Lesson cancellation Options

[Czerny]

I'm curious about the cancellation terms that people impose for private tuition. I'm guessing it's everything from no charge for ten minutes' notice to no refund possible even if a whole term's notice is given. Some people may make exceptions for things like illness, others may have a blanket policy.

The ISM suggests that four weeks' written notice of a cancellation is sufficient which does seem reasonable to me as it gives plenty of time to rearrange or make use of the empty slot (and how busy and important are we that we need to be told more than a month in advance that someone can't attend their lesson?! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)). (NB This isn't meant to be a dig, just my opinion.)

On the other hand, people may have very good reasons for never allowing cancellation without charge, and this tends to be the way it works at schools, music centres and for other after-school activities such as ballet or swimming.

This isn't a poll exactly as I'm interested in why people have instigated whatever policy they use as much as what that policy is; whether they've had any problems and whether they've amended it at any point.

Thoughts? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[maggiemay]

I invoice for half a term in advance.

The more lessons you can attend, the better value they will be.

[AnnC]

I require 24 hours notice for cancellation for any reason, except when the circumstances are exceptional, at my discretion. For holidays I ask that people let me know as soon as they themselves know. (I work throughout the year so holidays are taken on an ad hoc basis).
In practical terms that means if someone is struck down by a bug/is sent home sick from school during the day, has an accident, car breaks down, motorway is at a standstill due to an accident, grandparent dies, etc., I don't charge. If the cancellation is not through illness I try to rearrange the lesson.
If Auntie Flo has arrived from Australia and they are all going out for a meal or they want to go to a birthday party they have to pay if I can't rearrange, but if they give me 24 hours notice I don't charge.
I'm sure you can see the pitfalls in this, and it's true it does rely on trust. But if you can't have trust between teacher and student you might as well give up. And I have been known to sack a student if I find that they have lied to me - but only once. It's amazing what you can find out on facebook!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)
I kept attendance records for a couple of years for this reason, and 95% had taken more lessons than if I worked to school terms, so it works for me. Whether I rearrange or not depends on how often this is requested. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[sbhoa]

I now charge for 40 weeks a year.
Now in the second year of doing this and it's removed the bother of cancellation problems.
There's enough slack in the year for reasonable holidays and occasional illness on both sides.
If people take long holidays it doesn't really raise the cost per lesson price by much over a year.

[jod]

I invoice in half term chunks. It is 24 hours for sickness only. Otherwise it is half termly . (obviously if I am sick it is my look-out!)

Any other absence is negotiable with me... I might take kindly on pupils when I know the whole road network is down due to a major road accident, but it would have to be catastrophic, and if a pupil had an otherwise reliable car and had a puncture literally on the way to me and telephoned me at the same time as the breakdown mob and I could rearrange I might just rearrange the lesson.

The golden rule is ring me as soon as possible and you are less likely to be charged. Leave it and I'll charge because I don't like being messed about.

I adjust the next invoice to take account for cancelled lessons.

Notice periods are half-termly. Again these are negotiable on the ground according to circunstance.

[Seer_Green]

I use the ISM contract now 'as is', so I charge for any missed lessons unless I choose not to (which would have to be a pretty exceptional reason). I teach a minimum of 40 lessons per year (additional lessons available outside that) and pupils/parents are billed in five blocks of eight lessons. By doing it this way, whether lessons are missed and/or made up, I still know what my income will be unless someone stops lessons. As for termination, one month's notice is required.

Generally, I'm happy to rearrange missed lessons where possible, but this depends on how reasonable the excuse was to start with, and perhaps more importantly, how much notice was given. My experience is that generally, parents don't seem bothered about making up the missed ones - the children all have such tight schedules, if you can't fit it in one week, the opportunity has gone. Sometimes I can't fit in rescheduled lessons either, so generally, the bottom line is missed lesson=missed lesson: no refunds/replacements unless I choose to allow/offer this.

[icklechick]

I charge a fixed monthly fee that means the lesson fee is ?x if they take 40 lessons a year. I take 6 weeks holiday per year - which gives them another 6 weeks to take their holidays or be ill etc. In reality, the holidays I take are normally the ones they want to take too (Christmas, Easter etc) so it does leave a lot of leeway for the odd missed week.

Course, if they want to attend 46 lessons per year, then they get an even better deal - but in reality, most take somewhere between 38 and 41 lessons.

I do rearrange if they can't make a lesson for a good reason and they don't want to miss it, but as they pay monthly in advance, I don't have to worry about asking for money for missed lessons.

If I'm ill, and/or cancel a lesson with less than a week's notice, I offer a refund if I or they can't make a catch up.

[dolcebaby]

I have always charged per half term, and included a make-up week where people can either move a lesson to if they needed to, or pay for an extra. That's always worked well in terms of getting the payment up front so not actually having to get money out of people for the missed lesson.

But I'm very tempted by the system that shboa and icklechick suggest, with a slight variation - saying that I'm available for minimum 39 weeks and maximum 42 per year (i.e give them a calendar with 42 teaching weeks identified, but reserve the right to cancel 3 of those) and ask pupils to commit to 36, so regular monthy payment equating to 3 lessons. I think I'm going to give that a go from Sep when I go full time hopefully, so thanks to all that have described that.

Re. the matter of ISM 4 week's notice in the OP - I don't think needing notice is a matter of how busy we are. It's that if you rely on teaching regular lessons as the main, or total basis of your income, then even knowing 4 weeks in advance that someone will miss a lesson doesn't mean you will be able to use that time to earn from something else, unless you offer someone the chance of one lesson only! I tell my pupils that when I arrange a regular lesson slot with them, I turn down any other sources of work on that day/time (which could be regular things like teaching evening classes, playing for rehearsals etc.) so that I can maintain their regular progress and plan their lessons, and make a commtment to them. They benefit from that short term and long term even if they end up paying for the odd lesson they dont' have. But if I don't know the payment is assured, I can't turn the alternatives down with confidence.

It's different of course if all your lessons are arranged on an ad hoc basis. My own lessons are with someone with a busy performing/conservatoire teaching career, so I have to fit in as and when anylway, and if I told him 4 weeks in advance I culdn't make a lesson he would either be glad of the free time, or able to say yes to something else. But my lessons are not really what he relies on financially, and I'd be surpised if many teachers on this forum are in his position.

[dolce@piano]

I charge per lesson taken.

You can cancel 5 minutes before and not be charged.

I do this because (a) this means that I can occasionally cancel lessons without feeling guilty/having to jump through hoops to re-schedule (b) I don't want blatantly sick kids being sent just so they get their money's worth, and © in 10 years I've only had 1 family who has 'abused' this and cancelled way too often (and I got rid of them at the end of the year). Oh, and one other who was borderline so I warned her about it and she stopped at the end of the year anyway.

All my other kids turn up, week after week, rain or shine.

[Czerny]

Re. the matter of ISM 4 week's notice in the OP - I don't think needing notice is a matter of how busy we are. It's that if you rely on teaching regular lessons as the main, or total basis of your income, then even knowing 4 weeks in advance that someone will miss a lesson doesn't mean you will be able to use that time to earn from something else, unless you offer someone the chance of one lesson only! I tell my pupils that when I arrange a regular lesson slot with them, I turn down any other sources of work on that day/time (which could be regular things like teaching evening classes, playing for rehearsals etc.) so that I can maintain their regular progress and plan their lessons, and make a commtment to them. They benefit from that short term and long term even if they end up paying for the odd lesson they dont' have. But if I don't know the payment is assured, I can't turn the alternatives down with confidence.

It's different of course if all your lessons are arranged on an ad hoc basis. My own lessons are with someone with a busy performing/conservatoire teaching career, so I have to fit in as and when anylway, and if I told him 4 weeks in advance I culdn't make a lesson he would either be glad of the free time, or able to say yes to something else. But my lessons are not really what he relies on financially, and I'd be surpised if many teachers on this forum are in his position.

This is a fair point. I suppose I feel as a consumer (i.e. when I'm paying someone else for a similar weekly service) that a month's notice should be sufficient. But that's only an opinion, and music teachers tend to have more clearly defined holidays than the people I "employ" which makes a difference.

[barbara]

I charge half term in advance. I try to make up lessons for pupils who are ill but not for pupils who go on school outings, holidays etc. The parents generally speaking don't expect me to lose money for these occasions. Last year, two sisters went to Australia for their brother's wedding for a few weeks so I charged them a retaining fee which was half the amount. Everyone was happy.

Barbara

I'm curious about the cancellation terms that people impose for private tuition. I'm guessing it's everything from no charge for ten minutes' notice to no refund possible even if a whole term's notice is given. Some people may make exceptions for things like illness, others may have a blanket policy.

The ISM suggests that four weeks' written notice of a cancellation is sufficient which does seem reasonable to me as it gives plenty of time to rearrange or make use of the empty slot (and how busy and important are we that we need to be told more than a month in advance that someone can't attend their lesson?! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)). (NB This isn't meant to be a dig, just my opinion.)

On the other hand, people may have very good reasons for never allowing cancellation without charge, and this tends to be the way it works at schools, music centres and for other after-school activities such as ballet or swimming.

This isn't a poll exactly as I'm interested in why people have instigated whatever policy they use as much as what that policy is; whether they've had any problems and whether they've amended it at any point.

Thoughts? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[Czerny]

Hang on, I didn't say that! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[TTopham]

I charge per lesson taken.

You can cancel 5 minutes before and not be charged.

I do this because (a) this means that I can occasionally cancel lessons without feeling guilty/having to jump through hoops to re-schedule (b) I don't want blatantly sick kids being sent just so they get their money's worth, and ? in 10 years I've only had 1 family who has 'abused' this and cancelled way too often (and I got rid of them at the end of the year). Oh, and one other who was borderline so I warned her about it and she stopped at the end of the year anyway.

All my other kids turn up, week after week, rain or shine.

Yeah, I'm with you dolce - my kids pay per lesson. It's easy and simple and I don't have many people that abuse it. And, as you say, if you get ill or suddently need to cancel, it's not such a big deal. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[sbhoa]

I charge per lesson taken.

You can cancel 5 minutes before and not be charged.

I do this because (a) this means that I can occasionally cancel lessons without feeling guilty/having to jump through hoops to re-schedule (b) I don't want blatantly sick kids being sent just so they get their money's worth, and ? in 10 years I've only had 1 family who has 'abused' this and cancelled way too often (and I got rid of them at the end of the year). Oh, and one other who was borderline so I warned her about it and she stopped at the end of the year anyway.

All my other kids turn up, week after week, rain or shine.

Yeah, I'm with you dolce - my kids pay per lesson. It's easy and simple and I don't have many people that abuse it. And, as you say, if you get ill or suddently need to cancel, it's not such a big deal. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

It is when my teachers still need paying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Jane S]

I charge per half term in advance. I treat the summer holiday as a separate term, and I suggest that students try and have 3 lessons or so during this time. I've find in the past that 6 weeks is too long a gap, and have often lost students at this time. As long as people tell me in advance, holidays are just scheduled in. Absence for illness is rather different. Depending on circumstances, (do they usually have good attendance) then I usually offer another lesson. Cancellations by me mean a credit towards the next half term.