Membership Expired Kat Hunter
Membership ExpiredForum Replies Created
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Damn, that sounds so stressful, Beckie. I agree, you should have an honest conversation with her (over the phone if necessary) about how she’s feeling about lessons. It may not be a priority for her at the moment if she’s sick, and dealing with a lot of life mishaps, so it pays to be empathetic about that and potentially offer to put lessons on hiatus (ie. stop reserving her time), until she’s “ready to come back” (she may never be, but at least you’ll get a straight answer and be rid of a student who sounds more of a headache than anything). And in the mean time, if you’ve taught lessons that haven’t been paid for, then that money is absolutely *owed* to you. So make it as easy for her to pay it as possible. Maybe ask if it’s ok to send her a paypal link, so she can pay the amount instantly, so that neither of you have to worry about it anymore. Get it dealt with and do it as quickly as possible. xx
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“Some people will always take the road of least confrontation/friction…telling someone that their services aren’t required seems to be too much for some people and they will avoid that at all costs.”
Yes, this is so true. Totally agree with your points, Mark! I think by nature a lot of us music teachers are sometimes quite assertive, organised or upfront, as these are often skills that come with the job. So sometimes it’s hard for us to put ourselves in the shoes of those who would avoid talking to you about whether or not your service is still relevant to them at all costs! We need not be disheartened though. 1. You can never please everybody 2. Even the people you do please may not be the right fit for you forever. Sometimes people just decide no. 2 of their own accord haha.
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Up until this year students were paying me lesson by lesson. Now I ask for payment in advance (although I’m not very good at this all of the time), and people have the option of buying 4 or 10 lessons at a time, at a discount. I don’t ask for notice when people quit. I do try and ask for feedback when it happens so that I can understand if there’s something that I can do to better my teaching…. but really there’s very little we can do.
I know it’s not really helpful, but I find mindset plays into this a lot for me. I think I’ve just finally accepted 4 years into this job that people are going to not show up occasionally – this happened with a brand new student this morning in fact! There are ways to prevent this, such as maintaining a solid line of communication with the student about their needs and to make time for calling them if the alarm bells go up that they may not be engaging with your business as you’d like. At the end of the day though, you’re a service. And when people stop prioritising that service or have second thoughts or it becomes no longer as important to them, they’ll just stop coming in. in fact if they think they’ll be reprimanded for quitting, they’re probably MORE likely to cut off all lines of communication when they stop showing up, as hard as this is for us.
One way to not feel this as harshly is to be booked out so much that the break is a welcome relief (if only this was me haha!). Another point is that if the student really cared so little about you that they gave you no notice, then perhaps it’s a GOOD thing that they’re gone. And an opportunity now arises to work with someone new in that time slot who is far more enthusiastic. This will make your work much more fulfilling as well. I know this sounds bleurghhk but at the end of the day there are pros and cons to this job. The pros are getting to inspire new people all the time and helping them unleash their creativity and having the flexibility that comes with working for ourselves. The cons are that people will piss off and may take for granted the time and effort you put into them, and chasing them up is only going to make them resent you more, even though it represents a loss of income on your part. It’s bleak, but unavoidable. For me personally, even though I’ve currently made peace with this as much as possible, I know that in the long term this unpredictability will probably take its toll (what? there are jobs where you get paid leave and predictable work hours and guaranteed income?? sign me up haha) and I’ll find a more stable line of work. Sorry if that got heavy and philosophical haha.
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Although my knowledge of the Uk legal system is not thorough, I would imagine that regardless of the law it would, in fact, be unethical to ACCEPT a student if you feel you’re unable to serve them as they would like, and if you know you can refer them to a different service that would much better cater for their needs.
For example, I now don’t teach anyone under the age of 16, don’t often teach people with disabilities, and don’t teach people with vocal injuries unless I know what I’m doing and am confident I am the best person to help these students reach their goals. This is not me *discriminating* against people. If parents enquire about lessons, or students with special needs enquire, there’s a teacher I refer them to who is AMAZING at this kind of work (when I watch her working with kids and compare it to my much more technique-focused adult-friendly teaching style, it’s a no-brainer). If students with injuries enquire, I request a letter from a doctor or ENT with an “ok” to start vocal training and specifics. It would be UNETHICAL for me to accept these students when I can refer them to other people who are far more knowledgeable than I am, in helping specific students achieve the goals they are aiming for.I know it’s much more sensitive when working with people with disabilities, and you have to watch your wording, but if you feel uncomfortable teaching someone, then taking their money for a service you aren’t well-equipped to provide is bad news no matter how you look at it.
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All good, Lily, glad to be of help! xx
