Q: How do you deal with last minute cancellations?
A: There is unfortunately no easy way to handle cancellations. Many of our clients don’t prioritize well and have time management issues and as caring organizers we want to give them a break. But this mind-set can also break your business.
Requiring a deposit is generally considered one of the best ways to deter last minute cancellations. But no matter what you do, there will always be emergencies and non-emergencies. You may choose to be lenient with the emergency situations. But dealing with the non-emergencies is the tricky part. If you keep a client’s deposit, you risk angering and perhaps even losing the client. This may be a good thing for a busy organizer because it will weed out those who don’t value you time It is a difficult position for the newer organizer who needs the business.
The ideal situation might be: 1hr or half of scheduled time deposit. If client cancels for non-emergency or emergency, client has 1 week to re-schedule. The new date needs to be within one month of the original date.
If not the client forfeits the deposit.
I promise it is more difficult to enforce if you live in fear of having enough clients. But it is do-able.
Put your policy in writing and make sure each new client understands it before the first meeting.
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My very first paying organizing client called to cancel the night before I was to begin working with her. She said that talking to me had motivated her so much that she went ahead and did it herself.
I was really glad I’d collected a non-refundable deposit, but was terribly disappointed not to have the opportunity to do the actual work!