Just say no to flaky holiday home shoppers

My stress level usually climbs a bit before major holidays, because I am working hard to tie up loose ends so I can have guilt-free time off that I can enjoy without interruptions. Before I got my real estate license, I would never have believed that there is such thing as a "real estate emergency." Now I know better. But I've also learned how to avoid some of the characters who roll into town on holiday weekends and want to take up all of my time before they leave, never to be heard from again. There is the holiday caller who never planned on visiting, or he would have called ahead of time, but has somehow ended up in town and needs to see a home for sale on Memorial Day. He sounds as though he got into the car in a trance-like state and drove for hours before realizing where he was, and now there will be dire consequences if he cannot see a loft immediately. Sometimes a caller has to see a home for a son, daughter, brother, sister, girlfriend, mother, father or boyfriend...