Punctuality is something that often goes over-looked, but in reality, is a necessity. It not only shows your client you care about your business and the professionalism surrounding it, but also that you care about his or her time as well. One must keep in mind that being on time is more than just a starting point to getting the job underway. It actually sets the tone for how your day will go!
Through my career in detailing, I have always tried to be on time. If I wasn’t going to make the scheduled time, and I knew about it the night before, I would give a phone call, email, or even a text message (if that is how you and your client communicate) to let them know of the time adjustment. It shows the respect you have for your clients and their plans. Sure 30 minutes may not be a huge deal, but when the client expects you at their house at 8am, and you show up at 830am, the kids may not get to school on time, their meeting may start without them, or the much needed conversation prior to starting the job may get cut short and certain key aspects of the job may not even get talked about because they are in a rush to get somewhere now. As the business owner, it is always important to stay in communication with your client.
Even on the other side of things, the business side, being on time does more for your own good as well. If you scheduled a job at 8am, you show up at 8am and have 3 hours planned, you have until 11am until your next appointment. If you are late, you will push back the other appointments you have for the day, which will end up making it a longer day, or possibly having to reschedule someone for another day (lost daily income). Plus, in case you schedule a second job 3 hours later, and the first only takes 2.5 hours, you have a couple options…go above and beyond on the first car and spend a little extra time on it, or get to your second job earlier and possibly book a third job for the day. Being on time opens more doors! My personal favorite thing to do is to go above and beyond for any of my clients knowing I will have extra time. It’s the little things that matter the most!
Be one time! Be respectful of your clients schedule as they waited upwards of a few weeks or months to get on your books!
Here are just a few tips and tricks to help get you to your morning appointment on time:
- Pack the car the night before. This gives you plenty of time to make sure you have everything you may need so nothing is forgotten.
- Make lunch or meals the night before. Nothing is worse than waking up a little late and not having time to eat something. Working on an empty stomach is never a good idea for optimal performance.
- Plan on leaving 15 minutes ahead of schedule, as this will give you extra time in the morning just in case of traffic, having to go back to the house, etc.
- Stay organized in your car. It’s easier to find tools when they are always in the same spot.
- Plan your way the night before. What happens if your GPS fails, or you don’t get reception at the clients house (horrible thing to have happen).
There are a lot of little things that you can do in order to make it to an appointment on time, implementing them as a routine is key!