Thought I Was Stood Up Today....

[Jenneversage64]

It put me in a very irritable mood. Geesh the 21st of Dec. So When I got home I called a good friend of hers and she told me she was riding home with her husband Saturday night and he saw her slumped over in the seat not breathing. She is in some hospital up North all hooked up unconscious. I left a curt message saying My services were no longer available. Now I feel so stupid! Her words have been more slurred than usual and when I spoke to her on Friday eve I could barely understand her. Her voice has been that way for awhile like she is 80, but actually in her late 30s and tomorrow is her birthday, if she lives to see it. She has finished breast cancer and chemo, radiation etc. Who knows what all that stuff did to her lungs. I am actually afraid she might die.....it doesn't look good. Just before Christmas and they just moved to a different house;a big expensive one.

I lost the income from the grooms but now I really feel bad. I am doing three tomorrow and I am done. One of Carols' dogs is a matted bitey little poodle and the other a little terrierX older than dirt. She gave me a little gift last year so she may have had a little something for me this year. The odd thing is she said she was going thru a divorce, but her friend said no way!It seemed logical since she just moved from one nice house to another in the same neighborhood.

[BengalCatGuy]

I had a good customer who started to no show on me for no apparent reason after the 3rd time she did it, I almost called her to let her know that I would no longer groom her dog because she had no respect for me or my time. But for some reason I didn't do it. I decided I just would play the "I'm booked up for the next 3 weeks" game instead.

The following morning I was reading the obit's in the local newspaper (I always read the obits) and there she was. I felt very bad, but I was glad that I didn't call and leave that message. A few days later her husband walked in with the dog (Maltese) and asked if I could please groom him for the memorial service. Which of course I did.

Better to wait and see before leaving mean or curt sounding message.

Scott

[RudyRoo]

If it was me, I would call back and apoligize. Say you just heard what happened and how bad you feel, even if she never hears it, would be nice for her husband.

[puppy love]

If it was me, I would call back and apoligize. Say you just heard what happened and how bad you feel, even if she never hears it, would be nice for her husband.

I would call too. You cant take back the original message, but you can apologize for it and let them know you now understand why no one was home and are sympathetic to their situation.

[baddog]

I never leave rude messages when a client (which is rare) no-shows. You just never know !

[mylady]

I am a worrier by nature. When I call if someone no shows I always say "You had an appointment with fluffy at 9am and it's now 9:30am and I'm just calling to see if everythying is okay, please call me back when you can etc etc etc"
Most of the time, thankfully, people have called and apologized for worrying me. But there have been a few times when there was an emergency.
'

[Jenneversage64]

Yes, I will call an leave an apology.

It is just that she had stood me up before or I would wait and twenty minutes later she would stroll up with a walking buddy. Other times, it would be hard to get her to answer the door to switch dogs or even get the first. I just thought she had just stayed in bed all day. I was a bit miffed and said I really need 24hrs notice of cancellation if your plans change ans I turned down other clients and I could have filled that spot with two other dogs. I also said My services would no longer be available, and that just a few days before Christmas is really inconsiderate. AUGGGGGGGGG.Due to her past behavior it didn't occur to me she might be in the hospital. She is young, not 80yrs old.

I do know better. But there are times when we do need to drop people, I thought this was one of them.

I was once sick in the hospital myself and my friend called to cancel for me. The lady said. "Well, is she coming or isn't she"? Totally ignoring the friend who told her I was sick. I have never been that bad.

I FELL LIKE SUCH A JERK! Don't hit me! The worst part is, she is in an out of town hospital, not even close by for the family.

[flyingfur]

It's easy to jump to conclusions when they have stood you up and/or been late before. I think one of the most important lessons I've learned on this board is to not "fire" a client in a voice mail. And I have had a customer who was in the hospital dying when she missed an appointment. Thank goodness I left a nice message that day....

[Debbiedogs]

Uh-oh!!

I agree with so many others - I don't leave curt and/or messages that assume the client is being inconsiderate.

For one thing, it COULD be my mistake! However, even when I KNOW the mistake is on their part, if I leave a message it is usually something like this: "I have Fluffeta down for an appointment today but didn't see you, so I was just wondering if we had a mixup or if something happened". That way, when they call and tell you what happened, you can decide whether to book them or not and speak to them in a conversation about it, not a terrible-sounding message. They may get angry and hang up on you if you won't take them back, but I would rather have that than what happened to you - and I'll bet you would rather, too!

Life happens; death happens. Many, many things are neither predictable nor immediately "fixable". Be pleasant and professional, especially in a message. It leaves the door open for a decision to be made once you have the correct information instead of just an assumption. And yes, I would call and apologize on the machine since you left the nasty message on the machine.

[Canopener Sally]

I don't know why you'd call to begin with? Just leave it be until they call to schedule something, then let them have it if it was something ridiculous. I'd call and apologize, profusely.

Example; my client missed her appointment, I showed up and she wasn't there. I left my card and wrote "Sorry I missed you. If you'd like to reschedule, call me at xxxxxxxx" Yeah, it was totally her fault and she knew it but the way I presented it, she paid for the missed appointment and the rescheduled appointment. My point, don't assume anything and be diplomatic.

If I was in the client's shoes and came home from the hospital and heard that message, I'd delete it. And look elsewhere thinking "what the hell, I was in the hospital!"

Hey, we all make mistakes but perhaps this a lesson learned?

[Canopener Sally]

I didn't see the part about her being flaky with appointments. I'd still apologize, it'll make you feel better. Although she sounds like she needed to be fired. And these clients that habitually miss appointments, you need a three strikes and your out kinda deal. And let them call you. You don't need to call them.

[windywaycavaliers]

If it was me, I would call back and apoligize. Say you just heard what happened and how bad you feel, even if she never hears it, would be nice for her husband.

I would call back, too. It will give you some peace of mind. A few times I have bitten my tongue--the first time was the hardest, but I learned my lesson from it and I think of what actaully happened to make those people no show, and it has always kept me from EVER making a curt phone cal. And when I do call, I will say, "I hope everything is ok"..being nice not only saves face, but if they are just being rude, it might help them to realize it.
Also, I like to try to think when I am really busy and short on time---we see anywhere from 3 to 33 dogs a day in our salons. In & out, all day, every day; for us it is work--dogs and people coming and going,,,but for some of their owners and their families, it can be a very special day and a visit that they gear up for and look forward to for some, so it is important to take the time and make the visit special for each person when they come in. I know this is off topic, but it goes in hand with being in the other person's shoes. Sometimes we are so busy it is hard to think about the experience that we are giving each person when they come in,,some of those people might really look forward to seeing and talking with us and after all, they are the butter for our bread. But that's just my opinion!

[Smart-n-Pretty]

It would be my luck that I would have left a crabby message, the customer would have died and the husband would have replayed that ****** message for all & sundry at the funeral and when anyone else came to commiserate with the family. My point is be DARN careful what goes in writing and on recording.