when a customer pulls a 'NO-Show'

F

FidoAUTO

New member
Hey guys... I've been sitting here since 7 am waiting for a customer to bring me his Black 04 X5 4.6is. Its now 8 am and no sign of him anywhere.



I'm thinking of adding $25-50 to the bill.



What do you suggest I do?
 
FidoAUTO said:
Hey guys... I've been sitting here since 7 am waiting for a customer to bring me his Black 04 X5 4.6is. Its now 8 am and no sign of him anywhere.



I'm thinking of adding $25-50 to the bill.



What do you suggest I do?
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I don't think you can really do that unless he signed something or was aware of a fee like that.
 
Have you already quoted a definite price?





I would charge him an extra hour labor--basically he's been on the clock since 7a, which was the time that you guys agreed upon. That's what I do. It is so irritating when people don't respect the time of others.
 
When someone is more than ~20 minutes late, I start calling them. If they don't show up and call again for a detail, I require a deposit just to make the appointment.
 
Call the night before to confirm - always.

If the appointment is for 8:00am and the customer is not there, call them at 8:15 to see when they will be arriving.



If you never want to see the guy again, and dont want any referral business, add the $25 to the bill. you'll have to put that in writing before you charge it. No one legally has to pay fees if they are not in writing and agreed to by both parties.
 
hey guys... well the update is....



He owns a construction company and his 'super' didn't show so he had to go and open the construction site....





He called me @ 8:30 to reschedule and he offered me $40 extra for the trouble. He's bringing me the truck @ 5 pm.
 
You have two options in that situation, be an @ss and make yourself feel better, or be so nice about it they feel guilty. Being in sales, I occasionally have a client that forgets an appointment (I always go to them). I can get ticked off at them for wasting my time, or I can be overly sympathetic ("That's ok, I understand sometimes emergencies come up in your level of job.."), etc. When I first started, I would be an @ss about it. Then I learned that being super nice about it and rescheduling normally resulted in a much larger order (becasue of their guilt). Takes price right out of the equation! Now, if they do it repeatedly, don't waste your time, but once or twice will give you a very loyal customer.
 
ebpcivicsi said:
Have you already quoted a definite price?





I would charge him an extra hour labor--basically he's been on the clock since 7a, which was the time that you guys agreed upon. That's what I do. It is so irritating when people don't respect the time of others.
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That's what I do. If someone shows up an hour late than, they are already down an hours rate.



P.S. glad to hear it worked out alright!



Greg
 
Being Mobile, I have no shows as well. I will get to their house, and nobody will be home.

I wait 20 minutes past the time scheduled. I then call them on their contact number. If no answer, I leave them a message. I then leave them a business card stuck in their front door saying something along the lines of "Sorry I missed you, please call me to reschedule your appointment". Or someting similar to that. I have had no shows 4 times all year. 3 of them were the same guy, so whenever he calls now, I will decline his business. I do not have time to waste. Loading up and driving to the location costs ME money....
 
Hey Fido; glad it worked out for you. In the winter it seems like "late shows" are becoming more common, with roads being bad etc. I tell all my clients when I speak with them if they are coming to me that if we have a set time and they are more than 30 minutes late with no call, I start billing them. If they are more than an hour late I bill them for an hour and reserve the right to accept another appointment. I know it seems harsh, but hey, the time I am waiting on them I could be out making money...



If they call and have a valid reason I am very lenient. It's the guys that don't call that bug me.
 
It is always a good idea to call your customer the day before their appointment. Doing that shows a you have a professional approach to business, much the same as a doctor or dentist's office would call the day before an appointment. That usually works for everyone.
 
mirrorfinishman said:
It is always a good idea to call your customer the day before their appointment. Doing that shows a you have a professional approach to business, much the same as a doctor or dentist's office would call the day before an appointment. That usually works for everyone.
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Exactly. I do the same. People tend to forget about appointments all the time...don't ask me how I know. I also call them a day after the detail, to make sure everything is still satisfactory.
 
I've been going to the same doctor for many years. She must have changed office managers lately because they have been busting b@lls the past couple of times I've been there and now I don't feel like going back:



- I went for an appointment and they used to take credit cards or bill me later for the copay. This time they wouldn't even see me unless I paid cash up front. So I had to go hunt down an ATM machine, get cash, pay, and then wait extra time because now it's past my appointment time and she's already seeing other patients.

- After that appointment, I made another one for 4 months later. I missed it because my wife received the reminder call and forgot to tell me. Instead of following up to see if I wanted to reschedule, they sent me a bill for $25 for missing it.



This type of behaviour really turns me off about this place. I'm happy with the doctor but it's the office policies that really tick me off.



Moral of the story is treat the customer with respect and (most of the time) you will be rewarded.
 
hooked said:
I've been going to the same doctor for many years. She must have changed office managers lately because they have been busting b@lls the past couple of times I've been there and now I don't feel like going back:
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I guarantee you that the office manager doesn't make the payment rules. Your doctor has changed the way he/she does business after getting stood up too many times and not getting the copayments owed. Sorry you feel spurned but take it up with the doctor and log your appointments in your cell phone reminder so you don't have to worry about not getting the reminder call and remember that you have to pay the copay upfront. I'm not coming down on you, just offering alternatives to switching from a Doctor that you like and had no problem with before.



My hand surgeon charged me $15 to fill out the FMLA paperwork. Boy, was I pissed. I cussed the nurse, the billier, then the office manager. I was NOT going to pay! Then the docotor came in for the exam and I cussed her. Then I find out that she is a franchise (more or less) for the doctors she did her surgical internship with. It wasn't her rule, it was the franchise rule and she couldn't go against it as she had to pay the doctors back for the year of surgical training they gave her. The FMLa paperwork was actually faxed to the main office and filled out there. I paid the fee, got my FMLA and the surgery was a success. It was a small price to pay for one of the best trained carpel tunnel surgeons in the mid-East.
 
Been stood up too. But one lady pissed me off bad. I showed up right on time waited 40 mins, left a card "sorry we missed each other, call me to reschedule" She called 4 hrs later, said to come the next morning... So I did and BAM she's not there. Well she will have to find another sucker to waste time.

I don't have much patience for late people. Bad I know, but make a fool of me once... Twice, I'm an ***. But there will not be a third time.
 
GregCavi said:
That's what I do. If someone shows up an hour late than, they are already down an hours rate.



P.S. glad to hear it worked out alright!



Greg
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Do you let these customers know this policy before they do business with you? Are you selling jobs at an hourly rate on a clock vs. a per car price?





Its just something to think about, I know you are a young guy. I wouldn't like to see you end up losing customers.
 
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