Advice Needed, disorganised parents... Options

[Claire21]

I have a pupil whose house I travel to in order to give her her lessons. It's a good 15 minutes drive from my house, but I charge them a bit extra for petrol and don't usually mind too much doing it. However, there have been several occasions when I've turned up and there's been no-one in; I charge them for it anyway, and they've been okay with that. It is a bit of an annoying waste of time, though. And in the past, they have contacted me to arrange another lesson, or occasionally I have rung them. (They have variable schedules, so it's not the same lesson time every week.)

Last time I went, though (about 3 weeks ago now), they weren't there again, and so I left a message on the mum's voicemail saying they should contact me to arrange a lesson. I haven't heard anything since, but don't really feel it's my place to be chasing them - I have enough to do, and don't desparately need the money! I feel like giving it another week, and then writing them a nice but firm letter saying 1) that it's up to them to contact me, and 2) please could they pay my last bill. (There's 60-odd quid outstanding).

I don't have a problem with the pupil, and her parents are nice but just chronically disorganised. I'm not sure if I should say I'm not prepared to teach her any more, as it is beginning to tick me off. (Last time I was going there direct from somewhere else so had been driving half an hour to get to them on time!) I'm slightly worried that if I say I won't teach her, they will get snotty and refuse to pay my bill. But I don't really want to go crawling either to fix up more lessons, if they are going to mess me about.

Any views?!

[Violinia]

Tell them they must pay the full amount what they owe you by a certain date of your choosing, otherwise there won't be any more lessons. Also tell them (nicely) that you'd prefer to change your arrangement with them to half a term's fees in advance otherwise no deal.

If they don't pay up by the allotted day, threaten them with solicitors etc. £60 is £60 and it's wrong of them to withhold money like this.

Violinia

[Madge Woollard]

In my opinion these sort of people are not worth teaching. Give them 1 warning, then they're out. Your time is more precious than that. i have done this in the past for some students with particularly annoying and unreliable parents, i know it sounds cold but I haven't regretted it one bit.

[Semele]

Dreadful behaviour.

Write a nice,short letter asking do they wish to continue tuition.Suggest they come to you. Also mention they owe you £60 and you would be grateful if payment is received within the 7 days.

If there is no response,or they don't send you a cheque to cover the outstanding fees,don't bother with a solicitor's letter ( sorry Violinia-they cost a bomb and usually don't acheive anything ) then write a very short and concise letter stating you will sue them via small claims court.Do not speak with them on the phone etc.

If you need help with this,please PM me and I will help you.

People like this make me very angry.They have no manners and treat teachers like servants.

[Violinia]

don't bother with a solicitor's letter ( sorry Violinia-they cost a bomb and usually don't acheive anything ) then write a very short and concise letter stating you will sue them via small claims court.Do not speak with them on the phone etc.

- Semele

Aaargh, should have made that clearer - I meant, threaten legal action. Yes obviously sending solicitors' letters is going to cost you an arm and a leg, but from what I know a mere threat to take legal action is usually enough to concentrate people's minds, and a cheque usually arrives shortly after. ;)

Violinia

[Gae]

This is SO annoying when this happens isn't it? I had the same experience recently with a pupil and I think it was a sign that the pupil was losing interest in doing lessons but didn't have the heart to tell me. Personally, I'd rather just stop the lessons rather than be messed about as it doesn't do your confidence much good when you turn up to do a lesson and there's no-one there. Its also very inconvenient as you have to usually hang around waiting for half an hour or so. In the end, this particular person in question decided that they wanted to stop because they were too busy to practice etc. I did lose one or two payments I have to admit but they are a family who I have been teaching on and of for a few years so I guess I felt I could cut them a bit of slack. I've learnt from this though and I won't suffer this kind of treatment from now on. The problem is that when you are financially dependant on all of your pupils, it's not good business to go around threatening to stop lessons when people miss the odd lesson!! :(
We're back to the old subject of paying in advance/contracts/payment for missed lessons again aren't we? There's no escaping it. :rolleyes:

Gae

[SteveHopwood]

.................it's not good business to go around threatening to stop lessons when people miss the odd lesson!! :(
We're back to the old subject of paying in advance/contracts/payment for missed lessons again aren't we? There's no escaping it. :rolleyes:

Gae

Back to the thorny old problem again.

There is no easy answer.

From the teachers' perspective:
- Insist on absolutely every available lesson be paid for, whatever the circumstances: we are heartles b*****
- Don't insist on absolutely every available lesson be paid for: we lose money.

I live in a part of the country where good services are valued - I am lucky. I do not charge for missed lessons; I make clear to new clients that I will 'sack' them if they do not attend regularly. This rarely happens.

I occasionally lose money. I never lose goodwill.

Steve :D

[Violinia]

I live in a part of the country where good services are valued - I am lucky. I do not charge for missed lessons; I make clear to new clients that I will 'sack' them if they do not attend regularly. This rarely happens.

I occasionally lose money. I never lose goodwill.

I do think if you go to the person's house and they're not there it's a pretty poor show. And if they owe you £60 as well.... hmm.

It does seem as if the teachers who ask for termly or half-termly fees in advance avoid all these money hassles. What seems to cause the problems is appearing suddenly to become mercenary in their eyes - when they thought you were so nice! If you set out your terms beforehand and stick to them, they know exactly where they are with you from the start and all these problems are avoided.

I still don't do it though. :unsure:

Violinia

[diapason]

Hi
It's a bit late to join in, but I went to the Cafe and it sounds a bit uncomfortable so I've got a "takeout" instead.

I think I would issue an ultimatum to the parents and tell that that "time is money" and you cannot afford to waste it. They forget that we often do this for a living.
I MY case, my entire income relies on pupils (a) turning up at my place on time - either my home or studio - or (B) them being at home when I call at an appointed time. Both (a) and (B) are subject to last minute cancellations or un-announced non-attendance and whilst MOST pupils will apologise for the latter, it is the time wasted that I found annoying beyond belief.
In this area teachers are two-a-penny. Now, before anyone takes offence at that, I don't mean it in any offensive way. There ARE more private music teachers per square mile than anywhere else I know - most charge more than I do (even if I may say so, I am more experienced/qualified than they) and most expect £££ up front for a six or ten week term. I have never operated that way, but I do expect one week ££ in advance, and lessons chargeable if cancelled in less than 24 hours. HUH! can I get it though??? <_< All the excuses under the sun!
I'm quite sure that many pupils think I'm like a spider in a web - nothing to do, just waiting for someone to drop by. The older I get, the harder I am becoming, yet for the sake of PR, I often have to bite my tongue, grin and bear it.
I get very depressed at times (like now) and feel very undervalued - even tempted to get a part-time job at M & S or B & Q - but with around 35 pupils a week, I can't afford to get stroppy over "let-downs". :(
For 2006 I would dearly love to introduce a "term" system. 6 weeks in advance, no refunds for cancellations, but lesson time re-scheduled if given 24hrs notice (min.) - less than 24hrs notice, lesson forfeited, if lesson needed to make up in that case, then chargeable........but I'm frightened of scaring (some of) them off.
Previous posts have said so many things I agree with! especially "Gae"

Best of luck Claire21

An ongoing subject!

Night all
Diapason

[diapason]

Diapason here

Ignore the B) signs. Don't know how they got there!

It IS late

Night again

[SteveHopwood]

It does seem as if the teachers who ask for termly or half-termly fees in advance avoid all these money hassles.  What seems to cause the problems is appearing  suddenly to become mercenary in their eyes - when they thought you were so nice!  If you set out your terms beforehand and stick to them, they know exactly where they are with you from the start and all these problems are avoided.

I still don't do it though.  :unsure:

Violinia

Violinia, we have had our differences before. We shall have them again. Here, though, I think we feel the same way.

It seems to me that it all depends on what we want or need from life.

As a young teacher needing to assure a regular income to support a family, I needed the reassurance of a regular income. I charged termly in advance, and accepted no excuses for missing lessons. I took a lot of flack from long-standing 'regulars' (perhaps because I was young; people of my age - 54 - still doing this do not take 'flack'; they are merely hated).

When my the family started to grow up and my wife started to work, I was able to become more merciful. I stopped charging 'regulars' for missed lessons.

Now, with the family grown up, I can afford the policy I now adopt. Life is happy and stress-free, fee wise.

I prefer a happy atmosphere free from strife with parents. I am not completely 'wet', and will refuse to teach anyone whose parents mess me around (has happened once in the last 5 years).

I think we are in accord here?

Steve :D

[maggiemay]

It does seem as if the teachers who ask for termly or half-termly fees in advance avoid all these money hassles.

We avoid some, but not all by any means, Violinia.

I recently had a run-in with a (hitherto reasonable) family who wanted to pick and choose over which dates their child would attend, and who altered the invoice I sent by deleting the dates they did not want.

I did not feel this was acceptable and made it clear. I have never had an invoice altered by the parents before. Had they gone about it differently and phoned up and discussed the dates we would no doubt have come to some agreement but they didn't bother to do that.

My undertaking to make up the missed lessons in the holidays - so they would not in fact lose out - was neither here nor there. They pulled out without giving notice. I don't regret standing my ground - since invoices are issued half-termly there is already more flexibility that with most school instrumental lessons - and a week that a child is away would probably not be made up in the hols either! I lost their goodwill - too bad. I can live with that - I can live less easily with the feeling that I have been walked over.

I do sometimes suspect that parents accept terms and conditions more easily from a bloke who they assume to be the breadwinner and mortgage-payer (no offence to any blokes around!!) than they do from a woman who is living with a partner or husband. They in fact have no idea of course who is the main earner in a household, but I think this idea of a female music teacher doing it for pin money is still alive and well in some people's minds. This of course is outdated nonsense: many women pay their own mortgages and support their families.

Claire 21 - it's unacceptable that you should turn up and find no-one in - (except in case of emergency of course). I think you should maybe write a nice but firm letter stating your case and asking for payment. How would the mother or father of the family feel if he or she arrived for work to be told "go home, we don't need you today - and you won't be paid "???

[diapason]

HERE HERE MaggieMay

A couple of weeks ago I turned to a pupil for 10.45am as usual to find curtains still closed and doors shut. The door has ALWAYS been open for me. After knocking and phoning on the mobile there was no reply (all this after 20 mins) so left card through the door.
I went to a nice cafe for coffee to wait until my next scheduled pupil some 6 miles away.
I phoned the absent pupil again, this time to receive a reply - "I overslept - I'll see you next week"

No apology - it was a huge joke - and no offer to pay for the lesson. I waited until after the next lesson had finished to see what money was given - enough for one session only......and then I felt embarassed at asking for what I thought was rightfully mine to ask for. It was given with reasonably good grace.......but It should have been offered..........don't you think.

[Semele]

I do sometimes suspect that parents accept terms and conditions more easily from a bloke who they assume to be the breadwinner and mortgage-payer (no offence to any blokes around!!) than they do from a woman who is living with a partner or husband.  They in fact have no idea of course who is the main earner in a household, but I think this idea of a female music teacher doing it for pin money is still alive and well in some people's minds.  This of course is outdated nonsense: many women pay their own mortgages and support their families.

Quite.I have to pay all bills and support my family without any help of child support as the CSA are so incompetent. I often wonder what the parents would think about my Contract if I had a partner thus two incomes coming in.But I would still have my Contract.

As for that family altering your invoice,that is just incredible.

Diapason - Yes it should have been offered without you asking. When I had to go on the road ( had no choice-I hated it ) I once turned up and no one was in.I asked for the fee the week later, but was told they wouldn't pay. I packed them in.I found when I had to travel to pupils houses I had a lot more problems securing payment.And it's not nice sitting in a car,especially during the winter months.

[Semele]

don't bother with a solicitor's letter ( sorry Violinia-they cost a bomb and usually don't acheive anything ) then write a very short and concise letter stating you will sue them via small claims court.Do not speak with them on the phone etc.

- Semele

Aaargh, should have made that clearer - I meant, threaten legal action. Yes obviously sending solicitors' letters is going to cost you an arm and a leg, but from what I know a mere threat to take legal action is usually enough to concentrate people's minds, and a cheque usually arrives shortly after. ;)

Violinia

That's OK :) Sometimes a strong letter doesn't work either,but I agree,it's very rare.