When Clients Cancel

 

Top Reasons that I don't mind when a client cancels or needs to reschedule a training session.

There are many reasons that a client may need to cancel or reschedule a training session.  I try to be as flexible as possible when this happens.  But I hear from family, friends, and other clients quite regularly...Why do you put up with that.  These top reasons are not in any special order, but this is why I don't mind the need to cancel or reschedule.

• Life happens!  We all have unexpected things happen every day.  Sometimes those unexpected things can be dealt with quickly, sometimes it's not so quick.  As a disabled person, on any given day I could suddenly not be well enough to leave me house.  I do everything in my power to cancel early if I know I'm having a bad health day, but sometimes my issues come on suddenly and some issues I can work through while others I can't.  Needless to say, I may need to cancel at a moments notice.  I ask my clients to be understanding when that happens, so it's only right that I allow that same curtesy to my clients.
• When I schedule a training session with any client, my focus is helping that client and their dog to become a better team.  My focus is not on making money to support myself or have spending money.  (Although making money is always a benefit to me.)  With the goal being to help my clients, it wouldn't be right to ask them to show up for their session if they are going to be distracted, wishing they were somewhere else, or be in physical discomfort.  I want my clients and their dogs to be able to focus on our goals for that session.  If my clients or dogs are seeming to have a bad day, I'm probably going to suggest that we end early and set up another appointment on a different day anyways.
• If a client cancels or reschedules last minute, I'm usually already prepped and ready for the session and sometimes at our meeting site already.  While this can be frustrating, it's also a mixed blessing for me because now I'm at some wonderful place with my Service Dog right beside me and we can go on an adventure there by ourselves enjoying some much needed "get back to nature" time together.  Getting out the door to go on an adventure is half the battle, so in this case we are already dressed, geared up, and prepared for fun.  And Azul and I can pretty much find FUN anywhere we are together!  So I find myself geared up and in training mode while being in an awesome place that we can now play & explore together.  It doesn't get more awesome then that!
• There is almost always an awesome perk to a cancelled training session!  In today's case, I was able to take a few minutes of our hike time to record this training video about using different leash skills for different environments.  If your struggling with loose leash walking or have a dog that pulls you all over the place, you should be sure to watch this video to see how Azul and I walk together as a team.  

If you need to improve your leash handling skills and teach your dog to walk better on leash so you can both enjoy your time together more, please reach out to me at yooperpaws@gmail.com.

Additional Fees that may effect a canceled or rescheduled session.

I rarely ask clients to pay a fee at the time of scheduling such as a booking fee, and only charge for my time spent in actual training.  However, if I feel a client is cancelling far too often or if I need to travel outside of my normal area then a prepaid travel fee might be necessary.  Please understand that is to protect my costs involved with showing up whether or not we accomplish a training session.  That is why travel fees are not refundable if the client needs to cancel or reschedule.  Travel fees are always discussed prior to scheduling a session and are individualized to the client based on the amount of travel time and miles to reach that client's desired meeting location.