Feeling a bit deflated.

[Fluffernutter]

I run a small tutoring business and I rent premises to work from. I'm having issues regarding late payments and people cancelling lessons but not expecting to be charged for them. This has been an on-going thing for years, but it's really started to get me down of late as it's happening so frequently so I'm looking for some opinions please. All my customers are given my T&Cs at the start of their tuition, I verbally go over the cancellation policy with them plus it's printed in red ink on the T&Cs.

I have a seven day cancellation policy where the lesson is lost if the student cancels within the week. However, if you're genuinely ill, you're not going to know a week in advance, so to make it fair for all I offer three alternatives -

1. Take an online lesson instead
2. I will try where possible to offer an alternative day and time later in the week if the student feels better
3. I will add where possible some extra time onto a future lesson to make up for the missed one

I know of other businesses (swimming clubs, horse riding etc) who don't offer alternatives so if you miss your session, then that's too bad. I think I'm being pretty fair to be honest. In the past I've tried not charging for missed lessons, but I got people cancelling last minute because they were tired, it was raining, they hadn't practised, they just wanted to leave it until next week instead, they just didn't appear, they had a party to go to etc. When it comes time to pay my rent and bills for the premises, I obviously don't get a discount because I've had lots of cancellations; I still have to pay the same amount, so not charging didn't work.

I'm still getting both new and long-term students trying to bend my rules by asking to "postpone" lessons, or "carry the lesson over to next week instead" and such like. I always stand my ground and they know my T&Cs, yet they still ask. It sometimes feels like they're trying to find a loophole to get out of paying. This isn't all my students btw, but a good few of them.

The second issue I have is with potential new students. If they want to book lessons, I ask that they pay for the time slot of the trial lesson at least 48 hours in advance of the lesson commencing - that's £17. I let them know that this reserves the slot for them, and that the slot is still available for others until it is paid for. Again in the past I've not asked for this, but what happened was I'd reserve slots then they wouldn't turn up, plus I could have filled them with people who would have turned up. This resulted in me not earning anything for that half hour (or sometimes an hour). I've also had a couple of people take a lesson then I never hear from them again, and don't get paid. I'm constantly having to send out polite reminders to new students to pay for their lesson beforehand. If someone doesn't pay despite getting the reminder from me and they turn up at the door, do I send them away without a lesson? Or do I teach the lesson and 'hope' they pay me sometime? Do I ignore the buzzer?

An existing student was due to pay for a new block of lessons last Wednesday but cancelled that lesson. I've had emails from him saying he thinks his wife has paid, then another one saying he'll pay. It's Monday and I've still not been paid. What do I do?

Any advice would be great please. I woke up this morning feeling a bit deflated with it all. I seem to spend more time chasing up people than I do teaching.

Thanks in advance.

 

[fisicx]

Stop paying for premises and just teach online or at your/their home. Get the money at the time of booking and offer no refunds.

I worked like this for years and never had a problem. The only time I'd relax the rules slightly was for long term students.

Going to their house had the benefit of tea and biscuits and one parent who insisted on feeding me each week,

 

[MBE2017]

As above. Take full payment in advance, end of problem.

OP, your real problem here is YOU, you are scared you will lose business.

 

[tony84]

As a small business, everything is a lot more personal. If you have previously done something and then started to enforce the rules more stringently that can cause people to be a little miffed. I think if you have done that, you need to give people the benefit of the doubt and just explain you will do it this time but going forward you will are now enforcing them more stringently due to the amount of last minute cancellations.

If it is just a case of people complaining about your cancellation policy, well thats their problem. You have explained it and made it stand out in your T&C. I have something similar where we charge a fee on offer. If the customer decides to pull out and no longer proceed, we charge our fee. If the seller pulls out and its not our clients fault, I will transfer it to a new property without charging any admin fees.

You need to get to that stage where it is a business and you still care about your customers but you also have bills to pay. Some people will go off in a huff, others will accept they were in the wrong. Dont take it to heart, you are not in the wrong.

If it is resulting in you losing a lot of customers, I would usually suggest you review your policy but it does not seem unreasonable.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Thanks for replies so far. Teaching from home is out of the question as it's a music tutoring business I run, and live in a small one bedroom flat with neighbours above and below.

Many years ago I visited people's homes to teach, but nowadays going to stranger's houses (new students) isn't as safe as it once was (I'm female) plus when I did this years ago, the traffic was a nightmare in the city. I'd quite often go to someone's house only to find they'd forgotten and gone out. Also not having resources to hand on a bookshelf/filing cabinet wasn't practical.

My T&Cs have been like this for around 12 years now. I'm busy enough with enquiries, so don't mind if I lose the odd person if they don't agree with the T&Cs; what I wouldn't want is people leaving me bad feedback online as it's so easy for people to do this now. I've worked really hard over the years to build what I've got and would be annoyed at any unfair negative reviews that could potentially do damage.

 

[MBE2017]

My T&Cs have been like this for around 12 years now. I'm busy enough with enquiries, so don't mind if I lose the odd person if they don't agree with the T&Cs; what I wouldn't want is people leaving me bad feedback online as it's so easy for people to do this now. I've worked really hard over the years to build what I've got and would be annoyed at any unfair negative reviews that could potentially do damage.

OP, no one wants any negative feedback but in today’s world it is inevitable you will one day receive some. Trust in yourself and your business.

In your place I would email the people causing you concern, plus any new clients, stating your T&C’s will in future be applied rigorously without exception, even to the point of crediting anyone who does not agree to accept them.

There is no point having T&C’s if you do not use them, start as you mean to go on. You should find this stops your problem and don’t forget you can change your T&C’s anytime you wish if you need to.

 

[japancool]

You said you rent premises to teach from. Can't you run online tutoring from the premises?

 

[Talay]

Go prepayment and you will be surprised that no-one complains except the ones you don't want.

We went prepayment for laundry and dry cleaning in 2016 and maybe 6 customers out of 5000 complained. Stuff people like that.

 

[Fluffernutter]

You said you rent premises to teach from. Can't you run online tutoring from the premises?

I do some online lessons, but the issues are still the same there with people wanting to cancel or not paying in time.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Go prepayment and you will be surprised that no-one complains except the ones you don't want.

We went prepayment for laundry and dry cleaning in 2016 and maybe 6 customers out of 5000 complained. Stuff people like that.

All lesson blocks (blocks of 5) have to be paid in advance, at least 48 hours of the lessons beginning. Not everyone does though, and that's one of the issues I'm having.

 

[StevensOnln1]

Do you have a card machine in your premises? If not, get one from Zettle or SumUp so you can take payment when they arrive for those who haven't paid in advance, rather than leaving them to pay online or do a bank transfer.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Do you have a card machine in your premises? If not, get one from Zettle or SumUp so you can take payment when they arrive for those who haven't paid in advance, rather than leaving them to pay online or do a bank transfer.

I don't, but that's something I'm going to look into as I can just present them with the card machine there and then and not have to trust them to pay later after the lesson when they get home. Just hope they have their bank cards on them when they attend...

 

[japancool]

All lesson blocks (blocks of 5) have to be paid in advance, at least 48 hours of the lessons beginning. Not everyone does though, and that's one of the issues I'm having.

Take payment at the time of booking. If no payment, no booking.

I take some language lessons through Verbling, and that's how they work. If someone cancels, then it's their problem, not yours.

 

[DazRave]

All lesson blocks (blocks of 5) have to be paid in advance, at least 48 hours of the lessons beginning. Not everyone does though, and that's one of the issues I'm having.

Use an inexpensive online booking form and payment system. They'll see the blocked out square with their name on it and an email confirmation once they have booked (and paid!). I can't imagine anyone turning up without a booking after that and if they do you might have to turn them down anyway as you might already be in a lesson.

I don't think the solution here is complicated but you're letting some sort of worry get the better of you.

 

[MBE2017]

All lesson blocks (blocks of 5) have to be paid in advance, at least 48 hours of the lessons beginning. Not everyone does though, and that's one of the issues I'm having.

Why not make it simple for both you and them, payment at time of ordering. You know, the way 90% of businesses work.

If someone wants to book a property from myself, even next September, they pay today when booking, otherwise it remains available.

 

[fisicx]

All lesson blocks (blocks of 5) have to be paid in advance, at least 48 hours of the lessons beginning. Not everyone does though, and that's one of the issues I'm having.

It's not an issue if you enforce payment. No payment means the lesson isn't booked.

You can buy a sumup machine in loads of places. Saw them in ScrewFix the other day. For all existing bookings take the money at the door. Don't even let the student in until you have got their money. If the excuse is the card is at home tell them you will wait while they go get it.

Stop worrying about bad reviews and upsetting people. This is a business not a hobby.

 

[GFI]

iZettle and SumUp also take Apple Pay and Android pay I believe - you can guarantee they won't have left their phone at home!!

 

[Fluffernutter]

iZettle and SumUp also take Apple Pay and Android pay I believe - you can guarantee they won't have left their phone at home!!

That's true!!

 

[Annoying Donkey]

I've worked really hard over the years to build what I've got and would be annoyed at any unfair negative reviews that could potentially do damage.

A negative review can be an opportunity, depending on how you handle it...

 

[MBE2017]

A negative review can be an opportunity, depending on how you handle it...

Very true. Used to get threatening emails demanding partial credits from ebayers all the time, wanting postage free etc, always refused to give in. On a handful that left a negative I would just reply I gave discounts when negotiated, but never when threatened with negative feedback.

It never hurt my sales in seven years.

 

[Marbman]

You said you rent premises to teach from. Can't you run online tutoring from the premises?

a good solution me thinks that possibly gets around the noise issue of doing it from home

 

[Fluffernutter]

I do also provide online lessons in addition to face to face lessons, but online lessons don't solve my issue with people wanting to cancel or not paying in time as they try to do the same with online lessons.

 

[Marbman]

I do also provide online lessons in addition to face to face lessons, but online lessons don't solve my issue with people wanting to cancel or not paying in time as they try to do the same with online lessons.

Forgive me if you have already answered this but cant you charge for your lessons upfront or at least charge a non refundable deposit regardless of where you teach them.

 

[fisicx]

Forgive me if you have already answered this but cant you charge for your lessons upfront or at least charge a non refundable deposit regardless of where you teach them.

That’s been the thrust of the whole thread. No lesson without payment.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Forgive me if you have already answered this but cant you charge for your lessons upfront or at least charge a non refundable deposit regardless of where you teach them.

I do charge upfront and state this in the email/phone call that the lesson has to be paid for in full at least 48 hours before the start of the lesson in order to reserve the slot. Many still haven't paid on the day of the lesson which results in me emailing them again to remind them, and not knowing if they're going to show or not. I've had some people just turn up without making payment and expecting to get a lesson. I then have to turn them away which is awkward, but I'm not prepared to teach a lesson then hope that they'll come back and pay me. Some people just don't seem to understand that if they want to book a trial lesson, then they have to pay upfront for it. It's so simple ?

 

[Marbman]

That’s been the thrust of the whole thread. No lesson without payment.

would this not solve his issue then? and if so is it not problem solved?

 

[Marbman]

I do charge upfront and state this in the email/phone call that the lesson has to be paid for in full at least 48 hours before the start of the lesson in order to reserve the slot. Many still haven't paid on the day of the lesson which results in me emailing them again to remind them, and not knowing if they're going to show or not. I've had some people just turn up without making payment and expecting to get a lesson. I then have to turn them away which is awkward, but I'm not prepared to teach a lesson then hope that they'll come back and pay me. Some people just don't seem to understand that if they want to book a trial lesson, then they have to pay upfront for it. It's so simple ?

by the sounds of it you just need to get a bit tougher. If they have not paid then lesson is cancelled and until payment is made. If they turn up without paying and you are free then get the money off them and do the lesson or no lesson. Dont run your biz at the mercy of your clients.

 

[fisicx]

No. They pay when they make the booking. No payment means no booking.

 

[DazRave]

by the sounds of it you just need to get a bit tougher.

x2 on this. @Fluffernutter has had multiple variations of the same advice now but I'm yet to see a comment from her regarding any of it. ?

 

[MBE2017]

Not sure how hard this is to explain? Re read the advice given, they book a lesson, they pay at the same time. Make them unable to book without payment.

I get bookings months in advance, all paid on the day of the booking, it’s not hard.

 

[The Byre]

We ran a music school as a bit of a sideline until the C19 nonsense hit. It was remarkably successful. In fact, it was so successful that I wanted to build a whole new building with car park, etc. on a one-acre site we have that would have been ideal for the job, but the staff drifted away during the C19 thing and so I knocked the idea on the head in favour of doing something else.

We offered a cut-price test lesson and if the student (or their parents) liked it, they had to buy a set of lessons that could be group lessons of two or three or single one-on-one tuition. By 'buy' I mean to sign a contract and pay in advance, either with a card or bank transfer.

Cancellations - doctor's note only in cases of sickness. Extreme circumstances - written requests only and then only in such cases as death or similar. Conversely, they could buy the lessons and specify dates to accommodate holidays or other planned events.

If/when someone queried that policy, they were told quite clearly that a teacher was in the building and getting paid. That teacher, those instruments and that building all cost money. It sometimes happened that people just didn't turn up and very occasionally, some prat would ask if they could get that lost lesson back.

"The teacher was here, the building was here, the heating was on, the costs were running with or without the lesson taking place. We incur all the costs when you book the lesson and not when you actually turn up."

Once it was politely explained to them that they threw the lesson away by forgetting to turn up or finding something better to do, they always stopped wanting freebies for being stupid.

 

[IanSuth]

My wife and daughter (used to be the other 2 children as well before they grew up) attend a music school

Basically a bunch of independent tutors got together decades ago and they rent a primary school on Saturday mornings.

If you pay for tuition on an instrument (or singing) then you get access to their ensembles/orchestra/theory lessons for free. They run with the school terms and it appears to work well. You are billed before each term, have to give a terms notice to quit and they have a waiting list.

Some of the tutors do extra tuition as well on the side for prep for grades etc.

Earley Music Centre is a music school based in Reading Berkshire. We offer individual tuition plus Aural & Theory classes, wind band, a jazz band and a variety of ensembles.

 

[Fluffernutter]

x2 on this. @Fluffernutter has had multiple variations of the same advice now but I'm yet to see a comment from her regarding any of it. ?

I've replied to many comments, so not sure where you're getting that from.

 

[Fluffernutter]

We ran a music school as a bit of a sideline until the C19 nonsense hit. It was remarkably successful. In fact, it was so successful that I wanted to build a whole new building with car park, etc. on a one-acre site we have that would have been ideal for the job, but the staff drifted away during the C19 thing and so I knocked the idea on the head in favour of doing something else.

We offered a cut-price test lesson and if the student (or their parents) liked it, they had to buy a set of lessons that could be group lessons of two or three or single one-on-one tuition. By 'buy' I mean to sign a contract and pay in advance, either with a card or bank transfer.

Cancellations - doctor's note only in cases of sickness. Extreme circumstances - written requests only and then only in such cases as death or similar. Conversely, they could buy the lessons and specify dates to accommodate holidays or other planned events.

If/when someone queried that policy, they were told quite clearly that a teacher was in the building and getting paid. That teacher, those instruments and that building all cost money. It sometimes happened that people just didn't turn up and very occasionally, some prat would ask if they could get that lost lesson back.

"The teacher was here, the building was here, the heating was on, the costs were running with or without the lesson taking place. We incur all the costs when you book the lesson and not when you actually turn up."

Once it was politely explained to them that they threw the lesson away by forgetting to turn up or finding something better to do, they always stopped wanting freebies for being stupid.

Thanks, this is absolutely true.

 

[DazRave]

I've replied to many comments, so not sure where you're getting that from.

Sorry, for clarity, you had replied to comments talking about clients turning up etc but didn't seem to address any of the advice around simply taking payments up front before booking clients in.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Sorry, for clarity, you had replied to comments talking about clients turning up etc but didn't seem to address any of the advice around simply taking payments up front before booking clients in.

Because I already request payment at time of booking and that's what I'm having the issue with; people just not paying but still turning up. If they don't pay, I'm left not knowing whether they're coming in or not and then having to turn them away at the door because they haven't paid. It should be simple and I'm sure I explain it clearly to new students in the email, but some people just don't seem to get it at all. As marbman said earlier, I do need to get tougher with people, I agree with that.

Also at the moment, three of my long-term students owe me fees. I have emailed all three of them twice reminding them, but have received no reply and no payments have been made. These three all cancelled last week's lessons due to illness, so I didn't actually teach a lesson, but they are all aware of the cancellation policy that they need to pay. How do I get people to pay if they ignore my messages?? Sick of people thinking it's fine to bend my rules to suit themselves, and I'm a lot tougher than I used to be, but still people do it. Doesn't make me feel great.

 

[The Byre]

Contract!

Terms and Conditions. Booking is confirmed by making full payment for the course of lessons booked. Until full payment is made, Dr. Loombogle's Music School for Looney Gentlefolk cannot regard this contract as having been confirmed. Whisky may be given in lieu of payment."

 

[Newchodge]

Because I already request payment at time of booking and that's what I'm having the issue with; people just not paying but still turning up. If they don't pay, I'm left not knowing whether they're coming in or not and then having to turn them away at the door because they haven't paid. It should be simple and I'm sure I explain it clearly to new students in the email, but some people just don't seem to get it at all. As marbman said earlier, I do need to get tougher with people, I agree with that.

Also at the moment, three of my long-term students owe me fees. I have emailed all three of them twice reminding them, but have received no reply and no payments have been made. These three all cancelled last week's lessons due to illness, so I didn't actually teach a lesson, but they are all aware of the cancellation policy that they need to pay. How do I get people to pay if they ignore my messages?? Sick of people thinking it's fine to bend my rules to suit themselves, and I'm a lot tougher than I used to be, but still people do it. Doesn't make me feel great.

You're missing the point. If they have not paid when they made the booking they will have been told, at that point, that they don't have a booking. So they will not turn up.

 

[DazRave]

Because I already request payment at time of booking and that's what I'm having the issue with; people just not paying but still turning up. If they don't pay, I'm left not knowing whether they're coming in or not and then having to turn them away at the door because they haven't paid. It should be simple and I'm sure I explain it clearly to new students in the email, but some people just don't seem to get it at all. As marbman said earlier, I do need to get tougher with people, I agree with that.

Also at the moment, three of my long-term students owe me fees. I have emailed all three of them twice reminding them, but have received no reply and no payments have been made. These three all cancelled last week's lessons due to illness, so I didn't actually teach a lesson, but they are all aware of the cancellation policy that they need to pay. How do I get people to pay if they ignore my messages?? Sick of people thinking it's fine to bend my rules to suit themselves, and I'm a lot tougher than I used to be, but still people do it. Doesn't make me feel great.

Two separate issues here.

You're owed money at the moment and you're looking to find a way to get them to pay up and then going forward you need a way to prevent this from happening in the first place.

As @Newchodge mentioned, you have missed the point slightly with everyone's suggestion regarding the second problem.

For argument's sake let's say you got yourself an online booking form where people could choose a date and then pay up front. They'd get an email confirmation saying they have booked successfully. If they don't pay, they won't get that confirmation but nor would you. So even if they STILL turned up, you turn them away as you have been doing or take payment before you get started via a card machine.

Let's say some clients like to ring to book. Use the same booking form but this time you fill it out over the phone to them and you take payment over the phone with your card machine. If they say "I don't have my card on me right now" you politely tell them to ring back once they have.

As for getting payment from clients who already owe you money, if they are regulars, refuse to book more sessions until they settle and if they are not regulars, keep sending them invoices (from a solicitor or something if needs must) until they do.. or cut your losses and move on with the plan above so it never happens again.

You came to the right place for advice so it's on you now to run with what you think would work best. Either way, I do wish you good luck! Sounds like you've done well so far other than these recent pesky customers!

 

[Fluffernutter]

Contract!

Terms and Conditions. Booking is confirmed by making full payment for the course of lessons booked. Until full payment is made, Dr. Loombogle's Music School for Looney Gentlefolk cannot regard this contract as having been confirmed. Whisky may be given in lieu of payment."

Thanks, that made me laugh (and made me google Loombogle).