[Ruth Discua]

what do you mean before they come to the first lesson? sometimes i do the first lesson free thing sometimes they pay a deposit before the first one they come to if they book in themselves online but ye i explain the cancellation on the phone before they come and they get it in the booking email x

[Ruth Discua]

kat.. believe me your doing really well..ye you dont need to like give them a telling off on there first lesson its just normalised like.. ok so this is how it works etc.. then its all fine.. its taken a long time to get to this stage and so if i can help you a little bit that makes me happy to know you may not be as stressed lol and i dont know everything.. but i know that works for me with the wording etc!

XxX

[Ruth Discua]

Ye but they wouldnt do that if things had been made clear to them.

So ye.. this is the welcome letter everyone gets in an email and printed out on there first lesson, if they aren’t one week in advance they don’t get booked in.. and they can easily bank transfer or paypal or i can send them a payment link if they don’t give the notice and need to pay to be back into one week in advance

.completley agree its a judgement call if they are a long standing student and they have been coming a long time and they never normally cancel..but i find if they do once and get away with it.. they will again.. or if you let them off one time you have to make it clear not again and then even when its harder to charge the second time.. you have to. it shows you respect yourself and your time as a teacher and are actually busy and can fill the slots if they you have a waiting list! which will only improve credibility

i struggled with it for years and its still hard sometimes but i think back to how much money i must have lost letting people off when now.. everyone is more than happy with the policy and its all fine!

Dear Student/Parent
I would like to welcome you to your first lesson, I will be teaching the highest standards of vocal coaching, with lessons tailored to your personal goals.

Payment
• Lessons for pay as you go students are payable weekly, one week in advance at the start of each lesson.
Cancellations
• If the student needs to cancel in the rare case of an emergency, for any
reason, at least 48 hours notice must be given. Failure to give this amount of
notice results in the missed lesson being chargeable.
• Due to the demand for vacant weekly slots, no exceptions can be made when
the required amount of notice is not given

I look forward to working with you to help you achieve your singing dreams!

Thank you
Ruth Discua

edit as appropriate hope it helps!

and yes can i say showing you are human does go along way!

i guess it is at the end of the day a judgement call on an individual basis..how busy you are and how long they have been lessons etc but i feel and when i explain things to the students… it must be the exact same rule for everyone because if not..and certain students are “let off” because they have been attending lessons longer thats actually not fair to any of the students.. the ones that do pay for missed lessons being the main one! so i guess you either stick to your policy or you dont..so its fair for everyone.. and you

x

[Ruth Discua]

yes!! welcome pack!!!

[Ruth Discua]

number 2 That five lessons for four is great!!!!! similar to the first lesson free thing I ma try that out thanks for that!

if it helps the musicians union have free teachers contract templates if anyones a member.

Completley agree the one week in front students are on an online payment system similar to a direct debit so i can request payment for the week in advance straight away.

this forum is great gonna try number 2 out this week! thanks