As wonderful as the whole olympic torch thing is, it's just cost me 55 pounds tonight in cancelled lessons!
"It's a oncein a lifetime thing", "oh we didn't realise it was going to be here tonight....blah blah blah
Grrrrr!

Surely it's a great advert for having T&Cs?.....

Charge them for the missed lesson. You shouldn't have to suffer financially. I make it very clear in my T&C's that all missed lessons will be chargeable unless adequate notice is given. I'll try my best to re-arrange the lesson at a later time in the week, but that isn't always possible. When i started teaching many years ago, i soon got fed up with the last-minute cancellations because of birthday parties, swimming lessons, cinema visits or whatever. It's amazing how organized parents become with their forward-planning when they know missed lessons are chargeable.

I have and they clearly say fees should be paid on first lesson of each month. last wed would have been the first lesson for one particular pupil but she had a lesson to be carried over from the month before, so the remainder of fees should have been due tonight, but I got a text from mum to say everything i quoted in my last post! Guaranteed next week they'll walk in with two weeks fees!
Time for a change to the terms and conditions me thinks!
Two other pupils who only come two weekly for lessons usually do pay as you go and are normally fine but one decided to hop out the country last night and another was ill today. I know sometimes things can't be helped but tonight just seemed awful!

This is going to sound dreadful : but the arrival of the Olympic torch in Clari-land is already being heavily publicised : it might have been worth checking to see when the torch was arriving in chraze1-land, and asking if they were going to see the torch and planning as necessary?

Morning Baz. I would say that if a student wants to bunk off to see an event, it is their job to inform the teacher, not the teacher's job to keep up with every possible event that students might want to go to. I had a student dock my invoice 1 lesson when she went trick or treating which happened to fall on the first lesson of the half-term when payment was due. Unbelievable! However, they promptly paid up when I pointed out this was taking the p**s and I couldn't possibly run a business if I allowed that sort of carry on!

True : but I think the torch is one of the very few things that may be an exception. Perhaps teaching in an area that's even more Olympic drenched than yours, lorraineliyanage, makes me slightly biased, I don't know!

I can't bear Hallowe'en : I know what I'd have done about your situation there...

edit : I'd be asking if they wanted to see the torch, I'd be equally miffed if they just told be out of the blue that they were going to do that.

When we knew the torch was coming our way I had several pupils who were planning to go and see it - until we worked out it was not actually being run all the way but was spending much of it's time in a security van. It took the shine off the idea. I had thought it was being run round the country night and day in a continuous relay - there'd certainly have been enough volunteers for that, and had it been passing our way at 3am we'd have still got up to see it.

And when they do, make sure they understand that this week's fee is also due. Just because you cancel the lesson on pay day doesn't meant that lesson isn't chargeable. They can pop it through your door the following day.

It doesn't matter if the torch is once in a lifetime or if you're meeting the queen. The problem here is the lack of notice.

Sometimes an event doesn't get much notice, such as funerals, and for those I use some discretion. But for other events where it's only lack of organisation and/or courtesy which leads to a lack of communication then it's tough t*tty

I had a day of cancelled lessons due to the torch, but all gave me plenty of notice, and that was fine and lessons were re-scheduled or carried forward. Don't allow students to get away with last-minute no-shows - it's not fair, and in this case they will have had plenty of time to get organised, won't they? I agree that it isn't up to the teacher to anticipate problems (unless it's something obvious like a bank holiday).

I agree - it has blown out several times too, so it's not as if it has been continuous all the way from Greece or anything (continuity is the key concept here - when you consider the amount of money being spent, this is surely achievable?) They should either do it properly or not at all. When I cycled from Land's End to John O Groats, I didn't catch the train at Taunton!

Luckily mine have all paid up now for this half-term in advance, so if they really must go and see the torch, then so be it. I have no idea when it's coming this way but out of curiosity I may look it up!

Thursday 26th July

invoice half termly or termly - in advance...

Sorry to gate crash this thread, but I had two lessons cancelled on Monday and one this evening, all for the bloomin' England football matches! Only one has offered to pay.

Football fan here (well, Charlton fan, does that count? ) - I think you have every right to be put out - again, it isn't as though they didn't know - the fixtures were released in December 2011!

The Ukraine game clashes with a band rehearsal. And I will be at band.

Yes - and we haven't even got to the Olympics yet, so it's only going to get worse. I should reinforce your Ts and Cs now. I need somewhere to hide for the duration - any suggestions?

[quote name='hammer action' date='Jun 13 2012, 10:29 PM' post='1153433']
Charge them for the missed lesson. You shouldn't have to suffer financially. I make it very clear in my T&C's that all missed lessons will be chargeable unless adequate notice is given. I'll try my best to re-arrange the lesson at a later time in the week, but that isn't always possible. When i started teaching many years ago, i soon got fed up with the last-minute cancellations because of birthday parties, swimming lessons, cinema visits or whatever. It's amazing how organized parents become with their forward-planning when they know missed lessons are chargeable.
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How I agree with you. I too have been teaching for many years and have frequently had to revamp my T&Cs when new issues come to light.( No pun intended)!I now make it clear that I allow 2 cancellations/ reschedules during the academic year.
I look back to the time when I actually billed people at the end of a course of ten lessons ? what a learning curve that was. I now insist on fees in advance but even so young pupils are sneakily dropped off at my door on the first lesson of a unit of ten with messages such as ? sorry we forgot and will pay next week.?
I have noticed another phenomenon. I have always offered a free consultation for people wanting to discuss the possibilities of lessons. On several occasions recently the appointment has been carefully arranged with due consideration to all concerned and they simply don?t bother to turn up or even have the courtesy to cancel. A lucky escape for me I suppose (possible unreliable student) but even so Grrrrr!
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That's daft - there should be no question over them offering to pay; if your T&Cs state that payment is due (or you have some other scheme in place) then it should be you who is demanding payment! Surely it's not possible to run a business on the basis of hoping your clients offer to pay you?

Come and stay with us. We aim to be an olympic-free-zone for the duration.

Brilliant! You'll probably be overwhelmed with requests! Wouldn't it be a laugh if half the forum ended up in your house!

Great! Party time!

That's end of term so I don't think that will be coming my way as a missed lesson excuse!

My terms are no refunds or rescheduled lessons for any reason which keeps things simple. Likewise, I never cancel lessons as I always have a supply teacher cover any lessons I can't teach (which is about 1 a year!)

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Great! Party time!
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Awesome use of icons! I hope the ABRSM are reading this!

The only way I'd be missing a lesson for it would be if I was doing the carrying.....
I'm with lorraineliyanage on this. If people want to do something else instead of their music lesson then it's for them to tell the teacher not for the teacher to guess.
I'd be a bit put out if my teachers suggested I might want to miss my lesson for something like this....

Oh, wow! I've only just seen this! Gulp! In fact, I think we've probably got enough instruments and people to accommodate all those smilies. We could have a non-Olympic party (sort of an opposite idea to the Jubilee party).

Great! Party time!
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Oh, wow! I've only just seen this! Gulp! In fact, I think we've probably got enough instruments and people to accommodate all those smilies. We could have a non-Olympic party (sort of an opposite idea to the Jubilee party).
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I'm totally on board with this! Any suggestions for non-Olympic events, eg. Marathon eating?

This Northern Salopian residence is also a football free zone

There you go Susie - this could be a great business opportunity for you (don't tell Alan Sugar in case he pinches the idea!) - retreat holidays for loathers of sports, royal occasions, Christmas...the possibilities are endless!

Excellent ruse. We can go to concerts, go on organ crawls, or if we feel adventurous, go on field trips to see puffins and fungi. I could quite warm to the idea.

All of those sound great! Have-a-go mycology and puffin appreciation - why not! I could add home-made jam and marmalade making, Flamenco dancing, poultry keeping and (strictly non-competitive) cycle touring and youth hostelling! I say bring back home-spun spontaneous fun!