Ok, what am I missing again?

[Chip McDonald]

I have a student that missed every other week last month.

 

Today he comes in - he was supposed to have already paid for February by the last week of last month, so I ask politely "uhm... have I gotten a check for February yet?"...

 

The kid says "I've only had one lesson!"

 

Me: "????"

 

Long story short... the kid's parents only wanted him to come every other week because they didn't want to pay $60 a month. They come in all irate: "why did you tell our son we have to pay?".

 

"ermm.. well, lessons are $60 for one month, and it's due on the last week of the month for the following month..."

 

Parents: "well that's just ridiculous!!!! Nobody told us that!" (actually, I did and they also signed a sheet that explained that)...

 

So they get mad and storm out.

 

What am I missing?????

 

Being that my policy is that I like to get paid the week before the following month (so I'll know who is coming and who isn't (theoretically...)), I made up a special sign....

 

I bought one of those Christmas ornament light-ropes and bundled it into a circle and hung it on a wall in my lesson room.

 

In the middle of it was a sign, the second to the last week that said "lesson payment is due next week for the following month - thanks!". about 2 feet wide, lit up, in a room 4'X6'.

 

YOU CAN'T MISS IT.

 

The following week - when the payment is due - I put another sign in it that says "LESSON PAYMENT IS DUE TODAY FOR NEXT MONTH - thanks!".

 

While this helped a *little* bit with getting the checks in on time, for the most part nothing changed.

 

The following week I leave the light-rope up on the wall, turned on, BUT without a sign in it.

 

Remember, it's been hanging in the room for 3 weeks lit up, but with the signs in the middle.

 

So what happens?

 

6 out of 10 students look at this hanging on the wall and say "what do you have that there for?"

 

!!!!?!?!??!?!??!?!!!!!!!

 

 

I'm thinking of hiring a guy in a clown suit to hold those signs this month. If that doesn't work maybe ... I dunno. I'm still missing payment from maybe a third of my students for February and we're already well into it.

 

What else can I do? They signed a sheet telling them I'm to be paid the week prior for the following month... I gave them two warning signs, lit up - YOU COULD NOT MISS IT...

 

... and I'm still having to ask "uhm... have I received a check from you for this month?".

 

!!?!?!??

[Ziggy]

Chip,

 

How about a guy in a clown suit with a crowbar, sans the sign?

 

Seriously, is it realistic to have your future students pay their first and last month when they sign up? That way when a student gets behind by an entire month on their payment you can cut them off. At the same time you are not out for the lessons you've given. Just a thought...

 

Zig

[fantasticsound]

Originally posted by Ziggy:

Chip,

 

How about a guy in a clown suit with a crowbar, sans the sign?

 

Seriously, is it realistic to have your future students pay their first and last month when they sign up? That way when a student gets behind by an entire month on their payment you can cut them off. At the same time you are not out for the lessons you've given. Just a thought...

 

Zig

 

An excellent thought, Zig!

 

Chip, you might also suggest in your contract (yes, I've seen your thread about the contract) that this is your livelyhood, as it seems your customers just don't get it! Suggest that if THEIR jobs withheld paychecks, they'd be upset and take action. You deserve the same respect they expect from their employers. I'm not very good at making it sound touchy-feely and nice, so as not to upset people, but maybe that's the point!

[michael saulnier]

Chip,

 

Talk to your bank about getting setup so you can "debit" a customer's checking account or get your business a MasterCard or Visa vendor account.

 

Then, when the parents come in all shiny happy that their tyke is going to be the next big thing... you can explain your payment program and get them to give you their checking account info or credit card info.

 

Once it's setup, you can bill them automatically in a no-hassle way, and if you ever want to be generous and allow "make-up" time or something, you can credit their account. But you always get your money in a predictable way. You'll also get the price / frequency objection THEN, instead of when you're committed to the time and they don't show up OR pay.

 

It's usually pretty easy to get setup as a vendor... maybe you could even "piggyback" on the music store account?

 

Good Luck... Retail ANYTHING sucks... "buyers are liars"!

 

guitplayer

[Gator Wing]

Also, don't ask "have I received your check?" Say it as a point of fact: "I haven't received you payment for lessons and is now due (or overdue)." Asking puts you in a

weak-looking position. Speak with authority.

[surfjunkie]

Originally posted by Chip McDonald:

I'm thinking of hiring a guy in a clown suit to hold those signs this month.

 

(in nigel voice) what are the hours?

 

Chip, i don't know how you do it. dealing with dumb kids is one thing, but dumb parents are impossible.

[KHAN]

Chip, you are not missing anything. People just don't want to pay. And they will act aloof if they think it's to there advantage.

 

That said, I'm sure some of them are really just that stupid.

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by Ziggy:

Seriously, is it realistic to have your future students pay their first and last month when they sign up? That way when a student gets behind by an entire month on their payment you can cut them off. At the same time you are not out for the lessons you've given. Just a thought...

 

Well...yeah, that'd be great, BUT... It'd be a very hard sell to ask for $120 upfront...

 

Maybe if I pulled one of those "Big Blinking Arrow on a Trailer Marquee" signs in. Of course, it wouldn't fit, but...

[Chip McDonald]

Originally posted by fantasticsound:

Chip, you might also suggest in your contract (yes, I've seen your thread about the contract) that this is your livelyhood, as it seems your customers just don't get it!

 

There's 3 basic situations I'm seeing:

 

1) People don't feel "Guitar Lessons" is a "serious" venture in that I am to be paid regularly. I cite this because I've noticed an interesting division of thought: half the people say things that tell me they think this is all I do full time (true), while the other half say things like "what else do you do besides this?" or "what's your regular job?".

 

2) Some people are now of the state of mind that if you're in a pseudo-service industry, you're a second class person. It's gotten to the point now where I've had two sets of parents call me up and TELL me how I'm going to reschedule their child to another time slot of their choosing (sorry, it doesn't work that way), or TELL me I'm going to teach them how to play a song by next week (also doesn't work that way), or something else - all in that smarmy condescending "I've got IMPORTANT things to do and you're keeping me from them" voice. Likewise these people are the biggest tightwads and I am constantly having to stay on them about paying...

 

3) A LOT of people these days.... SIMPLE ARE INSANE. I can't say more than that. My room mate is a drummer who recently started teaching again, after having not taught in about 10 years: "what's gone wrong with people????" he says. PEOPLE ARE JUST FLAT OUT INSANE now. I had another guy show up last week WITHOUT HIS GUITAR for his first lesson! I would estimate 1 in 3 maybe don't grasp the sentence:

 

"payment is due on the last week of the month for the following month".

 

I don't know how else to put it. I keep having parents make allusions that somehow I'm ripping them off "somehow". Or they don't understand they have to notify me the week before if they're not going to be at the lesson - because otherwise if they call me the same day IT DOESN'T DO ME ANY GOOD, I've just lost $15, THEN I'll have to LOSE an extra 30 minutes giving the make up lesson.

 

All of this I used to NEVER have to explain. Heck, the first couple of years I taught I didn't even need a lesson contract.

It seems like every year people become kookier and kookier.

 

Suggest that if THEIR jobs withheld paychecks, they'd be upset and take action. You deserve the same respect they expect from their employers. I'm not very good at making it sound touchy-feely and nice, so as not to upset people, but maybe that's the point!

 

The strange thing is that now and then I get someone who treats me with truly great deferential respect. I don't treat them any differently, they just come to it with a different attitude for some reason. They're generally smart people and come from "nice" backgrounds... I dunno.

[DC]

I taught all through high school and for a time after college and I hate it. Sounds like it's gotten worse and worse over time.

 

I liked the idea about getting their checking account no. and route number for the automatic deposit each month. Bottom line is you're going to have to find a system that's more foolproof and get agreement from the onset. Maybe accept credit cards as most people these days have them filled up and are used to making payments on their balances.

[LiveMusic]

Man, I feel for ya and I don't have an answer. I think it has very much to do with a decline in morality. I'm very serious.

 

Getting two months, first and last up front, is a great suggestion, seems to me. I think it might be the way to go. You think they won't pay it... I dunno. Part of the problem is the $60/month means they start with four lessons for their first payment, obviously. But the customer/parent is thinking "We'll try this for four lessons and see what happens."

 

You can do auto-debit but I don't think asking for their checking account info will work; they will be too resistant for that. The only hope for that would be credit card debit. However, customers can charge back credit card charges, literally, at their whim. For whatever reason. The vendor rarely wins. If you want to get set up on that, I can recommend a service that would do it. For your operation, I wouldn't go the full merchant account route. Of course, the best way would be to piggy back on the music store.

 

I don't think people are taking your needs seriously. Perhaps there should be a very cordial but frank sit-down session at the getgo where this stuff is set forth. Very cordial but with NO doubt about the message... that you must get paid to eat.

[The Bear Jew]

Chip-

Having worked in sales/collections at an independent company for 7 years, I can relate to your situation.

Basically, it's a struggle. Some folks will always be right on time every month. There are some who are always about a week late. There are others that you will have to chase every month. And then there's that small percentage who will never pay. That's just humanity -- some people just suck.

It's hard enough to handle this stuff when you're workijng for a mainstream type of company, but it gets even harder and wierder when you deal in music. Some folks don't really think of music as a legitimate way to earn a living -- you mentioned this in a previous post. Thus, you couldn't possibly be ANGRY at them for not paying for something as frivolous as guitar lessons. These people are just not thinking.

Dealing with this is part of the gig, unfortunately. Look at the bright side -- at least you're bringing music to the world and helping to broaden young minds. It beats asking, "Do you want to super-size that?"