Piano lessons and no makeups allowed

[morgan]

I have a dd6 that has taken private cello lessons for nearly 2 years (it's 45 min away). She started taking group piano a the same music center. She really enjoys piano and wants to continue, but the group lessons aren't really working (they are painfully slow to get all the kids through the material). I found a wonderful piano teacher in my neighborhood and we had a trial lesson, discussed goals, etc. My dd really liked her.

 

However, when she emailed me her 'handbook' I discovered that she has a zero tolerance for missed lessons. You pay a set monthly fee based on the length of your lessons, but vacations, illness, emergencies, etc are not credited to your account. There are no makeups, not even if she cancels. She will have a phone lesson (whatever that would entail), if she is sick or the student is, provided there was 24 hour notice.

 

I have had my kids in private string lessons for 10+ years and never heard of such a strict policy. We have always been able to schedule vacations or miss a lesson occasionally due to illness. Is this 'inflexibility' common practice for piano teachers? I can understand how this benefits her and insures her monthly income, but it just seems extreme to me and certainly a 6 year old is going to get sick a couple times a year at least.

 

Any thoughts?

[Tap]

The instructors that I know who have put these strict of policies into place, have usually figured a few cancellations into their fee. They figure you will take a weeks vacation and so will they. They figure they will miss 2 lessons a year for illness and so will the child. Add a few holidays or other commitments, and when they are calculating their fee, they take those dozen or so lessons out of the equation. So, while if everyone showed up for each lesson, they would have charged $300 per month, they actually charge $275 per month year round, instead of adjusting each month as it comes.

[Acorn]

We went to a dance studio with a similar policy. They couldn't offer make-up sessions because it would be kids of different ages from different classes. We paid a semester tuition not a per class fee, so I never put much thought into the couple of lessons that we had to miss.

[Sun]

I think piano teachers who can do so (i.e. have enough demand for their services) often have policies like this. I can't blame them because they do have bills all year round. Cancellations and student vacations mean unpredictable drops in the teacher's income if students don't pay for the missed lessons. Our son's teacher has a similar policy--joining the studio puts you on the hook for one year of tuition (if you discontinue lessons completely, you are only obligated for payment through the time you notified her, with a few weeks' notice), whether you're on vacation or not.

 

As for make-up lessons, some teachers make their written policy much stricter than their actual policy. In other words, if your child is a diligent student and you are an easy-to-work-with family, she may be willing to try to accommodate a very occasional make-up lesson with notice ahead of time. In my son's studio, it's easier for homeschool families to make this work because the teacher has more free time while school is in session.

 

Remember that without this type of policy, there are many, many families who take advantage of teachers like this--cancelling at the last minute, demanding numerous make-up lessons to make life more convenient for them, and so on.

[catz]

My kid's have a very similar policy at their music school (they take piano and violin). I would ask specifically about the case of the teacher missing a lesson. Does she do it via skype? Because that would make sense, but via phone seems useless. If she were sick or had a conflict, you'd think she would need to make that up. Our teacher will do a make up if our music school closes due to weather as well. I would be uncomfortable with a teacher being able to miss as many lessons as they want according to the policy.

 

That said, we've been with our teachers for several years now. And they have done make ups or bonus lessons for us because we're good students and because we can come at unusual times earlier in the day. My piano playing son is doing some auditioning this weekend for scholarships, etc (3 things in one weekend - oi). This week he got an extra lesson (teacher is supposed to be off this week).

 

I personally don't blame music teachers for playing hardball in their policies and adjusting from there if they have a dedicated student. Some parents are super flakey otherwise. I bet that particular teacher had a bad experience with some parent wanting to reschedule every other week. I know some other teachers that allow for a few reschedules over the course of a year, and that's a nice compromise. But my daughter's violin teacher has done at least 5 reschedule/bonus lessons in the past year, despite her official policy. But there have been some vacation lessons we paid for and didn't receive. If they were doing a group class of any kind, we'd be paying for missed weeks too.

 

I think it wouldn't hurt to look around if this policy is going to be a huge deal for you.

[Pippen]

One of the college profs my son took lessons from had a similar policy in place, except he wouldn't charge if he had to cancel the lesson and he was good about working kids in who couldn't make their scheduled times.

 

He relied on the income so I understood, especially since many of his private students were busy high school band students who would routinely miss if not held to the weekly lesson.

[bettyandbob]

People who do not have such strict policies often get burned. So, once they have established themselves, they will set up strict policies.

[Alice]

Ours allows make-ups within reason. She will offer a few days every few months for make-ups, usually it’s school holidays or vacations. She is always able to work with us for make-ups because of homeschooling, I think it’s harder for her to accommodate kids who are in school and have tighter schedules. One thing that works is that we often just extend the lessons a bit for a few weeks. So if they miss a 30 minute lesson the next two weeks they do 45 minute lessons.

 

ETA: The official policy is no-makeups outside the days she offers. But the few times we’ve needed to miss for illness or vacation I’ve let her know in advance. I didn’t suggest the make-up but she offered to do the longer lessons and that worked well for us. But again, it’s because we’re coming at a time when she wouldn’t be teaching anyway. In addition to homeschooling we happen to be her first lessons of the afternoon so it’s fairly easy to come early for a week or two.

 

I can understand a strict policy because they do depend on the income but I’d balk at the idea that if she cancels there is no make-up or no refund. Ours has canceled twice for emergencies with no make-ups available but she also gives a refund for that week.

[Laura Corin]

My boys have lessons at school. There is no makeup for illness, but scheduled absences are free of charge (if good notice is given).

 

Having previously worked as a private English tutor, I can understand why teachers have these policies: some people can be very unreliable, and if you keep a slot for them you can lose a lot of money. I'm not saying that you would be like that, but it's not uncommon.

 

Laura

[Harriet Vane]

My kids' guitar and piano teachers have always had this policy. I think it is reasonable given the fact that there really are many who take advantage unfairly. The nice thing about our instructors is that despite the official policy, they have all been willing to bend for us when there is genuine need. For example, when my dd had pneumonia, her piano instructor cheerfully rescheduled five weeks of lessons, extending into the summer session for us.

[poppy]

People take wild advantage when make ups are allowed. I get why the instructor has that policy, esp if she has enough students willing to accept the terms. Just think of it as an annual fee not a pay as you go.

[HS Mom in NC]

Did music lessons for 10+ years. The only make ups I ever heard of a teacher doing were if she cancelled the class on a day that was not already scheduled as vacation time. I don't think in all that time with 3 different studios a teacher ever cancelled on us unexpectedly. If they did, there would usually be a credit for one lesson for the next month's bill. Usually they know ahead of time and bill less for that month. I've been to studios so full that there was no way the teacher could have scheduled a make up lesson because she has 40+ students each with their own time slot every week.

[J-rap]

I would guess that her up-front policies are stricter than they are once she gets to know you better. If she sees that you are very dedicated and reliable, she may allow for a make-up lesson if you give her plenty of notice. She has probably had people take advantage of her scheduling and make-up lessons in the past.

 

All of my children took piano lessons, but we only had teachers who were super flexible; if we weren't canceling, they were! :) But we always made it up, one way or another.

[Dahliarw]

Sounds similar to our piano teacher. If she cancels, she does refund the cost of that lesson, though. We paid for the whole month of September even though we were out of the country because we neeed our spots held. But other than that, we've only missed 2 lessons all year due to my kids being sick, so it hasn't been a huge deal overall cost wise. She relies on the income and her open spots for lessons are all filled, so I can totally understand not giving refunds when I cancel and there just isn't a spot for make ups.

[jennynd]

When my kids took lesson in studio, we only pay the lesson we attended. We were usually very good paying and we don't miss lesson unless sick or on vacation. I think the teacher go easy on is. We now switch a teacher that teaching private lesson is her sole income. We pay by month and will be no redound if it is vacation, holiday, sickness... Which I do understand. She is a wonderful teacher and I feel it worth it.

[QueenCat]

Every piano teacher ds took lessons with had a "no make ups" if the student canceled with less than 24 hours notice. Less than 24 hours meant she usually couldn't fill the slot. If it was more than that, she would give the student 2-3 options for a make up but if you couldn't take one of those slots, than you did not get your money back. Each of the teachers did make up lessons if the teacher had to cancel. Every piano teacher we've worked with loved teaching piano but they were also running a business, some smaller than others, but they can't just have people canceling left and right during flu season, without some sort of firm policy in place.

[Catherine]

Our teacher, with decades of experience, is far more flexible with make-ups and schedules one week for make-ups per semester. I personally would not be willing to hire a teacher with such a strict policy. Fortunately, our area has hundreds of music teachers to we are free to choose someone who is skilled and reasonable in her policies. In return, we are very careful to take the teacher's time seriously and to give plenty of notice if we cannot come. There's s subtle difference, but it's basically the difference between a strictly business model and a teaching\mentoring model.

 

IMO, unless your child is a very advanced and competitive player, it doesn't make sense to patronize a teacher like you describe. Find someone reasonable! Don't support a business model like the one you describe unless there are very good reasons to.

[morgan]

Thank you for all of your responses, I really appreciate the feedback! Although my kids have always studied with very well-respected string teachers (however teaching was not their only source of income), they have been much more flexible so I wasn't prepared for the strict policies from the piano teacher. It does seem like there are quite a few teachers with similar policies out there. I guess I'll have to think about it.

[gardenmom5]

while I can understand wanting stability and to get the message through to students/parents that this is serious and they can't skip out because something more interesting came up - she does seem very inflexible. I and my dd both have friends who teach, and have never even heard of such rigidity. especially for a six year old.

 

I would expect a credit/make-up for HER being sick at an absolute bare minimum. I would be very skeptical of a "phone lesson". (seriously????) maybe for a very advanced student where it's more discussion of technique/theory than practice.

 

I honestly wonder if a student who is dependable, had a temp of 102 would still have their feet to the fire. (a child that sick isn't in a state to have a "phone lesson".) You might find when she sees your dd as dependable, and doing her daily practice, she may be more willing to work with you.

 

1dd tried to go to school once - she couldn't even stand up - because several teachers said there would be NO make-ups for the final. ('cause lots of kids would skip it on the day, so they could take it later.) I assured her, they'd let her make it up (I would have been there being a grouchy mother bear if they didn't.). one teacher told her she had an "a" without even taking the final.

[QueenCat]

Thank you for all of your responses, I really appreciate the feedback! Although my kids have always studied with very well-respected string teachers (however teaching was not their only source of income), they have been much more flexible so I wasn't prepared for the strict policies from the piano teacher. It does seem like there are quite a few teachers with similar policies out there. I guess I'll have to think about it.

 

 

The only thing that surprised me about the teacher you are dealing with is her not making up lessons when SHE cancels.

[catz]

How our school's policy is stated that made sense to me is that you are paying for a scheduled block of the teacher's time. Even if you don't show up, that block of time is set aside for you. It's not like the teacher can be working another job in that 30-45 minute window between lessons. A lot music teachers have outside gigs - they perform, are music directors at churches, work in schools, have families, etc and don't have huge chunks of free time for make ups. If you were doing a group piano class and missed a week, you'd be paying for that week.

 

I would totally be uncomfortable with the policy for HER missing though. Our music school has 2 semesters. We pay for 16 lessons per 20 week semester. The teacher can choose 4 weeks she will be gone, and we are told those weeks at the beginning of the semester. Summers are a little different and a little more flexible. We do 8 weeks of lessons over like 12-14 weeks on varying days and at varying times - they will accommodate camps and vacations more easily over summer.

 

Anyway - I would definitely ask her about the pieces you are not comfortable with and do some other looking. This sort of policy is super common here, even for people that teach out of their homes. The policy about the teacher missing a lesson is weird in my book though.

[Cera]

Our music teacher is strict about missed lessons but not unreasonably so. She does not do refunds for missed lessons but does offer reasonable makeups. You can make up four lessons per year (one per quarter and they carry over through the end of the year) as long as notice is given and she will work with you in case of emergencies (a broken arm for example). If you miss the lesson do to her absence or a holiday it does not count as a makeup, it is simply rescheduled. She takes a week off at the end of every quarter (12 weeks of lessons every thirteen weeks). She does not do refunds and requires 30 days notice to end lessons.

[chiguirre]

Her policy regarding your absences is reasonable, but I wouldn't accept her not making up her cancellations or refunding that lesson. That's simply unacceptable in my book. T takes violin lessons at a music school and they have a 24 hour cancellation rule that seems reasonable to me. G's tutor is very sweet and I know that some of her other clients do take advantage of that. She's always so glad that I pay on time each week, that I wonder what other people are doing?!?

[Unicorn.]

The only thing that surprised me about the teacher you are dealing with is her not making up lessons when SHE cancels.

 

 

I agree. I would check w/ other students, and find out if she has a habit of cancelling. I bet not. And I agree w/ others, that she has been burned in the past, and might be more flexible after getting to know you and your dd.

[Laurie4b]

The music teachers we've worked with plan their year knowing that they have fewer lessons in the summer because of vacations. So they budget that way, just like teachers who don't get year-round pay do.

 

I find a policy where the teacher still charges if she cancels to be ridiculous.

 

With our music teacher, we work out at the beginning of the month how many lessons there will be for that month.

 

I think a policy that doesn't allow cancellations for illness will end up resulting in contagious kids going because their parents don't want to waste the money.

 

It wouldn't be worth it to me. I'd feel like I was getting ripped off all the time and it would make me grumpy!

[Lilaclady]

We had to leave out prior piano place for a policy like this. The teacher will call to cane, with less than 24 hrs notice if she was ill but when I called to reschedule with over 3 days notice for a conflict, she will not reschedule and said her policy is for us to give at least 1 week notice. I switched when I found another teacher who is so much more reasonable.

[SweetandSimple]

This thread makes me appreciate our piano teacher. I hand her $20 each week that she comes to teach a lesson. Sometimes she has to miss a lesson, or sometimes we do, but we never pay for those lessons.

 

Because we homeschool, though, we do have a lot of flexibility to reschedule lessons during the daytime when her other piano students aren't available. I think she appreciates that.

[Mom0012]

I have a dd6 that has taken private cello lessons for nearly 2 years (it's 45 min away). She started taking group piano a the same music center. She really enjoys piano and wants to continue, but the group lessons aren't really working (they are painfully slow to get all the kids through the material). I found a wonderful piano teacher in my neighborhood and we had a trial lesson, discussed goals, etc. My dd really liked her.

 

However, when she emailed me her 'handbook' I discovered that she has a zero tolerance for missed lessons. You pay a set monthly fee based on the length of your lessons, but vacations, illness, emergencies, etc are not credited to your account. There are no makeups, not even if she cancels. She will have a phone lesson (whatever that would entail), if she is sick or the student is, provided there was 24 hour notice.

 

I have had my kids in private string lessons for 10+ years and never heard of such a strict policy. We have always been able to schedule vacations or miss a lesson occasionally due to illness. Is this 'inflexibility' common practice for piano teachers? I can understand how this benefits her and insures her monthly income, but it just seems extreme to me and certainly a 6 year old is going to get sick a couple times a year at least.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I wouldn't go for that. I can understand her charging if you just forget a lesson or maybe even if you cancel. I can't see giving any leeway at all for vacations or illness. I think she should offer a makeup lesson for those types of absences if she is depending on the income. The main thing that would not fly with me though, is her policy of not making up the lesson or offering a refund if SHE cancels. That would be unacceptable to me. And a phone lesson? How in the heck would that work?

[LucyStoner]

 

 

The only thing that surprised me about the teacher you are dealing with is her not making up lessons when SHE cancels.

 

 

I agree. I get the no make ups if the student cancels thing. I think that no refund or makeup if the teacher cancels is absurd.

[amy g.]

I have the opposite situation. Our piano teacher has a waiting list that is years long, and yet she refunds me for every lesson that we miss.

 

I've told her that it is ridiculous. She already has that time allocated for us, it is not like she can use it to make money when Ds gets sick, or the battery dies on my car.

 

Why should she be out that money?

 

As far as her canceling a lesson, I don't know. She has never missed one in almost 10 years. She does go on vacation, but it is scheduled, and we don't pay for that week.

[GoVanGogh]

One thing I didn't see mentioned (maybe I missed?) is that strict policies like this encourage parents to take sick children to lessons.

My child takes a number of classes and therapy sessions outside the house. I prefer the ones with generous makeup policies - not because we take advantage of the policy, but because the parents are more likely to keep sick children at home!

Part of the reason we left our last (occupational/physical) therapy facility is that their policy was to drop patients after 3 missed sessions (with or without notice, sick child or vacation, all the same) in one calendar year. Needless to say, a lot of parents took their sick children to therapy.

[redsquirrel]

Our teacher has 'very limited' make up sessions available. I understand why, because he is working at two different universities, has three very young children, and has a full private studio. On the very rare occasions we have cancelled I haven't bothered to ask for a make up because I know we won't be able to make it. I think he has one spot in his schedule set aside for makeups and that is it. You can make it or you can not. He is very up front about this and why he has to keep to a strict schedule. The good thing is that he is such a nice guy and it is so obvious why this policy exists that it doesn't bother me in the least.

 

The time he cancelled some lessons (new baby) no one was charged.

[musicianmom]

No makeups if student misses? Entirely reasonable. It's what I would do if I were teaching full time and depending on that income to support my family.

 

No makeups when teacher misses? That's just weird.

[Flowing Brook]

I clicked this because I kept reading it as though the piano teacher would not let you wear makeup! I thought why in the world would anyone care?

Now that I know what the real question is I will say this sounds a little strict.

[Dahliarw]

I should add that our teacher does lessons during the school year only, so we have the summers off. That makes it easier.

[zillymom]

I teach privately (flute, piano, and harp) and have a flat rate per month. I don't adjust for vacations/holidays. I don't charge extra for 5-week months, and I have no recital or registration fees. I don't refund for missed lessons on the student's part, although I do try to schedule a makeup lesson if my schedule allows. If I can't work it in within a week or two, the lesson is forfeited. They're also allowed to switch with other students (many of them know each other from school). My studio runs so much more smoothly since I started using a stricter policy. However, I DO refund a pro-rated amount if I have to miss and we can't schedule a makeup lesson. That only seems fair. :)

[violamama]

I don't allow kids make-ups in my handbook. IRL, sometimes I will offer one when I'm given notice of several weeks from a reliable student.

 

She's probably like that: I would definitely ASK her directly. She may put a strict face forward but be willing to make up her own absences.

[KungFuPanda]

I don't do make-ups if the student misses class, but I will reschedule a class that "I" have to cancel or I'll pro-rate the month. I explain up front that they are paying for a space in a particular class and it's on them if they need to miss a class or two. Still, I have one student who will ask for a make-up in another class even if she chose to go to a different activity during class. It's a little frustrating.

 

I AM more flexible with private lessons, but people almost never reschedule those.

[Roadrunner]

I teach privately (flute, piano, and harp) and have a flat rate per month. I don't adjust for vacations/holidays. I don't charge extra for 5-week months, and I have no recital or registration fees. I don't refund for missed lessons on the student's part, although I do try to schedule a makeup lesson if my schedule allows. If I can't work it in within a week or two, the lesson is forfeited. They're also allowed to switch with other students (many of them know each other from school). My studio runs so much more smoothly since I started using a stricter policy. However, I DO refund a pro-rated amount if I have to miss and we can't schedule a makeup lesson. That only seems fair. :)

 

What would you do if a student was going to be out of the country for 3 months? We are facing this situation and I am not sure how to approach it.

[violamama]

I do get the policy. One is paying for a spot. But it just seems like there should be some rare exceptions if someone is truly sick. I wouldn't want someone in my home who is very sick.

 

 

I describe it like this: My life is scheduled such that it helps to think of it as me offering a one-on-one course, much like a college class. Just because your child is the only one in the course does not mean that having to miss it guarantees a make-up. I actually rent the facility where I teach, so not only would I not be paid for my half hour sitting there but I'm actually paying for it. Things happen, yes, but that's part of the risk of signing up a child for lessons. It's not necessarily a risk the teacher should assume simply because they are the teacher. Nobody asks our swim center to arrange another class when a child is sick. FWIW if the teacher misses, it totally makes sense to have prorating or make-ups.

 

My illness policy is similarly strict: Children who missed school that day are NOT allowed to come to their lesson. Children with active coughs, fevers, or upset stomachs are also not to come. I have sent kids home. And I am actually pretty likely to give a make-up, even though my handbook says I don't have to.

 

In my experience, parents bring their sick kids all the time. Actually, they often send the nanny with them.

[violamama]

What would you do if a student was going to be out of the country for 3 months? We are facing this situation and I am not sure how to approach it.

 

 

That's tough. I have a wait list, so it might mean you would lose your spot unless you paid to hold your spot. If you could arrange for another student to extend their time (say, the two neighboring 30 minute students get 45 minute lessons for the three months and their parents split the cost with you- win win), then I think you'd have to go to the back of the line.

 

I would ask very very early and humbly. And if the teacher gave us a "deal", I would bring back a little gift. :thumbup1:

[SKL]

I don't get charged for piano lessons that my kids don't attend. They get free make-up classes at gym. Of course, the teachers need to be informed in advance so they can make adjustments. The only extra where I've had to pay regardless of whether my kids show up is group swimming lessons.

[Mrs Mungo]

We have had both music teachers who did and did not make up lessons when we needed to cancel for some reason. However, we have never had a teacher who refused to do make up lessons when the teacher needed to cancel a lesson. That would be unacceptable, IMO.

[zillymom]

What would you do if a student was going to be out of the country for 3 months? We are facing this situation and I am not sure how to approach it.

 

I'd probably keep them at the front of the waiting list, but really try to hold the spot.

 

I had a family who went out of town for 2 months last year. They insisted on paying to keep their spot instead of chancing not having a spot when they returned. The student took half hour lessons, so for a month before and a month after the trip, we did hour long lessons as often as our schedules allowed. Didn't get them all in, but we got most!

[AHASRADA]

This is my 4th year as an ESL tutor, and up to this point I haven't had any official policies. I will be instituting some next year.

 

I regularly have students who cancel the same day, sometimes with only an hour or even minutes before lesson time. This means I have already put in the time to prepare the lesson, make photocopies, etc. and planned my day around being busy for that hour.

 

At least a couple of times per month, someone just doesn't show up. I have sent little dd to another part of the house, cleaned off the table, set up their books, and wait watching out the window for 15 minutes before I decide they must not be coming.

 

Some students regularly arrive 10-15 minutes late, and are picked up an hour (or more) after their arrival, not at their scheduled end time.

 

I can absolutely understand a teacher expecting to be paid for cancellations, certainly with less than 24 hours notice. I would not charge for school vacation weeks or if I cancelled.