Frequently Asked Questions - Service Providers

How do we know there is a new client available?
There are two methods. First, your staff can proactively check for a client anytime, through your Control Center. Second, when a new client requests a service, ClientPlaza.com will alert well-matched service providers by email; to see more, your staff just clicks on the link in the email. Either way, any well-matched service provider can view the synopsis of the client's request, and then click to receive the client's contact information.

How does ClientPlaza figure out which Service Provider gets offered which client?
The exact process is proprietary and confidential. Location is very important and the features requested by a client and available among service providers are next in importance; finally, well-matched service providers analyze the request they see, to make sure they can serve a client with that request right now.

What's the process once ClientPlaza identifies well-matched Service Providers?
ClientPlaza notifies each well-matched Service Provider a client is available. There may be one Service Provider notified or quite a few, depending on the local market for that service at that time. Any of the notified Service Providers can then view the client's request (you do not see any identifying information about the client at that point). If the client's request appears to fit with your availability, ask for the client's contact information.

Can we ask for another client right away?
As soon as you tell ClientPlaza the outcome of your call to one client, you can ask for another client. You don't necessarily have to have made an appointment with the first client - there are many other things that could happen - just make sure to choose a result from the list you see. Easy to do, especially if you've kept your Control Center open (perhaps minimized or in a Browser Tab you leave open all day) while you call your client. When you finish with one client, ClientPlaza asks you if you want to request another.

Will you help us keep track of the clients we've called?
Yes, your Control Center displays the status and history of each client as far back in time as you like.

How frequently are new clients available?
The frequency with which new clients become available varies widely across services and geographic areas. In some markets clients are nearly always available - Service Providers in the area can barely keep up. At the other extreme, there might be days or weeks between new clients. Remember, once you are registered you don't pay anything until you make an appointment with a new client.

Is email notification the only way our staff know new clients are available?
No, Service Providers can also pro-actively seek new clients any time through your Control Center. If well-matched clients are available, you will see their requests.
A word for lawyers and providers of medical services.

What if there are more clients than appointments available in our area?
You may already have a sense that it's a tight spot for clients. For clients, this is a great time to use ClientPlaza: they will get the first available appointment in the area. It's also a good resource for your front-line staff: when your appointment books are full, they can refer clients to ClientPlaza.com, knowing the person will probably get an appointment more quickly than any other method.

What if there are few clients for my service in my area?
You already have a good understanding of the market forces in your area, so it won't be a surprise if new clients are not very numerous. First, an important feature of ClientPlaza is you pay only when you make an appointment with a client so you have no risk, but you do have one more tool for reaching new clients. If clients are scarce, you don't lose anything - and when they are available, you will be in position to acquire them. Next, in this situation ClientPlaza will be searching for clients diligently, so if there are any, we will probably know.

Can Service Providers get the contact information of subsequent clients before they pay ClientPlaza for the first client's contact information?
Yes, many circumstances can result in a delay between receiving a client's contact information and the time they make an appointment. Routinely, a Service Provider may have multiple pending client contacts. Since ClientPlaza doesn't want to delay Service Providers' access to as many clients as are available to them, subsequent clients' requests are made available as soon as you let ClientPlaza know what happened when you called your previous client.

Can one Service Provider ask for all the available clients?
Service Providers must tell ClientPlaza.com the outcome of their attempt to contact one client before they can get the contact information of the next client - that's the only restriction.

Will some Service Providers try not to pay when they successfully make an appointment with a new client?
Yes, a very small number try. ClientPlaza identifies those and disqualifies them from using ClientPlaza.com in future. We believe trust is an essential part of any successful business, so ClientPlaza's policy is to trust people until someone gives us reason not to. Therefore, some (but not all) of our fraud detection processes are designed to act after the fact.

How is an "appointment" defined?
An appointment is a commitment by the Service Provider and the client to exchange a service (likely to be delivered) for some kind of payment.

Why does it say, "...likely to be delivered...," in the previous answer?
Sometimes the service wasn't as necessary as was thought. For example, a car owner might make an appointment for a significant vehicle repair, but the mechanic finds only a small adjustment is required. Since it was reasonable for both client and mechanic to commit to the service, ClientPlaza's fee is still in effect. In this example, the mechanic has still developed a new client for the future.

Does ClientPlaza.com work for all types of services?
No, ClientPlaza deals with the same challenge as everyone else: you can't do everything. Service Providers that do not use appointments to serve clients don't always see great benefits from ClientPlaza. If clients almost always just walk in and do business, there is little value ClientPlaza can add to that interchange. Some businesses can use ClientPlaza to increase the proportion of business they do by appointment.

What if the client doesn't show up for their first appointment - will you refund the fee?
People who become clients through ClientPlaza.com appear to have at least as much follow-through success as the general population. A client no-show is frustrating for staff and always represents a cost. Unfortunately, ClientPlaza has no influence over people after they make an appointment with a Service Provider, and the Service Provider has received from ClientPlaza the same service as all the times clients do follow through (see the definition of "appointment" above). What we can do is adjust our website whenever we notice an opportunity to encourage people to follow through even more than they already do. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

What if ClientPlaza has competitors of its own in my area? Won't I have to register with all of them?
Currently, there is only ClientPlaza in most areas. When other similar services arrive, they will need to catch up, so it will be a while before they have the coverage we have, and they may never catch up. If they do, then as a Service Provider you may want to register with more than one - perhaps many - services like ClientPlaza to get maximum results. It may be annoying for you. Clients probably won't be affected, since they will be able to make their request of any similar service and hopefully receive as good a result as from ClientPlaza.

What safeguards are there?
There are many safeguards built into ClientPlaza.com to protect clients, Service Providers, and ClientPlaza itself from fraud, theft, and many other vexatious activities. The safeguards you can see are designed to be visible; the ones not readily visible are designed to be somewhat more discreet in order to be as effective as possible. None of the safeguards contravene our Privacy Policy or impede the Terms of Use.

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