This business advertised itself on my local Nextdoor platform. I contacted them via email since only their email was listed and no phone number. I set up a date and time with them and both of us confirmed it.
The day came, and I waited for them...and waited...and waited. I had realized that morning that I did not have a phone number for them, and neither did they ask for my phone number, so I emailed my number to them before the appointment time. I did not hear back from them. I waited for over an hour past the appointment time and they still didn't show up or even notify me in any way that they were going to be late or even if they were on their way. I had set aside a 1 hour time window figuring that should be enough time to get a quote. I emailed them again (still not having a phone number for them) telling them not to bother coming since it was now an hour past the appointment time and I didn't hear anything from them about any delays or needing to reschedule. I finally get an emailed reply apologizing and blaming traffic and road construction around their house. They claimed that they tried to call but that it went straight to voicemail. Since they sent the email shortly after I sent them the email telling them not to come, they obviously would not have made it to my place anywhere near the appointment time.
Obviously, I did not engage this business for the job. Here are a few tips to the owners of this business from a potential customer's point of view:
1.) Get the full contact information from your customer, and in turn, provide your full contact information to them as well. Do not put the burden of communication solely on your customer.
2.) When you answer a customer's email, put your response at the top of the email so it is easy to see. It is very difficult to see a response that has been tacked onto the end of the quoted text of the customer's original email - especially if it's not separated by a space or colored text.
3.) Show the customer that you value their time just as they should value your time. If you are running late for an appointment, call/text/email (all 3 if you need to) the customer and let them know. Most people are willing to accommodate reasonable time delays as long as they know it's needed within a reasonable time frame of their appointment time. If a time adjustment can't be made, a new appointment time can be made because the customer will see that you value their time and business enough to give them advanced notice.
4.) If you call and it goes to voicemail, leave a voicemail. Most people do not answer calls coming from numbers they don't know due to excessive spam calls. If you do not leave a voicemail, they won't know you called (especially if they don't have your number to begin with).
5.) If you are promoting your business on a social media platform, it is good etiquette and business practice to let people know how you are connected to the business. If you are the owner or close relative/friend of the owner, don't make it sound like you're a random, satisfied customer and leave glowing reviews without revealing that relationship. It looks suspicious to a customer if they figure out that there might be a bias in the reviews (and it's often not hard to figure that out). Be proud of your work and claim it, and let your workmanship show that you have the support of your community and not just you and your family. read more