08/07/2024
Discussion time : Workload
Hey everybody I wanted to talk and offer up some transparency. Recently I've been having some issues with scheduling, I lost an entire month of appointments due to a software glitch and not backing them up in a physical form. This has caused some of my appointments for the last couple of weeks to double up, run behind and etc.
I believe that I've gotten that all caught up now However I want to talk about moving forward. For the last year or so since I lost my employees I have been working a 6-day a week schedule. Fortunately I'm quite popular in this city and I have a ton of clients and for that I am incredibly thankful.
I have been unfortunately running myself dry with trying to accommodate everybody as quickly as possible. Lots of artists are booked out months in advance and I try my best to make sure that nobody has to wait any longer than 2 to 3 weeks.
Working a 6-day a week schedule has also caused some issues due to my health problems- unfortunately I deal with a lot of them stemming from my heart attack and ongoing issues from that. When I have to cancel or reschedule I try my best to make sure that people can get in within a few days of doing so and unfortunately that makes my schedule even crazier.
I can no longer work the schedule that I have been, it's causing more unhappy clients than it has positive responses for having a short wait, and I'm starting to receive negative messages / phone calls ect.
That being said ( not counting current appointments booked, nothing changes with anyone who has appointments) starting in September I will be going to a 5-day week schedule and I will be taking two people per day. Unfortunately this will extend my wait times for scheduling However there's nothing I can do about it anymore. My health is important to me and I can't control the size of my clientele. I will still do my best to get to you as soon as possible and in a timely manner and I hope that you still would like to support me in the future.
This is just a visualization of what my month of July looked like so you can see what I tried to take on- each one of these blue lines is either a single client or a pair. It's a lot of work and a full-time job even just answering everybody's messages with a workload this large. Everybody wants my undivided attention, which they deserve, and there's just not enough hours in the day to please everyone.
I will not be closing my books like some artists, I will continuously book anybody new and I will always accept anybody who wants to get tattooed, I can just no longer assure you that I won't have a wait list.
Again this is starting in ***September*** for all new clients anybody currently scheduled is fine nothing changes with your appointments and I think everybody for understanding. This should result in less cancellations and better days for me healthwise, and an all-around better experience for everybody.
I hope everybody understands! I'm doing the best that I can and I'm only one person here