Did something awful today-need some advice

[joshinjune]

Hi Geeks

I'm just starting out with my home salon/mobile business. Anyway, was due to have a mobile pre treatment consultation with a client this morning. Long story short, my daughter had to go to hospital as an emergency because she got blurry vision. Because of all the chaos around that, I completely forgot all about my client. I messaged her later to explain and apologise, as it's so like me to forget. I feel so awful, I can't explain. Particularly as she's a new client I've not seen before.

I offered to come out to her this afternoon instead, or tomorrow morning (if I juggle appointments round), however, she's not responding to my messages. I have asked her to let me know whether she still wants to go ahead with her appointment Again, I have had nothing back.

I'm guessing I should just leave it, and assume that the appointment is cancelled. What would you guys do?

Please help as I am really stressing out about this, I've never done anything like this before and its horrible :-( xx

 

[joshinjune]

Ha ha, that should have read *UNlike* me lol!! x

 

[Lady Murasaki]

I think you should of called her rather than text her to explain why you forgot her apt, as texting in this circumstance can (i feel) come across as unprofessional and impersonal.

At least by phoning she could hear that you genuinely really sorry about forgetting her apt and you had a chance to explain about your daughter being suddenly very ill.

Unfortunately with text messages you can not convey sincerity or emotion, so maybe ( and quite wrongly) she assumed you made it up and are unreliable so hence she is not responding.

I would try calling her and if no response leave her alone otherwise she will think you are desperate for business

 

[w1nnie]

You have a genuine excuse but Unfortunately the damage might be done, and she's lost faith in you, how about offering her a freebie at her convenience.

I've forgotten clients in the past, but as time goes on they may well give you another try in the future. This has happened to me before.

 

[skingeek78]

Hi Geeks

I'm just starting out with my home salon/mobile business. Anyway, was due to have a mobile pre treatment consultation with a client this morning. Long story short, my daughter had to go to hospital as an emergency because she got blurry vision. Because of all the chaos around that, I completely forgot all about my client. I messaged her later to explain and apologise, as it's so like me to forget. I feel so awful, I can't explain. Particularly as she's a new client I've not seen before.

I offered to come out to her this afternoon instead, or tomorrow morning (if I juggle appointments round), however, she's not responding to my messages. I have asked her to let me know whether she still wants to go ahead with her appointment Again, I have had nothing back.

I'm guessing I should just leave it, and assume that the appointment is cancelled. What would you guys do?

Please help as I am really stressing out about this, I've never done anything like this before and its horrible :-( xx

I really feel for you, of course it is not ideal but emergencies happen! Did you explain the situation in your messages? I am inclined to think the following:

If someone is showing such a lack if human understanding because of anothers difficulty I don't know that I would be that desperate to have them as a regular client. And I probably at this point would not be offering to rebook them :-/

I would perhaps send a final message along the following lines

"Dear .....
I have tried to make contact to apologise to you directly for the confusion regarding your appt with me and to offer to reschedule at your convenience. But I have unfortunately not been able to reach you.
Once again I extend my sincere apologies, I appreciate it was not ideal for you as you missed your treatment but I was so very concerned for my daughter and caught up in the chaos of rushing her to the hospital.
I am sure that you understand.

Kindest regards ........

I hope this helps. These things can happen, put it behind you. Trust me you will hear all kinds of reasons why people couldn't make their appts with you x

Edit: offering a free treatment would be an option, but I would have offered this in my first message. At this point the lack of response indicates it might be better left alone.

 

[Nicolahayley]

Yes offer a freebie! She will soon text back!!
Isn't it annoying though... You forget one appointment and this happens... I wish ppl would really think when they have apps booked in and they just 'forget' or oh I have to work now ill cancel it thanks... Some clients can be very selfish too!!

Hope your daughter is ok. X

 

[shedunlop]

Do you know what? You are only human my darling and this sort of thing happens now and again. Your client may just be doing something else and may not have had a chance to get back to you yet, her phone might be out of charge, anything could be going on.

You apologised and any of us with children will understand that, although this may be inconvenient, it is not as important as the health of a child.

You have done everything you can so wait to see if she gets back to you. If she comes back to you then do her a free treatment but I wouldn't go chasing her when you have already made contact with her. If she is ignoring you it will not make any difference and if she is not ignoring you then she will be in touch.

You never know, she may not have kept the appointment either! If she hasn't contacted you there is nothing else you can do.

Now go and put your arms around you child and forget work for a bit. In a month's time this will just be a distant memory! :wink2:

 

[Kim Lawless]

Don't contact her again as you'll sound desperate.

You had a very genuine emergency and although she would have every right to be hacked off, if she didn't respond kindly once you'd explained…………..forget her! What a hard cow. Not like you were doing the make up for her wedding.

In future though, whatever the emergency, grab your diary and text clients asap.

Hope your little girl is ok.

 

[Faylizzie]

I wouldn't contact her again as as Kim said it comes across as desperate.

We've properly all done it once in our careers I did it the other week with a new client luckily I was free as had booked the night off when she text me 20 minutes after I should of arrived asking where I was, I text her saying id completely forgotten her an I was very sorry & I'd be there ASAP was 50 minutes late so gave her 50% off as a good will gesture/apology which she was really grateful for.

A couple of years ago I forgot an acquaintance of mine completely she text me an as I had clients I didn't get the text till 3 hours later, I phoned her apologised profusely offering her the treatment free, to which she said she'd be in contact to arrange it, never heard from her or seen her since :s oops!

Felt awful at the time but you soon get over these things! It was a genuine reason an you've apologised. I would always offer a free or discounted treatment as an apology in the first text/ first few minutes of a phonecall though considering I charge them full whack if they don't turn up, are late or cancel last minute on me so I think it's only fair I offer it to my clients when I do the same. (I actually have a fair practice policy as part of my T&Cs but this is going off topic) xxxxxx

 

[joshinjune]

I can't thank you all enough for your messages. I'm still feeling really down about it, but feel reassured by everything you've all said. I think you're right in that I've missed the boat on this one :-(. I only texted her because she texted me asking where I was, so I instantly replied by text without even thinking. I apologised and explained the situation right away. I just wasn't expecting her to not respond. I wasn't in a position to call right away, hence the text. I thought that she would respond to my apology, and I was intending to call her as soon as I was able and offer her a freebie as an apology. TBH, and I know it's still not great, but it wasn't her treatment I missed today. It was a free 30 minute consultation I offered to do for her. So I do kind of feel like she could have given me the benefit of the doubt. But yes, I probably shouldn't have waited for her response, I should have just called her straight away. Hind sight is a wonderful thing..... But also, as someone has said, if the roles were reversed, and someone had done that to me, yes I'd be pissed off, but I think I would have understood, given them the benefit of the doubt, and given them a second chance. So yes, maybe she isn't someone I want as a client anyway....

 

[joshinjune]

Well, I take it back, she's just messaged me to say she understands, its fine and she'll see me for her treatment. Thanks goodness. But lesson learnt - one that won't be forgotten!! lol. I'm going to give her a freebie as an apology. Hopefully I'll be able to repair the damage. Note to self - ensure all appointments are flagged with an alert.

Thanks again girls for all your help xxx

 

[Faylizzie]

Well, I take it back, she's just messaged me to say she understands, its fine and she'll see me for her treatment. Thanks goodness. But lesson learnt - one that won't be forgotten!! lol. I'm going to give her a freebie as an apology. Hopefully I'll be able to repair the damage. Note to self - ensure all appointments are flagged with an alert.

Thanks again girls for all your help xxx

Aww good, I bet that's a weight off your shoulders we all do it once an it's a hard lesson to learn. Glad she got back to you, you'll be able to sleep in peace tonight! Xxxxxx

 

[slkempy]

A few years ago I was taken into hospital for an asprin allergic reaction. I was unable to contact a customer as doubled up in stomach pain in a&e.
I contacted her as soon I got home that day. She was abusive to me! She said it was unprofessional of me to not let her know even though explained I was taken to hospital. She swore at me, threatened to tell everyone I was unreliable. That really hurt me.

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[danielle_jan]

Oh glad to hear that she's coming for her treatment....
Children come first no matter what. Sometimes things happen like this and we do forget, we're only human at the end of the day
Good luck with your home salon/mobile business.

 

[HairbyCass]

Sometimes clients that aren't understanding aren't worth the trouble to keep them happy. They are also usually the clients that expect everything for nothing.

Well done I getting in contact with the client and making amends. But really, if you've explained and they won't reply, I wouldn't want them!

 

[DanaW]

You have a genuine excuse but Unfortunately the damage might be done, and she's lost faith in you, how about offering her a freebie at her convenience.

I was thinking the same thing. If you really want to make a good impression on her I would call her, and sincerely apologize and tell her the first appointment could be free.

 

[umvemve]

Well, I take it back, she's just messaged me to say she understands, its fine and she'll see me for her treatment. Thanks goodness. But lesson learnt - one that won't be forgotten!! lol. I'm going to give her a freebie as an apology. Hopefully I'll be able to repair the damage. Note to self - ensure all appointments are flagged with an alert.

Thanks again girls for all your help xxx

She understands and is happy to have her treatment. you had a genuine reason. If you haven't told her it's a freebie, don't, this is your income. My old adage: what would a plumber do? If he couldn't come and fix your boiler because his other job overran... would he offer to do it for free??

 

[joshinjune]

You see? This is why I love this forum so much, you are all such a great source of support and advice.

Thank you all so much. xxx

 

[joshinjune]

A few years ago I was taken into hospital for an asprin allergic reaction. I was unable to contact a customer as doubled up in stomach pain in a&e.
I contacted her as soon I got home that day. She was abusive to me! She said it was unprofessional of me to not let her know even though explained I was taken to hospital. She swore at me, threatened to tell everyone I was unreliable. That really hurt me.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using SalonGeek mobile app

I can't believe this happened to you, that's horrendous! And how awful of the client... :-( like others have said, I think its a case of lucky escape - a client who wouldn't understand that probably isn't the sort of client you want.... xx

 

[sanilulu]

Well, I take it back, she's just messaged me to say she understands, its fine and she'll see me for her treatment. Thanks goodness. But lesson learnt - one that won't be forgotten!! lol. I'm going to give her a freebie as an apology. Hopefully I'll be able to repair the damage. Note to self - ensure all appointments are flagged with an alert.

Thanks again girls for all your help xxx

.... Glad its turned out well .....
Why the freebie tho ???
.... Maybe give her 20% off but not free ... Do our clients give us double when theyv done a no show / or canx too late to get someone else booked in ??? ... Would they even think to still pay ... No ... Of course not ....
It's life and an unseen circumstance, that she is fine with ..
Xxxxxxxx


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