I had to suddenly cancel just the other day, because my wife was going to be in town the same time as me and wanted to have lunch. My date is a beautiful lady and rescheduled me for after lunch. I still hated to do that to her and possibly screw up her schedule, but she was OK. (Our date was incredible!)
SeanIt hasn't happened to me yet (I've been in the hobby for about 2 months) but I can see that it could happen that I might make an appointment and then have to cancel due to circumstances outside my control.
What is the etiquette about that? What is considered adequate lead time?
What are the consequences? If the cancellation comes too late to be fair to the provider, is there a way to make it up to her
Sometimes guys will contact me and mention up front that their work schedules are really hectic and I'll suggest they just let me pre-screen them for a later time. Then if they get some free time last minute they can just get in touch and see if I'm free.
If someone has to cancel last minute I'm typically very understanding. Things happen. I've had guys offer to reimburse the cost of the room if I had booked it specifically for that appointment. Or make up next time. I rarely have problems with cancellations. Sometimes I have things come up and have to cancel. That's life. Happens to everyone at some point. Some ladies aren't as understanding though, I remember a guy emailed me for advise once after he had to cancel 8 hours before the date because his work trip to Charlotte was cancelled and the girl began threatening him. Seriously, how are you supposed to control that? He offered to reimburse the room when he got a chance and she was demanding it that second or else. Sad. So make sure to do your homework and see someone professional and reputable. You can't always control your schedule and if something comes up just give as much notice as you can. That's all you can do.