[OPLINLIST] No-Show compilation

[Laura Klein]

Thank you to all who shared their ideas!  Below and attached is a compilation.


Laura A. Klein

Children's Services & Special Projects Manager

Ohio Library Council Certified Library Staff

Massillon Public Library

208 Lincoln Way East, Massillon, OH  44646

Office phone 330-832-9831, ext. 319

Children's Department Desk ext. 317

Fax:  330-830-2182

kleinla at massillonlibrary.org

www.massillonlibrary.org<http://www.massillonlibrary.org/>



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Ideas for Preventing No-Shows to Library Programs

We've started keeping a list of no calls/no shows across our system. After 2 no shows, they receive an email that they cannot sign up for classes for a month and will be removed if they try.
A repeat offense is a banning for 6 months.
It's a little extra work but we've stopped a few repeat offenders this way.
Our communications coordinator, our branch managers, and myself work together to identify the repeat no show individuals.


We also have had this issue in the past, so I started including wording in my reminder emails stating that if they do not cancel ahead of time and do not show up to the program, they may not be able to register for library events in the future. And we do enforce that… if they are no-shows without canceling three times, they are taken off future registration lists, manually by staff. Here’s the exact wording we use:
Hello!
This is a reminder that you are registered for the [event] on [date/time] at the library.
The registration is currently full with a waiting list [take this line out if there is no waiting list]. If you can no longer attend, please cancel your reservation via the link you received from Eventbrite, or respond to this email, or call the library at [phone number].
Space is limited and we want to do our best to ensure a maximum number of participants can attend. Those that do not notify the library if they need to cancel and do not show up to the program may not be able to register for future events.
Thank you for your cooperation! We appreciate your interest in our events.

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I hope this helps! It’s hard to gauge but I do think we’ve had fewer no-shows and I do have people emailing me to cancel when needed. Let me know if you have any questions.


Maybe when you are doing sign-ups, have a waitlist. Send out a reminder to everyone and include that they need to reply within a certain timeframe that they are still attending to be guaranteed a spot. If they do not reply, take them off the list and bump up someone on the waitlist and let them know. We did this when I worked for a large library in Pennsylvania as no-shows were a huge issue. It worked for the most part and we saw a decrease in no-shows.

We had this problem at our library and at my previous system.  Here at Reed, we made the decision to stop registering for programs.  We make it very clear in all of our advertisements of programs that the program is "limited to the first x " number of patrons.  Patrons scoffed at first, but it has worked nicely since.  We are now filling programs and those that do get turned away are very understanding.  When it's a larger program or one that is limited on supplies, we start handing out tickets about 30 minutes prior to the program's start so no one is standing in line or fighting to get in the door.
Can you cap your registration? Put a limit and then have everyone over the limit on a standby list. We do that and always have people calling in to cancel their registration. We automate all of this through Communico.
We are having the same issue in Williams County!  We also are having the same person register 7 different people for every program, then not showing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated for us too.
When it comes to programs, we all know we're rarely going to get everyone that registers. Honestly, it's a total let-down.

We use Evanced through Demco and it does do reminders (email or text, 1, 2 or 3 days before the program), for some programs we still do reminder calls.

When it comes to craft programs, we had the best luck by asking patrons for a refundable deposit of $5. If they don't come, they forfeit the $5. We have stopped doing that mostly because it's a hassle for patrons to come in to register, but I'd love to bring it back.

The only other tip I have is when leaving a message, we generally leave something such as this, "Hi, this is the XYZ Library calling to remind you of the XYZ program on...at... If you will be unable to attend, please let us know so we can open up those spots to others who would like to attend! Our number is ..... Thank you so much for your time and we look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!" They don't need to know you don't have a wait list, but I hope that patrons reminded of common courtesy.

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