A sign of the times or just rude.

I also think they are rude or they're really bad, and they are looking you at all hours as a doctor (but I don't know which service you do).
About emails and phone calls / sms you could use an auto responder, or answering machine, where you say that the time to take an appointment is terminated and try again the next day.

@noiredeb, I totally agree! I didn't know the full situation, but assuming that this person knows that it is your mobile phone and that your business is at your house there is really no excuse for calling you at midnight. No one calls an office to make an appointment at midnight because they know that no one will answer them... Sorry, Michelle. I don't know what it is you do, so I assumed that you were doing charity work and that people were taking advantage of it due only to inconsideration.

If appointments are required and you have a set time to make appointments, why don't you permanently refuse service to anyone who tries to see you without an appointment or tries to contact you outside of that set time? If you give your clients a heads up about a policy like this, then it will be up to them to decide whether their issues matter more than simple courtesy. I'm pretty sure you won't have to worry about midnight calls every again. If your mobile phone is the phone you use personally and professionally, I still think a separate phone is a better option... you can turn off or unplug a separate phone after appointment hours, but no so with your mobile phone.

Wow... your last post really surprised me! Who does that?!

Thanks for the support and advice everyone. I'm only a Justice of the Peace, basically all I do is certify and witness legal documents, between 8am and 11pm. My family and friends only call my mobile (cell) phone when they know I'm out and it's an emergency, any other time they call my land line (home phone), so I think I'll start turning the mobile (cell) off between 6pm and 8am. The land line (home phone) has an answering machine so I can monitor the calls and decide if I answer it or not. As for people who send text message asking for appointments I think I'll just reply "PHONE ME".

It's both rude and probably a sign of the times. I have no idea though from your link what the service is, but if your card clearly states the time to call and if your service isn't one that deals with emergencies, than it's plain rude.

Ah I see from this page you're a Justice of the Peace, yes i can see now why people are calling whenever they please as they are anxious to get seen to. However that still makes them rude. My husband is a locksmith so he deals with emergencies, but when people call out of hours just to say can we do something for them the next day or so, or can he open his shop on a Saturday to cut a spare key, it's rude and aggravating.

My hubster was a UM Pastor... (United Methodist) Yeah -- people are rude. Sometimes there is a "need" for the emergency call in the night; but 9 times out of 10 it could just as easily have waited until morning (of the next business day!) Most people really do think the rest of the world is just like they are - I don't mean that they are selfish, per se - but, they assume you like the same TV shows, the same kinda sports, music, humor, etc... (and I'm saying "most" people here; not all) So, if they're up at midnight-thirty, they assume you will be too. Probably even more to the point - they don't THINK, they just do. They don't "act" - they "react."

You provide a valuable service, and it sounds like you are very professional about it (stating your hours and such) Again, I say Kudos and hugs to you! Some people are just poopy-heads. If I were you I'd definitely get a different business phone/number and set the voice mail to answer ALL after hours calls. Let the poopy-heads talk to the machine. And, if they're rude on the machine - I wouldn't call them back. At least not until it was at my utmost convenience