Ladies and gents, I've been hobbying since Christ was a kid, and if I hear "I had a family emergency" one more time, I'm gonna scream. In years past, I just accepted the story and wished them well. But I'm gonna start calling bullshit on it moving forward.
It's double edged sword too. Us hobbyists gotta take our medicine, cuz God forbid you should doubt their story. That would make YOU look like an insensitive jackass. Well guess what? I'm not buying it anymore. If you wanna play games and give us the runaround, come up with something fresh. And pet emergencies are getting old too, so don't even.
I figure 10% of these claims have merit, so once out of every ten times I get swept under the rug because of these 'emergencies', I'll actually give the provider the benefit of the doubt. Other than that, sorry but I'll take my business elsewhere. I'm slowly but surely learning that despite your great ass or your superior head giving skills, the best providers are the ones who communicate, and treat the provider with a level of respect.
Happy hobbying and providing.