All of our stores are at prime locations here in Bakersfield. These places are of course beautiful, but expensive to use. We still are responsible to pay for the rents of these buildings, as well as the salaries of our staff, whether or not you attend your appointment once you have reserved it. The deposit merely covers this and the cost of being open, and we make no profit from the deposit at all. It simply covers our cost of operating and allows us to maintain the beautiful facilities at these optimal locations, and employ a highly trained staff to provide unparalleled services. The alternative to not requiring these deposits would be to instead INCREASE the price of ALL treatments for EVERYONE. As a company, we decided that increasing our prices for all of our clients to cover the cost of last minute cancellations and/or rescheduling of individual clients wasn’t the right thing. Rather, we felt that individual people should take on the responsibility for their appointments. We appreciate that it might not be your fault that you cannot attend; you or someone close to you might not feel well, your work schedule changes, your car has broken down, or you’ve just plain changed your mind. No one pays a deposit and expects that they aren’t going to attend, which we understand- but that is the whole concept of our deposit policy, in case of such contingencies. If they are refundable, there is little point in them being taken in the first place. However, regardless of this, these non-attendances do not magically make business costs disappear and can quickly spiral into thousands of dollars in losses. When you are a small business like us- that really impacts our ability to cover just our operating costs. Keep in mind that we also employ a guest relation team to answer questions and schedule your appointments before you even arrive for your appointment- the deposit covers that cost as well.