 charge. We noticed a sharp drop in last minute cancellations especially those who could not make it due to 'we forgot' and 'it is raining too heavily'. The parents made an effort to come even when they were going to be late (and we do make up the time whenever our schedule allowed.) 

The next question is... what do I do with parents who cancel sessions week after week but giving us more than 12 hours notice...