I have a tardy client who encroaches on my other bookings. Help!

Dear Aunty B,

I run a successful massage and beauty clinic; we have a great, high-end clientele who are mostly fantastic. However, we have one customer who is being a bit of a challenge.

As I am sure you can appreciate, our biggest and best times are after business hours; this is when the majority of our clients are able to come and see us. We have one customer who in normal circumstances would tick all the right boxes, he books regularly and buys in bulk a package of treatments.

The kicker is that he is ALWAYS late for his appointments, and still expects my staff to accommodate his entire treatment time. We have tried lots of things to try and get him to shape up – reminder calls and TXT messages, emails, telling him that he is booked at 5:30 when he’s really booked at 5:45!

But it has got to the point where if he shows up late that we have to shorten his treatment time becuse we have other clients that are waiting. I have run the number on his bookings and he is actually COSTING me money, not making me any!

At his last appointment he was very rude to one of my staff and complained that his time was being shortned, now he wants to speak with me to work out a new time for him to come in and frankly I don’t want his business.

How can I tell him that we can’t afford to have him as a client any more?

Kristie,
Melbourne

Dear Kristie,

Simple. You put your price up for that client so he makes you money. If he asks about it, tell him why. If he complains, give him the business card of that niggly competitor the next suburb over and tell him they would LOVE to accommodate him.

Good luck,

Your Aunty B