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When is ok to keep your next client waiting?

Recently I worked an event that shared space with 2 other therapists. One was known for giving extra time to his clients when ever he could. His advice to me was you should always give them extra time if you want to win them over.

The other was so used to being her own boss that she was late for almost every appointment and had to comp some time to one client because the next appointment would not wait.

My question is where is the line and how do you resolve the problem in the future?

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Permalink Reply by Lara Rininger on May 31, 2010 at 7:13pm

I would think the ONLY time it is okay to go over is if you do not have another client scheduled and the client you are working on is going to pay for an extra 30 minutes or whatever...I would never want to keep another client waiting or start their massage session late. If something unusual or out of the ordinary caused this I would apologize profusely and perhaps discount their session or offer their next one at half price. I feel it is very unprofessional to keep a client waiting. Their time is important as is mine. I don't want to give them the impression that it's ok to be late that isn't fair to me or my other clients. Things happen and if they contacted me to let me know they are running late, I'd judge on a case by case basis if only 15 min lates I'd still do the massage for 45 minutes and charge the full price for the massage. I would make sure my clients know my late and no show/cancellation policies up front as well.