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  #1  
Old 10-31-2012, 03:36 PM
Guitarchick Guitarchick is offline
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Default Question for guitar instructors regarding getting paid!

I teach guitar and I enjoy it. But I get so frustrated dealing with cancellations, no-shows, parents not paying when they're supposed to, and not looking at the calendar, or either disregarding the fact that some months have 5 weeks! I feel like I am be taking advantage of.....that what I do isn't really that important. How do you other teachers deal with these issues? And how do you charge? I normally will not charge if the parent calls and says the child is sick.... Or if they tell me ahead of time that they will be out of town. But I'm beginning to think I should just charge for the whole month, regardless! It would be much easier to keep up with and I would KNOW how much money I will make each month! I've been teaching for 4 years but thinking about quitting. People beg for guitar teachers, and I live in a small town where there aren't many! But then they treat you as if what you do is not important!
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Old 10-31-2012, 03:42 PM
rlouie rlouie is offline
 
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I've never taught but have friends that do and they charge per month up front, that way the student is more likely to attend and if they are a no show you still get paid.
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Old 10-31-2012, 03:51 PM
jackcooper jackcooper is offline
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I've been teaching for about 15 years now and went through lots of hassle with payments until about 5 years ago.


Now what I do is to charge my students for a term at a time - going by the school calender. Between 8-12 weeks depending on the term.

They pay for all those lessons regardless of whether they turn up or not. Occasionally if someone is ill I will try to fit them into a space to make up for the missed lesson, but I will only do that if I have a cancellation "that particular week" and I make it clear that payment is by term and not attendance (otherwise you will get chancers pretending to be ill when heading off to a party ever other week).


The problem for me is holiday time. Since I'm charging for full terms I don't feel I should charge in blocks during the holidays. I take a "pay as you go" payment.
This means that I'm significantly poorer in the holidays (especially the summer).

I make up the money by doing other work during the summer. This year I spent my summer working on a farm (not glamorous work but great to be out in the fresh air and the occasional beautiful day).


Don't give up. Just get a system that's set in stone and stick to it. If someone messes you around and doesn't bring payment let them know that you will have to give their space to someone on the waiting list.

Cheers,

Jack.
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Old 10-31-2012, 03:52 PM
Taylorplayer516 Taylorplayer516 is offline
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Default Question for guitar instructors regarding getting paid!

I pay for the month and if I miss a lesson it's up to me to reschedule
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  #5  
Old 10-31-2012, 04:03 PM
Guitarchick Guitarchick is offline
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Thanks, guys. I do get paid the first of each month. Most parents abide by that rule. Once in a while the child will come to lesson with no money. I don't say anything. I just wait until the next week and see if they bring it! I don't make money during the holidays, either. And if it snows that REALLY gets the schedule messed up! I do offer make-up lessons. And when school is out during the summer, I take off too. It would be a nightmare! They just don't want to think about anything when they're out of school! I wish I had started out charging for the whole month, regardless. It's hard to tell the parents now that they will be charged for the whole month whether the child comes or not. My problem is I'm too dang nice! But I have GOT to do something!
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Old 10-31-2012, 04:07 PM
Ted @ LA Guitar Sales Ted @ LA Guitar Sales is offline
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I don't offer lessons but have several friends that have been teaching professionally for over a decade and they charge by the lesson not by the month, and they normally get paid for 4-6 lessons at a time in advance. If you have a student who likes to pay for one lesson at a time than just collect for the following week in advance. As for cancellations, there should be a deadline of say 24 to 48 hours. If cancelled before this deadline than the student should be able to re schedule that lesson but after that time the fee should be forfeited.
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Old 10-31-2012, 04:23 PM
Landru Landru is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rlouie View Post
I've never taught but have friends that do and they charge per month up front, that way the student is more likely to attend and if they are a no show you still get paid.
Abso abso abso-lute-ly. This is the only way to fly, unless you've reached an agreement up front that the student only comes in once in a while (this would usually be an experienced student).

Monthly charges clear out these problems pretty quickly.
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Old 10-31-2012, 04:34 PM
rolleiguy54 rolleiguy54 is offline
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My teacher deducts payments for the month from my checkbook.
This works great for both of us.
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Old 10-31-2012, 05:10 PM
jackcooper jackcooper is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitarchick View Post
I wish I had started out charging for the whole month, regardless. It's hard to tell the parents now that they will be charged for the whole month whether the child comes or not. My problem is I'm too dang nice! But I have GOT to do something!
Don't worry about telling them how things need to be.

This isn't just a hobby. It's a job.

Let them know that they are paying for "the slot in your timetable" rather than "a lesson at a time".

Before I changed my payment system I was charging for four weeks at a time and not charging anything for cancellations (provided they were within 48 hours). I had one teenage girl that turned up every fourth lesson (she was either ill, going to a friends, going to a concert etc etc). That meant that I was getting paid pretty much nothing for that slot (and getting more and more hacked off each week).

Now that same girl comes every week without fail (her parents must have hated the thought of paying for something they don't get) and she's actually very good at the guitar.

Sure, there may be a few parents that take might not like the new "schedule" (I guarantee that most will understand) , but if there is demand in your town - you'll be able to fill their slots without to much trouble.

It took me a while to realize that most people will generally take advantage if they know they can get away with it.

Getting paid is much more important than being nice.
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Old 10-31-2012, 05:34 PM
JohnW63 JohnW63 is offline
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We pay our kids drum instructor for the month and skip any 5th week, so that 4 lessons a month. We expect to pay even if our kid turns up sick that day. If something really sudden occurs we call and let him know. We leave it up to the teacher to offer to reschedule or not.
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Old 10-31-2012, 05:38 PM
aeronius aeronius is offline
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Charge ahead of time for whatever block of time is right for you. I charged by the month when I was teaching at the local mom and pop. When I started I charged per lesson, but got tired of no-shows and no-pays. It sucks to have to ask people for the money they owe you for the service you provide. Most are all to happy to 'forget' that they haven't paid you for your time. By charging up front I weeded out the people who weren't serious, and I made sure that my time and expenses as a teacher were covered regardless of whether the student showed up or not.

The way I see it is that they're paying for your time. Not just the actual teaching time, but the time it takes to plan, accommodate your students into your schedule, prepare lessons, drive to your teaching location, etc. All the student has to do is show up with a guitar. If they can't do that, you still deserve to be compensated for YOUR time.

Of course, with proper warning ahead of time, I was more than willing to do a make-up lesson with students who couldn't make it for a particular lesson. They did pay for it, and most of the time it was no big deal to reschedule. But if they were a no-show w/ no call or explanation, then it's their loss and I still got paid.
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  #12  
Old 10-31-2012, 05:49 PM
ship of fools ship of fools is offline
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Default A Quandry

Well at least your not locked into your past mistakes give them all some warning like a month or so that you will be changing the fee schedule and that if the miss a lesson that was scheduled and no prior notice was given or discussed with you ( and there are a few exceptions ie: death in the family or serious illness like hospitalization ) then that lesson is still charged for, possibly at a reduced rate depending on how much you charge, but that part is up to you.

And if the parents would like to know why, then tell them that your time is worth something also and that you took the time to be there for them and to start their lesson.

Sometimes you have to understand that it is a business and while we love to teach sometimes you have to take ahard line with yourself because they wouldn't do it if you didn't let them get away with it.
Don't quit if they do not understand there are many other students that will end up taking there place.ship
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  #13  
Old 10-31-2012, 06:01 PM
Mycroft Mycroft is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Guitarchick View Post
Thanks, guys. I do get paid the first of each month. Most parents abide by that rule. Once in a while the child will come to lesson with no money. I don't say anything. I just wait until the next week and see if they bring it! I don't make money during the holidays, either. And if it snows that REALLY gets the schedule messed up! I do offer make-up lessons. And when school is out during the summer, I take off too. It would be a nightmare! They just don't want to think about anything when they're out of school! I wish I had started out charging for the whole month, regardless. It's hard to tell the parents now that they will be charged for the whole month whether the child comes or not. My problem is I'm too dang nice! But I have GOT to do something!
I think that changing the definition for "you are paying for 4 lessons" to "you are paying for a lesson slot from 2:30 to 3:00 every tuesday" is a good idea. Point out that means that every now and then they will get an extra lesson when their day happens to occur 5 times a month. Also adopt a policy that if they have to miss a lesson, that they can make it up in any slot that you have open during the next week, but if your or their schedule do not cooperate then the lesson is lost. (Of course, with long term good students you can be more flexible, but by establishing the terms it allows you to be the one to determine if the situation warrants flexibility.)

I've a number of friends who teach music. There is often a subconscious attitude that what they do is not really "work" since music is "playing."
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  #14  
Old 10-31-2012, 06:04 PM
Mycroft Mycroft is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ship of fools View Post
there are a few exceptions ie: death in the family or serious illness like hospitalization.
Or, like the lesson that I shifted from a Monday to a Wednesday night a couple of weeks ago, Game 7 of the NLCS with a trip to the World Series on the line.

TW

"Yea Giants!"
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  #15  
Old 11-01-2012, 08:39 AM
StringFive StringFive is offline
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I have the same problem on occasion. But I find that charging per-month up front often scares folks off. My policy is that if you miss one lesson...no problem. If you miss two...you are not invited back.
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