"Dear Good Job, I am self-employed and meet with clients individually for a specialized type of personal coaching. I've been doing this work for 15 years and typically have a full schedule, sometimes with a waitlist for new clients. While I've always had the occasional flaky client who has difficulty making it to appointments, this problem has become MUCH worse in recent years, to the point that I am stunned by the frequency of same-day cancellations, no shows, and last-minute requests for reschedules!"
"What I am especially perplexed by is clients who treat scheduling with me like they are making casual social plans, seemingly not understanding that my schedule works like any other professional service. For instance: They will ask for appointment times outside of my clearly stated business hours, or they will email me the morning of their appointment and ask, "Are we still meeting today?" Yes, of course we are, and my cancellation policy says you need to pay full price for same-day cancellations!"
A self-employed personal coach with 15 years of experience meets clients individually for specialized coaching and typically maintains a full schedule with a waitlist. The coach faces a marked increase in same-day cancellations, no-shows, and last-minute rescheduling requests, including clients asking to move sessions within the same day or checking the morning of whether appointments will occur. Clients sometimes request times outside stated business hours and treat scheduling like casual social plans. The coach enforces boundaries via clear expectations, cancellation fees, advance payment, stricter policies, and termination of repeat offenders, while noting possible links to ADHD or medical issues.
Read at Slate Magazine
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