Clients:  
When working with a new provider, if you get a cancellation within 4 hours of an appointment which leaves you scrambling to find alternatives, how likely are you to schedule with that provider again?

1) Snowball in hell - 0%
2) Only if she looks like Scarlett Johansson - 25%
3) She'd have to call ME- 50%
4) If no one else is available - 75%
5) No hesitation. 100%

Providers: Looking at these percentages and the implication for loss of repeat customers, how do you feel about cancelling on new  clients?  

What would be YOUR willingness to see a client who  cancelled?  

Obviously No Show is a completely different story

Is it a new provider with no reviews or are you seeing the lady for the first time, she is well reviewed and she is new to you?

For the former I'm done. For the latter I give one more chance

...for me because I wouldn't have started her way nor made any preparations for the session that would cost me time or money. (I don't do outcalls unless I'm going to be in a hotel anyway.)

I'd reschedule with her if the reason for canceling was reasonable. If it wasn't then I would not.

When I got a face full of attitude from the booker the second time I swore to never again deal with "bookers" or providers who use them.

..I don't take a cancellation personally or even as unprofessional...unless...it is recurrent. BTW recurrent cancellations have never happened to me. Here and there, of course.

hy does the reason matter and more importantly what makes you think she is giving you the real reason.

Of course, I would rebook with her

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Why not just say, "I'm on my period. Do you still want to meet?" That happened to me once. I went ahead and met the lady and wound up having a very enjoyable time with her. Because of her preparation, there were only a couple of things we couldn't do and she found ways to more than make up for it

-- Modified on 9/17/2014 8:54:32 PM

I would say 4 - if no one else is available. Each situation has a different smell, so I would never say 100%.

Over the years I have proven that there is no telling whether a provider who cancels will cancel again the next time. Some ladies chronically cancel appointments - out of flakiness, I guess. Sometimes you can pick up on who chronically cancels appointments on the regional boards.  

My experience has been that most providers, having cancelled, will give a little extra effort when we do meet, as compensation for cancelling. Its kind of subtle, but its human nature. So it makes sense to give a second chance in most cases

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more understanding (personal) than a text or email.

...but I didn't hesitate to reschedule since I really wanted to see her. Her reasons for cancelling made sense to me and I didn't hold it against her. I didn't scramble to book anyone else and instead set that $$$ aside for when I do eventually see her.

But if I have confirmed that morning and am getting in my car to go there only to be cancelled with no reason given, not pushed later, not scheduled for a future date, cancelled: That makes me angry

My hobby time is tough to come by.  I like to set up appointments ahead of time.  If there is a cancellation or reschedule beforehand, sure, I get it, life is fluid.  But if we are good all the way to the week of and you reschedule last minute, I might be "put out" but will accept the rescheduling.  Now if the following week you do it again and cancel, then I'm pissed off and won't call back.  I had a date set up with a fairly popular Long Island provider who dicked me around mercilessly for a helluva long time.  After a long run of vague emails (during which she said she screened me and said she would be happy to meet me) we finally set a date and time.  Only to find out the night before that she "forgot" to write it down.  This was after a long series if scheduling emails that we finally had agreed on!!!  OK, I said, lets do this on a day thats better for you I said.  We agreed on a date the following week and the morning of, when I called to confirm says to me " You are my only client today, so I don't think I can make it.  I'm cancelling.  Despite stellar reviews I shall not be even attempting this nightmare again.  We just didn't mesh on scheduling and she was completely inconsiderate of my time.  I had even booked a day that was bad for me because she said it was good for her!!!

I think that in all the time that I've been doing this, I've only had to cancel maybe 5 times.  One was a family emergency, and the others because ended up sick on the appointment day.  I try to give enough notice if I have to cancel, but sometimes it's not possible.  I do understand the reverse also.  I've definitely had more client cancellations then I've done.  I have no problem seeing them at another time, if they don't keep cancelling on me.  If they can't make it, they can't make it, and me punishing them for that will probably only backfire on me.  I have one client, that is very busy at his job, and he's cancelled on me several times, but I've been seeing him for about 3 years so he's an exception.  A new client that repeatedly cancels on me gets 3 strikes and then they are out.  I've had a few of them too.

So I would say if I was drawn to her in the first place, I'd probably be drawn to her later. So most likely, 5) No hesitation. Final answer...5).