Setting Office Hours

[EmzyDoodle(:]

On a regular basis, I have newer clients who ask what our office hours are. I generally tell clients it varies. My schedule changes on a weekly basis due to family obligations, volunteer work, and downtown association meetings. For example, if my office hours say I am open until 7pm on Tuesdays, but I have a meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm, so that particular Tuesday I am only open 5pm.

I can't be the only one who has this problem!

 

[~*~Oblivion Helper~*~]

You can go ahead and state your office hours, and block off all the times you are booked. Nobody needs to have an explanation of HOW you are booked - that you are actually out of the office at that time. Just give them the time frame you work within, but when booking a specific appointment, any time slot that is committed elsewhere is not available.

Even if you were in the office at all times from 9-5, you would be unavailable for every time slot you had a client scheduled. It won't appear any different, and will be less confusing to the clients.

 

[jeremyandrew.king]

I'm still building my practice, so my schedule varies widely: When asked about hours I say that I offer day, evening, and weekend appointments to suit the schedule of my clients, when would they like to come in?

 

[Mrs Emma K Doc Prof Santa]

Personally when I used to run my practice in such a way that I made myself available according to my clients schedule
I felt my time was never my own. I had bookings at all different times & felt I could not run my own life.

A good friend who was a professional business person said to me - Run your business like a business. They all have set hours. That's not saying you couldn't make an exception here & there for a good client of course.

However think of it like this: People have to make the time to see their doctor, chiropractor, dentist, hairdresser, even their dog-groomer, etc. when those folks have business hours - why should we be running our businesses any differently? It is more professional & clients do understand that everyone has a schedule - even though they may want to get in to see us whenever they feel it's convienent for them. But that is letting your clients run your schedule!!!

Setting your days & hours allows for you to have a life that is more organized & functional.

Ella, at the very least when booking your clients, I would suggest you ask them what their best days & times are for
the next one to three weeks. Even if you don't have a full schedule - it sounds better when it appears that you have
other bookings & a busy schedule & that you'll do your best to fit them into their desired time. And if you have to travel back & forth to an office for one client at a time, that's extra time & expense in gas money that are costing you more than necessary .

When I book a client - I look at my appointment book & tell them when I have openings. That way I put them into the schedule when it's most convienent for my time & schedule! It keeps my life more sane that way - as I have a family & other obligations to keep on a daily basis. It's also more practical as I have an office I don't have to keep heated & ready to go at a moments notice.

 

[blue-eyed brunette]

Setting Office Hours

On a regular basis, I have newer clients who ask what our office hours are. I generally tell clients it varies. My schedule changes on a weekly basis due to family obligations, volunteer work, and downtown association meetings. For example, if my office hours say I am open until 7pm on Tuesdays, but I have a meeting on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm, so that particular Tuesday I am only open 5pm.

I can't be the only one who has this problem!

I would lean toward giving a fixed schedule as well. When you say your schedule "varies" to a client, although you don't intend for this to be complicated for them, it can leave them not knowing how to respond. Providing them with a time frame helps the client to feel more stable with your services and business protocol.

If you say you are open until 7pm on Tuesdays, what exactly does that mean? Do you come in at 7am in the morning, 9am in the morning, 3pm in the afternoon? Do you take you last client at 7pm, or do you close shop at 7pm? These will be the sort of questions that can run through a clients head without you wanting or meaning to cause confusion.

Instead you can say, I only work on Tuesdays from 8am until 7pm. I take my last client at 6pm.

Once you get to know the client you can let them know that your schedule may be flexible for other days and times as your family allows. And, that will depend on how you want to serve that particular client.

I have very varied office hours, depending on which clients are coming in. For example, I have a client who flies in from California about once every 6-8 weeks now. He comes into town on a business trip and is here for a night or two. He knows that if he calls me at least a few hours in advance and I can work it out, I will stay for him. Sometimes he can call a week in advance, sometimes he only knows at the last minute that he'll be able to receive massage work. However, I know that his plane usually lands about 9pm and it takes about an hour to get to my office. So, if I am still on that side of town, it's just a matter of me going to drink a coffee for a bit until he arrives. HE is an exception (I have a few). You'll have those. But, not everyone is allowed to be an exception. It all depends on the person, as far as I am concerned.

As for the weeks you have the meeting: Well, you are open until 7pm, but on those particular Tuesdays, you just tell the client you are booked, don't have somethng avaliable during that time, whatever works for you. RoS wrote it nicely. An example for that is that most Thursdays I am out of the office for two hours, but that can vary. Sometimes it is a Wed. and sometimes it is a Thursday and a Friday (in the same week). My office hours are the same (11am - 8pm), but I just am "booked when I am gone.

Hope that helps.

01/09/09 edited for a few typos I spotted

 

[Stuart H]

i agree in telling your clients that you do not have any openings (or are booked) for those times when you have other things during your business hours.

i do not keep regular business hours. when clients ask me what my hours are i usually tell them something like....my hours are very flexible. i work 7 days a week by appointment only. i come in as early as 9 and usually like to take my last appointment no later than about 6:30. i explain to them that i book up 1 - 2 weeks in advance and let them know to give me as much notice they can when looking for an appointment (especially if they are specific on the day &/or time they are available.)

i usually tell them in explaining the above, that as long as i don't have anything going on with my daughter's schedule that i am available.

because i don't have any specific hours but i do have a max. of clients i work on in a day sometimes i do have the time available that a client is looking for but i am at my max so i just tell them i do not have any availability. i guess that's similar to your situation in how you would word things.

hope that helps.

 

[Asanka]

But that is letting your clients run your schedule!!!

Fortunately I don't have any trouble telling people no if what they suggest for a meeting time is inconvenient for me.

Of course, having set hours may work for some people--I find that telling my clients that I take appointments in a flexible way so I can accommodate their schedules makes them feel like I am giving them a higher level of service.

If I stated that I don't work Wednesday nights, and that's when my client needs me, then I am sending business to someone else. We live in a world of instant gratification. If I can't book a first-time caller during that first phone call because I set arbitrary office hours, then I'm shooting myself in the foot. So for now anyway, this is what works for me.

YMMV.

 

[Oliver Clothes-off]

Of course, having set hours may work for some people--I find that telling my clients that I take appointments in a flexible way so I can accommodate their schedules makes them feel like I am giving them a higher level of service.

i couldn't agree with this more!

 

[Amanda]

I agree with setting strict hours and sticking to them. When I first became a personal trainer, I'd meet people at whatever times they asked for. This was a disaster that I maintained for several annoying months.

I'd have a client at 7am, then another at 3 pm, then one the next day at 1pm, and two days later clients at 10am and 7 pm... AAAAAGGGHHH!! I was a slave to my clients' schedules, and my hours were too spread out to have any other consistent plans. It was, I realized, unworkable for someone with my personality.

After some reflection and a gut check, I decided to limit my availability to Mondays and Wednesdays, from about 10 am to 8 pm. Though some people wished to see me at other times or on other days, I stuck to my guns and... filled my schedule! It seems that people who really valued my services were willing to be a little more flexible than those who did not. These people also tended to be more fun to train, and many became long-term repeat clients.

As an employee MT, I did the same thing, and it worked great. As a business owner, I advertise business hours, and simply let people know the days I am most frequently available. If they request a different day/time, my receptionists either forward the request or book them with another MT. If I'm already committed elsewhere, we book them on another day or at another time. Those that most value my services are willing to be flexible, and they know the level of service I provide!

 

[Joanne A. W]

Jason said:

Those that most value my services are willing to be flexible, and they know the level of service I provide!

:iagree: Ditto! It's not that you don't value your clients, their needs & their time, it's about having certain boundaries on your time & placing yourself & your own life first. When you do that you have the breathing room to take care of your needs - so that you have a well to draw from - for everything & everyone else you spend time with. Otherwise it's more than likely you'll burn out quickly!

 

[zara]

You have to do what you are comfortable with. I tell my clients that my hours are by appointment. I try to be as flexible as I can to accommodate my client's needs. My office is close to my house, so to run there for just one appointment and then not have another for several hours is not a problem for me. I try to get an idea from the client when they are looking for an appointment and then I do try to schedule them close to another client when possible.

If I tell a client that I do not have a specific time frame available that they might be looking for, I do not tell them the reason. it could be that I have a client, or that I am at my limit for the day. It could be that I have carved out some time for me to get a massage or I just need to have a light week to attend to other personal or business things. They don't need to know. They just need to know that I do not have that spot available for a massage appointment for them.

If you choose to have a flexible schedule to meet your client's needs, then i would not recommend saying "I have hours til 8 on Wednesday", if indeed you would be flexible to take a late appointment on Tuesday as well. I do work evenings, but limit it to two evenings per week. They are always different, depending on who books those appointments first.

Some here have strongly recommended having specific business hours. I think it really depends on your situation, your tolerance levels, your goals. Once you a clear on all that, it will be very easy to know how to address things with your clients. Good luck!

 

[Rex L]

:iagree:
I so agree.

I'm available days evenings and weekends, and I liberally tell my clients that! WHen potentials ask my hours I tell them I have a flexable schedule to best suit my clients, I am available days, evenings AND weekends. Ohhhs and Ahhhs ensue.
It is extrememly difficult to get an evening or weekend time slot around here unless you have some serious ins with an MT, so I'm filling a niche that isn't filled around my town and I'm happy to do so.


With that said, I am absolutely solid when it comes to 'my time'. If clients are in my book first, then they obviously come first and for that day my life will revolve around them. BUT if I have something going on and client wants that spot - sorry its mine, the work will revolve around my life. No need for details, just that I'm not available. For all they know I'm booked solid because I'm an amazing MT and they are dang lucky to get in when they can.

WHen my home office is up and going, days only because its my home and that is what I am comfortable with [/quote]

 

[Vani Priya]

With that said, I am absolutely solid when it comes to 'my time'. If clients are in my book first, then they obviously come first and for that day my life will revolve around them. BUT if I have something going on and client wants that spot - sorry its mine, the work will revolve around my life. No need for details, just that I'm not available.

Well said, and exactly how I operate.

 

[jumpxit]

I live in a tourist area and previously I had day,evening and weekend appointments listed and I would receive phone calls at all hours of the night, they would say "well it says your work evenings or weekends", I have since advertised set hours of 10 am til 7pm, weekend's available by appointment.
It has really stopped alot of that, I also will stay later if a client can't get there earlier or come in earlier for some but I try to stay with set hours so I can have a life.

 

[umad???]

Posting business hours means that the majority of time you have appointment times open during those times. The client doesn't know what you have booked into your schedule unless you tell them.

When I first started I took appointments throughout the week whenever a client called. I also thought it offered a high level of customer service to be that available. What I found was I began resenting my schedule because I never knew week-to-week when I would be working. After a while I found myself trying to guide clients to book in blocks to reduce the amount of time between appointments. Once I realized I was able to do this and the clients were amenable to it I took the step and created a set schedule. I've had a set schedule for nine years now and it has worked incredibly well in my practice. If a client asks about a time slot that has been filled because of a meeting or a hair appointment I simply redirect them to another day or time slot that I have open.

Both ways work quite well and are dependent on the MT. I don't think one way offers better customer service over the other. I have found most people like knowing what the schedule is week-to-week.

I also have a maximum number of appts I will take in a day/week and once that max is reached I book clients to other days/weeks. Occasionally someone will call and want that "instant gratification" that doesn't work with my schedule so I refer them to other local MT's. It hasn't negatively impacted my practice in anyway to not be available at all times. If anything it has had the opposite impact and has created a busier schedule for me.