need some quick ideas please! :)

[moving on]

Hi all,

Question: is it reasonable to secure certain appts with a credit card?

I now accept credit cards in certain situations, such as online gift certificates and I would accept them also for outcalls over a certain amount.

I was contacted today by a lady who wants me to come to a hotel where she and 2 of her girlfriends are doing a girls' day out thing. The hotel is about 40 mins away, and I'm not familiar with parking or anything. I'm leaning towards doing this, considering I've sort of been getting screwed with at the school I work at and haven't had many Saturday hours. On the other hand, I can make the MOST money on Sats when I DO end up working there.

I have 2 policies that I made that I must consider.
1) I don't do outcalls for anyone unknown, male (for much-discussed reasons) OR for females (due to the female client that flaked out on an MT friend of mine and decided to pay him half his fee).
2) I do not take time off my other location to see clients who aren't yet established. I have a few regulars who, if they scheduled far enough in advance, I would take time off for, because I know they're dependable and reliable and they wouldn't no-show or cancel at the last minute or anything.

Securing the appt with a credit card would allow me to go through with this appt, while appeasing the motives of both of those policies. (These ladies are unknown, and it basically comes down to guaranteeing that I get paid so that I'm not making a long trip for what ends up being nothing, nor am I taking time off POTENTIAL school income for what ends up being nothing.)

My question is, is securing the appt (esp for a Saturday and being that it's an outcall as well) with a credit card reasonable?

Thanks in advance!!
Hugs,
~Jyoti

 

[S23]

To me it isn't unreasonable. Just as long as you make them aware of your policy.
24 hours notice for cancellations. But if I were you i would make exceptions. (emergencies that they cannot control for anything less than that) just do not make them aware of that.
My sis had a miscarriage last month and I had to miss an appointment because of that and I was charged for the appointment I called and canceled at the last minute... I was pretty ticked because I couldn't control the situation but yet I had to pay. They were not very understanding. had that not happened I would have been able to go.

Take there CC info over the phone and explain your policy. Plus it makes people more prone to keep their appointments and not flake on you.

 

[mooki3babiiyonkerz]

I think that Shannon has hit it on the head. You do have it pretty figgered out anyway....40 miles is quite a