Over the past year, I have noticed quite a hefty increase in clients making an appointment then not showing. Excuses range from "oh, was that today?" to "I had something more important to do." If it's a potential client and they don't respond to one telephone call, I just assume I wouldn't want to work with them anyway.
Existing clients, of course, fall into two buckets. Those I still want to keep and those I would not be unhappy to lose. I have been toying with the idea of instituting a fee for "ghosting" an appointment. To be clear, I wouldn't charge if someone called to say they are running late (although I might if they do it every time). Nor would I charge for something like a medical emergency. I do appointments during tax season on Tuesdays & Thursdays. I might not even charge if they call to cancel an hour before. But those who don't show without a reason, especially during tax season, is beginning to irritate me.
My rationale, especially during tax season, is that I spend time planning the meeting and probably turn someone away for that slot. Although I have converted a few clients to drop-off, I still have a lot of elderly clients and others who want a meeting.
Is a fee for broken appointments workable? One downside I see is that a C client may think they can treat me like garbage for an extra fee. Any other suggestions to reduce ghosting?