A TOP West Fife hair salon has lost almost £25,000 in revenue due to 'no-shows' in just nine months.

Lime Salon Group owner John Bailie described the figure as "eye-opening" when he realised just how significant the loss was to the business.

In response, he has brought in a new policy on Tuesday to avoid a further financial hit, which means the salon will require a 25 per cent deposit to secure a booking.

John wrote to clients on Monday to explain the change going forward.

He has calculated that over the past nine months alone, his three salons in Inverkeithing, Dunfermline and Falkirk had lost £23,746 collectively due to 'no-show' appointments.

The figure does not include last-minute cancellations so John expects that the total loss of revenue is likely to be double that figure.

"That level of financial loss is not sustainable for any business," John told the Press.

"When we ran the numbers, it was quite eye-opening, but really, it's much more.

"If I added last-minute cancellations, I would expect it to be double that figure.

"It's not just people not turning up, it's people cancelling on the day.

"It's now an industry standard to take a deposit and we hope it will act as a deterrent more than anything else.

"Customers can call or cancel online so there's no excuse to just not turn up."

Deposit payments will be deducted automatically from a customer's bill upon checkout at the salon.

And if they cancel or reschedule 24 hours before their visit, the deposit will be refunded or moved to the next booking.

But if there is a 'no-show' or cancellation on the day, clients will lose their deposit.

John added: "There's always been an issue with no shows but it was never as bad as it is now.

"Salons are still not operating at full capacity so before lockdown it didn't make as much as a difference but now it does.

"As there is still a one-metre distancing rule, essentially we can only fill every second chair so we need every bit of income.

"Because of the reduction in appointments, we can guarantee someone else would have taken that appointment for the no-show.

"We are hoping that the social-distancing requirement will end soon."

As reported by the Press in December, John expressed frustration at the backlash he received when he asked customers to do a lateral flow test before coming into their salons.

He wanted to protect his staff and clients by introducing additional measures as COVID numbers rose before Christmas.

But the measures sparked a reaction with some saying they would not be taking a test just to get a haircut, while many others were grateful that the salon was taking extra precautions.