Hot take: box appointments are ruining walk-in culture at least where I work in Austin

We had a stretch last month where 6 out of 8 chairs were booked solid for 2 weeks straight. Walk-ins started showing up at 8am just to get turned away. Then a regular who's been coming to me for 5 years said he almost went to a chain shop because he couldn't get a same-day slot. That hit different because I built my whole client list on being the guy who says 'come on in'. I get that scheduling protects our income but since when did we become a dentist office? Anyone else feel the squeeze between keeping your books full and keeping the door open for the drop-in crowd?

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michael_coleman109d ago

Everything these days is moving to a reservation-only model, from restaurants to barbershops, and it kind of kills the spontaneity that used to make places feel alive. People still want that quick pop-in option, but the system is built to squeeze them out in favor of guaranteed money. It's a trade-off, but it feels like we're losing something real when even a haircut needs a week's notice.