If your appointment book is closed and you are unable/unwilling to add new clients to your schedule, you may find that some clients don’t want to be told you can’t/won’t see them.
However, just because the potential client doesn’t like the response, it doesn’t mean you have to accommodate them. Be prepared to hold your ground.
Initial Response:
“I’m sorry, but currently we aren’t taking any new clients. You are welcome to check back in <insert time frame here / 2 weeks, 6 months, etc.> to see if something has changed. However, you’ll need contact another therapist at this time.”
If you are forced to repeat yourself, then you probably aren’t going to want this client in your practice anyway. If they don’t want to take no for an answer now, they’ll likely be manipulative in the future. When you can avoid it, it makes sense to remove potential problems sooner rather than later.
Updated Secondary Response (be polite but firm):
“No, I’m sorry, but I can’t accommodate you at this time. You’ll need to find another therapist. But, thank you for calling.” <and then hang up if the potential client is being belligerent at this point>
Building a practice of solid and respectful clients will make your days much easier. Massage can be hard work. There is no reason to make things any more difficult on yourself if you don’t have to.
Keep in mind, if you have closed your practice to new clients, make a notation on your website (including a time/month for the client to check back, if there is one). This will decreased unwanted calls.
Related Articles:
- Boundaries – The Hostile Client
- Boundaries – Staying Late for a Client
- Boundaries – Dating Clients
- Safe Call Procedure
- Accepting Last Minute “Emergency” Clients
- Should You E-mail Your Therapist When He/She Is On Vacation?
20
You *really* need to test your website’s mobile theme, which, despite ostensibly having an option to turn it off, doesn’t actually work. This is 2012, and most people that you are repeatedly forcing towards your crappy ‘mobile’ version are using high-end smaryphones or tablets. By forcing visitors onyo your CEEFAX-inspired, massive-font version, you’re only discoraging them from using your site.
Thanks for the information. I’ll look around and see if I can find what you are talking about. I am unable to e-mail you as you did not provide a working e-mail. Otherwise I would try to gain more insight that way.
Again, I appreciate your letting me know there is a problem with the site, that I was unaware of. I do not use any mobile devices (such as iPhones or tablets), so I’ll see if I can find a friend to run a few tests for me and see if we can find out what is happening. If you would be so kind as to directly e-mail me with more information, I’d be thankful.
UPDATE: I have asked unrelated people in different areas of the country to see if there is a problem with any mobile content.
So far all of the responses state everything is working fine on their devices.
If you continue to have problems, please e-mail a screen shot to my account so that I can better understand your issue or you may wish to check your device against other WordPress account content.
At this point it seems the problem is resolved.
I am an iWorld gal, and the only weirdness I see is your cloud drops over what I think is a sign-up box.
But a lot of pages look like that to me.
Not sure what the original responder meant, except to be rotten.
Maybe because responder needs a massage?