Ladies - would you rebook a no-show if he paid for the missed session?

[Brittney]

So here's the situation: saw a client for the first time a few months ago, had a great time together, the session was a lot of fun for both of us, and he said he wanted to see me again. All good so far.

A few weeks ago, he e-mailed me at 4pm for a 7pm appointment. I tell him I'm free, he confirms around 5:30, tells me he still has my address and phone number... and then, he no-shows on me. No e-mail, no phone call, nothing - he just doesn't show up. :x

I was a little pissed off because I had already declined a request for an 8pm appointment, assuming I'd be seeing the first guy. So, I e-mail the second guy back, telling him I'm free for 8pm after all... but the guy has already made other arrangements. I chalk it up to bad luck, add the first guy's e-mail address to my "Blacklist" folder, and move on. *shrug*

Then, over the weekend, he sends me a message asking for another chance. I told him that I refuse to rebook no-shows, and he gives me an excuse about having to go straight to the airport from the office. He says he's really sorry, he'd really like to see me again, and he's even willing to pay the full amount for the session he missed.

Now, I certainly don't believe his excuse (he still could have called to cancel) but his offer to pay for the missed session is rather intriguing. It's not really about the money, but the principle - he's recognizing that he made a mistake, and he's willing to compensate me for my wasted time and lost opportunity. I'm not desperate for clients or anything, but I'm wondering if I should let him make good on his offer. I wouldn't even consider it if he hadn't already visited me, but he seems like he genuinely wants to make up for his mistake.

What would you do in this situation? Would you see him again? Or would you just tell him to fuck off, and forget about it?



Also, if anyone can recommend a way to avoid thinking about this stuff at 2:45 in the morning, please let me know - my insomnia is driving me crazy...

 

[ashii]

I typically don't give second chance for no-show/very late cancellation unless I've received a phone call or email in the next couple days apologizing for wasting my time. Explanations and reasons or irelevant to me: all I need is an acknoweldgement and apology for wasting my time. Someone waiting until they are ready to book me again to apologize would normally not make it on my "second chance" list.

Whether I would give this particular client a second chance would entirely depends on my gut feeling about him, and where he stands on my priority list. I would never give him priority for instance over a good repeat client or a first time client who is giving me good vibes, nor would I be particulary inclined to move my schedule around or do any sort of effort to accomodate him. But if I'm going to be around my incall anyway around the day/time that he'd like to see me, and it wouldn't disturb my day much or waste much of my time if he doesn't show up again, I may decide to give him another chance.

 

[Pompal 09.]

I've run late a few times but always call the Indy or Agency to let them know I'm running late. It's their perogative to cancel or bump me ahead; if they choose to blacklist me, then that's ok too.

Circumstances being what they are, you really should look at the situation as Gen points out and go with your gut...but us more experienced pooners seem to be good with keeping appointments or notifying of our late arrival 99% of the time.

 

[Pashy]

My take is that we are still in a recession you should re consider unless you are over flowing with bookings.

 

[Cheyanne]

If the man is willing to pay you double, I would put him to the test. Take his money if he shows up and maybe return half of it as a show of class and lesson taught to him for not calling.

Teach Hof a lesson please.:twisted:

 

[g_pierce95]

No brainer the man has class.

 

[CupCake =)]

LMAO, you bugger Jawbone. It wasn't me.

 

[Nnifer]

Guy standing out on the street with his pants down waving his tally-wacker about to all the pretty ladies ... it was you Hoffy baby.

 

[Danni A]

I have a two strike rule with anyone I see. If he no-showed once, and then tried to rebook I would say yes. I would refuse to take any money for the previous no show, but that's just a personal preference. There's nothing wrong with accepting the offer.

However, if he no-showed on me again - he'd be black listed. I wouldn't even respond to his emails after that and if he tried to book a friend of mine and she mentioned it, I'd tell her about my experience.

I'm an insomniac too, yeah your mind does start to play tricks on you.

 

[Valdis K]

Am i missing something?, the guy apologized and wanted to pay a cancellation fee that must tell you that yes you have to see him again.

 

[Pompal 09.]

The only reason that I can think of that he would be in a position to not be able to call and inform you of canceling the session would be if there was some unexpected SO involvement, like just showing up. He really could have tried to apologize the next day though.

I like Gen's thoughts on a repeat though.

 

[brokenlover381]

Actually, I can think of plenty of reasons why someone is unable to make it to an appointment, and is either unable to call/txt/email to cancel, or simply has other more pressing priorities to deal with. A family emergency, sickness, accident, something unexpected and pressing to deal with at work (which may require up to a few days to deal with), death of a friend/family member, etc. In many of those cases, it can take a few days before the person has the freedom, time, or simply the right mindframe to think of emailing/calling to apologize for missing the appointment.

The few times that a client didn't show up for an appointment and emailed later (from a few hours to a few days later) to apologize, I always gave them the benefit of the doubt, and agreed to re-scheduled again. Only once did I get a second no-show from the same client.

 

[Daddybear]

I have only ever no showed once, and my excuse was the SP I saw 2 hours before absolutely blew my mind...I literally forgot about all other engagements until about 6 hours later (missed more than the other appointment).

It's a warning against multiple appointments in one day.

 

[Pixie.]

Kinda like the thread that you created where you blew the client because of your lack of planning?

 

[The Mad Russian (????)]

That's right! He appears to be geniune.

 

[bearsma90]

That's the way to handle this situation. Things do come up!

 

[Lady Discordia]

I have had to cancel on more than one occasion but have always made sure I called in to let the agency or lady know. I will add, if he is willing to compensate you for the missed session, it might have been a one off. The man is willing to make amends, but if it happens again then you know he is playing you.

 

[ModAdministrator]

Personally I take each situation on a case by case basis, if the client seems genuine in their efforts to rebook then I would give them the benefit of the doubt, especially if I've met them previously.

If I am unsure about their reasoning and feel that the appt. may yet again end up as a no-show but the correspondence and apology feel genuine then I would likely ask them to prepay the next appt. I would not accept money for the missed date. I would let them know that cancelling to reschedule is fine as long as they provide notice (for me it would be at least 24hours but that is an individual choice) and that anything less than that I would not be providing a refund or applying the money to a subsequent date.

If I am uncomfortable with the date, do not believe they are genuine in their interest to book I simply would decline the appt. If I don't feel good about the date before going in, have reservations about the client or our subsequent emails have left me feeling uncomfortable I am not going to be able to put my best foot forward on the date and that is not what he is interested in either so there is no sense in pursuing the engagement and wasting both his time and mine.

 

[mixermatt2002]

The discussion here is "no shows" not "cancellations". They are not at all one in the same - I have never held a cancellation - even last minute - against anyone. I am far less forgiving with no-shows.

No hypocrisy there - try being snarky when it actually applies :

 

[aamirzz]

Thank you everyone for your comments. I've waited until the situation resolved itself before replying, and I also wanted to read everyone's perspective before I decided how to handle this.

Part of the reason I was wary about this guy was because he didn't apologize until after I told him that no-shows don't get rebooked. He didn't offer to compensate me until after he realized he'd been blacklisted, and if I hadn't refused to see him initially, he wouldn't have done so at all.

I have a very strict policy on no-shows because my availability is extremely limited; between school and other aspects of my life, I can only see people at certain times during the week. I have more inquiries than I can handle at the moment, and when someone no-shows on me, I can't simply see someone else at another time to make up for it - it's wasted time that can't be recovered.

Cancellations are a part of life, and I'll still rebook people who have the courtesy to let me know; but if you can't even do that, then I want nothing more to do with you.

Sure enough, my instincts proved correct in this case. I had agreed to see him tonight, but he just e-mailed me to cancel - something about a bank account problem that he can't get fixed until Monday. Maybe it's legit, maybe it's BS, but it doesn't really matter; either way, he's on the Blacklist for good.

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice... I'm not giving him a chance to fool me again.