Price increase notice, explained
The legal line is the advertised price, not the calendar. Quebec says it outright: section 224(c) of the Consumer Protection Act bars charging more than the advertised price, which may leave out only GST and QST. Other provinces reach the same place through their consumer protection acts and the simple fact that a client who booked a $45 cut was quoted $45. A price can change tomorrow; a booking made at the old price is honoured at the old price.
The notice is a retention tool more than a legal one. Thirty days is the common courtesy, long enough that every regular on a monthly cadence sees it before it hits them and short enough that the shop is not quoting two prices for a season. Put it on the booking page, the receipt and one text, and update the menu and the online booking page on the same day so no client finds out at the chair.
The mistake shops make most is raising prices for everyone at once and losing the three clients they most wanted to keep. A ten-year regular on a standing appointment can be exempted for a year, or moved up in two steps; a client who booked six weeks out keeps the price they booked at. The increase is worth more over a year than those exemptions cost.
A price raise in BarberFlow is scheduled, not typed over the menu: set the new price and the effective date, choose how many days of notice to give, and BarberFlow sends the notice by email or text and switches the price on the day. The shop decides whether bookings already on the calendar keep the old price and can exempt chosen clients; a client on a recurring series keeps the series price and is left out of the notice until staff re-price the series with them.
See CustomersFrequently asked questions
Do I have to tell clients before raising barbershop prices?
No law sets a notice period for walk-in service prices in Canada. The binding rule is that the price charged matches the price advertised or quoted at booking, so a client who booked at $45 pays $45. Thirty days’ notice is the standard courtesy.
Can I charge the new price on an appointment booked at the old one?
No. A booking is a quote, and in Quebec section 224(c) of the Consumer Protection Act makes charging above the advertised price unlawful. Honour the price the client booked at and apply the increase to bookings made after the notice.
How much notice is normal for a barbershop price increase?
Thirty days, on the booking page, the receipt and one message, with the menu and online booking updated the same day the new price takes effect. That covers a full cycle for clients on a monthly cadence.
