Last-minute Requests, Client Expectations and Learning to Protect Your Time When You’re a Self-Employed Service Provider.
It’s 5.50pm, I’m out walking my dog, just across the road from my home, looking forward to being done for the day.
You know the routine. A nice hot shower, comfy loungewear, a steaming cup of peppermint tea, and absolutely no plans to go anywhere.
Then my phone lights up.
A message from a regular client.
I catch the preview and initially assume she’s enquiring about bookings for the following day or for the rest of the week. Nothing unusual there.
But no.
‘Is there any chance you could come tonight?’
Oh, no!
Now let me explain something about this particular booking. It’s not around the corner. It’s a countryside journey on the opposite side of the city, and one that requires a little planning.
When I have a 5.30pm appointment booked in advance, I normally aim to leave around 5pm, allowing approximately 25-30 minutes for the journey, and giving myself a little breathing room in case of traffic.
It’s calculated, it’s organised, and it’s how I make sure I arrive on time.
But receiving a last minute request at 5.50pm is an entirely different proposition.
By the time I’d get myself organised, make the journey and arrive, the appointment would start significantly later than usual. We’re also talking about rush-hour traffic, a countryside location with very little lighting and an environment where I’m sometimes relying on the light on my phone or the small torch I have clipped on my crossbody pet sitter’s kit bag.
And honestly? I wasn’t particularly keen on making that journey so late.
Would I have liked the extra money? Of course!
I’m self-employed. Every booking contributes towards my income, and I’m certainly not going to pretend that extra earnings aren’t welcome.
But there’s a difference between wanting additional work and being available at the drop of a hat.
By this point, I’d finished my working day. I was walking my dog, looking forward to switching off.
So I made a decision.
I replied politely, explaining that I had back-to-back appointments, was on the opposite side of the city and would be finishing late. Unfortunately, I would not be able to move things around at such short notice.
It was carefully worded, warm in tone, but the message was clear.
I wasn’t available.
Now, here’s the thing. Was that entirely accurate? Not particularly. Let’s call it a little white lie.
Sometimes, when you’re self-employed and a service provider, you learn that you don’t need to disclose every detail of your personal schedule. You can be strategic about how you communicate your availability. A polite explanation that protects your time and avoids unnecessary discussion isn’t the same as deliberately misleading someone for personal gain.
You’re not obliged to provide a running commentary of your day just because someone wants to book your services.
And she understood.
Now, this is where things get interesting.
This is a regular client, someone I generally try to accommodate whenever possible. But even with regular clients, occasionally you have to remind people that your availability has limits.
Had I received a message an hour and a half or two hours earlier, things might have been different. I could have organised my afternoon accordingly. I would have had enough time to leave, make the journey and arrive for the appointment at a reasonable hour.
In fact, by the time she messaged me, I would ordinarily have been finishing the appointment and making my way home.
I wasn’t going to turn my evening upside down to accommodate a last-minute request.
And that’s perfectly reasonable in my eyes.