HI, need some advice please! I've only been teaching piano for just under a year now and have quite a few students. The problem is, is that I haven't made too much of a fuse if they have had to cancel a lesson at the last minute. Some of my pupils call up half an hour before hand and try to change lessons around. I now feel that some of them are taking advantage of this and don't sem to understand that I still have to pay bills! I am hoping to do the CT ABRSM course next year so hopefully that will help me tackle problems that I might have. Any advice would be great, many thanks

Try a search... the topics of contracts and charging for missed lessons comes up fairly frequently.

Decide on your policy on missed lessons and make people aware of it from the start then there is less room for arguement.
Getting payment a month in advance with no refunds for missed lessons can help too.

This is a difficult one. I've been teeching for 6 years and I've had a policy on missed lessons for the last 3 which states that the lesson is charged for unless there is 24hrs notice or genuine emergency such as sudden illness or other disaster. This said, I think that people do take advantage of this. Its hard deciding which excuses warrant the fee to be paid or not. I am seriously tempted to just state that all lessons will be charged for unless 24hrs notice is given, regardless of the reason.

David

I agree to reschedule a lesson when someone is sick, or when they have a school event.

Yes, you probably are a little too nice. They probably don't realise that they're inconveniencing you so much. Each one probably thinks that they're the only one. Why not start the next new term by sending out a polite covering note with your invoices - stating that it's all becoming an administrative nightmare, and that "this is how you're going to be organising things from now on"...?

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Thank you for your advice, greatly appreciated. I'm sure once I've completed the CT ABRSM course I will be a more confident teacher!! But I will make it quite clear from now on that all cancelled lessons without notice will be charged. As much as we all love teaching we still have to pay the bills!!

Its all been well chewed, this one.

However, I can say that THIS year, there are going to be some big changes after the summer hols. I am fed up with being taken advantage of (last minute cancellation/not paid for time) and I have decided that if they want to benefit from my 30 years teaching/performing/examining experience then they must pay for it - IN ADVANCE - no refunds if cancelled.
Other teachers with less experience (and knowledge for that matter) in this area manage to enforce the system - and so shall I !!

so there!

I can see your point regarding the CT ABRSM but I think this is something you need to do immediately. If you wait until afterwards, it will probably be OK to enforce such a policy with new pupils, but quite difficult for existing pupils. I mistakenly didn't take it all very seriously until I got my CertGSMD(T) and I regret it now. Parents couldn't see why they should pay more and agree to more rules once I had done this. As far as they were concerned, one I was teaching their children, I was a teacher. The qualification didn't make any difference to how they saw it. You definately need a contract which includes such a policy on missed lessons. They are worth it however much parents protest at having to sign it!

David

I agree that a contract is best when takng on pupils. I asked this question a year or so ago and the response was as you've got - yes, have a cpntract and sort out your policy. I did this and have had relatively few problems, you just need to be tough enough to enforce it. I do charge for missed lessons with less than 24 hours notice as well (unless genuine emergency) but will try to reschedule.

You can also build into the contract your expectations for practice, what you will do about supplying and paying for music, policy with exams etc etc etc so you don't have to make it all about money.

Best of luck, I want to do the CT course next year too. I have done the Teaching Music Effectively course last year and it was so good I want to carry on (when I get the funds!!) and get a formal qualification.

Tasha

I would have Terms and Conditions or a contract

I teach guitar of various sorts - the classical guitarists are lovely to deal with and will pay up front - the acoustic and the rockers forget it Singers always pay - pianists no problem

In my part of Essex North East London I am thinking of introducing a Chavs Charter for geezers that are a bit leary - know what I'm saying John

I hope you will title it "CHAV'S CHARTER"!

HI everyone. I find this an interesting subject so thought I`d chip in. I`ve been teaching piano a few years and most of the pupils I started with here in West Coast of Scotland are still learning with me, have done exams etc. Now, I may be unusual but I never charge for missed lessons. Occasionally someone won`t turn up, (there is only one pupil who is a bit of a repeat offender but i like him a lot and he`s very good so I let him away with it) but I find that it`s never been a problem for me. I think that if they`re keen to learn then they`ll want to turn up (and they almost always do) or cancel enough in advance if there`s a good reason. I prefer to just do it on a trust basis I suppose. Perhaps I`m more lax because I also earn money from concerts / gigs whatever also, don`t know. When a pupil can`t make it they usually plead for another slot and I fit them in if possible. Am I unique in having this perspective?

cheers enk

I think you are extremely lucky then!

David

Yes, you are lucky.

I fit my piano teaching around school cteaching ommitments, three children and a husband on shift work which alters daily sometimes. I also now have a waiting list so I find that by charging for cancelled lessons with less than 24 hours notice, I am less likely to be mucked around. I will try to reschedule where possible but with a 4-year old - that's not always possible. I have a really good relationship with all my pupils (and parents where students are children) and they appreciate that this is my job and respect that I keep it professional and friendly.

Tasha

Hi again. Maybe I am lucky dunno. One thing is that I sometimes ask pupils to change times or I let them down occasionally cos i`m off doing something else (but not if they have exams coming up of course) so it works both ways I guess. Having said that I recently had a pupil who was just totally hopeless and I could be said to have acted unprofessionally with her, i.e. just didn`t bother making contact much with her hoping she`d just stay away lol and she stopped coming, thank god. I stress this was a total one-off though ahem.

cheers folks

Sometimes I need to ask people to change times (but of course that is optional if it's to suit me and they sometimes just miss that week) and I am flexible if I am able and it's not too frequent but I still charge for missed lessons except for genuine emergencies.

I suppose that works for you but unfortunately people change teachers much more frequently these days. It means that they then find it hard to adhere to the expectations of a teacher who runs their practice in a more 'professional' manner if this isn't what they've been used to.

David

I am absolutely professional in every aspect of my teaching apart from not charging someone for a lesson they never had. Also, pupils who have changed to me, from another teacher, have stuck with me and are doing fantastic and are happy so I can`t be doing anything wrong.

cheers

I wish that all teachers were as obliging as the ones on this forum.

My daughter has been chosen by her school to host a debating conference for a number of schools on a Saturday in September. As she has her cello lesson on a Saturday morning, my daughter mentioned the conference to her cello teacher last week and was told that even with this amount of notice we would still be charged (and teacher charges £42 per hour lesson - termly in advance).

I would understand about this if it were not for the fact that when my daughter started with this teacher, the agreement was that parents could swap lessons with each other to cover such eventualities - and this teacher taught on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Now, with virtually no notice she has announced that she is only teaching on Saturdays which leaves very little room for manouvre. Over a year ago I informed the teacher that my daughter is due to go on a school trip in October which will involve two Saturdays and it was agreed that I would swap with other parents for at least one of the Saturdays so reducing the potential loss. Now, of course this will not be possible, so we will pay out £126 for lessons my daughter will not have next term.

This is the first time (in several years of lessons with this teacher) we have asked for any leeway, although we have changed lessons to help out other parents and indeed the teacher herself on several occasions. I appreciate that this is the teacher's income, but I have to admit to feeling somewhat peeved that any flexibility is one way only.

Sorry, rant over............!

I've only just seen this thread. You are not unique - I operate in the same way with my home teaching, although that is suplemented with schools/shop work where my income is more protected. I think that showing flexibilty increases pupil goodwill, which is a very important aspect of business. Like you, the majority of my pupils are reliable and turn up regularly because they enjoy their lessons and take their playing seriously.

Liz

I think as teachers we do have to be flexible. I think the difference comes between teachers for whom this is their main source of income, and those teach 'on the side' as it were. There is a very fine line to draw between being flexible and making sure you are not being taken advantage of. When I started teaching, I was very flexible - I didn't have any sort of agreement and I didn't charge for missed lessons etc. This has made it harder when I've needed to change these terms and conditions. The main reason I introduced payment for missed lessons was because people would ring up (especially adults) 10 minutes before the lesson to say they weren't coming because they were too tired. If I am unable to teach a scheduled lesson, then more often than not, it can be rearranged in the same week or the lesson doubled the following week. Therefore there is no issue over fees. If the lesson cannot be rearranged then there is obviously no charge made. My difference lies in the fact that I teach in the local Dance Studio. This means that if pupils miss lessons, I still have to pay for the hire of the room. A rather crude analogy might be likening lessons to a packet of crisps. If you bought a packet of crisps in a shop, and when you got them home, one crisp was covered in black bits or green bits, you wouldn't take just that crisp back to the shop and ask for a refund of the value of just that crisp. More often than not, you'd just throw it out. The majority of my pupils turn up regularly and obvioulsy enjoy coming (some for over 5 years) - there are the persistent offenders, but then I think that parents are to blame for these missing lessons.

David

Hi Celloma. I have to say I totally agree with you even though I`m a teacher. The way I see it is, any teacher who really has a problem with pupils not turning up a lot has got to look at the reasons for this. I have never had a problem at all and I`m not claiming to be a perfect teacher or anything, it`s just never been an issue and I would hate to charge someone for a lesson they hadn`t even had. Your daughter has an excellent reason for not attending on a satruday and the teacher seems inflexible. (ALso, £42 a lesson? I`ve never known a teacher at pre-college level to charge so much, are you sure you can`t get equally good teaching for a more normal price?)

Anyhow, I sympathise, good luck

Enk

HI again. Yes dc I get you. Or course it makes a difference when you are hiring the premises (is that spelt correctly? lol) and I like the crisp analogy. Also, adult pupils are notoriously a pain at times. Funnily enough, I have two adult pupils and one of them actually insists on paying me if she misses a lesson and I protest which is a bit of a turnaround I suppose. She is someone I knew through personal contact as part of a choir I work with though. The other one comes every fortnight and sometimes cancels, so I she just agrees to come the next week instead which I don`t mind.

cheers
:-)

There are some teachers who will not be flexible at all. I've had 2 like that.... one charged when I was in hospital and 'sacked' me when I tried to rearrange lessons (or pay if that was not possible) to visit secondary schools with my year 6 daughter because he sadi I was messing him around! He had a child the same age going to school in the same borough too so knew about the open evenings. I had NEVER missed lessons except for holidays (not many of those) and even (not very safely) driven to my lessons with a migraine.
The other never offered rearranged lessons and charged 10 weeks up front but complained when I turned up with a cold!
The thing was I knew and accepted their terms when I began lessons with them and it was their main income, though the impression with the first teacher was that someone had taken advantage in the past and so he treated everyone as though they would do the same.

I suppose those who are charging more stand to lose more from a cancellation....

That's ridiculous! Especially with such long notice given, and the fact that it's her teaching hours which make it hard to swap.


That annoys me, too - fair enough, teachers don't want to miss out on their earnings, and similarly they don't want to get lots of bugs, but it's a bit of a catch 22 for the student through no fault of their own.

Hi,

I have included in my terms and conditions "freebie" 4 weeks per year where I do not charge for lessons when students have holidays, this is on top of the 4 weeks I give myself off a year. I find this works well in the case of school trips, family holidays and the occasional student illness.

The students like this arrangement and I feel that it helps us all meet half way - me charging for missed lessons when necessary and their family life.

Tasha

I do the same but it's 3 weeks in line with some other local teachers.

I wonder whether teachers who are too inflexible consider what the longer term effects on their relationship with the parents/pupils will be. Having posted my comments yesterday, I received a phone call from another of this cello teacher's parents today. She tells me that they are so concerned at the lack of flexibility that they are looking for a new teacher and that several other parents are doing the same thing. They, like us, had been a little concerned with various things that had been going on in the lessons, but had been prepared to overlook this because the "overall package" worked well and compromise is always important. Now any chance of flexibility has gone, they have decided enough is enough and are looking to move. If they/we do, this teacher stands to lose, at the very least, pupils aged 7-8 (grade 5), pupil aged 13(grade 8) and pupil, 16 (taking diploma this term). These are committed pupils who are serious about their music and don't ask to rearrange lessons unless it is really necessary. I suspect that all the parents will be reluctant to recommend this teacher to anyone else.

I fully agree that parents/pupils should not mess teachers around or ask for unnecessary rearrangements, but on rare occasions, they sometimes do not have any choice. Flexibility on sides of the equation can make life very much pleasanter for all.


Enk

Thanks for the sympathy - much appreciated. As to the cost of the lessons - yes, they are at the expensive end of what is normal round here (SE England), but this teacher originally came highly recommended. In fairness, I have to say that for the first couple of years, she was worth every penny - it is only more recently that the problems have started.

I think the majority of teachers are flexible. I certainly do my best to make sure all parties are happy and catered for accordingly; however, you do get to a point where you think "I'm not going to stand for this anymore." Quite frankly, some parents treat with no respect at all. I don't agree with what has already been said, that those teachers who have pupils who mess them about alot and cancel regularly should look at their own teaching to see why this is happening. I've got 27 students, but obviously the more students you have, the more chance there is of being messed around. For example, lady barged into a lesson last week bring her daughter for a trial lesson - no warning, she thought she could just turn up and I would do it. Anyway, I rearranged the trial lesson for yesterday, and they didn't turn up. Again, phone call at the weekend from a lady asking whether I would teach her daughter an audition song which she needed for next week. They turned up for a 1/2 hour lesson on Monday. It went well, and they booked another lesson yesterday for an hour. Guess what, they didn't turn up yesterday. That left me with 1 1/2 hours of nothing yesterday which is really annoying, especially when with more notice, the spaces could have been filled with other people.

David

I am usually fairly flexible, but I wondered if anyone could tell me about what happens if the teacher needs to cancel? Do you still charge? I try to re-arrange a cancelled lesson (from either party), but would find it difficult to enforce charging for a missed lesson if they cancelled, but not if I did.

Any advice would be appreciated

I wondered if anyone could tell me about what happens if the teacher needs to cancel? Do you still charge?

Absolutely not. Unless of course we can agree an alternative time - then it just counts as a normal lesson.

No charge if I cancel, but I offer to rearrange if I can.

Think of it like this....

If they cancel you don't lose out (pay?) and if you cancel then they don't.

Hi

I know you've had lots of answers already but I'll just chip in with mine anyway!

I've been teaching for four years now and for the first two was incredibly flexible, allowing people to cancel with no charge because I always felt that they had a good reason etc etc. But eventually it got to the point where I was losing about £50 a week in cancellations, and some pupils were missing two or three lessons a term, which just didn't seem fair. So I sent a letter out explaining that I now had a mortgage to pay and needed to be able to rely on my earnings as a teacher. I stated that from then on I would send a bill at the start of each term, with how many lessons there would be, and therefore how much would be owed to me. I still leave it up to each individual as to how they pay me (per lesson, month, half-term, or term) but I ask that the money is always up-front and that if they need to cancel, for ANY reason, that they still pay me. I do however offer to reschedule the lesson. This often means working a bit during the holidays but I like that and it keeps things ticking over well for the pupils.

I haven't yet started using a contract but I do see the merits and plan to sort that out in time for the next academic year. I'm very lucky though as I've not had complaints from any current parents, and I now explain the policy very clearly to any perspective new pupils/parents.

It's awful that we should feel guilty for asking for money (though you do feel bad when a cancellation means you've essentially had half an hour or whatever off) but it's not fair for us to be expected to pay because their child is unwell or busy.

OK, I've waffled on enough.

I know exactly what you mean!! Money's a sensitive issue anyway but you've set aside a time for that pupil each week whether they choose to turn up or not and many parents understand this.
Although last week I received a rather grumpy note from a parent after a sent out a bill for a missed lesson after not bringing her children to the lesson that week and not telling me about it.

I feel like you have to charge for short notice cancellations or there is no real system in place to deter people from not paying if they don't turn up.

Flutey

All I can say is, there are some inconsiderate pupils/parents out there. I'm like Enk, generally don't have a problem with my pupils turning up. Most of my pupils are in the 7 - 13 years old age group, and I just ask that parents let me know as soon as poss. if a child will miss a lesson. I don't mind if a parent rings me about 1 hour beforehand, especially with the younger ones, if they are ill - because my own daughter once came home from school at 3pm with a raging temperature and I had to cancel her violin lesson, and her teacher didn't charge. I have about 20 pupils (half as private pupils) and I think I know most of the parents sufficiently well to judge whether they are being genuine or not.

School trips are another thing that I am OK with - I'm just not very keen on the piano lesson being thrown over for a birthday party!!

My reasoning for this way of treating parents was that at the beginning, I had small children of my own, and just occasionally I would have my own emergency and so I built in the flexibility so that I didn't feel too bad about having to cancel a lesson myself.

I also teach only during term time, so that means everyone has the school holidays off and I suppose that helps with holiday planning, and the feeling of freedom that parents might have. (I actually "inherited" a pupil from another teacher who works 48 weeks of the year because her mother couldn't cope with trying to fit in the extra lessons, and didn't like being charged for lessons the child missed. I think there were other issues with the teacher as well. Nothing against teachers who work 48 weeks of the year - I do understand that it's necessary. It's just that I couldn't cope with working in the holidays with my own children about, and with trying to rearrange lessons when pupils wanted to take the family holiday - I'd go mad!)

(Perhaps I'm mad already - better say it before anyone else does!!!)