Dear no-show client

Dear no-show client,

I was here waiting for you. The office was carefully cleansed with a thorough smudge. Candles were lit and oils anointed on my wrists. I took time to prepare myself with meditation so I would be grounded and ready to serve you. In other words, I did my part to make sure I was available for you in every way. But you never bothered to show up.

As I sat by the phone, I began to get nervous when you were five minutes past your appointed time. I sent a quick email to say “hey, I’m here.” I also know that you receive reminder emails from my online scheduler. Those come automatically to your inbox or phone – and yes, I know you opened them too. The scheduling software alerts me.

So there I was…waiting. With each minute that passed by, I felt more anxious. Did you forget? Did you blow me off? Or did you get into a horrendous accident and were unable to call me? (Psst…I always tend to worry that it’s the latter.)

Finally, it became obvious that you weren’t coming. That time I set aside for you was now wasted. If I knew you were going to ghost me, I would have given that slot to another person on the waitlist and they would have been more than happy to nab your spot. In fact, they would have been thrilled because I’m booked out a month in advance so getting in early is like a Christmas present. But because you didn’t contact me, I didn’t get to offer that to them. 

You may not realize this but when you don’t show and don’t give me the opportunity to fill that spot, it hurts my income. I’m self-employed and this is how I support my household. (Yeah, I know, I work in a weird career and maybe you don’t see that as a “real” business – but I’ve been at this for thirty years. I’m a pro.)

When you book an appointment with a self-employed person like myself, we are counting on that money for our bills, our family, and our lives. A no-show means we came to work and didn’t get paid. Would you accept that from your day job? Probably not. If you go to work, you want – and expect – to get paid for your time, right? If you didn’t, I doubt you’d stay at that job.

Think about that for a minute. Why would I want to stay at this job and continue to work with you if I’m not getting paid? It doesn’t make sense.

When you don’t show up, you waste my time and make my life stressful. I worry about money, have to chase you down, feel bad that other people didn’t get the chance to slip into that spot, and become anxious worrying about you. It sucks to feel like this. 

So please, in the future, do what you can to make your appointment. If you cannot make it, let me know. Honor my 24-hour cancellation policy. We can easily reschedule if you do. 

If, however, you biff it and miss your spot, don’t expect me to drop everything and fit you in without paying for a new appointment. Respect me, my work, my family, and my other clients enough to apologize and pay for a new session. It’s what I would do with my therapist, lawyer, or any other professional that I hire. It’s only right.

Thanks,

Theresa

© Theresa Reed | The Tarot Lady 2019

Sign up for my newsletter and get free bi-monthly content on tarot, astrology, and more.

Name:

Email:

I respect your email privacy