When they ask for someone who has left
It is a short call and a decisive one. Somebody who has come to you for years asks for the person they always see, that person has gone, and what happens in the next fifteen seconds determines whether they book with a colleague or quietly go and find where their stylist went.
Say it plainly, and immediately
Evasion is the common instinct and the worst option. "They are not in today" buys a week and costs the relationship, because they will ring again, get another non-answer, and conclude they are being handled. A caller told straight away that somebody has moved on is mildly disappointed; a caller who works it out over three calls feels lied to, and that is a different kind of loss.
What to say instead of nothing
Whatever the circumstances, the caller does not need them and the departed person is entitled to their privacy.
Not simply whoever is free. "Aisling has taken on most of her clients" is a recommendation; "we have availability Thursday" is not.
If you hold their history, say so. For anything personal, the fear is starting again from nothing, and that fear is what sends them elsewhere.
End with a booking. A caller left holding only bad news will use the momentum to ring somewhere else.
What not to say
Where they went, why they left, or anything about the circumstances — all three are somebody else’s business and all three travel. And never be disparaging about the person who has gone, however tempting. The caller liked them, which is the entire reason for this call, and criticising them insults the customer’s judgment at the exact moment you are asking them to trust yours.
Handle the availability properly too
Whoever answers should not be offering that person’s diary. It sounds obvious and it is a common failure — a name left in a booking system keeps producing bookable slots, and a customer who books with somebody who left and finds out on arrival has had the worst possible version of this call. Removing them properly is a five-minute job that should happen the week they go.
Frequently asked
Say plainly and immediately that they have moved on, without detail, then recommend the closest colleague by name and offer an actual time.
It buys a week and costs the relationship. They ring again, get another non-answer, and conclude they are being handled — which is a worse loss than the disappointment.
No. Where they went, why they left and the circumstances are all somebody else’s business, and never be disparaging — the caller liked them.
Leaving them in the booking system. A departed name keeps producing bookable slots, and a customer who finds out on arrival has had the worst version of this call.