What bee is in my bonnet this week? The repeat cancellations/reschedules. The clients who cancel their appointment with exactly 24-hours’ notice, reschedule for the following week or the week after that (whenever I can next fit them in), and then cancel that appointment with exactly 24-hours’ notice again.

Explaining to these people that I can’t keep rescheduling them is like explaining to my dogs why they can’t go to work with me. "But Maggie, I gave you 24-hours’ notice."

Uh, yeah, but 24-hours’ notice three times in a row falls into baseball analogy-land. Sorry, next time I’m gonna need a non-refundable deposit. I can’t keep reserving time for someone who keeps not using that time to give me money. It’s not personal, any more than the constant rescheduling is personal. But I’m trying to make a living here.

While it’s true that I set that 24-hour policy so it would allow me enough time to call the next person on the cancellation list and get that time slot filled, there’s a limit to how well that works. And it’s not just about keeping the time filled with paying clients, it’s about building a clientele full of people I can relyon to keep their appointments. Cancelling three appointments in a row tells me that you need to get your *@&^!! together or find a nail tech who can accommodate your by-the-seat-of-your-pants lifestyle.

That ain’t me, kid.

How annoying would it be if I rescheduled a client three times in a row? I mean, I’d at give them at least 24-hours’ notice if I had to do that. Let’s face it, if I did that, I would lose that client. Because it doesn’t matter how much notice you get, it matters that that person isn’t valuing your time.

I need clients who respect the spirit of the policy, not just the letter of the policy. And this constant rescheduling thing is on my last nerve. If you aren’t going to keep your appointments, stop making them.