Things have been a bit quiet this week, which is most likely due to the good weather, but i made a bit of a mistake due to needing the work.

Out of the blue popped up a potential client who I had been in correspondence with via AW a few months ago. He is a lot younger then my usaul clients but had good feedback so at the time we arranged a booking to commence in a few days, gave him my works number to use on the day and left it at that.

However leading up to the the booking he started to bombard me email and texts asking questions of things he had forgot to mention at the time of booking. It just got stupid so eventually I politely cancelled him thinking he was a time-waster!

Anyway it all went quiet until this week when he text apologising and grovelling, saying he had just been excited about meeting me and understood why I'd got annoyed with him. As things had been quiet I decided to give him a 2nd chance and asked him to go through AW and not to text me, a booking was made in advance of the meet date. All seemed quiet for a couple of days before I started to get the same annoying text and emails again, he even tried to negotiate the fee because his wages hadn't gone in. This was the last straw!I had to cancel again and took time to email him why. All is quiet for now!

I should've of listened to my instincts based on the first experience with this person and kept to my boundaries, it's been a lesson to me... I mean it really is'nt worth someone like this knowing where I live or work if this is how he behaves with my number.

Do we take more risks, even small ones when times are less busy, or settle for clients we wouldn't normally see?

Personally, my boundaries never change, no matter how quiet things are.  My inbuilt radar is not there for nothing.

Same here. There's always a reason why you didn't want to see this guy on the first place. He's not going to change because you decide to give him a second chance. I had a very quite week too and decided to pick up a call to someonelabelled as "TW 3" on my phone (just because it was sooooo quiet). He sounded fine, made an appointment and then half an hour before he was supposed to show up he calls and tells me he's having dinner with friends and needs to cancel the apptmt but "will call to re-schedule".

 

Hi,

As with Lady Lust and Ana, my boundaries are strict. But, I have accepted bookings from someone who cancelled on me last minute and they were as good as gold the second time, as I think you get a feeling for the difference between a time waster and someone who unfortunately wasted your time.

H x

I differentiate between "timewasters" aka "no shows" and "cancellations".  Cancellations MAY get a second chance dependent on how they sound when they call back, but UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES do TW/NS get a second chance, even if I was out begging in the streets I would not see them.

When I have less bookings than I'm used to it can be tempting to bend your rules and I've learned that's when the TWs and messers are more likely to get a toe hold.

I find these days if I am quiet I'm actually even less likely to see someone who may become a problem or mess me around, I just really don't want to get ready for nothing and will often just give myself the day off than risk someone who is rude, or who doesn't show which can be even more demotivation. I'm just not interested in that level of stress.

If I get a no show I save his number. When he calls again to book I double book him but the others guy will get priority if the TW shows.

Yesterday I had two previous no shows both book for 6 so I let them. Then someone else booked and I gave it to him.

He arrived along with one of the previous no shows.

I saw the new guy first and made excuses to the TW who waited.

My inbuilt radar is so good i can smell the bullshit in texts  its just stinks
 
I rarely deviate from my own gut feelings mainly because it would stress me out to much

TW/ NO   show i will see them but only on my terms i.e. i wont take a booking but tell them to call when they are nearby that way I'm not waisting my time on them or loosing other bookings either