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Jerry,

Like any business professional I require 24hrs. notice for a cancellation. What happens if you cancel with your doctor or your dentist without proper notice of 24hrs? They will bill you accordingly. This is no different. You are a business professional. Someone has just taken the opportunity away from you to rebook the time with someone else. They must be billed for the time loss. Not a full tuning. I bill for a service call 75% of the cost. If they refuse to pay I do not return. All customers are treated the same, old or new. They are all treated equally.

Now what do I do if I have ever forgotten about a tuning, and this has slipped my mind on occasion. I offer a free tuning because I took their time away from them. Fair is fair.

So I see the contrast between Bob and Jerry. Sometimes I'm like Bob (cool and forgiving), and sometimes like Jerry (expressive of emotions but within reason). That is all part of our work. We can't control other people's behavior.


JUNMER

I have billed several no shows for a service call cost. No one has ever paid, though.

'Same here. I bill no shows. So far it just gives the P.O. some money. Thankfully there aren't many of them. (one or two in a bad year)

It's a quandry...the people I WOULD bill for no-shows would never pay. If people have a really good medical excuse or they are longtime clients, I don't have the heart to do it.

But I should....

Everybody has a life and S**T happens. Most no shows are memory lapses. When contacted the folks usually apologize for 45 minutes. If they are simply flakes and irresponsible I do not darken their door again. It does not happen often and I don't bill. God knows I have my failings too.

I talk to every customer the night before to confirm the appointment. No exceptions. If I get an answering machine, I leave a message for them to call me to confirm. If they don't call me back, I cancel the appointment. It's too expensive to drive around and hope the customer is there.

I hate it when the costumer has piano tuning and repair as a hobby. And they just want to learn to tune so they can tune their own piano and save all that money on tunings.

I always say, so to save yourself from a 200 dollar a year bill tops you're going to spend how many hours learning this? With the end result being a rank amateur tunes your piano?

I know I've completely crushed a few people with this line...

Believe it or not but, I have had a no show because the client died the night before.

I don't bill them until I find out the reason behind it. A couple of times it's been heart attacks in the family or other emergencies in which case, no problem. Crap happens... Or the flu, I didn't want it anyway.

But, rudeness and inconsiderate people? Warning first, if it's a newbie then, a bill. Depending on how rude they are, maybe a bill now and a warning. Things can happen but, for a person to just expect us to accept their explanation of, well, I am going to reschedule, when it's already too late to fill it in as I'm standing on their front stoop is just plain stupid really.

I had a customer call me two hours before the appointment to tell me he was at the hospital with his son who had "groined out" on his bicycle and was in surgery! I thought it was a good reason to cancel and thanked him for letting me know. I too have had a customer die before the appointed time. Received the call the day before the appointment to tell me.

Most of my customers are pretty faithful about keeping their appointments. I hate it when they say, "I don't know if I will be home tomorrow, but if you come at xxxxx time and wait, I might show up. . .as if I have time to just go there and sit on a "maybe!"

OUCH. I know that feeling all too well having owned a bike as a teenager that skipped when you stood up to pedal hard when racing someone. Needless to say, the bike didn't last long before I smashed it to bits.

I've had that too, "I might show up if..." To which I say, oh, well, in that case, I MIGHT show up too, orrrrrrrrrr NOT.... Adding, either you're going to be there or you're not but, I refuse to play guessing games so, make up your mind... That usually gets them to show up.

when you drive up to McD's for breakfast, say to the box, "Sauage egg and cheese bagel and a senior coffee, one Equal" and get nothing. Not a peep from the box. Again, louder, "SAUSAGE EGG AND CHEESE BAGEL AND A SENIOR COFFEE, ONE EQUAL." Again nothing. You lean closer to the window and bopp your head against the glass because the WINDOW IS STILL CLOSED. Roll down the window and a tiny voice from the box says, "is anybody there?"