AIBU to charge for missed lessons?

[LucyGru]

I'm a private tutor.

I had 2 lessons booked today.
Class A - 3 students. 1 dropped out late yesterday. Then the other 2 cancelled 40 minutes before the class began.
Class B - 1 student. Never showed up.

These are all regular students and I've taught them for a long time. They're usually pretty reliable. I feel frustrated that I spent time planning their lessons and organising materials, and then missed my kids football match to stay home and teach - and all for nothing?

I have previously said I will charge full price if the lesson is cancelled within 24 hours. Is that reasonable? I feel uncomfortable about it.

Absolutely standard to charge full price if less than 24 hours notice. If someone waives that as a gesture of goodwill I'm always very grateful but in no way expect it.

I guess the issue with this time is they've probably forgotten, or if you didn't reiterate the policy when they initially cancelled.

You need a standard text you send when a client cancels ie if they sent a text saying "Roise has a tummy ache and can't make it today/tomorrow", then you send back "sorry to hear that, just a reminder that I still charge full price for cancellations under 24 hours so the class will be invoiced as normal" You can fluff it up with wishing Rosie a speedy recovery, but ultimately you need to be clear and firm on the costs.

If 24 hours notice was made clear right from the beginning when parents signed up, then you should. Otherwise you could just become someone who has parents/children cancel just because they don't feel like it, and you will never be able to reliably schedule tutoring.

Not unreasonable. Have they been made aware of your T and Cs?
I'm a tutor and make people pay up front for all tuition. No payment, no reservation. I don't do refunds unless I cancel. I was forced to put this in place due to some clients' behaviour. This stops almost all cancellations and means I can offer some flexibility in genuine cases. It also weeds out the ones who 'plan' to mess you about.

I've been having piano lessons for 5 years and have had to cancel twice at short notice in that time (once for illness and once because my son needed me) and my tutor did not charge me for those because she knows I am reliable and wouldn't muck her around. So I was grateful for that.

But she also has a system that everyone must pay for a minimum number of lessons within the academic year, regardless of whether or not they've taken them. I think that's a good system - can you switch to something like that OP?

You need to have a 24 hour (minimum) cancellation policy. Payment in advance or no session.

It will reduce the likelihood of people messing you around and not valuing your time.

I think most people understand if you cancel/DNA within 24 hours they have to pay. It is really horrible behaviour.
What age are they?

You need to start taking payment upfront and one week in advance.

If you’ve said you will charge then charge them, I’m self employed (not a tutor) my clients pay up front and if they cancel late they just don’t get the money back so there is no discussion. Not sure what the norm is for tutors though, can you ask for payment up front?

From the other side though my dd has riding lessons which are paid up front, I fully accept that if we miss the lessons with less than 24 hours notice we still have to pay, that was agreed when signing up. My dd has missed a few lessons at short notice but they never charge me, just post constant facebook posts about how people cancelling at short notice costs them money. If I cancel I expect them to keep to the terms of the agreement - keep the money and give the horse an extra rest I fully accept that’s what I’ve signed up for!

So just stick to your guns and charge, a 24 notice period is completely acceptable.

I have private lessons. All tutors have a 24hr cancellation.

one has flexed a session for me this week as I got stuck in Sicily due to travel chaos which I really appreciate but I had expected to pay.

charge as per your policy but consider allowing a free re-book if the reasons given were good.

• it would be nice if they did. You also don't want to piss them off as regular, valued clients. ...Hope that they will offer to pay.

If they cancel the night before I'd not charge. 40 minutes before is cheeky. I'd send a message explaining you have had to make childcare arrangements for the lesson etc and that you need more notice. Hope they will offer to pay.

Fingers crossed*

This is AWFUL unprofessional advice.

Don't mention child care! That's inappropriate and makes it sound like a hobby business!

Don't "hope" or expect charity "fingers crossed" for some moral trigger.

Op needs signed terms & conditions, and to enforce them like an actual business. Not like someone running a charity for handouts.

I cannot stress enough how annoying it is to read advice from posters who advise female business owners to act like their skills and time aren't worth anything.

Would we advise a male PT, tutor, etc to mention childcare and "hope" for payment? No? Because it's stupid unprofessional advice.

YANBU to hold people to the T&C's that they have signed up for. They are paying for your time and expertise - if they don't turn up then they haven't received your expertise but they have still taken up your time so you cannot sell your expertise to anyone else and you deserve the reimbursement for that.

When I used to tutor students my cancellation policy was notice of 24-48hrs I'd charge 50% and less than 24hrs was 100% charge. If I had to cancel then the clients had the option of a rearranged session within the same week (if there was availability), a refund or using the session fee towards another type of class (eg I would often run intensive sessions/clubs/group classes etc during school holidays).

I also had a 3 strikes policy - if you cancelled 3 times within a term with less than 48hrs notice then that would be treated as notice to terminate our contract and you would not be able to sign up for the following term's classes.

If there was an emergency situation then I would gladly waive the fee (and those situations would be excluded from the 3 strike rule) but that was not an advertised part of my T&C's, it was done purely as a goodwill gesture on an individual basis so that I didn't have to cover every eventuality in writing nor was I obliged to do so if I felt that the student was trying to get out of the cancellation fee.

It is much easier to say "Normally I'd charge for a cancellation with less than 24hrs notice but under the circumstances of you having to rush Jimmy to hospital because he broke his arm 20mins before our lesson I'm happy to waive the fee on this occasion" rather than have to justify why they do have to pay the cancellation fee when they book a (non emergency) medical appointment before my session for the 3rd week in a row and are then running late to my class.

They booked the time, you kept it available for them. Of course they have to pay!

YANBU. You should charge.

One time I had to cancel a beauty treatment last minute, so I sent my friend instead and paid for it - win, win for everyone but me 😂 but there is no way I’d leave my beautician, a single mum running her own business, in a position where she would miss out.

What does their contract with you state?
What do your terms and conditions require?

On the other hand, what is the situation if you cancel their lesson?

This should all be covered before anyone starts with you, then there are no arguments.

If you don't respect your own time, your clients won't either.

You must charge. If you lose the clients, you'll replace them with better ones.

You have already laid out your terms that you should be paid in this situation, don’t feel bad about sticking with them.

My child does a number of activities, and we pay blocks in advance for all of them - monthly or termly.

If we have to cancel a lesson, we don’t get a refund, and would not expect one. This remains the case even if we can give notice of a cancellation long before a charging block.

I think this is fair enough. I am paying each teacher or coach for their expertise and time. They are putting aside the time for my child. If we cancel our appointment and did not pay we would be depriving them of the cost of the lesson in lost earnings.

If we’re not happy with this arrangement then fair enough, there are many others who would happily accept it. So I also view paying for the odd missed lesson as making sure the slot is reserved for my child for the rest of the year.

You have expertise and skills. They are buying these from you along with your time. Value your expertise, skills and time by charging them, otherwise they won’t value them.

I have never charged because that leaves me free to also cancel if I need to.
I might consider it if it was a recurring problem with a particular student.

I would charge up front for the term. It is not your fault if they are sick or dont turn up.

You can offer to rearrange if you want to on a case by case basis, depending on why they didn't turn up ie accident/sickness etc

DD has had music/drama lessons in the past and we always had to pay upfront and give a terms notice if no longer want the lessons.

*I cannot stress enough how annoying it is to read advice from posters who advise female business owners to act like their skills and time aren't worth anything.

Would we advise a male PT, tutor, etc to mention childcare and "hope" for payment? No? Because it's stupid unprofessional advice*

100% this! It’s not like you’re in a role where you’re likely to get a replacement client iI it?

If you feel uncomfortable then you could send an email to all your clients saying that you’ve been flexible up to now but from August you will be enforcing the T&Cs regarding cancelled appointments. Then it’s not like they’ve not Bern warned.

DH does private tuition. His policy is that if he cancels, or if a student cancels with 48h notice, they don't pay. If they cancel last-minute or don't show, they pay the missed lesson fee before the next lesson.

"Don't mention child care! That's inappropriate and makes it sound like a hobby business!"

God forbid that a woman should actually admit she has children 😱. Professional women should act at all times like their children do not exist.

In the case of the OP she missed her children's match because of work. Hence she must have had some form of childcare, whether formal and informal. If she was paying for childcare, the missed lessons would hurt even more as she would bear the cost of childcare without being paid. Of course you can point that out to clients. Believe it or not, most clients are aware of your children as private lessons may take place in your home. As parents themselves, they understand the juggling act which goes on. Tuition takes place after school and at the weekend which means there are frequent clashes with activities, clubs and so on.

"Don't "hope" or expect charity "fingers crossed" for some moral trigger."

Of course you can hope and cross your fingers that your clients will honour your agreement. Not to expect charity, just to hope that they don't make you chase them for the money, which can be a massive waste of your time and energy. At the end of the day, unless they pay willingly, your only form of comeback would be to pursue through small claims, and the amount/costs involved would mean this is not worth doing. Even sending a solicitor's letter would probably be the same amount as you were trying to recover. You are more likely to fire them as a client and write it off as a bad debt. Most tutors, of course, mitigate this risk by asking for the money up front monthly or pay on the day.

"Would we advise a male PT, tutor, etc to mention childcare and "hope" for payment? No? Because it's stupid unprofessional advice."

Meanwhile, in the real world, a few weeks ago my male mechanic asked me to pick my car up early so he could leave to pick his kids up from school. Last week my husband re-arranged some work as he was due to look after the children that day. It's not stupid or unprofessional to mention your children - it's reality. Tutors are people and parents too 🤷‍♀️

Def charge the no show and ones that cancelled 40mins before.