Last week I had one of those jobs that make you think about how you handle trip fees or missed appointment charges.
This was a divorce case. I was hired by the husband and the wife had a court order to give me access on a specific date and time. It was scheduled weeks in advance, and I even confirmed with the attorney the day before. On paper, it was all good to go.
The appointment day comes. I get there 10 minutes early, knock on the door and ring the bell and nothing. I wait and repeat my ringing and knocking. Fifteen minutes past the scheduled time, no wife, no access. I called the husband and his attorney, and explained what was happening. The attorney asked me to send over a quick email stating what happened along with a picture of the property, which I did.
I told the husband, “Look, I know this is not your fault, so I am not charging you this time. But if this happens again, there will be a $150 missed appointment fee.” He understood. That is my policy, I like to give some grace the first time. But I draw the line at repeated missed appointments.
When this happens, it is not just about the wasted drive. That time block was on my schedule for weeks. Now it is an empty hole in my day, and unless you have backup work ready to go, that is income you are not getting back. Luckily, I had a busy week and could have put a desktop report in its place, but as luck would have it another job popped up right nearby later in the day, so I was able to salvage the time. But it got me thinking. What is your policy?
Do you charge a trip fee for private jobs? Or a missed appointment fee? How do you balance that with keeping customer service top of mind? Do you make exceptions when it is clearly out of the client’s control? I’d love to hear your thoughts, what’s your policy, and how has it worked for you?
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