Just waited 15 mins, and so rang pupil to see where they were, and "couldnt find number"!!!

There payday was last week and no chq arrived in post as promised!!! I told her i want chq before thurs morning as thats when i go bank.

Do other teachers find that some people take you for granted, and think that its a hobbie and not your living?

I had a similar problem with one of my pupils last week. I waited about 10-15 mins before phoning her and the excuse was that her Dad hadn't turned up to bring her, so she couldn't come. Why she couldn't have rung me to let me know, I really don't know. She does have my phone number as she had to phone and cancel the previous week.

I do find this situation extremely annoying and fortunately, it rarely happens. Occasionally, I do feel like I'm taken for granted as some pupils/parents think it's OK to not bother turning up for a lesson - particularly if they owe you money and this can make life rather uncomfortable for all concerned.

Hopefully, you will be able to resolve the situation amicably.

I'm sitting here now waiting for one now who has already missed about 3 lessons!

Of course it's their hobby and of course they don't think of it as your living. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh but the responsibility for paying your bills rests with you, not your clients. You will have a certain number of no-shows. However regrettable, that's life. You have to budget for that and build the cost of no shows into the fee you charge. There are other alternatives such as charging in advance, or getting paid by standing order but, speaking as someone who is also paid per session I think these are both less satisfactory as no client likes paying for something they haven't had, however much it's their fault.

So let's suppose you give 40 lessons a week and charge £20 per lesson. Let's assume you have two no shows a week. You have to spread the lost £40 out over the other 38 lessons. Increase your fees to £21 and write the other £2 as the nominal cost have having some unforeseen leisure time (or charge £21.06). Remember, part of the price you pay for a new shirt goes towards the cost of shoplifting.

It's a given of private practice in any field. Your clients will not concern themselves with your ability to pay your bills and neither should you concern yourself with their ability to pay theirs.

Best wishes

barry

While I can see your point, remember that many 'private practices' whatever the profession, will charge IN FULL if you don't show or don't cancel 24 hours in advance. While it's wise to accept that this may happen occasioanlly, one should not be expected to continuously shrug the situation off as a fact of being self-employed.
It is simply not the way to run a business.

I accept that there are times when an emergency will crop up, or something else which needs equally immediate attention, but it's nothing but common courtesy for them to phone and let you know.

A contract is the easiest way for both parties to understand what's required and where the lines are drawn on holidays, cancellations and no-shows.

With some of my students, I charge two weeks in advance, so if they don't show and don't cancel either, I'm not out of pocket. So far, none of them have taken advantage.....

I charge in advance and I don't get no-shows, or very rarely, and that's only if a pupil has forgotten to come, and usually the parent is very angry with child but not with me. Any other cancellations, the parent now asks for a reschedule, and as I have their money I make a point of trying very hard to make an alternative lesson time - even on Saturdays, when I don't usually teach at all......

no client likes paying for something they haven't had, however much it's their fault.

well it may sound harsh, but tough ! In a sense, if they have booked it they have had it, - they just haven't made use of it.

If student A has booked my time, and I have turned down student B, student A pays. If someone is sick, I will try to make up the lesson in the holidays. if someone can't make a time and they can let me know, I will try to change it. But if someone just doesn't turn up - I have already spent time planning their lesson, and I need to wait focused and ready in case they arrive late - you can't do much with the time in that case.

What I will not do, except in emergencies, is credit the lesson for the following session. My students seem to accept this is how it works and in fact, in practice, most people get exactly what they have paid for.

People are talking a lot of sense here. If they pay in advance for the lesson there is every likelihood that they will turn up. That way everybody wins: the pupil as his practice will be more consistent than if he just goes when the mood takes him; the parent because he is getting value for money and his child's results will be better; the teacher because his time is not wasted and his results and reputation will improve.

LR

I started off by pupils paying weekly and this happened quite alot and I dont think we should just accept it - afterall we don't buy 8 apples in Tesco and if we only eat 6 expect a refund!

The point about turning down other pupils is key here - you could have been earning then - or doing something else with your time - as it is you were waiting around. I now have payment half termly in advance. I wrote a simple letter explaining that what started out as 1 or 2 pupils (mainly children of friends) was now a career choice and as I was investing in that I needed payment in advance. Noone quibbled.

However, I am not heartless - if someone has the courtesy to call I credit the lesson (or make it up) but I don't if they dont bother to cancel, and some people are late paying but a gentle reminder usualyy suffices. That is simply rude and taking advantage - other professions would not keep on seeing people who did that to them and if it happens once or twice a year thats one thing but to be waiting regulary is just plain rude!

Another point - with referece to the person who said about adding some on to adjust for "noshows" - for my lessons I pay in advance termly with no refunds if I cancel - I understand that and she does too - it is part of my committment to the learning process - I would resent her fee being put up for people who are less committed than me and who apparently have no manners!

I think you've just got to be tough from the outset - payment in advance and absenses not allowable. This gives you the opportunity to use your discretion when you feel that circumstances are genuine, in which case your goodwill will be appreciated rather than assumed. I've only once had a "no show" (as in, no notice given) and refunding or rescheduling the lesson was not mentioned by either party.

This gives you the opportunity to use your discretion when you feel that circumstances are genuine, in which case your goodwill will be appreciated rather than assumed.

Yes ! Exactly right.

I have a similiar situation, a parent who likes to book up slots weeks in advance only to call me to rearrange, cancel, swap them about! Anyhow, i've just had a lesson with her children & she said "Oh, have you got such & such day (she knows that i don't) as the running about back & forth on different days is too much" Bearing in mind her children also do after-school club, dance lessons, piano lessons, guitar lessons, etc, etc!!
Anyway, i happened to say yes but please don't book up the days & then call to cancel..(this was said jokingly as i have know her for a long time). The woman screwed up her face & said "when have i ever cancelled?" knowing full well that she'd not turned up on Monday just gone & i hadn't charged her for it! Not only did she screw up her face but hastily packed up her children, did not rebook & stomped off!
To be honest, i want rid of her anyway....she has taken me for granted for too long.....but i'm annoyed with her attitude & i actually don't want her as a customer anymore with that attitude. I have never had a customer behave like that before!!
If she does call or text in the new year to rebook i have three options. 1: address the way she has messed me about. 2: Tell her i have no availability. 3: Carry on & say nothing. What do you think?

Book her in if you have a slot and want/need the money. At the same time, give her a copy of your terms and conditions re payment for missed lessons, etc. Otherwise you are fully booked!

This is exactly true for me. Now I charge in advance there are virtually no problems, and I also use Saturdays for the odd genuine case. I was very worried about changing over to advance payments, but nobody complained at all - in fact several said it was easier for them. I might add that I got a lot of help when I made this transition from this forum if anyone want to look it up. I think it was under the heading of Help In Charge In Advance.
ps I like the story about the apples. I threw some away today. Perhaps I should have tried to take them back!

I had a student who didn't trun up twice in 5 weeks. Generally, he is exceptionally good at attending. I emailed to find out if "all was well" and the student said they had texted - I hadn't received any text at all and in fact still don't know why they didn't attend last week. I have just sent out my latest e-newsletter and have reminded students that fees are payable if appropriate notice has not been given, and insisted that notice be given verbally (or in writing) by the parent. (The student in question is just 11)

Technology is great for most things but COULD be used as an excuse if so desired (doubt that was the case with this student tho!)

People pay a month in advance here (at the last lesson for each month, we pay for the following month's lessons, so that automatically helps keep track of known changes such as school trips etc). It's only a burden when you think of it as a burden - after all, a lot of other services are paid for in fairly hefty lumps.

I'd actually rather pay it monthly in advance and be done with it than have to constantly remember to keep an exact amount of cash aside in "lean" weeks!

Whatever the reasons, and however genuine the excuses, if a student of mine missed 7 out of 14 I would at least need to make the point that they were not making good use of their time slot.

Sounds at though you may have opened the mother's eyes in this particular case, David !

I have a similar situation with a pupil who has missed about half of her allocated lessons, as she is always ill with one thing or another.

My main problem is that the mother phones about half an hour before her lesson, or later, after they havent turned up. I would normally charge for a "no show", but i know the girl's mother well, and the girl does seem to be having ongoing health problems. However, more often than not, I don't get paid. I don't really press the issue, as I know her, and also she is my last pupil of the day.

Does anyone have any advice?

If she phones up after the lesson, I would request payment for that if I were you - afterall you wasted your time waiting for her to turn up when if you'd known she wasn't going to, you could have been doing other things.......short notice before with no request for a re-schedule is also not on, afterall it's your income that's being affected. That's why I charge in advance monthly (as I said before) - I just don't get any of this any more. Parents always request a reschedule if the child cannot come to the lesson, and if child doesn't turn up with no prior explanation, the parent understands the lesson fee is forfeit. Having paid up-front, parents are more likely to want to re-schedule if there's a good excuse eg illness or school trips etc, and I don't get any of the "x wants to go to a party, let's just leave it till next week, shall we?" excuses any more.

I always pay a half term in advance, although sometimes a couple of weeks in because my memory is pathetic. And I let my teacher know then whether I will be missing anything due to school trips etc. If anything comes up after that, unless its important (like a concert) my lesson takes priority. It's not fair to be messing people about, I hate it when it happens to me, so why should I do it to anyone else?

Viohazard's violin teacher didn't turn up to his last lesson, so Viohazard waited 30 minutes then walked 45 minutes home. The teacher didn't contact him till that evening, when he rescheduled the lesson for the next day...and promptly mailed back to change the time again! At least now that he uses e-mail to reschedule lessons, I don't get to hear sounds of loud partying in the background!