Just to concur with Tara & Allison on this, I’m really sorry that happened; It’s upsetting to hear these stories & I wouldn’t be interested in associating with other providers who do shady and fraudulent business. I’ve worked too hard to build myself to a point where clients trust me. No deposit is worth harming our reputations over. I think what we mean by reputable providers is maybe a little different than what it might mean from a client perspective though. I’m talking about those who are respected among their peers and colleagues, not just clients. A provider can have good reviews a following online and professional photos, but that doesn’t necessarily speak of their integrity.Now to answer your question - I don't see a simple solution to this issue. I completely understand your point of view as a provider. Having clients waste your time and cost you money sucks big time. It pisses me off that clients do this. Sadly I guess it makes providers suspicious of all clients. I can honestly say I very rarely cancel and if I do I always call. The once or twice that I have cancelled last minute I have always offered compensation.
Having said that, my limited experience as a client is that paying in advance has not gone well. I have done it only twice but both times have resulted in me losing the money. The reputation of the lady hasn't made a difference. Both providers were quite well known in the business. In fact, one is probably one the most well known providers (based on her twitter following, etc.) in eastern Canada. After all, it's not like I would have sent money to a provider without a well established history.
Due to this experience, I don't plan to pay a deposit again. Some have pointed out that the safety of providers is more important than taking the chance of losing money. As much as I agree, I lost about $1200 on my two attempts and I'm not in a position to do this on a regular basis. As someone else said, I may lose out on meeting some great providers but I can live with that more easily than potentially losing in the thousands of dollars every year.
I saw your tweet about requiring deposits. As much as I would encourage you not to do that, I also totally understand that you might say you can live with not meeting some good clients if that saves you having your time and income compromised by bad ones. I would quite likely do the same thing in your situation.
As far as solutions, the best I can think of is to stick to good, reliable regulars as much as possible. As a client, that has been my approach for awhile now and will be 100% for me moving forward, given the way this business is going. I do think references are another good way to avoid time wasters and rip offs. This can be problematic sometimes because not everyone likes to give references. Tbh, I'm not sure there is a solution to this unfortunately. It's too bad more people couldn't be respectful and reasonable.
No one is perfect but those of us who really care about client-service and take this industry seriously tend to create networks and alliances, cross-promote & refer one another. Our clients rely on us to keep them, not just happy, but safe.
Twitter is a great opportunity for you guys to observe us, get to know who we are, who and what we associate with. Maybe consider broadening your selection criteria beyond body shape and hair colour to include values of kindness & integrity? This is a fun, playful hobby but it’s also an investment. Try to put your investments in businesses that are ethical and will give you returns.