Are There Cultural Differences In Decision Making Processes

I think we need to address the issue of ghost appointments, why they are

a thing and are there cultural differences in decision making processes that we are missing!?  Previously, western countries had mostly molded their populace into these proper human beings who pre-booked appointments,  called to cancel if they were unable to show up while apologising profusely, and stayed with their service person pretty much nearly all their life.  Well, it’s 2025 and the demographic has changed!

As someone in the service industry who has had a few instances where I was blindsided after being

ghosted by potential clients, I came to realize that things have changed and this merging of cultures in the West is unraveling the perfect system we once had.  To understand the impact this would have, I had to ask myself “are there cultural differences in decision making processes?” because some of these people would later reappear and act as if not showing up was normal.  

Some of the cultural differences I had to learn when I arrived still hold but here a few you may need

to know:

• Time is a loose matter in some cultures.  They view an appointment not as the importance of the hour but as a courtesy to say they are coming.  I gave up and started gauging what that person’s time lapse was.  For example, if they had a 10:00 a.m. appointment, I would put them down for 1:00 p.m.    For those who showed up halfway of what should have been their appointment time and expected me to rush and get them out on time for their next appointment, I would cancel.  They came on time after that.
• Parents or guardians of children should nurture them to understand the value of other people’s time.  By age sixteen, they should be able to manage their time table for school and activities to understand the importance of keeping appointments.  If not, the world is left with adults who have bad time management.  They lose jobs and also end up damaging relationships because of the inability to manage their time.
• In some cultures, certain services e.g. hair, esthetics, although essential, fall very low on the “best jobs” list and many times these people are exploited if you are unable to advocate for yourself.

With the increase in immigration, the idea “are there cultural differences in decision making processes” is something we as business people have to consider.

By Paula Barker, Silkie Locks Hair Design

Books:  “Talking Hair”, “Filling My Head” & “Dreadlocks – A Hairstylist’s Manifest”.