My thoughts on customers that miss appointments
Kitchen and bathroom remodeling is my passion and business. Thus, as a through professional, I value my time. However, last week, it seems I got stood up 3 times in a row when I visited the client’s destination for an assessment of the place. Even though I understand that emergencies happen, the least they can do is give me a call from wherever they are. I mean, it is actually not asking for too much, isn’t it?
Though it is not that I have never missed an appointment, it does happen sometimes, but I ensure that I call up and apologize. Though this is extremely rare, I must admit that it happens. However, when I miss an appointment, customers post negative reviews, which even though cannot be completely justified. But what do I do?
I talked it over with my friends and other business owners and some of them had a simple solution- charge the customer. They said I need to mention it over the phone conversation to ensure that the customer knows that they need to be there at the given time. I usually drive for over an hour to reach a destination and nobody’s home…isn’t that a sheer waste of my time?
I know what my friend suggested was a good idea but I’ll need to think it over. Another suggestion that can save me valuable time is to hire a reminder service. Some of these services charge to remind the customers of their appointment with the company. A day or two before the scheduled appointment, the live attendants give a call to the customer to remind them of the appointment, so that when I reach there, they are home.
Another friend suggested that I call before I leave home so that at least I do not waste me time travelling up and down without doing any business. Customer satisfaction is my priority but I need to ensure that the potential clients understand that as a business owner my time is equally precious.
However, I think giving a new customer a benefit of doubt is essential as I have a service business but just like, Dave, another business owner said, “Dan, if that happens a second time over, just drop the client because they are not serious about the remodeling so no point putting in more time.”
It is natural that some people have hectic schedules and so the mess-up happens, but for some people, it is sheer inattention to details. These are just my thoughts on the subject, what do you think works the best?
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