Policy on Booking When Client is Communicating Poorly?
A potential new client requested a meeting at a certain time, then got stuck in traffic, and said they would not make it at the scheduled time. I said I could meet for several more hours - plenty of time for them to make it to the meet and greet, or I could try to squeeze them in for an appointment on another day. They said ok to pushing the time later, and that they would let me know when they were closer to the place we scheduled the meeting at - indicating they still wanted to meet that day, and saying nothing about preferring to reschedule. The meeting is down the road from me, so I can get there on short notice. Two hours go by, and I know there is no way it should take them that long to arrive.
I message the client because I should have heard from them by now - asking if they made it back yet and if they still wanted to meet. They inform me they went home instead and were making dinner/getting ready for bed. Then ask if I can fit them in a couple days from then.
At this point, I'm upset that my time has been disrespected, because they changed their plans without notice, went home, and did not bother to message me as they said.
My question is, what is your policy if a client does not follow through on a meeting? Would you archive the request in a situation like this, or offer to reschedule once more? If you close the request, how would you word your message about closing the request in this particular situation?