If you want to learn to play guitar well, then getting a few chords under your belt should be a top priority. How can we find balance between the two extremes? Also point out that it will be easier than ever to reschedule a lesson. However, I do have a thought… and bear with me. Students can reschedule for whatever reason at any time – provided I have “the night before” notice. There are a number of other things that you can do, but it’s best talked about in person. Add to My List. Yes, these are all exact reasons why clients shouldn’t expect the teacher to give make-up lessons. There is still a way to use this tactic. Am I doing something wrong? What do YOU think it means when someone signs up to your studio? It is driving me crazy!!! Then I can hand it off to someone else. Parents wouldn’t wait to contact me about lesson reschedules. Hi Wendy, Before the change, parents talked with a sense of entitlement about makeups and reschedules. Learn how to play No Make Up (노메이크업) by Zion.T on the piano! (It goes without saying that all of us give make-ups when we, the teacher, cancel the lesson.) In the last year, my school has grown and I now have 6 other tutors and two locations. I spend way too much time trying to reschedule everything. Are you still concerned? If there is a bad enough winter, it may take longer due to multiple student makeup’s. This not only reminds them to take an open spot… it is constantly reminding them to contact me sooner (even though I don’t explicitly state it). I would hope not, since I’d like to be able to look at a calendar at 2pm or so to see, at a glance, who is actually coming to lessons that afternoon. Any suggestions for making up 30 lessons – MY cancellations? Everyone else missed 3 or 4 lessons (with a few over-scheduled kids missing 7 or more!). When I implemented this new rescheduling system, I noticed that: It’s effective. I will delay the new kid until that spot has been taken up. Thus, leaving several lesson gaps for my tutors throughout the term and a bombardment of emails from parents asking what time we could squeeze their child in for their six catch-up classes. I don't have time to find it in a collection or something containing songs I already have, or to wait for the Post Office to deliver it to me. by Silva | Friday, February 14th, 2020 | 0 comments. we should be using our creativity and ingenuity to find a solution! Tuition. You want your students to know that your time is not as valuable as theirs. Illness is unavoidable whereas going on a vacation, to a bday party, to a different activity, etc. Having said that I also have families with legitimate cancellation requests and I am preparing their students for festivals and I REALLY NEED TO SEE THEM!!!!!! You are making mom and dad’s lives easier by offering convenient and stress-free customer service. 3. And you could end up with an entry level student and an intermediate student in the same shared lesson time. Thank you!!!! Do you do group lessons for makeups? Since Jan I have only had 8 lessons missed and I will be seeing them all during March Break with one or two exceptions. Chosing a Piano Studio. You can create multiple calendars within one calendar. Can you not understand a parent’s frustration? Valerie Ramirez. The other way I look at things are with my own two kids, if they are sick or because of weather and they can’t make their swimming lesson (private or not), soccer practice, music lessons, summer camps…..I never expect a refund or a makeup and I am also never offered a makeup/$$ in return. Having trouble signing up? I didn’t really understand this part. I keep my master schedule in an Excel spreadsheet. So if your student can’t come at the time that they are normally scheduled, not only are you losing that time to spend on other things, but you are also losing an additional 30/45/60 minutes later in the week along with minutes of prep. But we know there are weeks when everyone wants a more convenient time. Up until now I have a policy that I do give make-up lessons. Our Piano Method; About Us; Student Portal; Calendar; Location & Contact Us; Select Page. Now, I have a very strong sense of justice and fairness. My best recommendation for having a spine of steel is to be great at attracting new students. it was several weeks worth of extra work, and that was unacceptable to me. Thanks for this innovative and unique idea! Psychologically, the ball has to be in their court. I feel that illness is the biggest reason I want to allow make ups for. “this is your allocated time”. If I ever have to miss lessons (I went on vacation a lot last year) or if I get sick… I will just point parents towards that “extra” day. The conference is fabulous! I can do unlimited reschedules because parents know that at any time they can go online, look at the online scheduler, and reschedule their makeup lesson. Inclement weather is one of the “flex weeks” for me! This system has increased customer happiness, reduced teacher-parent conflicts, and reduced my admin and teaching time. I have been teaching piano lessons as a teacher in large studios with multiple teachers for about 6 years, but as I have just purchased my first home I am ready to start my own private studio. Dana It doesn’t even include the names of the students involved. Daniel: I’m intrigued! Make up lessons will be given for lessons cancelled at least 24 hours in advance. The purpose of this point isn’t to say you should give up personal time. I will try immediately get them to reschedule. A popup box should appear with a long, ugly link. In that case, I would maintain a separate calendar for each individual teacher. I don’t know how I navigated to your blog, but I really like your posts. "Why Can't I Have A Makeup Lesson?" I estimate that I was spending 2-3 hours per week on the phone. No makeups allowed, unless it is extenuating circumstances (long-term illness or something serious). I haven’t tried that, but that could work too! I agree so much with Daniel about the positive effects this system has for client loyalty and morale. I instruct them to bookmark the link. Hi my name is Will and welcome to my channel Piano Hits! 3. Most parents forget about missed lessons after a month or two. I will email you with other questions if I have any. It was a mess. Yet most families want a 4 pm lesson except during the 2-3 months of (enter sport name) season. Explore the fundamentals of music via Ableton's interactive website. I don’t feel as if people abuse it. That would be helpful if you have a last minute cancellation. 2. They will not be able to edit the calendar. Here’s a question. It appears to be some sort of glitch. Makeup Schedule. It didn’t work very well.) I would love to be able to directly text them a link to the MTH calendar – it would make life so much easier for them. The point is, if you don’t protect your time, no one else will. That’s where the “10 minutes of admin per week” comes in. I am very experienced with makeup, but not only with makeup, with skincare as well, so you will not only be learning how to apply makeup, the best and the worst type of makeup brands and what enhances your make up, you will also be learning how to take care of your skin as well. I don’t do group lessons at the moment but only have one piano. “The Best Stress-free Business Practices for Your Studio” online workshop, https://composecreate.com/guess-what-we-might-get-to-meet/, https://composecreate.com/long-distance-piano-lesson-games/, How to Organize Digital Music on Your Computer, Best Piano Teaching Ideas (from the 20th Anniversary Celebration). Ultimately I have students who really can’t come for make-up lessons anyway. Also, I oversee a studio of 10 private teachers, I’m interested in your solutions for larger schools. If there are no empty slots in the calendar (which is rare), I will punt it forward to a future week. Voice lessons are what you need! If you find you can’t fit all your lessons in, you might consider having a “makeup Saturday” once a quarter. Some people just don’t use technology as much . The navigation bar link is actually the private admin link. I have two comments. Or are they invited to another group lesson? I don’t really have to, because in this system it’s up to them to get in touch with ME. Great article…thanks! I used to offer make-ups, and limited them to 3 per year, but this meant about 100 make-ups per year! Sign in below to book it for yourself. You will increase your free time, and decrease the amount of lessons that you have to reschedule into family or personal time. Any lessons cancelled at least 24 hours ahead of the scheduled lesson will receive a make-up lesson at a time convenient to both the teacher and the student. What I like to do is create a calendar for the entire school year and present it to families in August, and I post this information on my studio website for reference. volume_up volume_off. Going to be out of town? These problems can be easily solved using some basic “accounting”. They can’t see the perspectives of others. A quick search on Google tells me that most full-time private teachers have a strict No-Makeup-Whatsoever policy when lessons are cancelled by the students. I’m so glad I found it online nearly two years ago and implemented it last September. 5. Are you getting bored with your lessons on how to play piano? So, yes, I don’t have to give up my free time to take on an extra lesson, but I do end up losing income sometimes. Both bits of information (my cal plus the studio one) will show on the calendar…..I even chose different colors for the two cal’s so it would be easy to see. Some teachers will have kids in for special activities in a group setting. I believe in piano lessons that focus not only on learning necessary skills but on enjoying music and building a lifelong appreciation for it. There is still strain on a teacher when they are giving up what might normally be time for other things for an extra lesson, but again each teacher can decide what works best for them and their students. I’m trying to decide if I SHOULD offer a makeup lesson. Look at it from the parent’s perspective. Make-up lessons are a great opportunity to work with other expert teachers, or even try another instrument! Most of my parents are very understanding and don’t seem to abuse the system I have. Alex Bohrer Austin's original Cool Piano Teacher. Thanks for the blog post! Powered by Hal Leonard Australia, TPT has grown from its modest beginnings to now becoming an invaluable resource for all piano teachers. Great question. I don’t do group lessons at the moment but only have one piano. No shows or failure to notify the school/teacher within 24 hours is considered a forfeited lesson. This gives me time to squeeze people into makeup slots. They email me back. Never Get Hassled About Makeup Lessons Again, Part 1, How to Bond With Your Students Using Snapchat. English Grammar Lesson or Conversational English. We will sing a variety of music and styles from classical to musical theatre. They no longer feel the loss for missing lessons, and I don’t really have to do much to keep it running smoothly. This could include a “mini-recital”, review games, special activities, a workshop where students play and then the teacher teaches concepts based on the performance… the possibilities are endless. Call (512) 484-5002. Some of them understand the policy and are completely good with it (yay), but others continually ask for make-up lessons even when my policy is clear and they know it! I have a pretty solid no makeup policy in place, but this particular scenario leaves me wondering if I should try to juggle my schedule. Twitter. If you open the door an inch, it’s easy for people to want the door open wider. I’ve heard many teachers say, “Well, I can throw in a load of towels or something during that student’s lesson time.” But we all know that when someone doesn’t come for their lesson, the following happens: So by the time we send a student out the door, our 30 minute slot that we thought we had open is now less than 15 minutes. Rachel, no they come to a group. I’ll be giving two workshops about these things and it’s so much easier to explain in person. You have hit the nail on the head in identifying why! Thanks for sharing. Adults actually progress quicker being more committed to lessons they paid for. I do resent having to make myself available on what would have been down time, in order to accommodate students coming at different times. I put the ball in their court. Won’t bore you here with our makeup policy. There are a number of settings that we need to change on this page. It has saved me a lot of time trying to find a time to reschedule students. 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